try to decide if itâs possible to forget that Brendan drooled. I mean, heâs really cute, but now that weâre apart, I find myself picturing that detail. Not pretty. No, it could never work between us. Mr. Sparks was right. The past couple of days have been hard on me. All of my standards are messed up.
I get to Stellaâs and knock on the door. The baba answers. âAh, Lizzie. Come in. Stella is in the kitchen with Angela.â
Sure enough, theyâre having tea and cake at the table and ask me to join them.Itâs fine, right up until Angela says, âI see through your clothes.â
âWhy,â I ask, âdoes she say that?â
Stella says, âItâs her mantra. Baba taught her to say it. Only sheâs supposed to say cloak, not clothes.â
âOh,â I say. Talk about lame.
âDo you know why I taught her?â the baba asks. âIâll tell you. Itâs a reminder to me that no matter what is seen on the surface, I must also be aware of the unseen.â
âYou mean, like, ghosts?â I ask.
She shrugs. âMore like spirits. The higher self. The true self.â
âRight,â I say. âIâve been thinking about that. Sort of. Iâm thinking Iâd like you to undo my revenge spell.â
The baba looks at Stella, then back at me. âDo you really wish for this?â
âI donât like feeling the pain of others,â I say. âIt upsets me.â
âNone of us like it,â Stella says.
âIt is almost impossible to undo a revenge spell,â says the baba. âI may make things worse for you. The question youmust consider is, does it serve the higher purpose?â
âIâll get back to you on that.â I fiddle with my tea cup and say, âBut thatâs enough about
me
. What I want to know is how did Stella know about
me
? That I had this hidden talent?â
Stella smiles. âLike I said, my gift is finding the gift in others. Even though youâd only used the talent to predict trends, I sensed the power in you.â She looks sideways at her baba then asks, âSo, Lizzie, do you know anyone who suffers from being self-centered?â
I roll my eyes. âPractically everyone I know has that problem.â
âReally?â She shakes her head. âDo you think that might
hurt
them?â
I consider this. âYes. Yes, I think it would hurt them. I mean, it might make it hard for them to have friends. And Iâll bet itâs super hard for them to get a boyfriend.â
âSo,â Stella says, âwhen you think about how these people have such a hard time, does it hurt
you
?â
I stare at her. I think about it. A little tear forms in my eye and I sniffle. âIt must be awful for them.â
Stella and her baba nod.
âI know what we could do,â I say. âI mean, before this whole empathy thing
kills
me. We could cast a spell to, you know, fix them. Then they wouldnât bother me anymore.â
Stella grins and leans forward. âGreat idea, Lizzie. I know the perfect spell.â
âCool,â I say. âLetâs do it.â
Acknowledgments:
My gratitude also to Kendra Anderson for reading an early draft and to Melanie Jeffs, Orca Editor, for working her fine magick.
K.L. Denman has written numerous books for kids, including
Mirror Image
,
Rebelâs Tag
and
The Shade
in the Orca Currents series. She lives in Powell River, British Columbia.
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