terrible things she had said. The things she had said out of terror and exhaustion . . . but Jade Rat had left her to fall to her death. There was no logical reason Jade Rat should have stayed. Melanie knew that with her mind. But her heart could not forgive so easily.
Melanie said nothing.
The rodent set her tiny paw on Melanieâs leg. âPerhaps it is time to try the raccoonâs gift.â
It took several seconds for Melanie to understand what she meant. Who knows, Melanie thought wearily. She could ask if sheâd find her mum. The odds were in her favor to receive a âyes, definitely,â and it would make her feel slightly better. . . . She returned the half-empty water bottle and retrieved the childâs toy.
The black surface of the Magic 8 Ball felt slightly rough, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. Melanie frowned. As she moved it from one hand to the other she could feel the sloshing weight of the fluid inside.
Jade Rat sat neatly on her hindquarters, her small front paws clasped in front of her chest.
Melanie raised the 8 Ball to her ear and gave it a gentle shake. âWill we make it home all right?â she whispered. She turned the orb around, flat side up, to reveal the window. The slosh, slosh of liquid stilled, and a small triangle slowly bobbed upward.
An icy breeze skittered down the collar of Melanieâs jacket, and the hairs on her arms stood erect. She almost dropped the ball. Of all the answers she had seen in the toy, this triangle had never come up before. And her classmateâs 8 Ball had only the set number of statements. Never a question. Melanie nervously cleared her throat. She wanted to leave the unsettling toy behind, there, on the stair.
âWhat did it say?â Jade Rat inquired.
Melanie reluctantly replaced the toy in the backpack. She did not respond for several seconds. âIt must be broken. Or someoneâs kidding around.â She forced herself to laugh.
The rat remained silent.
âThe stupid ball said something about whether I can do what I need to do even if I donât know! Okay? And itâs right! I donât know what Iâm doing!â Melanie was standing, hands squeezed into tight fists, breathing hard and fast. It would be the easiest thing to do, to kick the rat off the mountain step, sending it flying out like a football before dropping for a long, long time. . . .
Jade Rat dropped onto all fours, drawing her red string tail around her feet. She looked very small. âI grow weary,â she whispered hoarsely. âI will aid you as I am able.â She seemed to shimmer. An audible click, and she was a pendant once more.
Melanie gazed upon the jade amulet. The Magic 8 Ball had asked her if she could do the job without knowing what the job was. How was she to know when the action she took was the deciding one? The one choice that would decide everything? She couldnât know, and every time she had to make a decision it would drive her mad!
Melanie grabbed two fistfuls of hair and squeezed hard. The pain was momentarily distracting. She unclenched her fingers and let her hands drop.
Noâno, she did not want to become one of the kids who had to yank out hair, cut themselves in order to feel okay.
Think, Melanie told herself. But donât think too much, she admonished. Helplessly, she began to laugh. She took a long, shuddering breath, then let it all go. The most obvious thing she had to do was go down.
One step at a time.
She reached for the jade amulet. Ms. Wei had given it to her. For all that she was uncertain about Jade Ratâs intentions, she trusted the old woman, and she would be disrespectful and wrong to leave the gift behind.
Melanie tucked the jade pendant into her motherâs deep pocket, reshouldered her pack, and started descending the stairs once more.
She did not know how many hours she had been walking before she reached a layer of clouds. Suddenly she was knee-high
Melanie said nothing.
The rodent set her tiny paw on Melanieâs leg. âPerhaps it is time to try the raccoonâs gift.â
It took several seconds for Melanie to understand what she meant. Who knows, Melanie thought wearily. She could ask if sheâd find her mum. The odds were in her favor to receive a âyes, definitely,â and it would make her feel slightly better. . . . She returned the half-empty water bottle and retrieved the childâs toy.
The black surface of the Magic 8 Ball felt slightly rough, as if it had been rubbed with sandpaper. Melanie frowned. As she moved it from one hand to the other she could feel the sloshing weight of the fluid inside.
Jade Rat sat neatly on her hindquarters, her small front paws clasped in front of her chest.
Melanie raised the 8 Ball to her ear and gave it a gentle shake. âWill we make it home all right?â she whispered. She turned the orb around, flat side up, to reveal the window. The slosh, slosh of liquid stilled, and a small triangle slowly bobbed upward.
An icy breeze skittered down the collar of Melanieâs jacket, and the hairs on her arms stood erect. She almost dropped the ball. Of all the answers she had seen in the toy, this triangle had never come up before. And her classmateâs 8 Ball had only the set number of statements. Never a question. Melanie nervously cleared her throat. She wanted to leave the unsettling toy behind, there, on the stair.
âWhat did it say?â Jade Rat inquired.
Melanie reluctantly replaced the toy in the backpack. She did not respond for several seconds. âIt must be broken. Or someoneâs kidding around.â She forced herself to laugh.
The rat remained silent.
âThe stupid ball said something about whether I can do what I need to do even if I donât know! Okay? And itâs right! I donât know what Iâm doing!â Melanie was standing, hands squeezed into tight fists, breathing hard and fast. It would be the easiest thing to do, to kick the rat off the mountain step, sending it flying out like a football before dropping for a long, long time. . . .
Jade Rat dropped onto all fours, drawing her red string tail around her feet. She looked very small. âI grow weary,â she whispered hoarsely. âI will aid you as I am able.â She seemed to shimmer. An audible click, and she was a pendant once more.
Melanie gazed upon the jade amulet. The Magic 8 Ball had asked her if she could do the job without knowing what the job was. How was she to know when the action she took was the deciding one? The one choice that would decide everything? She couldnât know, and every time she had to make a decision it would drive her mad!
Melanie grabbed two fistfuls of hair and squeezed hard. The pain was momentarily distracting. She unclenched her fingers and let her hands drop.
Noâno, she did not want to become one of the kids who had to yank out hair, cut themselves in order to feel okay.
Think, Melanie told herself. But donât think too much, she admonished. Helplessly, she began to laugh. She took a long, shuddering breath, then let it all go. The most obvious thing she had to do was go down.
One step at a time.
She reached for the jade amulet. Ms. Wei had given it to her. For all that she was uncertain about Jade Ratâs intentions, she trusted the old woman, and she would be disrespectful and wrong to leave the gift behind.
Melanie tucked the jade pendant into her motherâs deep pocket, reshouldered her pack, and started descending the stairs once more.
She did not know how many hours she had been walking before she reached a layer of clouds. Suddenly she was knee-high
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