On These Magic Shores
Page 17
At the end, when Wendy and her siblings and all the Lost Boys were safe in London, I gazed at the audience, and improvised. “I believe in fairies! I do! I do!”
The whole audience chanted with me, “I do! I do!” I knew that among the faces I couldn’t really see were Mamá and Abuela, clapping like little girls, along with my sisters.
The ovation at the end was as thunderous as it had been during the first two showings. I bowed and curtsied and held Maverick’s hand as we weaved through the audience to find my mom.
Mr. Chang had seen the show too, and he had a bouquet of flowers for me. The sweet perfume made me blush. I felt like a señorita. Now that my childhood was almost behind me, a pang of longing settled in my chest. The star inside me glowed softly, making my cheeks warm, telling me everything would be okay.
“You were wonderful!” Mamá said, emotional and glowy-eyed. “You were the perfect Wendy.”
Kota shrugged. “You know how to act. That’s for sure. Who knew you could be that sweet after all?”
Like a clown, I stuck out my tongue at Kota. We both laughed.
“The real star was Maverick,” I said. “He even remembered about the fairy.”
Maverick’s face turned bright red. “What do you mean? That was Miguel.”
Miguel was just crossing ahead of us. “Miguel! Come here!” I called.
He bounded in our direction, followed by a trail of little boys who looked exactly like him. Apparently, Jasmine had a handful of brothers to boss around and protect.
“What’s up?” Miguel asked.
“Were you manning Tinker Bell?” Maverick asked him.
Miguel shook his head. “No way. That was you.”
“It wasn’t me,” Maverick said, his voice low and awed.
“Mrs. Santos,” I said.
The three of us ran to look for our teacher.
“It wasn’t me. I was enjoying the show from the audience with my friends, the Burkes,” she said seriously, but her eyes shone. “I think we’ve seen a miracle today. I do believe in fairies! I do! I do!” She clapped all the way down the hallway before she met Mrs. Burke, who sent me the warmest smile of all.
* * *
Some things I’ll never be able to explain. Like the fireflies dancing by the fairy shelter, the cupcakes, or the fairy in the last night of the show.
Other things were subtler, but even more magical. The return of my childhood, the care and love of a mother-twice-over, Mamá’s happiness at being taken care of too. The thrill of adventure.
I knew Argentina wasn’t an easy place. The economy was always going up and down. I watched the news and heard my mom worry about the situation there for years, after all. But my mom and the news also always agreed on one thing: Argentina was a beautiful place. Besides, things here in the US hadn’t exactly been easy without a family to rely on either. In Argentina, four uncles, four aunts, and twelve cousins waited for us with open arms.
The school year was almost over in Argentina, and with the school break came summertime, Christmas, Carnaval. I was ready for the new magic. I knew the fairies would follow us everywhere because they had followed us here.
“Don’t forget me,” Maverick said the morning I left my mountains and everything I’d loved these past twelve years. What an adorable idiot, as if I could ever forget the first true friend of my life.
“I want to show you something,” I said. I took his hand, and he followed.
Avi and Kota were leaving a goodbye present for the fairies at the fairy houses. When she saw Maverick and me, Avi gave me two thumbs up and yelled, “Minnie! YOLO!”
Maverick laughed, but his eyes sparkled, and I had to look away because I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to fly.
And before I changed my mind, I hopped on the skateboard and flew down the street. The cinnamon-scented wind whipped my face. It filled me with light. I crowed like a rooster as I chased the dappled sunshine.
On the corner, I shifted my body too quickly and fell. I still hadn’t mastered how to take turns, but no matter, I’d practice. I scrambled back up onto my feet. I looked behind me, and saw Maverick running along, my sisters trailing behind him, cheering me on.
I hopped back on my feet and jumped on the skateboard, and we went flying to the setting sun, all the way to the magic shores of Neverland.
Dear Minnie,
What’s up? School isn’t the same without you. Guess who got elected as the student body president for next year? None other than Jasmine, or better said, Lily, because I think after the play, that girl’s possessed by the spirit of a warrior lady or something. She and her Amazons are the most popular girls in the school.
Everyone talks about you all the time. In a good way. When you come back for college, we’ll make a wonderful team. Keep practicing your public speaking skills, and keep feeding those fairies. We’re going to need all the fairy help we can get if we’re headed to the White House to fix this mess.
Your friend who misses you,
Maverick
PS: The fairy shelter has an addition. A new family lives in your apartment, and the little girl plays outside all day, every day, even in the snow. The other night when I drove by with McKenna, it looked like there was a tiny fire. The next day, McKenna and I stopped to check. There had been no fire anywhere. But we found a mushroom fairy ring. In the winter time. I believe. I do! I do!
* * *
Dear Maverick,
School here is a little different, but you know how I love a challenge. In my school, they have no student body officials, but they have an honor guard for the flag, for the best scores of the year. Guess who’s escorting the flag next Friday? It’s the anniversary of the Malvinas Isles war, and I’m honored to hold the flag. There was a commotion with people because some complain I’m an American. I have an Argentine ID too now, and every day, just because I’m half and half, I have to prove I’m a hundred percent Argentine, and one hundred percent American. But I love the challenge! I guess I did channel a little bit of Lily, too.
Mamá . . . Mamá’s doing better. Just a tiny bit, but it’s been good for her to be surrounded by love. Four older brothers. Imagine that! Ha!
I see the fairies playing in the night jasmine bushes sometimes. Of course, they’re dressed like hummingbirds, dragonflies, and butterflies, but I recognize them for what they are. I see them everywhere, even in Mamá’s smile when Avalon talks to her in the most perfect Argentine accent.
I miss you. I’m jumping off ramps now. You better keep up your skating skills. I’m going to wow you next time I see you.
I believe. I do! I do!
The End
The process of writing this book has truly been a labor of love, years in the making. My heart spills with gratitude for the many people who have championed Minerva and her sisters (and me!) all this time.
Thank you, Stacy Whitman, for being the first person to open the doors of the publishing world to me. Winning the New Visions Award Honor for this book when it was still such a work-in-progress changed my life! None of my books would have been possible without you. Thank you for your expertise in helping me tell this story as it deserved to be told.
Thank you to the whole team at Tu Books, especially Elise McMullen-Ciotti for the expert feedback on how to portray Lily and her band of Amazon girls. Also thank you to Alethea Kontis, Sheila Smallwood, and Sarah Coleman. Bringing a book to life really takes a village!
My gratitude to Linda Camacho, my super-agent, and the whole Gallt & Zacker team knows no bounds. Thank you to Las Musas and Las Madrinas for your brilliance and friendship, especially Aída Salazar and NoNieqa Ramos for the emotional support as I worked on this very deeply personal story. NoNi, esa velitas me ayudaron mucho!
All my love and gratitude to my fairy godmother Cynthia Leitich Smith, for believing in
Magic Shores when it was still the bud of an idea, and to the Summer 2014 Writing and Illustrating for Young Readers (WIFYR) workshop. Thank you, Harried Plotters and VCFA. I’m so blessed to be part of so many wonderful communities, without whom I wouldn’t be writing these words today: SCBWI, We Need Diverse Books, Storymakers, Latinos in Action, Kidlit Authors of Color. Librarians and teachers who share my books with readers, gracias! Thank you to the Diversity Jedi who champion representation in books and stories for all children.
To my friends: Anedia, Karina, Juli, Veeda, Courtney, Alicia, Otto, thank you!
Valynne, thanks for encouraging me to submit to the New Visions Award!
Rachel, Verónica, and Natalie: nothing would be possible without all your help. Thank you!
Endless thanks to my family in the US, Argentina, and Puerto Rico, my in-laws, cousins, tíos, and tías. Special thanks to my mom, Beatriz Aurora López, who loved fairies so much and made my childhood magical in spite of not-so-magical circumstances. Mami, te extraño todos los días de mi vida.
Julián, Magalí, Joaquín, Areli, and Valentino, I’m so honored to be your mamá!
Jeff, ¿qué te puedo decir? Gracias infinitas por tu amor y por hacerme reír todos los días.
And last but not least, gracias a mis hermanos, a quienes dedico este libro de mi corazón por la infancia tan bonita que tuvimos los cuatro juntos.
I do believe in fairies! I do, I do!
I’m the oldest child in my family, and even though this isn’t an autobiographical story, all of Minerva’s fears, dreams, and hopes were the same ones I had at her age. The preteen years are so complicated. A person can go back and forth with wanting to be a child and wanting to grow up in the space of an hour. It’s an in-between place that’s not comfortable for many people. It wasn’t for me.
Unlike Minerva’s mom, my mom never went missing, but losing her was always my greatest fear. I started writing On These Magic Shores shortly after she passed away, and in many ways, working through this story has helped me endure my grief. It also helped me revisit the sweetest years of my life, when my siblings and I played endlessly while she was at work.
My mother loved fairies, and as a child, Peter Pan was one of my favorite stories. It wasn’t until I was an adult that I learned about all the flaws in the story, the racist depiction of Indians and Tiger Lily, and the limited role women and girls had in the book which has been adapted into plays and movies. But I think the story of Peter Pan has endured the passing of time because there’s an undeniable appeal to remaining a child forever, especially if one is a happy child. Sadly, many children, especially children of color or those who experience financial hardship, don’t even get to enjoy the childhood they do have.
In the last few years, there have been many attempts to retell the story of Peter Pan in a way that’s sensitive to all people, regardless of their cultural and racial background. Since Peter Pan is still a favorite play for schools to show, I hope that in the future, efforts will be made to present the adapted versions that take into consideration everyone’s dignity and humanity.