“You’re going to get yourself killed,” Henry said. “Or shot down.”
“Not likely,” Paul said. “I’m careful.”
“I thought I was careful too, and look what happened.” He took a sip of orange juice. “This juice is so good. I haven’t had any for at least five years.”
The boys were scheduled to meet Celia and her grandmother in the woods at eleven o’clock sharp. They kept their eyes on the clock, Henry eager to go home, and Paul eager to have him gone. Not that he disliked him, just that he wanted to have his life back. And the thought of flying again made him itchy with excitement.
Right before eleven Paul went to his room to get the ring. On his way outside he interrupted his parents’ heated conversation to let them know he was leaving. “Mom? Dad? Henry and I are going to play in the woods, okay?”
They barely noticed him. “Fine,” his mother said, not even looking his way. She poked a finger at his father’s chest. “What do you want me to do? Tell her she can’t come over anymore?”
Paul slipped out of the room and ran outside to the backyard where Henry waited. “Let’s go,” he said. “It’s almost time.”
They passed the pool where Aunt Vicky waved and splashed in their direction. “Boys! The water feels wonderful. Why don’t you join me?”
“We will later, Aunt Vicky,” Paul said. “We have to meet some friends in the woods.”
“I don’t know why you’d want to do anything else but swim,” she said. “The water is glorious.”
“Later,” Paul said, gesturing to the woods. “We have to get going now. Bye, Aunt Vicky.”
“Good-bye, Paul. Good-bye, Henry.” She took a deep breath, pinched her nose, and bobbed below the surface.
“That’s a lady with one serious problem,” Henry said as they made their way through the woods.
“What do you mean?”
“She’s addicted to swimming.”
Paul paused. “I don’t think a person can be addicted to swimming.”
“Well, she is, mark my words. This is a classic example of the ring taking a good thing and making it completely awful.”
When they got to the agreed upon meeting place, the Triple Trees, Grammy and Celia were already waiting. Grammy smiled widely when she saw the boys arrive. “Right on the dot,” she said. “Very good, boys.”
“I would have come earlier,” Henry said. “I could have done this yesterday.”
“What’s going on, Grammy?” Celia asked, looking up at her grandmother. “What are we doing here?”
“You didn’t tell her?” Henry said. “Oh great.”
“Shush, Henry,” Celia’s grandmother said. “I wanted her to meet you first, and then I thought I would explain.”
Henry let out a breath in an impatient huff.
Grammy leaned over to get closer to her granddaughter. “Celia, this very charming young man is Henry. He has an enormous problem, and only you can help him. I’m going to ask you to do something for me, if you would.”
“Sure, Grammy, anything.”
“You have to trust me, and repeat the words exactly as I say them.”
Celia nodded, her eyes solemn. “What’s his problem?”
Paul said, “His problem is that he never gets any older. He’s been our age for like forever.”
“Really?” Celia looked from Paul to her grandmother, not sure what to believe.
Grammy nodded. “It’s true. Henry and I were the same age until he made a wish to be young forever. Then I got older and he stayed the same.”
“He wished on this ring.” Paul pulled it from his pocket and handed it to Celia, who regarded it intently. “It gives you abilities, like superhuman abilities. You get your greatest desire.” His eyes shone brightly. “I wished I could fly, and now I can, Celia. It’s the most amazing feeling ever.”
“You get your wish, all right,” Henry said bitterly. “Except it backfires on you. If you wish for something for yourself, it all turns sour. Only selfless wishes work out.”
“We don’t need to get into all that,” Grammy said. “The important thing is that Celia will make a wish that helps you out. Can you do that, honey?”
But Celia wasn’t listening to her grandmother because she was stuck on what Paul had said. “You can fly, really?” She held up the ring. “You wished on this ring, and now you can fly?”
“Yes, I can.” To prove it, he fluttered up in the air and floated in a circle around the group.
“Show-off,” Henry said.
“Paul, that’s enough for now,” Grammy said impatiently. “We need to concentrate on Henry’s problem.”
“Wow, that’s amazing,” Celia said, clapping loudly.
“That’s nothing,” Paul said, landing next to her. “I flew all the way home from Alex’s house the other day. I was up near the clouds, and I went over your house. I could have sat on the roof if I wanted. The whole world looks incredible from up there.”
“Oh, you’re so lucky,” Celia said. And then she said to her grandmother, “Can you believe he can fly?”
“That’s not all, Celia. Clem talks now,” Paul said. “He only talks to me so far, but I bet he’d talk to you. He really likes you.”
“No kidding? Clem can talk?” Celia’s eyes widened in amazement.
“I’m dead serious. He doesn’t talk about anything interesting, he just yammers on and on about his water dish and what things smell like, but he talks just as clear as anything. You can understand every word.”
Celia grinned. “This is like a good dream. You were right, Grammy, I did have to see it to believe it.” She slipped the ring on her finger. “And look, it fits me perfectly. And I know exactly what I’m going to wish for now that it’s my turn.”
“It’s not your turn,” Henry said. “You don’t get a wish. Your wish is supposed to help me get back to my family.”
Celia’s face clouded. “But I thought I could get my greatest desire. That’s what Paul said.”
“No,” said Henry, stamping his foot. “That’s not what we’re doing here.” He turned to Grammy. “This is a terrible plan. You were supposed to prepare her for her role in this matter. I never should have trusted you.”
Grammy held up a hand. “Everyone just calm down.”
“Don’t talk to my grandmother that way,” Celia said and poked a finger into Henry’s chest. Henry grabbed at Celia, who wriggled out of his grasp.
“Stop it, both of you,” cried out Grammy, but no one was listening to her, and now Paul had joined the fray, trying to push Henry away from Celia. Paul was strong, but years of living on his own had made Henry stronger. He threw Paul aside, and Paul landed against the trunk of the tree with a thunk. Celia screamed as Henry lunged toward her. And then, in a split second, she was gone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
“Where did she go?” Henry said. Where Celia had been standing was now nothing but air. The clearing suddenly got quiet. Grammy stood in shock, and Paul looked around and rubbed his head. “Seriously, where did she go?” Henry asked again.
“I have a very bad feeling about this,” Grammy said. She cupped her hands around her mouth. “Celia? Celia!”
“I’m right here, Grammy.” They could hear her voice, just a few feet from where they stood, but they still couldn’t see her. Celia giggled a little. It was a creepy sound, coming out of nothing.
“Celia, you’re invisible,” Paul said.
“I know,” Celia said. “It’s what I wished for. I’ve always wanted to have an invisibility cloak like in Harry Potter, but this is even better because I don’t need the cloak.” Looking in the direction of her voice, Paul was able to see the ring still on Celia’s finger, floating in midair. It was the only thing about her that wasn’t invisible.
“But Celia,” her grandmother said, “you’re invisible permanently. I don’t know how we’re going to change you back. How are we going to explain this to your parents? How will you go to school?”
“Oh.” Cel
ia’s voice got quiet. “I didn’t think of that.”
“Oh, isn’t this just precious,” Henry said bitterly. “The princess gets her wish, and I’m still stuck here.”
“Quiet, Henry,” Grammy said. “This isn’t just about you anymore. I’ve got a more serious issue now. I can’t have a granddaughter who’s invisible. We have to think of a way out of this.”
“She did it to herself,” Henry said. “I say you let her live with it.”
“Yes, she did it to herself. She made a bad wish. You did the same yourself, so try to be compassionate.” Grammy rubbed her forehead and sighed. “Everyone think hard and try to come up with a solution.”
“Maybe we could paint me all over?” Celia said. “Then people could see me.”
Henry smirked. “Sure, that will work.”
Grammy said, “No need for sarcasm, Henry. I’m open to any and all suggestions. Celia dear, I think painting you would be a good short-term solution, but we’re looking for an actual fix.”
A slight breeze brought the scent of pine and the sound of birds chattering. There were big problems in the clearing, but around them nature went on as usual.
After a few minutes, Paul said, “What if I go get my friend Alex and we ask him to make a wish to undo it?”
“Gee, that sounds familiar. Oh right, that was today’s plan,” Henry said, “and I don’t see that it turned out so well.”
Celia said, “Maybe the fairies could help, Grammy. Remember how Mira guided me before when we had the problem with the house?”
“Oh darling, I think we’ve been over this. Fairy magic guides people, it can’t make things happen. Mira can’t help us with this.”
“But couldn’t we ask?” Celia said, and then she started to cry, little sniffles at first and then sobs that came out in gulps. Her grandmother reached out, and Celia, still invisible, walked into her arms. Paul watched as Grammy stroked a head no one could see.
“There’s no point in asking,” Grammy said. “We need to figure this out on our own.”
This was the second time Paul had heard them talk about fairies, and they still hadn’t explained it to him. “How come I never heard about the fairies?” Paul asked, tilting his head to one side.
“It’s a long story,” Grammy said. “We’ll tell you about it another time.”
Celia sniffed, and her voice came through the air. “I’m sorry, Grammy. I’m so sorry.”
“I know, honey,” Grammy said. “It’s all right. Everyone makes mistakes. It’s my fault for not preparing you properly.”
“This is a touching scene and all,” Henry said, “but we’re no closer to figuring out a solution.”
“Maybe you could live with my family,” Paul said to him. “We could tell my parents you’re an orphan or something so they’d let you stay. I would share my room with you.”
Henry sighed. “That’s very nice of you, Paul, but eventually you’d get older and taller and I never would. Your mom and dad would certainly know something was up when that happened. I appreciate the thought, though.”
“Maybe a doctor could you give you a growth hormone or something,” invisible Celia said through her sobs.
“It’s not really a medical issue,” Henry said.
Grammy held Celia tightly then looked up at Paul and said, “Perhaps you should get your friend Alex. We’ll do it differently this time. We won’t let him hold the ring until he understands what he’s supposed to do.” She took the ring off Celia’s finger and handed it to Paul, who put it in his pocket.
“Do you really think bringing another person into this mess is a good idea?” Henry asked.
“If you have a better idea, I’d like to hear it,” she said.
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
No one had a better idea, least of all Henry, who’d had sixty-five years to think about it. Celia, Henry, and Grammy agreed to wait in the woods, while Paul went home to call Alex. “Come right back and tell us what he says,” Grammy said.
“Grammy,” Celia said, “couldn’t we ask my mom and dad to unwish for me?”
“Oh honey, I hate to get them involved if we can avoid it. They’d never trust me again. Kids are better with wishes. They know the magic is out there. Adults are a little behind in that area.”
Paul ran as fast as he could through the woods, and then, remembering he could fly, he lifted off and soared for the last stretch. When he got to the edge of the woods, he dropped down and walked the remaining way to his backyard. After being airborne, walking was excruciatingly slow, like being a baby again and having to crawl. He vowed to fly whenever he had the chance.
Aunt Vicky was still in the pool doing the back crawl, and she waved a hand as he went past. Or maybe it was just part of the backstroke, hard to tell. He waved back anyway, just in case. Inside, his parents were still talking in the living room. The worst of the argument was over with, but they still didn’t sound happy.
“Paul? Is that you?” his mother asked from the next room.
“Yeah, Mom, I’m just calling Alex to see if he wants to come over,” he said, which seemed to satisfy her.
“Okay. Would you let the dog out?” she said.
Paul opened the basement door, and Clem came lazily up the stairs to meet him. “Thanks, Paul. Bout time someone remembered,” the dog said appreciatively. He ambled through the kitchen to the doggie door and headed outside.
The phone call went as well as could be expected. Alex answered on the second ring and, after checking with his mom, said sure, he’d come right over and would bring his swim trunks. “Come as soon as you can. It’s really important,” Paul said, wrapping up the conversation. Good old Alex. Paul knew he’d come through for him.
Heading out the back door, he felt euphoric. When Clem came trotting up to him, Paul even paused to pat his head.
Clem yawned and said, “Where ya goin’, Paul? Can I come?”
“Sorry, pal. I’ve got a little magic ring problem to solve, and you’d just get in the way.”
Clem cocked his head to one side. “What’s wrong with the ring?”
“What do you care? You never listen anyway,” Paul said.
“Oh, don’t be that way. All I wanna know is what’s wrong with the ring.”
Paul walked quickly past the pool, and Clem scrambled to keep up. Paul knew if he didn’t answer, Clem would keep following him. Better to get it over with. “There’s nothing wrong with the ring,” he said, “but the magic is messing up everything. It’s all getting pretty intense. Celia is invisible, and Henry has been a kid for more than sixty years. And Aunt Vicky—”
“What about Aunt Vicky?”
The voice startled him. Paul turned to see his Aunt Vicky, a brightly striped towel draped over her arm. He stopped, stunned to see her out of the pool. “Hi, Aunt Vicky,” he said, his voice suddenly squeaky. “I thought you were swimming.”
“I saw you talking to the dog.” She pulled off her swimming cap, revealing red ridges across her forehead. “It made me curious, so I got out of the pool to see what was going on.”
“Sometimes I like to talk to Clem.”
“And sometimes he talks back?” She looked from Paul to Clem and back again, but both were silent. “That’s what I heard. Or is this some kind of ventriloquist trick?”
“It’s a long story,” Paul said weakly. “I have to get back to my friends. Can we talk about this later?”
“I think talking about it now would be better,” she said firmly. “You were saying that Celia is invisible and Henry has been a kid for sixty years. What do you mean?”
“It’s a game we’re playing,” Paul said. “Just a goofy game.” He looked back at the woods, hoping for a little help. If only Henry or one of the others would call his name, he’d have an excuse to get going. “And dogs don’t talk, you know that, Aunt Vicky. That would be silly.” As if to agree, Clem shook his head and lay down on the grass next to Paul. “I don’t want to be rude, Aunt Vicky, but I really have to get back to m
y friends. They’re waiting.” The words were no sooner out of his mouth when he felt himself lift off the ground and move toward the woods. He was flying, but it wasn’t him doing it himself. Something else was making it happen.
“Paul, what’s going on?” Aunt Vicky said, her voice getting louder. “Come back.”
He twisted his head to yell back, “I can’t come back. I’m not doing this. I have no control of the situation.” He rose higher and higher and zipped around in dizzying circles. What was happening? This was not the fun kind of flying he’d experienced before. The movement made him feel nauseated, and he wondered how far vomit would spread if he threw up while spinning around.
“Paul, Paul!” Aunt Vicky’s voice yelled frantically, and Clem joined her by yowling, “Paaaauuuulll,” like he was howling at the moon.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help it,” he hollered. He found himself flying through the woods, not in a direct line, but circling around trees and zigzagging back and forth, as if the magic were angry and shaking him about. He suddenly knew what Henry meant when he said the magic eventually backfired for everyone.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
By the time Paul reached the others in the woods, he was dizzy from being whipped around. He landed by crashing at Henry’s feet. Grammy and Celia exclaimed in concern, and even Henry said, “Paul, are you all right?”
Paul sat up slowly, rubbing his head and trying to get the spinning to stop. He closed his eyes for a moment, but that made it worse. “I think I’m okay,” he said slowly.
Henry helped him up, and Grammy let go of Celia to check him over. “Nothing broken I hope,” she said.
Paul brushed off his shorts. “Just a little banged up.”
“You really shouldn’t go so fast.” Celia’s voice came through the air. “That was crazy fast.”
“I couldn’t help it,” Paul said. “I had no control of anything. I thought I was going to die.”
Secrets of the Magic Ring Page 9
