The Soulkeepers

by G. P. Ching

  Chapter 28

  Independence Day

  On the fourth of July, Jacob rushed through his chores at Dr. Silva’s in order to join Malini and her family to celebrate. Although he’d searched every part of the Victorian, he hadn’t found any clues to where the notebooks were hidden. He decided taking the day off to have some fun with Malini wasn’t a bad idea.

  The Guptas had a cottage on Lake Stelton, a relatively small natural body of water just under an hour from Paris. Homey vacation cottages lined the shore. The Guptas’ place was one of the largest: a cedar two-story nestled in the pine trees with a gigantic wrap-around porch and a slip where Jim Gupta docked his ski boat during the summer. Jacob had never skied before but Malini swore it was a blast, so he promised to give it a try.

  “I’ll go first, so you can watch how it’s done, right?” Malini said with a wink. She pulled her white cover-up off. Jacob pretended not to notice how unbelievably beautiful she was in her aqua-blue bikini. Her parents seemed completely oblivious to their daughter’s level of attractiveness and he didn’t want to be the one to draw their attention to it.

  She donned a life jacket and climbed into the water. Mrs. Gupta handed her a ski and Malini leaned back in the gentle waves to get her foot into the boot. Once she was positioned, Jacob tossed her the rope. The boat idled against her weight.

  “Hit it!” she yelled, and Jim Gupta threw the throttle forward. Malini popped out of the water and swung out to the side of the boat before the wake could meet her ski. She stayed out there for a while, getting comfortable, and then cut deep on her left edge, stretching her body out almost parallel to the surface of the water. Cutting in, she jumped the wake, catching air before landing on the other side and leaning on her right edge. After a few more passes and a lap around the lake, she let go of the rope and sank gracefully into the water.

  “So that’s how it’s done, huh?” Jacob said, helping her up the ladder. “Something tells me you’ve done this before.”

  “Oh just about four hundred times,” she laughed.

  He donned a larger life vest that Mrs. Gupta handed him and climbed into the water. The sensation was remarkable. He’d grown up near the ocean and had always been at home in the water. But this was the first time he’d been submerged since he’d discovered his gift. This wasn’t like the rain or a shower; he was surrounded by it. Like before, the individual molecules of water hummed to him but now they also buzzed against his skin. Over the last few weeks, as he’d continued to train with Dr. Silva, the power had grown stronger and more predictable. Maybe it was experience or that he had learned to listen more intently for the hum. But whatever the reason, today the whole lake felt like an extension of himself.

  “Earth to Jacob?” Malini was holding out a pair of skis to him.

  “Why two? You only used one.” Jacob willed the sensation away and the hum stopped. He’d try this the old-fashioned way. A normal boy, who just happened to be a Soulkeeper, out skiing with his girlfriend.

  “It’s easier to learn with two.”

  “I think I’d like to give one a try,” he said.

  “Really, Jake, it’s nearly impossible your first time. I’ve had loads of practice. You should start with two.”

  “One,” he insisted, taking the one with the toe strap on the back from her hand. She pulled the other back into the boat.

  “Suit yourself,” she laughed, raising her eyebrows.

  Jacob leaned back and put the ski on his right foot, sliding his other toe through the strap in the rear. He could do this. How hard could it be? The rope plopped down in the water in front of him and the boat trolled away. He bent his knees like Malini had and gripped the handle firmly, feeling the gentle tug. When he felt himself balanced over the ski, he yelled, “Hit it.”

  The boat lurched. Jacob overcompensated by bending at the middle. Big mistake. His bodyweight spilled frontward, the ski slid back and he skipped across the water like a stone, face first, before letting go of the rope and sinking into the lake.

  “Owww,” he said as the sound of the boat and Malini’s laughter approached.

  “Are you okay?” she yelled.

  Mrs. Gupta tugged at Malini’s elbow, looking concerned.

  “Fine. I’m fine, Mrs. Gupta. I’m good. Let’s try again.”

  “Are you sure you don’t want the other ski?” Malini said.

  “Positive.” He readjusted in the water and grabbed the rope again.

  “Just remember to lean back, bend your knees, and tighten your abs,” she called.

  The boat dragged him along in the water and he shifted his weight so he was almost sitting on the back of the ski. “Hit it!” he called.

  When the lurching came, he was ready. He leaned back against the rope, arms straight, abs tight. The water flowed over his body as he straightened his knees to get above it. But then the wake of the boat knocked into him, the ski slipped forward and Jacob went rolling across the water again, the ski popping off his foot and clipping him in the shoulder before he sank. He grabbed it before it could float away.

  “Jacob, stop being stubborn and just try the second ski. That was a really good try, but trust me you are not getting up on this ski today.” Malini smiled but there was a note of frustration in her voice. Mrs. Gupta frowned over the side of the boat.

  He was testing their patience but, for reasons he didn’t fully understand, proving to Malini he could do this was important to him. He wanted to show her he was strong, she could trust him, and he could protect her. Maybe it was a childish thing to do, but he couldn’t stop himself. He wanted to impress her.

  “One more time. I’m fine, really!” Jacob said and then closed his eyes and called the water. The hum started again and the feeling of vibration on his skin. Malini threw the rope and he snatched it out of the air with one hand. His ski back on, he willed the water steady beneath him. Once the rope was taut, it was less like being dragged than standing on an underwater conveyor belt that was moving at the same speed as the boat. Everything became clear. He could feel the water and everything in it. He was the water.

  “Hit it!” he yelled, and couldn’t help remembering the day in Dr. Silva’s garden when he’d thrown the bowl of water on the dirt. If I’m a Soulkeeper, shouldn’t I be able to walk on this stuff, he’d said. Today, he was about to find out.

  The boat lurched forward and he concentrated on keeping his body straight. Only now it was not only his muscles that did the work but also the water around him. One thousand hands lifted him to standing. When the wake hit, it didn’t knock him down like the last time. It flowed around a patch of smooth water the exact size of his ski that carried him forward as if he were coasting across glass.

  Jacob decided to push his luck and swing out to the side of the boat. There was a moment of panic as he jumped the wake and lost contact with the water, but when he landed the water adjusted, steadying the ski. He stole a glance toward Malini. She was facing him in the spotter’s position, her mouth hanging open. One more lap around the lake and he felt like he’d proved his point. He let go of the rope and willed himself to sink.

  The boat circled to him and the Guptas gave him a round of applause before helping him up the ladder.

  “That was amazing!” Malini said. Her eyes twinkled, flecks of gold and red breaking up the chocolate brown in the light reflected off the water.

  “I had a good teacher,” he replied, placing an arm around her waist.

  “Have you kids had enough?” Mr. Gupta asked, reaching for the rope in such a way as to wedge his body between them.

  “Yeah, I’m through,” Jacob said.

  Malini nodded.

  Once everything was safely stowed, Mr. Gupta sped toward the cedar cottage. He was talking about dinner, something about hamburgers on the grill, but Jacob was hardly listening. He was watching the way Malini’s hair flew back from her face in the speed-driven wind. The sun was a red ball of fire surrounded by streaks of pinks and purples behind her. She smiled an
d, in that moment, there was not a thing that he wanted or needed in the world. He had everything.