Magic and Shadows: A Collection of YA Fantasy and Paranormal Romances

by T. M. Franklin

  “It’s very nice to meet you. My name is Elizabeth, and this is my friend Stacy.” I couldn’t believe I managed to get that much out. He was even more handsome close up. It felt like my heart was going to pound through my chest. This has to be a joke. I glanced over at Stacy, and could tell she was most likely thinking the same thing. You see, nothing like this ever happened to Stacy or me.

  “Would you mind if we sat with you?” Isaiah asked in that smooth musical voice of his. Samuel was standing there, smiling at Stacy.

  “Not at all,” I heard her say back to him, and I wanted to kick her shin under the table.

  What is she thinking? This is going to blow up in our faces! Why does she think that these two boys, who are certainly out of our league, would want to sit with us, unless it was a joke? I could feel my face turning red and I hoped that no one sitting around us would notice.

  Isaiah and his brother went over to the other table and grabbed their things, walked back, and sat down. I hoped that Isaiah couldn’t hear how fast my heart was beating. I glanced up at him, and my breath caught. How could one person be that beautiful and be real? I hoped my face didn’t reveal what I was thinking.

  Before I could think of anything to say, he leaned over closer and asked, “Do you come here a lot during the summer, Elizabeth?”

  I found myself smiling back at him. “Yes, we come here as much as our moms will bring us. We bug them a lot to bring us,” I blurted out feeling the heat on my skin as my face turned red. You’re repeating yourself Elizabeth. Stop talking, you sound like an idiot.

  “I like that. I think this may now be my favorite spot to come this summer. I wasn’t very excited when my father told me we were moving here to Maryland. But I think now I’m very happy we had to come.”

  I couldn’t think of anything to reply to that. I kept waiting for someone to walk up and start laughing at the joke they were playing on us. I was just about ready to turn to Stacy when the lifeguard blew the whistle, signaling that the break was over.

  Isaiah stood up and smiled. “Would you like to get in the water now, Elizabeth?”

  I thought for a second. “Sure, that’s what we’re here for, right?” I was starting to feel like maybe it would be okay.

  “Yes, that is why we are here.” He turned to Stacy and Samuel. “Are you two coming in the pool, too?”

  Before Samuel could answer Stacy was on her feet, and walking to the pool. Isaiah smiled as we started that way ourselves. I glanced over at him and thought to myself that I just might not be able to tell him no. That one thought really scared me.

  2

  The four of us spent the rest of the afternoon either in the pool, or sitting around our little table talking. I loved the way Isaiah was so easy to talk to, and how he made me laugh. I don’t remember ever laughing so much in any one day.

  It annoyed me a little that he hadn’t removed his sunglasses the entire time we were at the pool, though, and I couldn’t see his eyes. I didn’t want to ask him to take them off, but I’ve always felt like I need to see someone’s eyes so that I can read them.

  I think you can tell a lot about people from their eyes. I’ve heard it said that your eyes are the windows to your soul.

  I glanced over at Stacy and Samuel, and noticed that he had taken his sunglasses off and was extremely focused on something that Stacy was telling him. When I looked back at Isaiah, he was smiling at me again. “What?” I asked him, feeling my face turning red I hate how easy I blush!

  Just as he was about to answer I glanced at the parking lot, and saw that Mom and Peggy were there to pick us up. I stood up and started gathering my stuff. “My mom is here, so I have to go.”

  Isaiah stood up. “May I carry your things to the car for you?” he asked reaching for my bag.

  “No, I’ll be fine, thank you. Are you guys coming back again this week?” I asked, trying to sound casual.

  He glanced down at me. “When are you coming back? I think I would like to see you again.”

  I looked at Stacy, “I think my mom said we could come back on Wednesday.” She looked hopefully at Samuel. He was looking at her like he couldn’t get enough of her.

  “Wednesday, that sounds good,” Isaiah said. “See you then, Elizabeth?” The last part came out as a question. I nodded my head.

  Stacy and I both stood watching as the two brothers walked back to their car. I still couldn’t believe that a boy that good looking would want anything to do with me, let alone want to spend the entire day with me. Something about him made me feel very special.

  Suddenly, I remembered that he hadn’t asked me for my phone number. I turned to Stacy. “Did Samuel ask you for your phone number?” I whispered.

  “No.” Her shoulders drooped and she had tears in her eyes. She looked as dejected as I was feeling. Neither boy had asked either of us for our number. That wasn’t a good sign. We picked up our things and walked to the cars, not saying anything, and I was sure that Stacy was thinking the same thing as I was. Why had they bothered wasting time with us if they weren’t interested? The drive home seemed much longer than I ever remembered it being before. I felt sadness wash over me.

  Later that night, Stacy called. “Do you think that Isaiah and Samuel will show up on Wednesday?”

  “I don’t know. I was thinking about that while we were on the way home today. Don’t you think they would have asked for our phone numbers if they liked us? That’s what most boys do, don’t you think?” I’d never really had a boyfriend before, but Stacy said every time a boy liked her they got her number before she left.

  “I guess, but they don’t seem like any of the other boys, Elizabeth,” she said. “Maybe they thought it would be too forward to ask this soon?”

  I could hear the hope in her voice, and the fact that she wanted me to tell her she was right. I didn’t say anything for a minute, thinking about what she had said. I could feel the hope starting to find me, as well. Stacy was right, they were different than any of the boys we went to school with. They didn’t act the same at all. “Stacy, you may be right. They aren’t like any of the boys we know. Maybe there is hope that we will see them again on Wednesday.” I heard her sigh on the other end. She must have been holding her breath, waiting for me to answer.

  “I think so too,” she said, chuckling now. “Okay, I guess I better get off here and go help Mom with the dishes. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

  “Okay, I’ll see you in the morning,” I replied, feeling much better now that Stacy had pointed out to me that the boys were different. They both were certainly better looking and much more polite than any of the boys I knew in school. I made a mental note to ask Isaiah on Wednesday where they were from. I didn’t think that was too personal a question for me to ask, and for the life of me I couldn’t remember him or Samuel mentioning it.

  I helped Mom with the dishes, and then headed into my room to start reading my book again.

  The author had written about how people had started going missing down in the park that summer. There were reports that there had been sightings of men with pale skin around town just before the people disappeared. This went on for a few years before fear took over, and the townspeople started taking matters into their own hands, hunting down anyone who didn’t look like them. The accounts he wrote about said that seven men were hunted down, and killed for being vampires. Vampires in Hyattsville? Wow, that is something that I don’t remember my father or grandparents ever talking about. I couldn’t wait to tell Stacy about this!

  Hyattsville is only about thirty-five minutes from us. I wonder if he knew about any supernatural stuff from when he was growing up. Of course, knowing my dad, he wouldn’t tell me even if there had been. My grandmother always told him not to talk about anything that could be looked at as “crazy,” or something that others wouldn’t believe. She’s very much a person who believes that there should be family secrets.

  After thinking about it for a while, I figured I had better not mention it to Dad after
all. Knowing him, he wouldn’t let me finish the book. It was too late to talk with Bess about the book tonight because I knew we would stay up way too late, talking about all the possibilities. Maybe tomorrow I would try to get her and Stacy alone, and ask what they thought. Stacy believes in ghosts, after all. As I climbed into bed, I was thinking about seeing Isaiah on Wednesday, and how I was going to ask him to take his glasses off. As I was drifting off, I found myself thinking, I need to see his eyes.

  I woke feeling a little out of sorts. I hadn’t had a dream at all last night, which was very unusual for me. I usually wake up every morning remembering the dream I had during the prior night. I sat up, thinking about what I had read in the book last night.

  I put the book in the top drawer of my desk where my younger sisters’ prying eyes couldn’t see it. I knew that if one of the little ones read any of it they would tell Mom, and I would have to give the book up, and I wanted to make sure that I could read it till the very end.

  Mom and I fixed an easy breakfast while Bess set the table, and gathered up the younger girls. Breakfast couldn’t be finished fast enough for me. I wanted to share what I had read with Stacy and Bess, if I could get them alone. That was rather hard to do, since our sisters and Stacy’s sisters all like to follow us around.

  When everyone had finished, I jumped up and started clearing the dishes from the table. “Mom, is it okay if Bess and I go over to Stacy’s after we get dressed?”

  “Sure, that isn’t a problem. Why don’t you go ahead and take your shower. I can finish up the rest of these by myself.” Mom smiled at me.

  “Thanks Mom,” I said. I know she agreed so quickly with Bess and I going over to Stacy’s because I would be outside in the fresh air.

  As I headed out of the kitchen to get dressed, I motioned for Bess to follow me. “Meet me at Stacy’s as soon as you can. I want to talk to you guys about something,” I whispered. She nodded at me, and went back into the kitchen to finish helping Mom with the dishes while I took my shower.

  As soon as I could, I headed over to Stacy’s house. I saw her coming out of her front door just as I crossed the street.

  “Hey, I had the greatest dream last night,” she said with a smile. “I dreamed about Samuel!”

  “That is great. I didn’t dream at all, and you know, I always dream,” I replied. “What do you think that means?”

  “That maybe you were really tired last night? Do you want to know what my dream was about?” she asked quickly.

  “Sure,” I answered, truly meaning it. Stacy is my best friend, and she always listens to me whenever I have something that I need or want to talk about. “Go ahead and tell me,” I said, with as much enthusiasm as I could muster.

  “Well, we were back at the pool, and Samuel asked me to go into the water with him. He reached over and took my hand. We walked to the shallow end of the pool. He looked at me, and told me that he really liked me. It was a wonderful dream. You know the best part?” She looked at me, her eyes twinkling “He didn’t try anything, or make me feel uncomfortable. He wasn’t a jerk, like so many of the boys we know from school.”

  I thought it was a wonderful dream. I knew it would probably sound corny to most girls our age, but Stacy and I had made a pact when we were just eleven. We were going to hold out for the true love of our life, and not be like some of those girls we’d heard about. Some of the girls in school talked about doing things with boys, sometimes even on the first dates. Some of them were fine with it, and some of them felt really bad afterwards. The pact we made with each other was something that we were both really proud of.

  “So, what do you think?” she asked again. “Do you think there may be something to my dream, or am I just being really stupid?” She bit her bottom lip and shuffled her foot around, waiting for my answer.

  “I wish I would have had a nice dream like that last night,” I said, beaming at her. “It sounds perfect to me. I hope that both of them live up to it, Stacy.”

  “One can only hope,” she replied. “Or, should I say, ‘two’ can only hope?” She gave me that big silly grin of hers that I love so much, and a big hug. “Thanks for listening.”

  “You’re the best friend ever. You’ve made me feel much better than I did when I got up this morning,” I said hugging her back. “Hey, I want to tell you about this book I’m reading, the one I bought last week. It’s about Hyattsville, where my dad lived as a kid.”

  Suddenly, I saw someone out of the corner of my eyes. I turned to see who it was. “Oh, here comes Bess. I told her to meet me over here so I can tell her about it too. Do you think it will be safe to talk in your backyard?”Stacy nodded her head, so the three of us ran around to sit in the chairs under the big shady tree.

  “Well, it turns out it was written in 1849, four years after the town was founded.” I looked around, making sure none of our sisters were close by or listening to me talk. I lowered my voice, and said, “It’s about all these supernatural things that went on in the town.” Stacy and Bess leaned forward, intently watching me. “The author said there were vampires living amongst the humans.” The last of this sentence came out in a whisper. I glanced at Stacy, waiting for her to laugh at me.

  Stacy looked around, and quietly said, “Vampires? Really? That is way too cool! Will you let me read the book when you’re done? It’s fiction, right? I can’t believe your mom is letting you read a book about vampires.”

  Bess rolled her eyes at her, and looked at me. “How come you didn’t tell me about this sooner? That is so cool.”

  Smiling at Bess, I shrugged my shoulders and said, “No, Stacy, this is supposed to be true accounts of what happened in the town. Don’t you think it could be true?” I asked, just as quietly. None of us wanted our sisters or anyone else to hear what we were talking about. I knew I could trust Bess, she wouldn’t tell, but my younger sisters would be telling on me as quick as they could.

  “I guess, but you know, most of these stories were superstitions of people who tried to explain things that scared them,” she replied, a very serious look on her face.

  “I thought of asking Dad, but I’m afraid that he won’t tell me anything, even if he does know. I’m also worried that he might take the book away from me.” I knew Bess agreed, just from the look she was giving me. “I’ll let you read it when I’m done, but don’t let your sisters see it, okay?” I surely didn’t want her mother finding it either. That wouldn’t go over very well, and since her mom and my mom were best friends, her mom would tell on me and I would be in so much trouble. I felt bad hiding the book from my parents, but I really wanted to finish reading it.

  Mom called us to come home just as we were heading into Stacy’s front yard. “I’ll see you a little later,” I called, as Bess and I ran across the street to see what she needed.

  Our friend, Lynn, was on the phone, wanting to know if we were going to Crane’s tomorrow. Lynn lived up the road from us with her two older sisters and a brother. She was a really sweet girl who was rather shy. She didn’t get to come with us to the pool very often as her parents both work, and since both of our cars are full we can’t bring any friends along. When she can get a ride, she loves to meet us.

  “Let me ask my mom. Mom! Mom, are we going to Crane’s tomorrow? Lynn wants to know,” I called.

  Mom came out of the kitchen “Yes, I think that will be fine. I will call Peggy and ask her if she is going to take the kids. Does Lynn have a ride?” she asked me.

  “Cool, thanks Mom. I’ll ask her. Lynn, she said okay. Mom wants to know if you have a ride tomorrow?” I feel silly asking, since I knew that Lynn wouldn’t have called unless she had one. But I knew Mom was going to want an answer.

  “Yes, my sister is off work tomorrow, and she said if all you guys were going she would take me out for a few hours.”

  “Great! I’m so glad that you can come. If you get there first, can you save our tables?”

  “Sure, that won’t be a problem. But you’ll probably beat us the
re. My sister won’t want to get up too early. Can you save me a spot at the table?” she said, laughing.

  “Of course I will. I’ll see you tomorrow. I’ll tell Stacy you are coming along. We’re going to have so much fun.”

  Hanging up the phone, I felt grateful that she had called, and I didn’t have to ask Mom about going. Mom never said no when Lynn could go, because she knew that Lynn didn’t get to go very often. I couldn’t wait to tell Stacy the good news! It would be fun having another friend out at the pool with us.

  “Mom, I’m going to go tell Stacy that Lynn is coming tomorrow so we can make plans,” I called, as I sprinted out the door. Mom would be on the phone in a few minutes calling Stacy’s mother to finalize the plans. Maybe they will go to the mall for a while, and have a nice day out.

  When I got to Stacy’s, I told her that Lynn had called, and Mom had agreed to take us to Crane’s tomorrow. I could tell Stacy was just as excited as I was. I knew we both wanted to see Isaiah and Samuel. Tomorrow couldn’t come soon enough for either of us.

  “Hey, do you think we could go to your house and look at that book you were telling me about?” Stacy asked.

  “Sure, why not?” I replied. I was so happy thinking about tomorrow, I didn’t mind doing anything. As we headed to my house, we talked quietly about my book. We went into my room, and I handed her the book and let Stacy read the first chapter while I waited for her reaction.

  She put the book down and looked at me, amazed. “Wow! This is pretty amazing stuff. Do you think that maybe later this week we could go to the library, and see if we can look up any of this?”

  “That’s a great idea, Stacy. I think I’ll try and talk Mom into taking us this week. She doesn’t seem to mind when I ask to go to the library. It will be great if we can find out more about the vampires.”

  I loved how Stacy’s mind worked. She always wanted to learn more about things.