Secrets of the Magic Ring

by Karen McQuestion

  When Paul saw his Aunt Vicky, he swam over to the side and asked if she’d brought her suit.

  “I don’t swim,” she said firmly, running her fingers through her gleaming hair. Celia once said his aunt looked like a supermodel, and today he agreed. Besides being tall and skinny, Aunt Vicky was dressed fancier than his mom, and her nails were perfectly polished.

  “It’s really nice and warm,” Paul said politely. He thought it was a shame that she wasn’t swimming when she was the one who paid for the pool. “I think you’d like it.”

  “No, you don’t understand. I don’t swim at all; in fact, I sink like a stone. I had a traumatic experience as a child, and ever since, I don’t go in the water. Not ever. I even prefer showers to baths.”

  “Oh, that’s too bad,” Paul said.

  Vicky pursed her lips. “It is too bad. I’ve often wished I could swim, but I know I never will. Thanks for asking, though, Paul. It was very sweet of you.”

  When his dad finished cooking the hamburgers and hot dogs, Paul’s mom served lunch to the adults, then called the kids out of the pool.

  “Everything looks really good,” Celia said politely as she loaded up her plate with fruit salad, chips, and a hot dog.

  “Well, thank you,” Mom said. The grown-ups sat at tables set up alongside the pool.

  “I have to say you’ve really outdone yourself, Leah,” Aunt Vicky said. “Everything looks fabulous. And you look great. Have you lost weight?”

  “I have lost a few pounds, thanks for noticing,” Mom said.

  “And where did you get that gorgeous ring?” Aunt Vicky asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like it.”

  Paul froze.

  “I picked it up at a little antique store out in the country,” Mom said. “I got quite a good deal.” She turned her head and winked at Dad, who grinned. “I really like it.” She held her hand out and admired it.

  Aunt Vicky got up from her seat to get a closer look. “It’s exquisite. I have quite a collection of antique jewelry, and I’ve never seen anything like it. How much is it worth?”

  “I don’t really know,” Mom said. “I just got it, and it hasn’t been appraised yet. Very, very valuable would be my guess.”

  Celia’s Grammy, who hadn’t said a word up until that point, got up from her chair to see the ring. “Incredible,” she said, her eyes widening. “This looks exactly like a ring I knew of years ago. I was just a child at the time. I’d thought it was one of a kind. Where did you say you got it?”

  Mom blushed. “At a little antique store out on a country road.”

  “Really.” Celia’s grandmother reached out to touch it. And then she spoke softly, as if to herself. “I thought I’d never see it again.”

  “It is unique,” said another woman at the table. Paul knew she was his father’s cousin, but he couldn’t remember her name. Oh wait, it was Dora. Cousin Dora. His mother said Dora was full of opinions. Dora said, “I usually wear more delicate rings, but if you like bigger pieces it’s quite distinctive.”

  “Well, I think it’s beautiful,” Mom said decisively.

  “It is beautiful,” Aunt Vicky said in agreement. “Is there any way you’d consider selling it to me?” she asked. “I’d give you a fair price. After you get it appraised, I mean.”

  “Oh no, it’s not for sale,” Mom said. “I really love this ring.”

  Paul’s dad cleared his throat. “Why don’t we just hold off on that idea? We might want to sell it in the future, but today’s not the day to discuss it.”

  Mom gave him a sharp look. “I’m certain it’s not for sale, today or ever.”

  “That’s fine,” Vicky said. “I don’t want to cause trouble. I just thought I’d ask.”

  Mom smiled softly. “Would you like to wear it for a while?”

  “Oh, could I?”

  “Sure, but just for the afternoon.”

  “Of course,” Aunt Vicky said. “I’ll give it right back.” Paul’s mom handed over the ring. Aunt Vicky slipped it onto her finger and smiled. “Look, it just fits.”

  “It always fits just perfectly, no matter who wears it,” Grammy said quietly. No one but Paul seemed to hear her.

  Aunt Vicky held out her hand and admired the ring. “And it’s the perfect weight. So many rings feel flimsy nowadays, but this one has some heft to it.”

  “Just for the afternoon,” his mother reminded. “Then I’ll want it back.”

  “Of course,” said Aunt Vicky.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Vicky had just put the ring on her finger when Clem, still locked up in the basement, started yowling and barking in the most horrible way. From the patio Paul could see Clem’s face through the basement window, and he knew the dog must have climbed onto the old sofa they kept in the rec room. All of the guests jumped when they heard the commotion.

  “My goodness!” said Cousin Dora.

  “What’s wrong with Clem?” Celia asked. She and Paul exchanged a look, knowing that this wasn’t typical for Clem. Now the dog was making short, explosive barks as if he were being tortured.

  “Ken, would you go quiet the dog?” Paul’s mom said to his dad. To the others she said, “I’m so sorry, I don’t know what’s gotten into him.”

  “You never know with dogs,” someone said.

  “Crazy animal,” Dora said, shaking her head.

  Celia’s grandmother was still standing next to the pool-side table. Suddenly she gestured toward the back of the yard and shouted, “Look!”

  Everyone turned their attention to see a boy slinking near the edge of the woods. Paul recognized him as Henry, the one who’d threatened him the day he’d gotten the box out of the hole. At this distance, the boy didn’t look scary at all. His clothing—pants and a button-down shirt—was shabby and tattered. They looked to be brown in color, but that might have been because they were old and dirty. His hair was long and tangled like he didn’t own a comb. The expression on his face turned to horror at being spotted. He froze for an instant, and then, like a deer smelling danger, he turned and slipped back into the woods.

  “Henry, wait,” Grammy yelled and walked in his direction. Unfortunately, she was heading straight for the pool. Paul saw it, but he wasn’t close enough to stop her. Aunt Vicky was, though, and she quickly stepped in front of Celia’s grandmother to block her way. Grammy charged ahead, bumping into Aunt Vicky. The pool deck was wet and slippery, and Vicky, losing her footing, fell backwards into the pool.

  “Oh no, Vicky,” Paul’s mother stood up in horror. “She can’t swim. Someone help her!”

  Paul’s father grabbed a flotation ring, but before he could even toss it into the pool, Vicky popped up to the surface laughing. “This is wonderful,” she said. “The water is so warm, and I’m not even afraid anymore. Why didn’t anyone tell me how wonderful this was?” And even though she was fully clothed, she flipped over to float on her back. “I was just wishing I could swim, and now I can. Oh, joy!” She turned then and did the front crawl, and then the side-stroke, and ended by doing some water ballet type–thing usually done by synchronized swimmers. She yelled happily, “I could swim forever.”

  The guests looked on amazed. “I thought you said she couldn’t swim,” said Cousin Dora.

  “She can’t.” Mom looked on in disbelief. “She panics and sinks like a stone. Vicky almost drowned once, and she vowed never to swim again.”

  “I guess she got over it,” said Celia’s mom. “I used to be afraid to go on airplanes, but I worked my way through the fear. It’s the power of the mind.”

  “No, it’s the ring,” Celia’s grandmother said, but she said it so softly that only Paul heard. “Swimming must be her most fervently desired wish.”

  Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the mysterious boy in the woods. Everyone but Paul. He made his way over to Grammy and whispered in her ear. “Mrs. Lovejoy? You know the boy in the woods? You said his name—Henry?”

  “Henry was a childhood friend of
mine. I haven’t seen him for a long time.” Her face had a dreamy, faraway expression.

  That didn’t make any sense at all to Paul. “So this boy looks like someone you know?”

  “Mrs. Lovejoy.” Paul’s mother came around to where Paul and Grammy stood and interrupted their conversation. “Why don’t you come and sit down? I’d be glad to refill your drink for you.”

  “That would be very nice. Thank you,” said Celia’s grandmother.

  In the pool, Aunt Vicky was still whooping and laughing. “Paul, why don’t you and your friends join me? The water feels fabulous.”

  What happened to Aunt Vicky was crazy and hard to understand, but at least Clem had stopped barking.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  The fairy girl, Jasmine, watched the party and puzzled over the turn of events. Who was Henry, and why did Celia’s grandmother think she knew him? And how was it that Aunt Vicky could now swim? Celia’s grandma thought it was because of the ring. Was that true?

  Jasmine knew things were getting tricky. Looking after a family was a big responsibility, and it was all new to her. Her boss, Mira, said that Jasmine had a gift for keeping track of her humans and helping them through their everyday problems. This business with the ring was different, though. Clearly not the usual routine.

  When the pool party wound down and all the guests except Vicky had left, Jasmine zoomed out of her hiding place and flew deep into the woods in search of Mira. She loved flying and was good at it, using the breeze to her advantage and avoiding birds and flying insects. Her wings were strong and shimmered when they caught the light. Jasmine was aware that humans should never see her, so she was extra careful during the day. Today, she flew to all of Mira’s usual places: the underground spot she called home and the hollow trees where she sometimes counseled other fairies. Mira had a difficult job being in charge of the rest of them. Not everyone was as diligent as Jasmine. Some of the fairies were lazy and needed to be scolded on occasion.

  That’s exactly what Mira was doing when Jasmine finally found her. Boyd, the laziest fairy of them all, was leaning against a tree grinning impishly. He had a tendency to think he could get by on his charm and good looks. As if.

  Jasmine hovered above them for a moment before landing a few feet away. She didn’t want to intrude, but she needed to talk to Mira right away. “I mean it, Boyd,” Mira said. “This is serious. One more slip-up and I’ll demote you, understand? You’ll be on trash patrol for a decade.”

  “I understand, Mira,” Boyd said, but he was looking elsewhere as he said it. Jasmine wondered if he was paying attention at all.

  “All right then, off you go,” Mira said and gestured with a wave of her hand.

  That’s all Boyd needed to hear, and he didn’t waste any time. He zipped away without looking back or saying good-bye.

  Mira smiled at Jasmine. “Well, if it isn’t my star pupil,” she said. “What can I do for you, Jasmine?”

  “There’s trouble at Paul’s house,” Jasmine said. “I thought I could handle it, but as it turns out, I can’t.” She frowned. “There are a few things, really,” she said. “There’s a strange, homeless boy lurking about, and a ring that seems to have some magic powers, and the fact that Celia’s grandmother seems to know about the ring and the boy. His name is Henry, and he’s a lost soul, I can tell.”

  Mira listened intently as Jasmine poured out the details about Paul finding the box in the hole, his mother finding the ring in the laundry, and his aunt wearing the ring and suddenly being able to swim. Jasmine said, “I don’t understand any of it, and I’m not sure what I’m supposed to be doing, if anything.”

  Mira sighed. “I know exactly what’s happening. This all started way before your time, but I know all about the ring and its magic. I can explain everything.”

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  All of the guests had left, and still Vicky was swimming. “I can’t thank you enough for inviting me to your party, Leah,” she called out while floating on her back. “I never would have known I was capable of swimming. And here I always thought I’d sink like a brick. Think of all the years of fun I’ve missed out on.”

  She stayed in the pool even while the family cleaned up the food and put away the pool toys. “I hate to spoil your fun,” Paul’s dad said at last, “but the party’s over, and you really need to come out now.”

  Vicky reluctantly climbed up the ladder and took the towel Paul offered her. She looked back longingly at the water. “I suppose that next time I should bring my suit,” she said.

  Mom stood nearby, amused. “I have to say that I’m shocked at how well you took to the water,” she said. “I haven’t seen you swimming since the incident.”

  “I vowed never to get into any body of water again,” Aunt Vicky said. “If I hadn’t fallen in today, I would never have known I could swim.”

  “And how is it that you fell in the pool?” Dad asked. “I wasn’t looking and somehow missed it.”

  Aunt Vicky dabbed at her wet clothing with the towel. “Celia’s grandmother was going to walk right into the pool, and I darted out to stop her. That’s what I was doing when I slipped and toppled into the pool.”

  “Celia’s Grammy was distracted because she saw that boy out in the woods,” Mom said. “I wonder who that kid was? He looked a mess.”

  “Probably just some kid from around here,” Dad said. “Trespassing on our property. I can’t say I like that very much. If he comes around again, we should make it clear that this is private property.”

  “Leah, do you have a change of clothes I can borrow?” Aunt Vicky asked. “I can’t drive home like this. I’m sopping wet.”

  “Of course, come with me,” Paul’s mother said, leading the way.

  The two women were only gone a few minutes when Paul heard shrieking from inside the house. He and his father rushed inside to see Vicky holding her hand out, fingers splayed. “Oh no, oh no,” she wailed, completely distraught. “Oh no, Leah. This is terrible.”

  Paul’s mother was silent, but the color had drained from her face. Paul thought maybe someone had died.

  “What’s wrong?” Dad asked.

  “Somehow I’ve lost Leah’s beautiful ring,” Vicky said. “I have no idea how it happened, truly. I had it on my finger the last time I looked.”

  Dad held up a hand. “It couldn’t have gone far. You had it on your finger when you fell into the pool, right?”

  Vicky nodded.

  “Then it has to be somewhere in the pool area.”

  The group trooped back outside to look. Paul dove into the water and searched the floor of the pool. He held his breath as long as he could, and he went down several times, but Paul still couldn’t find the ring. The adults looked in the area surrounding the pool and even farther back in the backyard, thinking that maybe it flew off her hand when she fell backward. They finally admitted defeat an hour later.

  “It’s just gone,” Mom said, sinking onto a patio chair in resignation. “My beautiful ring—and I only had it for a day.”

  Aunt Vicky said, “Leah, I can’t tell you how sorry I am.” She did sound sorry, not that it helped.

  “I’ll live,” Mom said glumly. “Don’t worry about it.”

  “Tell you what,” Vicky said. “Let’s go shopping next weekend, and I’ll buy you a replacement. We can go to the jewelry store up on Idlewild Drive, and you can pick out anything you want. They have some beautiful things.”

  Paul waited for his mother to explode in anger. That would have been her response normally, but not this time. Miracle of miracles, she said, “Oh, you don’t have to do that, Vicky. I know it’s not your fault.”

  “Please let me,” Vicky said. “It would be a favor to me because it would make me feel better.”

  “If you insist,” Mom said, straightening up in her chair. “It’s not really necessary, but if it would make you feel better, I’ll do it for you.”

  “It might still turn up,” Dad said. “Sometimes things like that ha
ppen.” But neither of the women looked convinced.

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Later that evening, Mom let Clem out to do his business. She left the dog sniffing around in the grass and went back in to watch TV. “Dumb dog doesn’t know what he wants,” she said to Paul’s dad. “One minute he’s barking at the door like it’s an emergency, and when he finally gets out he wanders around like a tourist taking in the sights.”

  “Oh, leave him be,” Dad said. “He’ll let us know when he wants to come back in.”

  Outside, Clem circled around the pool, trying to figure out what he was supposed to do. He had the strangest urges lately. He’d always been protective of Paul, so of course he watched out for him. Lately, though, his instincts were more specific. When that boy Henry came out of the woods last week, Clem somehow knew he was bad news and that he had to sound the alarm. And now he knew to search for the lost ring. He followed his nose, somehow sensing it was at the bottom of the pool. No turning back now. If he wanted to get it, he’d have to go in the water.

  He leaped in, joyfully. Clem loved swimming, but he knew that Paul’s mother wouldn’t like him in the pool. He’d gotten in trouble once already for going in when he was alone in the backyard. He looked at the window, but no one was there. He might get away with it this time.

  He doggy-paddled in circles, periodically looking down to check. Finally he spotted something below on top of the filter drain. It looked metallic, but he wasn’t entirely sure it was the ring. Only one way to find out.

  In he dove, forcing his way down to the bottom and coming up with the ring in his mouth. He scrambled out of the pool, the ring clenched between his teeth, shook off hard, and rolled around on the grass to dry off. Paul’s mother was going to be angry if he was wet when she opened the door.

  Lucky for Clem, the one who opened the door was Paul. “Hey there, Clem,” he said. “Come on in.” And then he noticed that the dog’s fur was damp and matted down. “Why are you all wet, boy?”