THE 33 KEYS: Key 2 - ANSWER THE CALL "Listen for that Perfect Beat"

CHAPTER 72: EMBRACE THE STORM

Hazel-the-Angel is waiting for me in her yellow floral. There's a table behind her with a thousand candles waiting to be blown out. Do I have that much breath to spare? Let's see how it goes with the first one. I make a wish I know will never come true then lean in and blow. And then it does. Those little girls who stopped coming to my birthday parties are here again, sitting pretty in dresses that will never outdo mine. Still, they are beautiful. I'll give them that. I blow another one out. Then another and another, until the room starts to dim. But just like I thought; that particular wish will never come true. I can never make real what never existed. All those birthdays Ebony missed with me. Not mine. Only her own.

That's right; I never celebrated Ebony's birthday with her in the eighteen years we lived together. Those were for her friends, and the man who stole her treasure. Yet Ebony's birthdays would go on for weeks at a time. I know because that's how long I waited for her to come home and blow the candles out.

Each day, I would light the candle around six o'clock and wait. Then I'd have to blow it out myself. And each time, I'd make the wish I just made. That something would happen to make her stay with me forever. In that case, did I cause that man to claim her songs as his own? If so, does my magic only destroy? Because that's what made her drink herself to death. No wonder my candle spells never reeled anything in. The person who tries to speak the words to life has only learned how to repel.

Now a commotion at the table gets my attention. A wild wind enters and blows out all the other candles. Hazel-the-Angel hustles me over to catch the last one before it gets there. I close my eyes and make a wish about me – Mary Pethiel. One that involves no one else. Then the wind lowers itself before me and begs to enter, so it can feel everything I do. I let it in before Hazel sees and taints the moment with her Hazelness.

"What did you wish for?" she asks all excited.

"You know how it works," I scold her. "It's got to stay a secret if I want it to come true."

And then I think to myself, why keep secrets with so little time left? So I let her in on everything that happened that night. The crazy old man in the park. My close brush with Leer Island's finest. The night I spent with the priest. Then I remain silent and hope that she can hear my thoughts like those witches from my dream. But she doesn't; however, in the silence we both realize that no one sang the happy birthday song.

"Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday to you. Happy birthday, dear Mary."

"Dear Ebony."

And we both freeze. The only thing that absorbs the moment is the wild wind inside me. It seems to be feeling out how my machinery works too. Because soon enough the wrong button is pressed. Then the tears flow freely for the first time since she disappeared in that hole. Now I see the dirt loosening beneath their thick sturdy trunks. So her only guards – those three palm trees – can no longer ensure that she remains undisturbed by the likes of me.

"Happy birthday, dear Ebony," I repeat in tears. "Happy birthday to you."

Then I can't take it anymore and Hazel-the-Angel becomes one with the singing in my head.

Saa...Taa...Naa...Maa...Saa...Taa...Naa...Maa...Saa...Taa...Naa...Maa.

For some reason, the wind inside me – which is now the M in my other palm – asks if I want to know what life is like for it. I say yes and am immediately lifted into the air. Straight to my old room, just in time to see Malika find the letters inside my diary. That means she must've already seen my copper wall of glory. Dammit! I wish I was here for that. But it's all right. I'll settle for the diary instead.

After she reads a few words, Malika sits on my unkempt bed to chew on the rest. I watch as her emotions become a dormant ocean. My eyes pierce deeper into her mind to see if it's just an act. Maybe I should move closer to see whether it's the castle thief, Pete or Lily who has lost her interest. But the stick whispers for me to stay put.

Malika moves on to my rejection letters; then gets up and closes the door when she sees the responses in my diary. I know exactly what order those are in. The castle thief, Pete, Mary and Lily. She paces the room as she reads then shuts the book abruptly. Yet I don't get what I'm looking for. Oh, maybe now! She opens the cupboard.

Those boxes of clothes marked charity will surely do the trick. Malika rummages through them and sees they have some value then dials up the caretaker. Now she gives the room one final look through, as if to determine any repairs needed before the new girl arrives. But the tears I've been longing for never come. She's as cold as those other Matrons on the wall. Oh, that Malika! How dare she ruin the one thing that would've made me go off peacefully into the night?

On two minds now, she moves toward my dresser and I get some semblance of emotion. Yet not the kind I want. Then comes the smile; Malika is smiling down at something. Thankfully, the wind sweeps me into the air just over her shoulder so I am not cheated in these final moments. And there is my Ruby, sweet Ruby glowing happily in her bowl, alive and well despite having met me.

Now the door opens up. But it's not the caretaker who enters. It is the last person I ever expected to see. Yet before I can properly react to her presence, Malika takes Ruby up and slowly releases her into Lily's mouth. Then as Lily begins to glow, Malika moves towards my copper wall, looking at me on purpose as she places an index finger against it, piercing right through its radiant glory, whispering a word I have never heard before in my life.

"KA-DRA-MA-KA!"