Duly chastised he may have been, but from the firm set of Anne’s jaw he was probably going to be paying for this mistake for another eternity.
“What wish did you make?” I asked.
He wrapped his arm around Anne. “I wished for our love to last forever.”
I let out a shrill laugh. “Some wish that turned out to be.”
“The watch may still have magic,” said Anne.
“You don’t like magic,” I reminded her.
Anne clutched tightly onto William’s hand. “Sometimes you have to take that risk. Now that our wish has expired, the magic should revert back to the beginning.”
William sighed. “Magic is not without its setbacks. Perhaps that is why it was outlawed and then over the years its practice has become questionable.”
“I am not usually the one to encourage this kind of behavior,” said Anne. “But what is the alternative?”
The alternative was spending a life watching Leo and not having him see me back. Lyrics to the song I’d written to attract Leo’s attention sprang to mind:
You walked a million miles around me
Not noticing at all…
Could I walk a million miles around Leo and not be seen?
“You’re right,” I said. “There is no alternative. Who’s to say I won’t end up cursed like you two? But if I wish for time to be reversed, at what point in time will the spell take me back to?”
“As for the first part of your question, whether you end up cursed,” said William. “Well, you said so yourself, you can’t be any more cursed can you? As for the point in time, that will not be your choice to make. You will be returned to whatever point in time is the most poignant. But whatever happens, Ruby, don’t label the actions of your youth as a mistake. You will eventually learn to accept and cherish those moments as experiences.”
Their shimmering images slowly merged into one, and then they glowed brighter and brighter until a million tiny stars exploded in front of me. I lifted my arm to shield my eyes and when I removed my arm they were gone. What’s more, they’d left without telling me exactly how the watch was supposed to set me free.
Hadn’t fumbling around clueless caused me enough problems already?
The watch in question still sat in the bowl that Audrey had used as her cauldron to break Anne’s and William’s curse. It was a little blackened from the flame, but otherwise intact. I’d never used a pocket watch before, hadn’t even really seen one up close until now.
There was a lever on top of the watch, but it spun too freely to be in working order. On the back the inscription was still easy to read:
ONE WISH AT A TIME.
I opened the intricately designed front cover. The glass cover had survived unscathed for centuries. It was a beautiful watch, such a shame to destroy it, but I slammed the watch against the table until the glass cover broke exposing the tiny hour and minute hands.
My wish had to relate to time. That was easy. I’d wish to reverse it. But shouldn’t I think about the point in time that I wanted to be transported back to? The real question was when should I return? Should I wish for time to reverse to before the argument with Leo? Was that far enough? Should I wish for time to be reversed to the point before I became pregnant? How far back should I go?
I held the watch in front of me and said the chant that would unlock the spell. “One wish at a time when you need it most.”
***
I was two when my father left me and my mother, but I still saw him regularly when I went to stay at Teri’s house. I was ten when he left for Japan, old enough to realize that Japan was far away and I might never see him again. So I’d turned back every clock in the house and sat on the front porch waiting for whatever magic I’d seen on TV at the time to work. In my mind, I pictured Dad bounding down the path as if nothing had happened, he’d pick me up and we’d go over to Teri’s house for the weekend.
Now, guided by the same tears that had guided me as a child, I used the tip of my fingernail to drive the minute and hour hands counter clockwise, willing time to reverse.
Faster. Faster.
Turning. Turning.
Spinning. Spinning.
The air shifted around me, picking up pace as though a tornado had erupted from out of nowhere. The air moved so fast that the cabin became a blur. Soundlessly, the air continued to fly yet I remained unmoving. In a matter of seconds, night became day, and day became night. And still I kept turning those hands of time backwards.
It shouldn’t have worked. But it did. Time was reversing, until finally, when the hands became stuck and wouldn’t budge, I noticed that everything around me had also stopped.
The hairs on my neck lifted. Darkness pressed around me.
***
I sat in the Jeep, unsure of where I was but very sure that my mom would have a fit if she found the car missing from the garage. I couldn’t remember why I’d taken it.
As I got out, the wind whipped around me and a hazy memory drifted to the surface. I’ve borrowed Mom’s car to drive to Capers Cabin because I need to speak with Leo. Urgently.
Up ahead, I saw the dim glow of the log fire through the cabin window so I headed there. Leo was inside that cabin. Leo, Simon, and Thomas had come here to write songs for a demo. Thomas’ dad was loaning them the money to record their CD, plus he owned the cabin and was letting them use it to practice. They’d chosen the cabin because it didn’t have cell reception.
No distractions, Leo had said.
No distractions to write songs or no distractions from a nagging girlfriend?
I got out of the Jeep. Dried leaves and twigs snapped beneath my boots as I made my way to the cabin. I stopped at the bottom step. As I gripped the railing I realized that being here didn’t feel right. Something was telling me I should get back in the car and go home. But I had to speak with Leo.
Up one step. Something crunched underneath my boot and it wasn’t twigs or dried leaves.
Under the moonlight I saw that I’d stepped on something the size and shape of a cookie. I picked up the object and held it up to the moonlight. It was an old fashioned timepiece, the kind of watch that was from the Victorian era and was usually worn on a chain. Relics were sometimes found in the woods though not usually this close to a cabin.
The glass front was missing. Looking down, I didn’t see any broken glass. It had been broken before I’d stepped on it.
Turning it over, I saw an inscription.
“One wish at a time,” I whispered.
A jolt of something like electricity shot out of the watch and into my fingers. Visions flashed before my eyes.
The Jeep running off the road.
Leo crying.
Ghosts in the cabin.
A funeral.
Audrey trapped in the woods.
An audience cheering.
Leo’s pained face.
At once I knew why I had come to the cabin.
But it wasn’t for the reasons I told myself.
I wasn’t here to test Leo’s love for me. I was here to test mine for him.
Inside, I heard the boys singing and laughing. They were probably drinking. I loved Leo with all my heart, but for the first time I realized that if he chose a path that led to darkness, I might not travel down that path with him.
The watch sent more images into my mind, and it was as if I was getting a glimpse of a future that awaited me if I knocked on the door. An alternate reality, a premonition, my actual future if I knocked on the door to the cabin. Whatever these visions were I was left with the sense that I could do crazy things in the name of love and along the way achieve amazing things, too. But at what cost?
Throwing the watch to the ground, I stomped my boot on it, crushing it into tiny pieces. I had been foolish to turn up in the middle of the night with the intention of finding out how much Leo loved me.
With this insight came the knowledge that my mother’s advice over the years, which I had taken to be bitter rants about me
n, would become the arsenal of swords needed to build the fortification to help me thrive as a strong, independent woman. I had a feeling I’d need armor and shields as well, and these could be my friends. But no matter what defenses I stockpiled, I would win this battle because I had the most important thing on my side – Me.
Whatever life threw my way I only needed to love myself. Whatever life threw my way was mine to deal with.
My life.
My choice.
I got back into the Jeep and drove home. Tomorrow would see some changes. I didn’t know how or what those changes would be, but two things were certain: whichever path I chose would be the one that was best for me; and if that journey was to be with Leo it would not be due to duty or obligation, but due to love.
My life.
My choice.
Maybe I wasn’t a quitter, which would work in Leo’s favor, but I was sometimes also crazy, desperate, impulsive, and irrational and that might work against. But I was madly in love, and that had to count for something too.
The End
~About the Songs in this book~
With the exception of Amazing Grace, all the words to songs in this book are written by the author. Side Of The Road, the song Ruby sings to the ghosts when she first meets them, is the only song not written specifically for this book. It was written many years ago and was inspired in a similar way to which Ruby wrote the song. A Million Miles, the song Ruby writes for the audition was written for this book and has musical accompaniment, unlike the rest of the songs which are just lyrics and have yet to have music put to the words.
~About the Author~
Music first captured the creative interest of D L Richardson. She got her first acoustic guitar at age ten, and in high school she sang with the school band. When she left school she helped form her own rock band where she sang lead vocals, played bass guitar, and wrote all the lyrics.
At age 26 she realized she wanted to write novels for the rest of her life, or die trying, so she sold her equipment, quit pursuing a music career and began writing instead. She has not stopped writing since.
She currently lives in Australia on the NSW South Coast with her husband and dog. When she’s not writing or reading she can be found practicing her piano, playing the guitar or walking the dog.
~Discover more about D L Richardson~
Website: http://www.dlrichardson.com
Blog: http://dlrichardsonwrites.blogspot.com
Facebook: http://facebook.com/dlrichardsonbooks
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/DLRichardson1
Feedback
D L Richardson
As if waiting for a kidney transplant isn't bad enough, when a donor is finally found for seventeen-year-old Ethan James, he's plunged into a world of spooks and terrorism. The kidney he receives belonged to CIA agent, Dylan Black and the mad scientist Dylan was spying on believes in Feedback – the theory that organs retain the memories of the host.
Ethan knows nothing of the plot on his life until two weeks after his release from hospital. Right in the middle of getting his life back on track he’s abducted. He still knows nothing about the plot on his life until he’s interrogated by the mad scientist who wants information retained in the dead CIA's organ. Specifically, the location of deadly bacteria bombs that Dylan was trying to stop from going off which ended up the cause of his death.
At least Ethan isn’t alone in this torture chamber. Abducted with him are sixteen-year-old Florida Bowman and fifteen-year-old Jake Inala. There’s comfort in allies, yet when Dylan’s memories begin to awaken within the three teens, they each begin to wrestle with the fact that if the inner voice they’re hearing is real then either their abductor is telling the truth or they’re crazy.
Meanwhile, three bombs are set to go off and destroy the planet. And these three teens seem to be the only ones being pestered by the dead CIA agent to stop them.
Little Red Gem
D L Richardson
A bitter sweet, foolhardy mission it is to want to know how much the boy you love loves you back. Ruby Parker, a sixteen year old singer in an all girl band, dies in a car crash after an argument with her boyfriend and finds herself on such a foolhardy mission. Yet once she starts down that path there’s no backing down, no matter how crazy this mission drives you. Or no matter what crazy plane of otherworld existence this mission spirals you into. Or no matter that the answer you get is different to the question you asked.
With the aid of bad advice from a ghost who is trapped by a curse, a little bit of magic courtesy of her unsuspecting half-sister, and a televised music talent show coming to town to hold auditions, Ruby makes more of a mess in death than she ever did in life. Bad choices. Right choices. Whatever. She’ll do anything to find out how much Leo Culver loved her because everything she lived and died for depends on the answer.
The Bird with the Broken Wing
D L Richardson
Guardian angel Rachael finds herself trapped in Purgatory with Ben Taylor, a young soldier with a secret that's driving him insane. Desperate to see him ascend into Heaven she breaks the rules about becoming involved and keeping her identity a secret. Her decision to stay in Purgatory to help Ben seems a good plan. Except they've been stuck for ten years already and Ben is no closer to ascending. The unexpected appearance of a feisty teenager, Jet Jones, throws Rachael's wings into a tailspin. The instant attraction between Jet and Ben means the angel's work is getting ignored. And without her help, Ben's soul will be trapped and she will have failed in her mission.
But Jet's appearance also brings a chilling revelation. Maybe Ben's soul isn't the only one that needs saving.
Curious (3 novels in 1)
D L Richardson
In the hauntingly beautiful and dramatic, The Bird With The Broken Wing, Rachael is a guardian angel who finds herself trapped in Purgatory with Ben, a young soldier she was assigned to watch over. She knows the terrible secret that's keeping Ben trapped in limbo, but can't understand why she's stuck with him. It's not until Jet appears, a feisty teenager who falls for Ben, that the angel begins to question if the soldier's soul isn't the only one in need of saving.
In the action-packed spy adventure, Feedback, Ethan James, Jake Inala, and Florida Bowman are three teenagers who are plunged into the world of spooks and terrorism when they receive the organs of deceased CIA agent and take on the task of completing the mission the spy died midway through, that of deactivating bacteria bombs threatening millions of lives. In this situation, listening to their inner voices can very much get them killed.
In the poignant teen romance novel, Little Red Gem, Ruby Parker sets out on a bitter sweet, fool hardy mission to find out how much the boy she loves loved her. With the aid of bad advice from a ghost, magic courtesy of an unsuspecting half-sister, and a televised music talent show, Ruby makes more of a mess in death than she ever made in life. But what choice does she have? Her life depends on true love.
Curious is a masterful collection of over 500 pages of action, drama, adventure, teen issues, and romance in one unputdownable book.
Fear of Falling
D L Richardson
Every writer has a stash of short stories hidden in their drawer. Short stories are a great introduction into the publishing world because they teach a writer about deadlines, submission guidelines, dealing with rejection, and sometimes the joy of publication. I’ve selected eleven of my favourite speculative fiction short stories for this anthology. Although I started writing in 1996, it took until 2005 for my first short story to get published. At a time when I considered giving up, A Lesson In Time Management was published and reaffirmed my enthusiasm to pursue a writing career. (There is nothing as wonderful as having a piece of work accepted for publication). Shortly following that small success, Mr Zodiac was published, and then Talking To Walls. Mr Zodiac was reworked and became The Twelfth House which was submitted in 2008 to a project titled Hollywood. Next Stop! The story never made it to the final cut, and I admit it was
re-edited for this anthology, as were most of the stories contained in this anthology. Some of these short stories were written for competitions, such as The Harvest Of The Damned, Falling Down A Rainbow, and A Watch Of Nightingales. The Girl Nobody Liked has a title I think is cool, even if the story is odd. Some stories were written simply to get an idea out of my head, which is really the birth place of all speculative fiction. To me, The Puppet Masters is a perfect example of speculative fiction; what happens to a character once a writer has created them and the story is over? I hope you enjoy reading this collection of haunting and at times odd tales.
Poison in the Pond
D L Richardson
Karen Malcolm escapes with her life after a week of being held hostage in her own home by a mad man named Cain. He gets life behind bars and she gets a second chance as the future wife of Doctor Tyler Carlisle and mother of his young daughter Jess. But Karen can't escape the nightmare that follows when Cain contacts her from prison to beg forgiveness. Instead she is plunged into a world where there are things in the dark that even the bag guys are afraid of, including Cain.
When Karen is caught up in Cain's web of madness it places the life of her new daughter at risk because when Cain returns, he's not alone and he's not after her this time, but after Jess. Once more Karen will face her attacker. Yet the madness he brings with him is left behind is like poison in her veins.
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