Little Red Gem (12 page)

Before Audrey could
protest, I grabbed her wrist. “I bind thee to this place so that I
might wear thy face.”

And with those words, I
had transformed into Audrey Parker.

***

“
What have you done?” she
shouted.

She lunged at me but came
to an abrupt halt as if she’d slammed into an invisible wall,
similar to the way William couldn’t enter the cabin because he was
trapped by a magical barrier.

Had I cursed Audrey? I
didn’t think so. But I wasn’t an expert on magic. And, to be
honest, I felt a little let down that something more dazzling than
an instant shift from one body to another hadn’t occurred. I felt
no different, but of course I was.
My
body stood opposite me, trapped
inside an invisible force field. A quick check in the antique
mirror proved that I now wore Audrey’s face and clothes.

“
I’m sorry,” I said,
biting lips that strangely tasted like someone else’s. “But this is
the only way I can be with Leo.”

Audrey’s eyes –
my eyes
– widened. “Are
you crazy? You won’t be with Leo.
I
will
.”

While this was true, I had
considered this after the initial conversation with William and had
dismissed it as collateral damage. Anyway, I was convinced Leo
would recognize me beneath
any
façade.

Tugging at Audrey’s
clothes, I reminded myself I was doing this for a good reason.
Besides, this was only temporary and I told Audrey so. At least
William had promised me this spell wasn’t permanent.

Without a second glance, I
flittered my way up the embankment, ignoring the curses and shouts
from below. Ten minutes later, I realized I should have asked the
rules to astral projection before locking Audrey in the hollow. I
stood beside her bed where her physical body was stretched out as
if sunbathing with her eyes closed. She wore the same clothes I
wore – a purple long-sleeved top with a bright yellow peace symbol
on the front, jeans that were tight and black, and orange
sneakers.

William hadn’t mentioned
anything beyond trapping Audrey’s body in the hollow. Perhaps he
knew as much about magic as I did. Now I wished I’d asked for
evidence of his skills. Was I supposed to lie down beside her?
Would our bodies meld together? Did I wake her up and cuddle her?
Did I say a magic charm?

I pulled the small mirror
out of my pocket, the one I’d swiped from the store simply because
I’d wanted to test William’s theory that ghosts could steal things
easily, wishing I’d stolen the instructions to astral projection
instead. As I placed the mirror on the dresser I noticed the
wristwatch. Audrey had worn a wristwatch when she’d blown into the
cabin to beg me not to attend my funeral. Immediately after the
watch alarm had beeped, she’d disappeared.

I grabbed her limp arm and
pressed a few buttons on the watch hoping one of them would
activate the alarm. Success. The rhythmic beep started up and her
body flinched as the
beep-beep-beep
pushed its way into her sleepy little inner
sanctum.

Time enough for me to cast
my gaze around her bedroom. It had changed a lot since we were
kids. On her desk sat a laptop I assumed was one of Dad’s latest
purchases, with a monitor so huge it doubled for a TV. On her desk
sat a stack of DVDs from horror films, many I recognized and some I
didn’t. She had a row of six lava lamps on one shelf, of varying
shapes and currently in their stagnant mode, looking like boiled
eggs floating in goop. Below the row of lamps was a shelf brimming
with figurines from movie and TV shows –
Alien
,
The
Ring
,
Star Wars,
X-Men
.

I’d come to accept years
ago that of the two of us, Dad loved her more. My proof? He’d given
her presents while I’d received none.

Stuck around the edge of
Audrey’s dresser were dozens of photos of her and an Asian girl. I
ripped one photo off and turned it over. HAPPY BIRTHDAY HANNAH was
written on the back. Did Audrey have more than this one friend? Not
that I was here to improve her social life, but the twinge of
regret that I hadn’t made the effort to stay connected with my
half-sister was like a punch to the stomach. I had to grit my teeth
against the wave of guilt rushing around inside me. I also had to
remind myself that a little over a week ago it had been a growing
baby causing that churn, so I had every right to be here attempting
to resolve the unfinished business between Leo and me.

Audrey’s body on the bed
was now fully awake. She sat up, looked at me curiously, and as her
eyes widened my body was dragged under a surface. Like stepping
through a waterfall, I waited a moment for the sheen to clear and
then I looked around the room with fresh eyes. Things were the
same, but also different. The room was brighter; the goop in the
lava lamps glowed, the figurines seemed more lifelike, and at the
exact moment when I adjusted to this very real world the aromas hit
me. I’d been without this particular sense for over a week, so I
picked up everything with wolf-like clarity. Dirty socks in the
corner, onions frying in the kitchen, flowers in the window box
outside Audrey’s bedroom, remnants of incense burned earlier
downstairs. I greedily breathed in these aromas.

When my stomach next
grumbled I knew it was the hunger of the living. Coffee and
chocolate before anything, it commanded. Having gotten this close
to Leo, I told my stomach that it could wait. So, cramming Audrey’s
phone into the pocket of her jeans I snuck my way across the
hallway, but I was brought to a full stop at the kitchen when my
stomach decided to pull rank and twisted my body into a series of
unnatural yoga positions.

Hurriedly, I ransacked the
cupboards searching for a quick bite to ward off anarchy by any
other parts of my new body.

“
What are you looking
for?” Teri asked.

I jumped, though I
shouldn’t have been alarmed. This
was
her house and I
was
meant to be her
daughter.

“
Coffee. Donuts.” I’d have
eaten over-boiled broccoli right now.

Teri pointed to the
cupboard above my head and returned to cooking whatever she was
cooking – garlic and onion hung in the air. It smelled divine and
only added to my stomach’s cries for attention. Staring down at me
was a shiny gold-foil wrapped parcel of coffee beans, a coffee bean
grinder, a coffee plunger, and a sugar bowl in the shape of a cat.
Looking down, three mugs were stacked in the sink begging to be
washed. I threw my hands up in the air. Aargh, this was too much
effort. No surprise why cafés did a roaring business.

Stuffing a handful of
not-so-fresh cookies into my mouth, I spun around and took a few
steps toward the door. Down this set of stairs was a small garden
where Teri had once grown herbs for her psychic readings, and from
the smell of rosemary and oregano she still grew them.

“
Where are you going?”
Teri asked, halting me in my tracks.

“
Art Café?” I said around
a cookie.

Teri frowned at me as she
gave the pot a thorough beating with a wooden spoon. “You really
shouldn’t have sweets or caffeine at this time of the
day.”

“
I need some fresh air and
a moment away from the books.”

“
Okay. Don’t be long.
Dinner’s almost ready.”

How easy had it been to
convince Teri? And if I could fool my ‘new’ mom into believing I
was her daughter, I could fool anybody. Well, that was the plan
anyway.

I hurried to the café; if
I was lucky I’d catch up with some friends, though what would
happen when I got there was anyone’s guess. Neither Shanessa nor
Natalie had spoken a word to my half-sister, at least not in my
presence, though I stoically clung to the conviction that the real
me would shine through.

From across the road I
spotted the café, brimming with life as usual. Shanessa and Natalie
stepped out onto the sidewalk, and out of habit I jumped in front
of their path.

“
Hey superstars,” I sang
out.

Two sets of eyes probed me
and I was left with the sinking impression I had something hatching
out of my nose. Now would have been the perfect time for the gates
of hell to open up and suck me in. I realized my error came from
acting like me instead of Audrey.

My brain suddenly kicked
into gear and I blurted out the first thing that popped into my
head. “I don’t know why I said that. I guess I just can’t get over
the loss of Ruby.”

Their faces immediately
shifted from admonition to compassion.

Shanessa smiled. “You were
at the funeral. You’re Ruby’s half-sister. Of course we know
you.”

Two sets of eyes stared at
me expectantly – they really had no idea who I was but bless their
little hearts for pretending.

“
Audrey,” I offered, and I
didn’t know why but I held out my hand.

“
We’re sorry for your
loss,” Natalie whispered, grasping my hand in hers.

I hadn’t felt human
contact for over a week. My insides warmed up as sparks flew from
her hand through mine. And then my heart skipped a beat; if this
was an indication of how good human contact felt, how electrifying
would it be when I finally wrapped my arms and legs around Leo’s
body?

My insides cooled down
quickly when Shanessa added, “I still can’t believe she’s never
coming back.”

Maybe not in the way these
two expected.

“
Are you heading home
right away?” I asked. “I’d love to buy you both a piece of
cheesecake.”

They exchanged a fleeting
look between them. Such a tiny exchange, yet it held more meaning
than a dictionary.

“
Some other time. If you
want. When you’re not busy.” I stammered over the words,
embarrassed at acting like such an idiot. They were seniors. Why
would they hang out with a sophomore? Who had purple hair. And
orange sneakers. And figurines from geeky movies in her
room.

Natalie flicked her gaze
over her shoulder. “We don’t mean to rush off.”

“
I know. You’ve
got—”

“
We’ve got
rehearsals.”

The two of them strode
over to Natalie’s Mazda which was parked in front of the cafe. As
Natalie got in I overheard her say, “I wonder if she can sing as
well as Ruby. The auditions are only a few days away.”

Watching them drive off I
was overcome with a sense of curiosity. Our band, Violet Dreamy
Youth, rehearsed at Natalie’s house. Natalie lived in the opposite
direction to where they now headed. I stood on the sidewalk,
watching the car turn left down Hollowglen Road where
Rock-A-Lilly’s Studios were located, and I kicked myself that I
hadn’t begged them for a ride. Leo was bound to be at the rehearsal
studio today.

An unexpected raincloud
forced any ideas of hijacking a car, a bicycle, even a golf buggy
out of my mind when it pelted cold rain down on me. I had no choice
but to return to my new home above the psychic shop.

***

Ghosts didn’t need sleep,
so I’d forgotten how good curling up under a warm blanket felt. I
burrowed deeper, shifting in and out of dreams, but in the end
neither the alarm nor the white rays of daylight were to blame for
preventing me from sleeping in. Behind closed eyes I was plagued
with images of Anne, William, and I walking hand in hand through
Providence every Halloween accosting people for candy corn. If my
plan failed, that would be my future.

Waking bright and early
wasn’t usually my favorite thing, but today I rolled out of bed
with a bounce, a stretch, a yawn, and a wriggle of my toes in the
plush carpet. Today wasn’t only the start of my return from the
dead it was also Wednesday, a school day. The significance brought
butterflies to my stomach, lines erratic as a Geiger counter to my
heart, and a messy jumble of black-ink doodles to my head. Today
I’d talk to Leo. And we had much to discuss.

Still not used to Audrey’s
body, I stumbled around my new bedroom as I pulled on her clothes.
I stood in front of the mirror, and naturally the shock that I was
someone else hit me, but what I noticed most was that my eyes
looked alarmingly like mine.

I took this as a further
sign that Leo would notice the real me.

Teri called Audrey to
breakfast and it took a few seconds to register that she called for
me.

“
You’re a big girl. You
can do this.” I stared at my reflection, glad that I wouldn’t have
to get used to seeing this other face. This swap was only
temporary. After I’d spoken to Leo, I’d return to being a ghost.
Right? Of course I would. But I could think about that later. For
now I had to get to school.

I put a quick stop to my
internal counsel, yelled, “Coming,” and grabbed Audrey’s school bag
and cell phone.

Before I stepped out the
room, I noticed the screen on the phone was blank. Hanging out of
the power socket was the charger. I plugged in the phone and prayed
I didn’t need anything stored in its memory, like the answers to
exam questions.