Thaw Fickle Buskin

Indian Summer

The air in my bedroom was abnormally cold when I opened my eyes. A white light from upstairs was filtering into my room, dust floating in and out of the rays. I rubbed my eyes and looked around my room, trying to find Kanoa. I didn't exactly remember how I got down to my room, but I had a vague memory of Kanoa coming down with me. There wasn't a trace of her anywhere except for her sweet perfume lingering in the air.

Garfunkel was snoring loudly by my feet. He didn't act like anything was out-of-the ordinary and, truthfully, I didn't feel any different than I had before this all started. I looked down at my hands, half-hoping there was a trace of the magic from last night, but there was nothing. My heart began to drop with disappointment.

My brain began to race through the events from the night before. I told myself it was real, that Kanoa really did possess otherworldly powers. But thinking about it in the lonely quiet of my room made me realize how absurd that really seemed. What if it was all just a dream? What if none of that really happened?

The answer was given to me when I tried to get up but was stopped by a throbbing ache in my side. I lifted up my pajama shirt and saw dried blood covering my side, along with raw skin that was trying desperately to heal. I winced in pain, but was oddly relieved to see this. It was real, then. Kanoa was real. And she had been in my house.

I got to my feet, startling Garfunkel. He yawned and stretched, digging his nails into my comforter. I laughed at him. Absolute wonder bubbled through my entire body. I couldn't do anything but laugh in glee and get dressed, ready for another adventure. I yearned for it. I was buzzing with wanderlust. I wanted desperately to go back to the night before, to see her face covered with the glow of a million lights.

Once I was ready to go, I leaped upstairs and was greeted by the smell of bacon. I knew that my mom was home from her singing in the kitchen. Suddenly, two sides of me started fighting with each other. My brain had been in a state of fantasy. It didn't realize that this was reality. Life still had go on. I still had a mother struggling to make a living and a brother hundreds of miles away.

But then I smiled to myself. I still had this, though. I still had the secret magic running through my head.

I walked into the kitchen and saw my mom stirring pancake batter and pouring it over a gas oven. She must have brought it in from the garage. I assumed the power was still out because she hadn't put away the candles scattered across the counters. She turned around and almost dropped the batter, she was so excited.

"Oh, Bea!" she said, putting down the mixing bowl. She put her arms out, inviting me for a hug. I walked forward and took it, completely wrapped in her arms. "Are you okay?"

My side throbbed from the pressure. "Uh, yeah. Totally fine. You?"

She released me and grinned happily. "Actually, I'm better than fine. I'm ecstatic. You know that job I was shadowing at yesterday?"

"Oh, yeah?"

Mom clapped happily. "Well, there was enough damage done during the storm that they need extra nurses. They hired me! And better yet, they'll be paying me even higher for the amount of time I'll be spending there."

I smiled as wide as I could. "That's great, Mom!" But then I thought about what she said. "Wait...there was enough damage during the storm? How bad was it really?"

"Oh, don't be worried about it," Mom said. "That's for the town to figure out. Most of North Side was damaged. The outskirts were completely demolished. I really feel for those families, but they'll be living at the hospital until the town figures out what to do. Meaning they'll be some of my patients."