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Dusty yellow lights flickered on and crisscrossed the stage. Lyssa gasped, whipping her head around to see where they were coming from. There were cars parked all along
the street, their headlights aimed right at Lyssa’s porch like spotlights

One by one, the performers took to the porch stage. First was Hank and his trained poodles, who jumped through fiery hoops and rode across the stage on skateboards. Then the dancing cowgirls twirled across the porch in sparkling white outfits. People crowded in close, cheering and clapping

Lyssa clapped too. It was strange watching the show from the audience. She’d always watched from behind the curtain, fetching water for the artists and making sure all the props were show ready

It was strange, also, watching these people perform when she knew that her mom wouldn’t be walking onto the stage last with her homemade instruments and motorcycle boots. Lyssa looked out across the crowd and realized that the people watching must have noticed her mom’s absence, too. Tears glittered on their cheeks, and the sound of sniffling spread across the yard

Then something flickered at the edge of the crowd: a candle flame. More candles flickered to life and, before long, a cardboard box filled with white candles ended up in Lyssa’s hands. She took one candle out and lit it from Demo’s before passing the box to Penn

The sun had begun to set, leaving the day in twilight.
As the sun dipped farther and farther behind distant buildings, more people in the crowd grabbed candles and lit them. Even though the trapezists had taken to the stage—Lyssa’s favorite act—she found that she couldn’t tear her eyes away from the crowd, from the people gathered to honor her mom and the home they’d made together

The roots we plant are for life…

Lyssa felt tears falling freely down her face. Everything was so perfect that she had to pinch her wrist, just to make sure that she wasn’t dreaming. She had found her mom at last

She wasn’t a cat or a bird. She was in the light of a thousand candles. She was in Hank’s proud grin when his dogs made it through the fiery hoops and in the sound of the cowgirl’s heels clanking against the stage. She was in Lyssa. She was everywhere

Just as the last performer left the stage, Penn turned to Lyssa, a drip of strawberry ice cream clinging to her chin

Lyssa caught her best friend’s eye and knew that Penn was thinking the same thing she was. Lyssa couldn’t honor her mom by hanging back in the crowd. Music was in Lyssa’s blood
Magic
was in her blood. She had to sing. Even if it didn’t save her home, even if it didn’t stop the demolition, she knew that her mother would hear her, no matter where she was.

“What do you think?” Penn asked. She grabbed Lyssa’s wrist and squeezed. “You know you’re already a star, Lyssa.”

Lyssa waited to feel the butterfly nerves in her stomach, but they were gone. She nodded at Penn. She was ready

William had just lifted the megaphone to his mouth to announce that the performance was over. Before he could say a word, Penn bounded up onto the stage, turning a cartwheel

“Wait,” she shouted to the crowd. “We have one more performer. Lyssa’s here.”

Whispers and gasps spread through the crowd like wildfire. Lyssa didn’t pay them any attention. It didn’t matter if someone called the police now; it didn’t matter that they all knew where she was. She climbed up the stairs, every inch of her skin humming

This was it. Showtime

W
ind blew across the front porch, rustling William’s tuxedo coattails. Lyssa stepped onto the stage.

“Did you feel that?” she asked him, goose bumps racing up and down her arms. William grinned, lowering his microphone

“The winds of change,” he answered

Just past the porch, the light of a thousand candles winked in the darkness like fireflies. The gasps and whispers of surprise had died down and now everyone’s eyes were on Lyssa, waiting for what she would do

“Are you ready?” William asked. Lyssa just smiled. She
was
ready—ready for everything the wind had in store.
She stepped forward, taking the microphone.

“Hi, y’all,” she said, her voice booming out over the crowd. “My name is Lyssa Lee.”

People cheered. The sound was like an ocean wave crashing through the still evening air. Lyssa held her breath, certain the water would hit her at any second and all of this would be washed away. Her hands felt slick against the microphone. The butterflies were back. Their wings fluttered silently in her chest

“I’m here to sing you a song,” Lyssa continued. The microphone amplified her voice, making her sound much more confident than she felt. “My mom used to sing it to me before I went to bed.”

Lyssa didn’t say the last part—that this was the song her mom used to sing in the hospital before falling asleep every night. That it was the last song she ever sang to Lyssa

Lyssa clenched her eyes shut and held the microphone close to her mouth, picturing her mom’s beautiful face. Her throat felt tight, but she forced the song out anyway

“Once upon a yesterday, I lived so very far away…But now that I’m here, I’m here to stay.”

Lyssa tried to hold the memory of her mom in her head while she sang, but, surprisingly, she found that it was Michael’s face that she saw. Michael making her
lunch. Michael tucking her in at night. Michael sitting next to her mom’s hospital bed, holding Ana’s hand while she slept

As the memories flooded Lyssa’s mind, her voice grew stronger and her nerves disappeared like dandelion seeds in the wind. She forced her voice out, sending it soaring over the crowd like a bird

“We could go to Tuscaloosa, we could go to Timbuktu. All I need is you. Being with you feels like home
to me.”

She held that last note, stretching it out until her lungs felt like two balloons that were about to pop

The audience began to cheer. As their applause swelled, Lyssa thought she heard the rhythmic sound of drums, banging underneath the chanting, cheering voices. Lyssa turned and glanced over her shoulder

Chloe sat at the silver drum set, beating the drums in a steady, smooth rhythm. Her neon-green hair hung over her face as she crashed a drumstick over a cymbal, her arms a blur of speed. Lyssa had never sung this song fast before. The rhythm of the drums seemed to beat up through her heart. Together, she and Chloe belted out:

“Being with you feels like home.”

Next, Lyssa heard the clear, beautiful sound of a flute. Penn climbed onto the stage next to her. She must have run back to her room and grabbed the flute she played in the
jazz band at school. Lyssa threw an arm around her friend and together they belted even louder:

“Being with you feels like home.”

Demo broke in, spitting and humming into his hands. The people in the audience threw their hands in the air and pumped their fists with his beat. Demo did a front flip onto the stage and then bopped over to Lyssa while the audience below them clapped and cheered. Lyssa joined in. Her voice mingled with the crowd until she didn’t know where she ended and everyone else began

More people climbed onto the porch. The mermaids from the Siren Choir arranged themselves behind Lyssa and started performing a line dance. Their glittery silver dresses gave off their own light, making the mermaids look like dancing disco balls

Tiresias came next. He glided up the stairs with such grace it looked like he was floating several feet off the ground. He’d found another microphone somewhere and started singing backup, his voice deep and throaty

“Being with you feels like home,”
they all crooned together.

Standing here, surrounded by Penn and Tiresias and Demo and Chloe and the mermaids, Lyssa thought she could hear her mom’s voice. It floated above them all, singing along

Then something flashed from the street—a new headlight. Lyssa threw a hand over her eyes and squinted into the light, but she couldn’t see who—or what—was approaching. Someone stepped in front of the headlight, casting a shadow over the porch. One by one, all of the voices singing along with Lyssa dropped out until it was so quiet Lyssa could have heard a sunflower petal drop. She held her breath as the shadow drew closer. William scurried across the stage and took the microphone from Lyssa.

“I have a very special announcement to make,” the man in the tuxedo said. “We have a guest with us tonight, someone who heard about our protest—”

“I’ll take it from here.” A woman’s voice—deep and rumbling, like thunder—cut him off

Excitement buzzed along Lyssa’s skin and suddenly she felt much too light, like she might float right off this stage and up into the stars. She clenched her hands together in little fists

No. It couldn’t be

“You think you’re slick, but I know your tricks…”
sang the voice. Just behind Lyssa, Chloe started playing her drums, tapping out a slow, steady beat.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the man in the tuxedo announced, “please welcome, after a year of silence, the one, the only…Athena!”

The crowd exploded into roars and screams. It wasn’t until their screams and applause started to die down that Lyssa realized she’d been screaming and clapping right along with them. Athena stepped into the light and Lyssa’s mouth dropped open

It
was
Scarlett—and it wasn’t. Athena had a platinum-blond beehive hairdo, just like the mermaid from the Siren Choir. She wore rhinestone-covered glasses that were identical to the woman’s from the whirlpool. But she had Scarlett’s fur coat and the bright pink cowboy boots Athena wore to every concert. The boots had real spurs that clanked against the porch as she crossed over to Lyssa.

Clink, clink, clink.

“Hey there, Ladybug,” Athena said. “How’s it going? Still nervous?”

Lyssa opened and closed her mouth. She had so many questions, but when she finally found her voice, all she managed to say was, “Nope. Are you?”

Athena smiled wider. “Are you kidding? I have my good luck charm here with me.”

“So you…” Lyssa started. “You’re Athena? Really?”

The singer nodded. “Yup. Crazy world, huh? Now what do you say? Mind if I finish up this song with you?”

The backup music started again. Chloe pounded on the drums and Penn blew into her flute, sending notes soaring
up toward the stars. Demo lowered his face to his hands and purred out a beat while Tiresias joined the other mermaids, all humming along

Athena took her hand as Lyssa lifted the microphone to her lips

“I’d like to dedicate this to my dad,” Lyssa said. “My real dad. I don’t think he’s here today, but, well, his name is Michael.”

She took a deep breath, then sang the last line of her mom’s song:

“Whether I sail across the sea, stay on the couch, or climb a tree
.
Being with you feels like home to me.”

Athena squeezed Lyssa’s hand, singing the last line with her one more time:
“Being with you feels like home to me.”

The audience roared and clapped. Lyssa felt happy and dizzy and also just a little regretful. She still missed her mom—she knew that she would always miss her mom, even with the magical signs she felt sure her mom would always send her

But she missed Michael, too. If he’d been there, he would have tweaked her microphone to make her sound clearer, and he’d have been sure to record the entire show. And now that the show was done, he’d have insisted Lyssa go out for a celebratory veggie burger with him at her favorite diner

Lyssa forced her grin wider, trying to enjoy her moment. But it was like Scarlett had said—it was hard to sing when the most important people weren’t there to hear it. Despite all the new friends she’d made, her trip across the country had made her realize that Michael was as important to her as Athena or Penn or even her mom. Michael was her family

“Lyssa!”

People moved aside until there was a clear path right down the center of the front yard. Lyssa shielded her eyes and stared down the path, dropping her microphone when a bicycle tore down it. The bicycle looked brand new and was covered in gadgets, their screens winking in the candlelight

Now Lyssa didn’t have to force her smile. It was Michael!

His hair was a mess and his glasses were on upside down, but it was him! Lyssa felt like someone had just lit a round of fireworks inside her chest. She jumped off the stage and ran toward Michael. He threw his arms around her. He was wearing a flannel shirt that smelled like pine needles and the fabric softener from the house in Kirkland
Home,
Lyssa thought, taking a deep breath.

“Your father called when you ran away—he told me you kept talking about some protest, you had to get to the protest.” Michael said all of this in one breath. He
smiled as he looked down at Lyssa. There were tears in his eyes

“When I saw you singing up there, I thought I was looking at your mom. You looked just like her.”

Lyssa’s throat closed up and she knew that any second, she would begin crying. She didn’t know what to say—it was maybe the most wonderful thing anyone could have ever said to her. She’d always wanted to be like her mom

“Your glasses are on upside down,” she said finally

Michael pulled his glasses off and put them on correctly

“Listen,” he said, looking down at his shoes. “I don’t tell you this a lot, Lyssa. I’m new at this whole father thing and sometimes I feel like I’m doing a terrible job. But I love you. I do.”

Lyssa reached out and grabbed his hand. “It’s okay, Michael. I love you, too.” She squeezed his stomach, and he hugged her so hard he picked her up off her feet

The audience was jumping up and down, shouting for an encore. To Lyssa’s surprise, it was Michael who started up the stairs. Athena offered him her microphone

“I have an announcement to make,” he said. His voice echoed across the yard and everyone fell silent. He swallowed, tightening his fingers around the microphone

“My sister, Nora, is a lawyer, Lyssa—that’s part of why I wanted to move closer to her,” Michael said. He fumbled
with his glasses, then glanced down at Lyssa. When he spoke again, he didn’t gaze up at the rest of the crowd; he looked only at her.