Escape from Windenburg | 10

I awoke the next morning shorn and renewed. "Oh, Sid, aren't you glad our magic is finally back? I'm so happy I could shout it from the rooftops!" Instead, I settled for nuzzling and kissing and squeezing him until he finally wriggled out of my grip, irritated but with the slightest bit more swing in his tail.

I was eager to finally prove my full worth, and so I quickly set about duplicating any potentially lucrative items I could find. It wasn't a particularly taxing use of my spellcasting abilities, but I didn't want to strain myself. I'd rather play it safe than burn myself out again. I didn't need to be taught that lesson twice.

Aarti was still adjusting to my newly-revealed powers. She could hardly believe her eyes when she saw that I had tripled her supply of perfect quality honey in the time it took her to wash the dirt from the garden off her hands. She gasped and stumbled backward, her eyes widening in surprise. "I'd need to maintain half a dozen bee boxes to produce all this! And you did it in five minutes!"

Enji was equally impressed by the ease with which I flawlessly reproduced his wood sculptures. "I could carve these things with my eyes closed if I wanted to," he told me, "but it's so dreadfully dull. Now, I might actually have time to focus on one of my bigger passion projects for a change. Even if we sell these things like hotcakes, we can keep up with the demand, no problem!"

Since I could also summon dozens upon dozens of candles and bottles of fizzy juice with the flick of a wrist, the entire household suddenly found themselves with a lot more spare time on their hands. An entire world of opportunity opened up when they no longer had to consider how they spent the hours of their days solely in terms of dollar value. Aarti had big dreams in the form of a long list of community revitalization projects she wanted to rally the entire neighborhood around. One day, she brought all of us to one of many neglected old lots that she thought had been a blight on Port Promise's landscape for far too long.

"Just imagine a thriving community garden here instead!" she exclaimed. "This is the perfect space for it. And it wouldn't only be environmentally-conscious, but if we all chipped in and did our part, it could provide an endless bounty of fruits and vegetables to the entire neighborhood! Think of all the people who might never be forced to decide between rummaging in the dumpster for their next meal or going to bed hungry again."

Enji seemed skeptical of her idealism. "I don't know, honey," he said. "You're putting a lot of faith in a community that has proven to be pretty complacent in the past. Do you really think they'll go for it?"

"They're only complacent because they look around and don't see any hope," Aarti replied emphatically. "But if we clean this place up enough to showcase its potential, I know I can get them to see my vision. Once they realize what's possible, they'll be inspired to make it real. Now, who's ready to get their hands dirty?"

Naturally, Rav was quick to complain. "Mom, I cannot believe you dragged us all out here just to pick up a bunch of other people's disgusting trash! It's not our problem! I'm giving up my knitting time for this!"

"All right now," Aarti said calmly, refusing to let another one of Rav's temper her spirits. "Let's see if you can channel that intensity into sorting out recyclables. Doesn't that sound fun and productive?"

Rav only scoffed in disgust and stomped away huffily, kicking up clouds of dust in her wake.

"Come on, Rav," Alejandro called, jogging to catch up with her. "It won't be that bad. If you're nice to me, I'll even let you hold the bag while I touch all that icky garbage so you can protect your precious manicure."

"Hey, guys!" Rahul shouted from the other side of the lot. "I found this sweet vintage boombox. If I can get it back in working condition, I think we could turn it around for a pretty profit."

It wasn't long before Rav was back on her phone, having barely lifted a finger at all. "Stop messing around," Aarti snapped, her tone decidedly more angry. "You live in this neighborhood, too. Don't you care enough to take part in helping improve it?"

"You should listen to your mother, Raveena," Enji added. "Not everything is about you. It's about helping others. This isn't meant to be a punishment."

"Well, it sure feels like one!" she shouted.

"We're just trying to encourage you to be your best self."

"Yeah, you guys are all about self-expression, aren't you? You care so much about letting us find ourselves and do our own thing, at least until it's inconvenient to you. If you actually believed in any of that bullshit, you would leave me in peace instead of ramming your own ideas about the person you think I should be down my throat!"

"Fine, I'll pick up one whole bag of garbage," she ranted on, seemingly oblivious to - or uncaring of - the dark mood she was casting over everyone. "Are you happy now? Have I successfully performed my civic duty for the day?"

I could tell that Rav's bad attitude was getting to Aarti, whose optimism was usually so impenetrable. I accompanied her as she heaved open a rusted shipping crate to examine its contents. In addition to the piles of trash we had expected, we found what looked to be someone's makeshift living quarters. "Oh, I wonder what poor soul has been sleeping in here," she murmured. "Though at least they'd be protected from the elements, I suppose."

The sight of that place triggered memories of my own recent experience with homelessness that since living with the Uchiyamas I'd almost succeeded in burying. "This reminds me of where I stayed before coming to Port Promise," I said. "I thought it would be safe, but then one night someone stole all my stuff while I was sleeping. I ended up here because I was too afraid to stay another night."

"I'm so sorry you had to go through that. I hope you'll never have to stay anywhere like that again." Then she pulled me in for a hug, which I think we both desperately needed in that moment, though for different reasons.

"Whoa, check out this view!" we heard Alejandro shout from a distance. After following his voice, we carefully climbed up to the abandoned lookout tower to take in the sights with him. From that vantage point, the neighborhood transformed from something rough and dirty and dilapidated to something that could almost be called beautiful. Aarti was right: this place had potential, as long as its residents proved willing to pursue it.

She'd even managed to reverse Enji's earlier skepticism. He was all in now, too. Before we left, she put up a handwritten notice on the community board outlining her garden idea and urging anyone who was interested to contact her to see how they could help.

All day, Aarti had tried her best to maintain a smile in the face of Rav's constant doom and gloom attitude, but over dinner, as Rav obliviously scarfed down slice after slice of her mom's homemade pizza after barely lifting a finger to help us, she finally exploded. "I have had it up to here with your selfish and ungrateful attitude," she spat angrily. Alejandro nearly choked on his pizza at the unexpected volume of her voice, and Rahul backed uncomfortably away from the table. "Why do you insist on behaving this way? You're not impressing anyone! The only thing you're succeeding at is pushing everyone further away."

"Good!" Rav shot back indignantly. "Maybe I want to drive you all away! You and Dad wouldn't even miss me if I was gone. After all, you've got a million other surrogate children around who aren't constantly letting you down. You've even got one who can do magic tricks now! What do you still need me for?" Then, seemingly to prove her point, she flung back her chair and stomped off before either of her parents could formulate a response.

"What the hell's going on out here?" Lux asked, arriving at the tail end of the tense confrontation.

"Just another one of Rav's tantrums," Alejandro said chirpily, clearing our plates from the table. "You know the drill."

We all watched, eyes wide and mouths agape, as she put an exclamation mark on her monologue by kicking over the trash can on the porch, though the gesture wasn't as impactful as it might have been, considering the can was empty.

Finally, she pulled her typical move of riding off into the night without a hint as to where she was headed or even a single glimpse back.

I felt oddly guilty at the end of her tirade, like I was somehow just as responsible for upsetting her parents as she was. Clearly, she had been acting out to some extent already, but it seemed like things had only gone downhill since my arrival, their relationship worsening by the day. It was a pointless exercise, but I couldn't help wondering if this argument would have even happened if I wasn't here.

"How do I make her understand I'm not trying to steal her parents away?" I asked hopelessly, when nearly everyone was already back inside. "I haven't done anything to her, and she acts like I'm the enemy!"

"She's just projecting, and unfortunately you're the easiest target," Lux said, watching Rav's tail light fade into the distance. "She knows she's her own worst enemy, but she can't admit it yet."

Later that night, Rav attempted to slip stealthily back inside the house and make a dash for her bedroom door without getting caught, but Enji had been sitting expressionlessly in the armchair for hours, patiently awaiting her return. I couldn't help overhearing snatches of their argument. "I expect you to wake up tomorrow with an improved attitude," Enji concluded sternly. "You owe everyone in this house an apology."

I hardly expected Rav would transform overnight, but, to my surprise, she asked if we could talk the next morning. Reluctantly, still wary of her intentions, I took a seat beside her. "I'm sorry I've been so terrible to you," she began tentatively, sounding genuinely contrite. "I didn't even take the time to get to know you before judging you. I was angry, not at you, really, but I took it out on you anyway and you didn't deserve that."

I wasn't ready to let down my guard just yet. "Are you only apologizing to me because your parents told you to?"

"No!" she insisted immediately. "I mean, yes, they may have brought it up, but I swear I mean it! Listen, I'm not going to lie. I've been a mess lately. I guess I'm trying to figure out who I am, but I've been going about it in all the wrong ways. I've been lashing out at everyone else when I should be looking inward and examining myself." She laughed and rolled her eyes. "Great. Now, I sound like my mom. Anyway, would it be cool if we started over?"

"I guess we could give it a try."

"Great!" She thrust out her hand enthusiastically. "My name's Rav. It's so nice to meet you."

I gave her hand a cautious shake. "Nice to meet you, too," I said. I wasn't fully convinced by her rapid turnaround, but I was at least willing to give her an opportunity to redeem herself.

Anyway, it wasn't worth holding onto grudges. We had bigger fish to fry. It only took a couple weeks for Aarti to hear back about her proposal to turn the vacant lot into a community garden. If she could collect enough signatures from Port Promise citizens with a significant interest in transforming the space, she could move forward with submitting a full plan for the project. Now, we just had to figure out how to attract the neighborhood's standoffish residents long enough for Aarti to present her pitch. It became clear pretty quickly that Rahul's initial approach, to shout up and down the empty boardwalk like he was trying to sell something nobody wanted to buy, wasn't going to work.

As it turned out, just before we left the house, Alejandro had been struck by genius. What could bring people together more effectively than music? Nothing, he had determined and grabbed his violin at the last minute. He brought it out with a flourish now. "This ought to win them over," he said confidently.

Rahul seethed, jealous that he hadn't come up with the idea and now Alejandro was going to get all the praise. "Do you think it's too late for me to run back and get my guitar?" he muttered dejectedly.

Soon enough, instead of swerving to avoid them, passersby were stopping curiously, even sitting down to appreciatively enjoy the music, an unexpectedly delightful diversion from their otherwise predictable routines. Then, when they were distracted and happy enough not to dismiss her outright, Aarti slid in with the expertly-crafted 60-second pitch she'd been reciting to herself while gardening for days.

Whether they were swayed by her passion or by the dulcet tones of Alejandro's classical repertoire, people actually began lining up to sign Aarti's petition.

Then I remembered my successes at the sales table with Sid by my side and surreptitiously summoned him while no one was watching. The unexpected presence of a (presumably) cuddly cat sent nearly every person in the vicinity into a frenzy. They would have signed anything if it meant the opportunity to give Sid a snuggle or two or run their fingers through his silky black coat. To his credit, he withstood the deluge of grabby hands with impressive stoicism, and less than an hour later, Aarti had a full page of signatures.

Later that night, Alejandro told me he wanted to talk, so I nervously followed him onto the patio. Since the triumphant return of my magic, he'd seemed eager to get me alone, and I'd purposely avoided it. But I needed to accept I'd hit a dead end on my own, with or without magic. I had no idea what to do next. At the very least, I needed to get my hands on those tomes of his, but I imagined he wouldn't just hand them over without expecting something in return.

"Listen, I've got a brilliant idea," he began, already breathless with excitement. "There's this creepy abandoned house up on the hill that's supposed to be haunted. None of the others will agree to check it out with me, but I'm dying to see what's really up with that place. What do you say? You want to be my co-investigator? Aarti and Enji are heading out of town for a farmer's market this weekend. It'll be the perfect opportunity."

"What are you hoping to find there?" I asked skeptically.

"Ghosts, of course! I've done enough reading about them. I want to finally witness one for myself!"

"Speaking of reading..." I tried my best to sound casual, although I felt anything but. "You think I could borrow those books you showed me a while back?"

He was immediately suspicious. "What do you want them for?"

I sighed heavily, weighing my options. I still didn't fully trust him, but if he somehow ended up revealing an innate talent for summoning the dead, I might need him, and he would be less amenable if he sensed I was keeping secrets. I took one last deep breath and then blurted out, "I'm trying to bring my mom back to life."

Alejandro was so taken aback by my confession that his eyes nearly bulged out of his head. He reared back in his chair violently. "You're trying to do what now?"

"She sacrificed her life saving the Magic Realm from a deadly threat." I paused for a moment, letting him process the concept that there even was such a thing as a Magic Realm. I'd left a lot of details out when I'd explained my magic before. "After she died, I started seeing her spirit in my dreams. She couldn't speak, but it seemed like she was trying to tell me something. I think she's caught between two worlds - not fully alive, but not fully dead either. My dad tried to forbid me from learning any more magic, but I kept teaching myself so that I could figure out how to resurrect her. I think the spells I need are in one of those books, but I'm not sure I'm strong enough to cast them on my own."

"Whoa," he responded slowly, still slightly dazed. "That's heavy stuff."

Then, in a flash, he was back to his typical grinning, excitable self. "I know! I'll let you have the book if you come with me to the haunted house! Imagine if we actually make contact! Who knows? Maybe I could help with your mom."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves," I said, refusing to get my hopes up prematurely. "We'll take it one step at a time."

He flashed another brilliant smile. "Is that a yes then?"

"You win," I muttered, unsure exactly what kind of foolishness I might be getting myself into.

"Just don't tell anyone," he said seriously as he rose to head back inside. "Consider this a secret mission. The details are to be kept strictly between us." Suddenly, Chiyo, who we only just noticed had joined us on the patio, issued a noisy, luxuriant yawn. "That goes double for you," Alejandro told her. "If you don't keep your lips zipped, you'll be in big trouble." She only sighed contentedly and sunk deeper into the cushions in response.