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try to decide if it’s possible to forget that Brendan drooled. I mean, he’s really cute, but now that we’re 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 Stella’s and knock on the door. The baba answers. “Ah, Lizzie. Come in. Stella is in the kitchen with Angela.”
    Sure enough, they’re having tea and cake at the table and ask me to join them.It’s fine, right up until Angela says, “I see through your clothes.”
    â€œWhy,” I ask, “does she say that?”
    Stella says, “It’s her mantra. Baba taught her to say it. Only she’s supposed to say cloak, not clothes.”
    â€œOh,” I say. Talk about lame.
    â€œDo you know why I taught her?” the baba asks. “I’ll tell you. It’s a reminder to me that no matter what is seen on the surface, I must also be aware of the unseen.”
    â€œYou mean, like, ghosts?” I ask.
    She shrugs. “More like spirits. The higher self. The true self.”
    â€œRight,” I say. “I’ve been thinking about that. Sort of. I’m thinking I’d like you to undo my revenge spell.”
    The baba looks at Stella, then back at me. “Do you really wish for this?”
    â€œI don’t like feeling the pain of others,” I say. “It upsets me.”
    â€œNone of us like it,” Stella says.
    â€œIt is almost impossible to undo a revenge spell,” says the baba. “I may make things worse for you. The question youmust consider is, does it serve the higher purpose?”
    â€œI’ll get back to you on that.” I fiddle with my tea cup and say, “But that’s enough about
me
. What I want to know is how did Stella know about
me
? That I had this hidden talent?”
    Stella smiles. “Like I said, my gift is finding the gift in others. Even though you’d only used the talent to predict trends, I sensed the power in you.” She looks sideways at her baba then asks, “So, Lizzie, do you know anyone who suffers from being self-centered?”
    I roll my eyes. “Practically everyone I know has that problem.”
    â€œReally?” She shakes her head. “Do you think that might
hurt
them?”
    I consider this. “Yes. Yes, I think it would hurt them. I mean, it might make it hard for them to have friends. And I’ll bet it’s super hard for them to get a boyfriend.”
    â€œSo,” Stella says, “when you think about how these people have such a hard time, does it hurt
you
?”
    I stare at her. I think about it. A little tear forms in my eye and I sniffle. “It must be awful for them.”
    Stella and her baba nod.
    â€œI know what we could do,” I say. “I mean, before this whole empathy thing
kills
me. We could cast a spell to, you know, fix them. Then they wouldn’t bother me anymore.”
    Stella grins and leans forward. “Great idea, Lizzie. I know the perfect spell.”
    â€œCool,” I say. “Let’s do it.”

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
,
Rebel’s Tag
and
The Shade
in the Orca Currents series. She lives in Powell River, British Columbia.
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