Forced Magic (23 page)

“Don’t laugh too hard, Michelle. With one stray thought you
could’ve been wearing this and I could be in the dress.”

Fetch found this really funny and started to snort purple
fire. He got ahold of himself, picked up the fuzzy stocking cap and handed it
to Michelle. He sat there in front of her. He looked from the hat to Michelle
over and over again.

“Oh all right, you overgrown lizard,” she said.

She put the stocking cap on, pulling it down until it
covered her entire head. We all laughed at this. I thought back to all the
times I had enjoyed laughter like this with my new friends. They were the best
times I'd had in years. This, more than anything, strengthened my resolve to
help Johnathen by showing myself to the magic world, whether he wanted me to or
not.

I grabbed some clothes and a few towels and announced I
would be taking a shower myself. I closed the door to the small bathroom to the
sounds of Michelle and Fetch's laughter. As I stood under the water, I felt a
strange tingling sensation on my leg. I looked down at the strange mark left
from Fetch's hatching. It itched a little. I touched it and felt its strange roughness.
If it wasn’t so high up on my thigh I would have shown it to Michelle to see
what she thought, but I figured that would be a little embarrassing. Fetch had
enough to laugh at, without me adding an awkward exchange like showing a mark
on my leg to Michelle. I dried off and put my clothes on in the small bathroom.
I was feeling a little raw at the idea of Fetch always having a laugh at my
expense. I could still hear the two of them laughing in the next room. I wanted
to get Fetch back. After all, it was because of him that I was ever in the
purple sweats and blue T-shirt combo. An idea was beginning to form in my
head.  With my new discovery of what I could do with my magic, a trick I could
play on Fetch was forming in my mind. Something that might even make him think
twice about playing another trick on me.  I sat down on the toilet lid and
concentrated on an image. I knew he had to be close to the bed, so I knew I
could use one of the pillows. I let the magic build in me. It was easier this
time. It was as if the magic just had to get used to the idea of what I was
doing for it to work. After I was sure that I had a clear image of what I
wanted, I pushed. From the next room I heard a yelp of surprise from Fetch,
followed by a shriek from Michelle, which was quickly followed by peals of her
laughter. I had a feeling that was a good sign. I walked out of the bathroom to
the funniest thing I could possibly imagine. The magic had worked better than I
had expected.

Fetch stood there with a surprised look on his face as he
stared in the mirror. On his head, attached by a bright yellow bow, was a
twirly beanie cap. The propeller was spinning and whistling a happy little
tune. He had a pink T-shirt with gold letters saying 'I’m a widdle dwagon'
across the chest. Slowly Fetch turned to look at me. I knew I was in trouble. I
didn’t care. I was laughing too hard to care. Whatever he was going to do, it
was worth it. He got up in my face. Then, with all the pomp and drama he could
master, bowed down to me. He continued to keep bowing in front of me, admitting
that I finally got the best of him. I know he picked up on the bowing thing
from some movie he saw on TV the other night. We all laughed at Fetch scraping
the ground in front of me as the beanie continued to twirl and whistle. This
was turning out to be a great day.

We spent the day in the room, ordering room service and
watching whatever was on TV. I hoped Smith would be home. I was sure I could
find the bush and I made a hopeful guess that, now that Fetch and I were
friends of the gnome's, we would be able to get into his tunnel. I hoped
Michelle would be able to also. Another guess made me believe that as long as
she was with us she would be able to enter the cave. The day stretched out like
a day will when you are waiting to do something. Finally it began to get dark
and we decided to go.

After getting some food, and asking Michelle if she was ok
about a hundred times, we left to go see Smith. As luck would have it, we
didn’t have to try to enter on our own. I found him trimming the bush where he
lived. His face lit up when he saw me and Fetch. He waved to us
enthusiastically. He opened the tunnel and before we went in I told him I had a
surprise for him. We went into the tunnel and Michelle touched him, allowing
him to see her. He was love struck immediately. He took her hand and patted it
muttering “My, my, what a beauty, what a beauty.”

 I let out a little sigh of relief that he was so accepting
of Michelle so quickly.

“Hello. My name is Michelle," she said with a little
giggle.

It was plain to see that she liked Smith right off the bat.

“Of course you are, my dear. I knew it the moment I saw
you,” said Smith as he led us down the tunnel never taking his eyes off of her.
"Pek has told me all about you, though he never said you were so
beautiful."

“You know Pek?” asked Michelle.

“Of course I do my dear,” answered Smith, proudly pointing
to his laptop.

“Who is Pek?” I asked. 

The name sounded familiar but I couldn’t place it.

Smith waved a hand in a dismissive way toward me and, never
letting Michelle out of his sight, said, “All in good time my boy. You will
know all in good time.”

He reached above his head and pulled on a long root that was
protruding through the roof of his home. He pulled it all the way through the
ground. It made a popping sound and Smith was standing there with a bunch of
flowers in his hand. They were roses in the process of blooming. They bloomed
in his hands and changed colors. When they were fully bloomed, they gently
shrank down to buds and started to bloom again.

They were beautiful and strange, and Michelle loved them.
She leaned in and gave Smith a kiss on the cheek, thanking him. Smith's face
turned beet red and he touched his cheek like he would never wash it again.
Fetch, not liking all the attention Smith was getting from Michelle, came up
and stood between them. Smith put his hands on his hips and, looking like an
old teacher about to scold a mischievous student said, “Well my friend, we are
just going to have to fight for her.”

They glared at each other eye to eye. Both Michelle and I
froze. We didn’t know how serious this was. I knew that Smith seemed timid and
weak, but looks can be very deceiving. I had a hunch there was a lot more to
Smith than was apparent and that was why I wanted to come see him.

After a few tense moments of glaring at each other, Smith
threw back his head and began to laugh his chipmunk laugh. Fetch joined in the
laughter. Michelle and I started breathing again.

Smith threw his arms around Fetch's neck like you would to a
long lost friend.

“Imagine me, challenging a dragon for the honor of a
beautiful lady.”

He shook his head. I still had a suspicion that he could
handle himself a lot better than he was letting on.

“You will just have to get used to having two suitors who
obviously adore you Michelle. I don’t think Fetch could survive the fury of a
gnome attack.”

With this comment Fetch and Smith roared with laughter
again.

Michelle and I glanced at each other. Neither one of us
fully understood the humor. We started laughing anyway. We were of this magic
world and more of the non-magic world seemed to be a dream. I thought about my
brother and hoped he was ok. His life had changed so much, affected by magic
without him being aware of it. I made a promise to do everything I could to
keep that from happening again. It was wrong to manipulate people. All this
talk of keeping the magic world secret from the non-magic word was untrue. As
long as the fairies were allowed to affect people’s lives there was no true
separation. Only deception. It had to stop. People had to know the truth in
both the magic world and the non-magic world. I hoped that Smith was the one
that could help with accomplishing that.

Smith was wiping his eyes and breathing heavily from his and
Fetch's little joke. He looked at all of us with gratitude.

“Friends,” he said, “I am so grateful you are here. It can
be so lonely out here in the park. Gnomes often spend their days alone, rarely
communicating with each other. I was always a different kind, wanting the
company of others. Oh, don’t get me wrong, we are very social in our own right,
it is just hard for us to interact with other magic folk. For so long we have
done the work of cleaning up after the magic mistakes and disasters. The gnomes
are a reminder of those little mistakes people make in the magic world. Let’s
face it; most people don’t like to be reminded of their mistakes.”

"But, please, forgive me for going on. You have the
look of those who have questions that need to be answered. But, first things
first, as Jack here is a little befuddled right now, let me introduce myself to
you, Michelle. My name is Smith and it would be my honor to call you 'friend of
the gnomes'."

Michelle looked at me like she was expecting me to say
something. I shrugged and gave her a reassuring nod. I was a little embarrassed
that I didn’t introduce her to Smith, but, the way he lead her in, ignoring
Fetch and me, I hadn't known when to speak up. I didn’t really blame him
though. Michelle was one of those types of girls that commanded attention when
she entered a room, whether she meant to or not.

Michelle nodded at Smith.  Motioning her to kneel in close,
like he was about to tell her a secret, Smith kissed her on the forehead.

“Now Michelle, you are friend to the gnomes. If ever you see
our kind and need help, you have but to ask. Oh, this is wonderful! You are
just as much a legend in the magic world as Jack and Fetch are. I have secured
a place in the history books by proclaiming all three of you 'friends to the
gnomes'."

 Michelle had a strange look on her face. I didn’t blame
her. The way Smith was talking, it sounded like there was some sort of price to
being a gnome friend. I hoped we hadn’t gotten into some kind of situation we
would regret later on.

After a few moments of awkward silence, where Smith stood
there smiling at all of us, he spoke.

“Now my dear friends, even as delighted as I am for your
visit, I have the feeling that you are here for more than my famous
hospitality.”

Michelle and I just looked at each other. I knew this was
when I had to put my idea into effect. Before I could say anything, Michelle
spoke up.

"We are part of the magic world. I have been a part of
it for much longer than Jack. Fetch is completely lost to how he is supposed to
be and we are all tired of hiding. We’re ready to take the risk of being seen.
Can you tell us where there are more magical beings like yourself?”

I looked at her in surprise. She must have picked up on my
idea and she definitely said it better than I could. Smith walked over to his
fridge and took out four sodas, handing one to each of us.

"Are you sure you want the entire magic world to see
you?” he asked staring down at his unopened can of soda. "There are those
who might not accept you as easily as I or the other gnomes would. I know that
the elves already consider you a friend in some circles, Michelle, but there is
no guarantee that they would accept Jack, and the very different nature of
Fetch scares some people, and there is the issue of the Fey.”

Smith looked at Michelle at this last statement. Michelle,
as usual, had that same dark look in her eyes at the very mention of the
fairies. It hit me at how quickly her mood would change whenever the fey were
mentioned. It was kind of weird how quickly she would react. Smith opened his
soda and took a sip. Just for something to do to break this tense moment, I
moved over to sit next to Michelle. Fetch moved next to her other side.
Michelle was fighting to keep the tears from streaming down her face. She tried
to look as normal as she could as she opened her soda and took a long drink.
She was shaking a little. She was afraid. She wanted to show herself to the
magic world, but she knew she had to expose herself to the Fey as well. She was
afraid of what would happen if she met a fairy. Not necessarily what they would
do to her, but what she would do to them. I thought back to her reactions to
the very words fairy or fey and realized how deep her feelings were involving
them. I put a hand on top of hers and her thin barrier of emotions broke.

Smith stood up and came over to stand right in front of her.
He motioned her to kneel down. He put his hands on either side of her face and
looked deep into her eyes. His eyes welled up with tears.

He smiled a sad little smile and said, “Some believe that
gnomes have magic that can see into the hearts of people. You have been hurt
deeply. Someone has used magic against you and now you are looking to get even.
Feelings like resentment and hate have a very powerful effect in the magic
world.  Feelings like that can eat you alive, Michelle. In fact, in the magic
world they often do. Learn to forgive. You may discover a new truth as to what
happened to you and what the windows of your soul tell me about your family.
Magic can be harsh and, like anything else in this world, can be turned to
evil. Please let your heart heal, Michelle. Let your spirit mend.”

Tears were streaming down Michelle’s face, tears of release.
She held my hand tightly as the tears seemed to wash away some of the pain she
had felt over the years. I didn’t expect her to be completely better, but,
since Smith's words gave me reason to rethink my opinion of my fairy. Maybe it
would give her something to think about as well. She gently turned her head
away. Not willing to forgive just yet, but at least think about forgiving.

We sat there in silence for a while. The little toy mouse
came from behind the couch. It walked across the floor, passed us all, picked
up a rubber ball that was almost bigger than it was, and carried it over until
it was standing right in front of Fetch. It picked the ball up over its head
and with surprising strength threw it at Fetch's head hitting him right between
the eyes. You could hear the other toys from behind the couch cheering. The
mouse turned and walked away with a proud swish of its tail. It had obviously
won some kind of bet and showed his fellow toys who was the bravest.  Michelle
laughed a little at this. She looked better and even had a peaceful look on her
face, like she was finally starting to come to terms with things.

Smith drank down the last of his soda and encouraged us to
do the same. He got up and grabbed another one.

“There is a place where magic folk gather," he said, “a
club that is downtown. I can introduce you to folks, only those whom you find
worthy of meeting, but, promise me dear Michelle, that you will not give your
heart to another. I don’t think Fetch or I could survive the experience.”

“I urge you both to wear your teardrops at first, my
friends,” said Smith. “Walk carefully among the folk to determine whom you can
trust and whom you cannot. Trust your hearts and realize that at this place
once you reveal yourselves to one, you will eventually reveal yourselves to
all. Take care and remember, even though you are part of the magic world, you
are also part of the world of non-magic. You are still affected by it and, as I
hope you both know, it can be very dangerous. Over confidence can destroy you
just as much as a bad spell. Stay safe and I will meet you there. I feel we should
do this tonight. Strike while the idea is fresh."

"I will go on ahead and see who is there. If I feel
there is someone there you shouldn’t meet, then I will warn you when you get to
the club."

He gave us directions to the club. Surprisingly it was a
popular night spot I had been to myself. Smith saw the look of surprise on my
face and smiled.

”Yes, it is the same club you probably know of. Magic folk
gather there too. You will see when you get there how it works."

With those words he showed us on our way with a few hugs and
kisses on the cheek from Michelle. She looked happy. This short visit to Smith
seemed to really help her. I figured it must be the simple fact that she got to
hear another person talk a little about the magic world, other than Johnathen.
I felt a little pang of guilt as I thought about Johnathen. I was sure that he
wouldn’t be happy about what we were about to do. I reminded myself that we were
doing this to help Johnathen.