Escape from Windenburg | 13

Naturally, when we returned home, the others were curious about where we had been all weekend, especially Rahul. I could see that it was eating him up inside to hear so many inside jokes and references flying between us that he wasn't in on.

For some reason, he seemed especially annoyed that it was Rav with whom I shared most of the laughs. I assumed it was an extension of their sibling rivalry. The excursion to the haunted house had been a real bonding experience between me and Rav, and we slid easily into the habits of old friends, all the tense weeks that had come before fading away so quickly it was like they had never even happened. I was relieved to no longer be on the receiving end of her groundless fury. Of course, she was still sarcastic and occasionally cranky, but it no longer felt like all of those emotions were directed at me alone.

"Hey!" Enji exclaimed suddenly from the opposite end of the table in a mock-gruff shout. "What do you two keep giggling about down there? You're not keeping the world's funniest knock-knock joke from us, are you?"

"Dad, they disappeared all weekend," Rahul whined, allowing his annoyance with us to turn him into a snitch. "And they refuse to tell me a single thing about what they were up to!"

"It's not necessary for you to know everyone's whereabouts at all times, Rahul," Aarti reminded him gently. "We all respect each other's freedom as individuals here, remember? It doesn't look like anyone's hurt and I don't think anybody ended up in jail, so it's hardly our business." She rested her gaze on Rav and I and smiled approvingly at our camaraderie. "However you spent your weekend, I'm happy to see you two are getting along so much better now."

"Well, next time you go on some grand adventure," Rahul said, speaking pointedly at me and not his sister, "you'd better not forget to bring me along. After all, you never know when you might need some muscle to back you up!" Then he flexed his muscles and aimed two finger guns in my direction, an action I found mildly embarrassing but that seemed to entirely enrage Rav.

"Leave her alone, Rahul," she spat angrily. "She's not interested in helping you live out your macho man fantasies." He sunk back into his seat in defeat, and the two of them spent the rest of lunch picking at their food without eating it, avoiding eye contact with each other, and being generally mopey.

I wasn't sure what to make of their unexpected tug of war over my friendship. It was as though only one of them could win the coveted title of Rowan's BFF and they were both willing to fight to the death to claim it. Or maybe they were competing for something more than friendship. No. I quickly pushed the thought out of my head. I doubted either of them were thinking about me in that way, and, anyway, I wasn't even sure I was ready to be thought about in that way yet by anyone.

Luckily, I didn't have time to dwell on the potential of developing a deeper relationship of any nature with either Uchiyama sibling. Having been neglected over the weekend, Aarti's backyard garden was in serious need of some TLC. While she wielded the weed whacker like a pro, I got down in the dirt to root out the more stubborn pests by hand. It took us most of the afternoon to finish the job.

I was even feeling confident enough that day to collect the honey from the bees myself. While I would have jumped at the opportunity to don a full beekeeper's suit had I been presented with it, I put on a brave face as I approached the hive with my arms and face fully exposed. Much to my relief, the bees remained calm, and I walked away without a single sting.

Once Aarti had gotten the signatures she needed and submitted her final proposal for the community garden, the town officials were surprisingly quick to give it the official stamp of approval and begin signing up volunteers, purchasing materials, and doling out responsibilities. Clearly, she wasn't the only resident of Port Promise who felt it was time for a change. Everyone wanted to see more positivity and growth, but they had been too afraid to be the first to admit it. Now, thanks to the enthusiastic response, it was already time for the garden's grand unveiling.

In the end, Aarti's vision had been realized and more. The end result wasn't just a garden but also a market, workshop, and general gathering space for makers, growers, and creators of all stripes to come together and support each other's talents and passions. In other words, it sounded a lot like what Aarti and Enji were trying to cultivate for us, only on a much grander scale.

Aarti had brought boxes full of specimens carefully cultivated from her own garden, and we all went to work transplanting them into the community pots. If their roots took hold in their new homes and they grew up strong and healthy, Port Promise would soon have a surplus of produce that could help prevent the homeless population from starving in the winter, which could be the first step toward one day eliminating homelessness in the area altogether.

Thankfully, a crew of local volunteers soon arrived, happy to contribute to the cause by watering the crops we'd just planted. Aarti was already talking about how excited she was to check in on their progress in a couple weeks' time.

Meanwhile, Rahul and Alejandro were getting acquainted with some not-so-fuzzy friends in the form of the crickets and grubs that would help with fertilizing the garden in a way that was both cost-efficient and eco-friendly.

Enji was already obsessed with the fabricator machines that had been installed in the workshop, which were far more advanced and capable than anything he could have ever afforded to have at home. By the end of the day, he had an entire fist full of notes he'd jotted down for future creations he wanted to bring to life, finally bringing his woodworking skills to the next level.

Finally, Rav was just content to sit on the rooftop and spend all day knitting while stealing frequent glances out at the water. Now that she saw what the space had been transformed into, she felt guilty for disparaging her mom's efforts in the past. She had never realized how inspiring an amazing view could be until actually experiencing it firsthand.

During those long, lazy weeks, over the course of which spring slowly but surely shifted into summer, it was nice to step back and take a breath from puzzling over the situation with my mom. Of course, it still remained always in the back of my mind, but I was able to temporarily place it on the back burner and simply enjoy existing. It was hard to believe the Port Promise I saw before me now was the same destitute neighborhood I had hopelessly roamed so many months ago. All it took was one or two steps in the right direction, and suddenly the entire place was blooming with green, every other surface reflective with newly-installed solar panels.

Even the abandoned train tracks, formerly one of the biggest eyesores of all, was strangely beautiful now, covered as it was in a blanket of colorful wildflowers that almost seemed to have sprung up overnight.

It had been a long time since Alejandro and I last discussed anything paranormal. We'd silently reached an agreement that we needed a break before plunging into the next phase, whatever that might be. But we couldn't keep the conversation on pause forever. I could sense that Alejandro was growing tense as he patiently waited for me to be ready. Now that he'd had a taste of what it was like to be a ghost hunter, he wanted more.

"When are we going to decide what to do next?" He exploded at me one day when we were finally out of earshot of everyone else. "I feel like we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible! We've got to find out if any of those Sages are still around and see what they can tell us."

"But how are we going to get there?" I asked miserably. "The portal is in the middle of nowhere, and I haven't seen it since I was a kid! I'm not even sure my memory of it is accurate. It could take us days, weeks even to track it down! I know Aarti and Enji are all about independence, but I just don't see how we can pull off slipping away that long without an explanation of some sort. And obviously we can't tell them the truth."

"What do you guys need an explanation for?" someone suddenly asked from behind us. I nearly fell off the bench at the sound of another voice. Of course, it was Rahul. Before we could say anything, he had already sidled up next to us with a smirk on his face. "This has something to do with that spooky shit you guys are so into, doesn't it? Come on, spill already!"

Alejandro had a pained expression on his face, like he was barely managing to contain himself from blurting out everything at once. "No way!" I exclaimed, cutting in before he got the chance. "How do we know we can trust you? All you ever do is make fun of us for being interested in this stuff, anyway."

"Listen, I may not be a true believer yet," Rahul countered, "but now that I've seen you do magic with my own two eyes, I have to admit I'm starting to reconsider my stance. Besides, Rav is a skeptic, and you let her in on it! If you think you can trust her with your secrets, you can definitely trust me."

As much as I wanted to dismiss him, it wasn't an entirely bad point. When he could tell by the look on my face that I was seriously considering it, he added hastily, "Besides, I think I might know exactly how you can sneak off without arousing any suspicions."

"Oh, yeah. How's that?" I asked, unable to mask my curiosity.

"Dad and I always go on an annual summer camping trip. He picked the campground last year, so this year it's my turn. I can tell him you guys want to tag along for a taste of the great outdoors. No one else usually bites, so he'll be too excited to have company along to ask any questions. If you know where you need to get to, I'll try to get us as close as possible. But you have to tell me why."

For the second time that afternoon, we were interrupted in the midst of a clandestine conversation. "You kids look so serious over here," Aarti murmured, lowering herself into an empty chair. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Nothing!" Alejandro and I shouted in unison, startled nearly out of our skin yet again.

"Goodness!" Aarti exclaimed, visibly taken aback by our aggressive response. "I didn't know it was that big of a secret. Well, I suppose I'll leave you to it then. Pardon me for trying to butt in like the nosy, overprotective mom I am." As she left us alone again, I felt guilty for not being able to tell her the truth. It wasn't that I thought she wouldn't believe it or even that I thought she would disapprove. Mainly, I just wanted to avoid explaining what I was trying to do out loud for fear that it wouldn't work out. I was already dreading having to fill Rahul in, since his idea seemed better than anything Alejandro and I might come up with on our own.

A couple mornings later, I was up early, scouring map after map on Alejandro's borrowed phone in an attempt to pinpoint exactly where I remembered the portal being located. Considering I only had the memories of my younger self to guide me, it required more guesswork than I felt entirely comfortable with. I would hate to end up somewhere only to discover that it wasn't the right place at all. "Hey," Alejandro greeted me as he stepped onto the porch. "Did you manage to track it down yet?"

For some reason, his question was the last straw for the pent-up anxiety over our impending mission I'd been keeping at bay since our visit to the haunted house. "This feels impossible!" I shouted, casting my phone to the side in frustration. "How did I ever think I could do any of this? I can't even find this stupid portal! I'm never going to be able to bring back my mom. I was so dumb to think I ever could."

"It's going to be okay," Alejandro said reassuringly, though I could tell he wasn't particularly used to providing comfort. "That thing is built on magic, right? Shouldn't you be able to, like, sense it when you start to get close?

"We'll never have enough time!" I countered. "It'll be like looking for a needle in a haystack. There's no point!"

Rav came out of the house then, conspiratorially closing the front door behind her. "Whatever happened to keeping things on the down-low?" she hissed in irritation. "Everyone and their mother can hear you two idiots carrying on!"

"You know I think it was a bad idea to spill the beans to my loudmouth brother," she continued, inviting herself into the conversation. "But, sadly, as much as I'd like to be there to ensure the entire plan doesn't go haywire, I can hardly submit myself to the tortures of sleeping on the ground in the middle of the wilderness. So you two have got to keep it together, all right? Rowan, I've seen you literally shoot sparks from your fingertips. If anyone can find that godforsaken door to Planet Magic, it's you." I appreciated the pep talk, however harshly delivered. I needed to remember that even when I didn't believe in myself, other people believed in me. I'd already experienced so many things and changed so much as a person over the past few months, more than my past self would've ever thought possible. I couldn't let my self-doubt get in the way now.

As necessary as the diversion of the last few weeks had been, it was time to get serious again about what I'd set out to accomplish in the first place. I'd finally gotten to enjoy the carefree teenage life I'd always felt like an imposter attempting to pull off back home. But, now, I had to get my mom back so that all that lost time, those long, empty, and frustrating years without her, wouldn't be all for nothing in the end.