“Are you sure you don’t want to go with us?” Mom asked as she was bustling around the kitchen the next morning, packing up snacks and drinks for the drive. They were going into Great Falls to see the apartment, and Mom was going to stop by and apply at a few other facilities that might need nurses before the one that wanted to hire her needed her to start. She was so scatterbrained at the moment, so out of sorts, I could tell she was anxious and nervous about the entire trip.
The long piece of polished wood stood about six feet tall, it’s top adorned with several large gems that twinkled in the morning light as it filtered through the trees. Sapphires, diamonds, an emerald or two, all of the stones were beautiful, but in the very center of the staff, there was a large opening which I didn’t quite understand. I would have to sort that out later. For now, I took the polished wood in my hand and marveled at how beautiful it was. It fit so nicely in my palm, as if the forest had taken into consideration just how long my fingers were, just how strong my grip would be.
“You know what this is?” I asked Grandma, holding the staff in one hand and Sam’s hand in the other.“Of course I do,” Grandma said before taking a sip from her steaming hot mug of coffee like it was no big deal at all that she knew what the magical weapon I’d just found in the forest was capable of. “I’ve never seen it befor
I sat in my room alone for a few minutes after Sam had left, not sure what to do. I felt as if I had done something wrong, but I didn’t know what it was, and I didn’t know who to ask. The idea of calling Sam and asking him why he ran out the door seemed ridiculous. Likewise, I could hardly call Ben and ask him.After a few moments, I took the box and hid it und
“That is possibly the most amazing thing I’ve ever seen,” Joshua said as he stepped over. He was talking about the staff, of course. It did look impressive, especially the way that it was glowing now in the darkness of the forest. All of the gems were lit up, and the ruby in the middle was so beautiful as it sparkled there in the dim light.“Thank y
“How was your trip?” I asked my mom, not sitting down at the table with her and Grandma. I was actually starving since I’d been out in the forest all day long and hadn’t eaten anything, but I knew Joshua was waiting on me, too, so I set about making myself a sandwich, hoping I could just take that and some chips up to my room without having to talk too long.
I slid my bedroom window open as quietly as I could and leaned out of it. “Toss it up!” I whisper-shouted to Joshua.Ordinarily, I would not trust myself to catch a sponge ball under these circumstances. I’ve never been the most athletic person and have never played any sports, other than the ones I was forced to play in PE at school. But when Joshua toss
I went to the door and threw it open to find my sister standing there with her arms folded. “What?” I asked her, exhausted, hungry, and ready to be done with my whole family, which was sad since they were leaving the next day. I didn’t want to feel so grumpy, but I did want some privacy.“Who were you talking to?” she demanded, coming into my
My family has gotten very good at packing. Since a lot of the stuff they’d be needing was still in boxes in the garage, when Max got back to the house with the rental moving truck he’d found a few towns over just before noon, Mom and us girls had a lot of it moved out of the garage and positioned near the back porch so we could start loading it in. Max would need to get the bigger stuff himself. I’d asked Sam to come over and help with that, even though we still hadn’t talked about what had happened. He’d agreed to help out. Ben was at work, and Joshua was finishing up those few lawns he had needed to work on.