TIME HEALS ALL WOUNDS
Maryah
Krista crawled into bed with me and rubbed aloe on my arm. “They don’t hate you.”
“I almost burned down their house, and Carson definitely hates me.”
“He’s just a kid. He probably hates everyone.”
“He’s only a year younger than us.”
She set the aloe bottle on the nightstand. “Yeah, but we’re old souls. He has a lot of growing up to do.”
“What if they all end up hating me? Or what if death came for me that night, but something went wrong? Now it’s going to keep coming for me. Like the fire, maybe that was death’s second attempt. What if I’m putting people in danger by being here?”
She laughed. “You watch too many scary movies. Death isn’t some black-robed figure hunting you down and staging freak accidents to kill you.”
No, death is a gorgeous movie-star angel man that rides a motorcycle and sat beside you at the hospital . I wanted to say that, but I chose something less loony. “What’s up with you being all buddy-buddy with everyone?”
“What do you mean?”
“Hugging everyone, and smacking Carson. You’re making yourself right at home.”
“They’re very hospitable—and loveable.”
“Loveable? You hardly know them.”
“Shhh.” Her fingers glided over my burn in her trademark figure eight pattern. “Think healing thoughts.”
Krista had an obsession with wanting to make people feel better. She’d done the healing thoughts thing since as far back as I could remember.
I faked a smile. “Seriously, my arm is okay. Stop stressing.”
“How’s your head?”
“Fine.” Since the age of two I’d gotten chronic headaches that doctors couldn’t prevent or cure. My brain surgery didn’t help matters. My ears had been buzzing so loud it made me dizzy, like a dozen bumblebees drag racing around my head. Thankfully, the bees had gone to bed. “What about you? You’ve got those dark circles under your eyes that always show up right before you get sick.”
“I’m just tired.” She wrapped her pinky around mine. “Let’s get some sleep. We’ve been through a lot today.”
“That’s an understatement.”
Krista recited the same line she’d used every night since we were little. “Sweet dreams, Pudding. The stars are waiting for you.”
Freakin’ stars. She had no idea how much guilt the mention of them caused me.
I fell asleep within minutes, but woke up several times, tossing and turning. Each time I felt disoriented because of the unfamiliar room. Blame it on the dream catcher, or the mental overload of being in Sedona, but when I did reach deep sleep, my dreams were intense.
I stood in the guestroom, watching Krista and me sleep. The dreaming version of me crawled into my side of bed, melding like a vaporous cloud with my sleeping body. Even in my dreams Krista smelled like a yummy candle store.
Her dark wavy hair cascaded across her pillow. I rested my forehead against hers and she stirred, pulling the comforter up around her shoulder. Her hand was glowing.
“Wake up,” I said. “Your hand looks like the moon.”
I placed my ghost-like fingers on her eyelids, and gently pushed them open. They were a kaleidoscope of light and colors: lavender, lime, and silver. A million flecks of shimmery dust swirled through her eyeballs like a glittery snowstorm. I snapped my fingers, but she wouldn’t wake up.
My new but very old ring looked similar to Krista’s eyes. The peacock feather floated in the tiny glass bubble. Speckles of shimmery light churned around it like the inside of a miniature snow globe. The feather floated up and out of my ring, quadrupling in size, and drifted toward the bedroom door. I followed it into the hallway.
Louise’s paintings were glowing just like Krista’s eyes. The peacock feather looped through the air, landing on a canvas covered with an extraordinary mixture of green and yellow. I tried grabbing the feather, but it sunk deep into the painting. The colors crawled off the canvas and up my arm, wrapping around me. I giggled at the tingly sensation. Emerald and gold swirled around my phantom body then expanded and filled the hallway. The river of colors flowed forward, carrying me down the hall until I reached the door that Louise said was Nathan’s room.
I heard rustling inside so I tried going in. The doorknob rattled, but I couldn’t open it.
“Hello?” said a deep voice from the other side.
I panicked, feeling like a trespasser. The river of colors turned ice cold. I gasped as the door opened and I glimpsed my movie-star angel man. Luminous beams of emerald, gold, and sapphire poured out of his room, mixing with the river and filling the hallway up to the ceiling.
I was pulled under until I drowned in an endless ocean of multicolored light.
∞
My eyes were still swollen and itchy from crying the night before, so when I woke up and saw green and blue glitter swirling around our bed, I had to question it.
“Kris, is there sparkly dust floating above you?”
When she didn’t answer, I rolled over to nudge her awake, but her side of the bed was empty. I looked up, but the shimmery cloud had disappeared. The swaying peacock feathers of the dream catcher combined with the sunlight pouring through the windows must have created an optical illusion. I threw on Mikey’s hat before making my way to the kitchen.
Louise and Krista sat at the counter looking at a book together.
“Good morning, Maryah,” Louise said. “How’d you sleep?”
“Fine.”
“How’s your arm?”
I twisted my elbow around to look at my burn, but it looked almost normal. “All good.”
“That aloe must have done wonders,” Louise said to Krista.
“Nah, Maryah’s always been a fast healer.” Krista shimmied her eyebrows at me then pointed toward the floor-to-ceiling windows. “See that huge red rock formation in the distance? It’s Cathedral Rock, one of the major vortexes.”
“Vortexes?”
“Yes,” Louise answered. “Sedona is home to four major sacrosanct funnels.”
“Sacro what?”
Krista stuck her nose back in the book, but Louise smiled. “Sacred centers of omnipotent energy.”
No clue what she was talking about, but the view was epic. Like the Lunas carved their house into the side of a cliff so they could gaze down at the colorful earth. Why in the world did my parents ever leave Sedona? “It’s some view.”
“The original owner thought so too,” Louise said. “That’s why she built the house here.” She gazed out the window and thumbed her necklace. “Would you like some breakfast?”
“I’ll make myself some cereal if that’s okay.”
“You don’t have to ask permission. Help yourself to whatever you like. Cereal is in the pantry.”
I grabbed two boxes and poured milk onto my sweet and healthy combo. Louise eyed my bowl. “I see you like to mix your flavors.”
“One flavor is too boring.”
“Interesting, Nathaniel does the same thing.”
This guy sure did come up a lot. Maybe he was Louise’s favorite. Mothers aren’t supposed to have a favorite child, but regardless of the unwritten rule, they usually did. (Mine definitely did.) Or maybe it was because Nathaniel left for college a couple days ago and Louise missed having him around.
The side door to the kitchen flew open and a blur of white and pink barreled into me. I almost fell over, but the girl held me in place with a bear hug.
“It’s so good to see you again!” she squealed.
Louise closed her book. “Maryah, Krista, meet Faith.”
The girl pulled back to look at me, but kept her grip on my arms. “We’ve missed you so much! Tell me everything! What adventures have you had? What was Maryland like? I’m loving your straight hair!”
I stared at her in shock. She was a little shorter than me, but her energy made her seem ten feet tall. Her hair was white as snow with random pieces dyed bright pink. Silver sunglasses with rhinestones sparkled on her head like a tiara. Iridescent shades of pink shadowed her aquamarine eyes, accented by a diamond brow ring. Her tan skin even shimmered because her face powder had glitter in it.
“What do you mean it’s good to see me again?”
“Technically the last time I saw you was—”
“Faith,” Louise interrupted. “Let’s keep the explanations to recent interactions.”
“Sorry, Louise, ancient habits die hard.” Faith looked me up and down with a big grin. “For now, let’s stick to the basics. We met when we were younger and got along famously, but you wouldn’t remember that.” She squeezed my arms. “I’m so glad you’re back!”
She turned to Krista and let out an ear-piercing shriek then hugged her too. Krista played along, rocking her side to side like they’d known each other forever.
Faith looked the same age as us, so how could she remember meeting me as a baby? I couldn’t remember anyone from my childhood before like, age five, four at the most. Either this girl had a remarkable brain as a baby or she had mental issues.
Heavy footsteps out on the deck got progressively louder. Then, a girl with the exact same face as Faith’s—in a much darker package—stepped through the kitchen door.
Louise spooned cookie dough onto a baking sheet. “And this is Faith’s twin sister, Harmony.”
“Did she return mentally challenged and you have to explain we’re twins?” Harmony snarled.
“I won’t dignify your childish question with an answer.” Louise casually slid a pan of cookies into the oven and winked at me. “I’m sure you’ve guessed which one is the evil twin.”
Harmony was the complete opposite of her sister, with the exception of the identical facial structure and similar hairstyle. Where Faith’s hair was white, Harmony’s was jet black, and her colored sections were deep purple. Nothing sparkled on this girl. She had the same facial piercing as Faith, but instead of a diamond, her stone looked like obsidian and was located above the opposite eye. She wore head to toe black, including combat boots.
She removed her sleek sunglasses and wrapped them around her neck like a choker. Her charcoal eyes glanced to the left and right of me—back and forth, never making contact with mine. After a minute of optical ping-pong, she plopped down on a kitchen stool. “I don’t see what all the fuss is about.”
The good twin’s chipper voice eased my discomfort. “Harmony’s in a bad mood. Don’t take anything she says personally, Maryah.”
Faith stood in perfect posture, her feet turned out like a ballerina, her shoulders pulled back elegantly. It caused me to involuntarily stand up straight. “Louise, is it okay if I take Maryah and Krista to Tlaquepaque with me? I want to show them around town.”
I answered Faith’s question before Louise could. “No thanks. I need to talk to Louise and Anthony about my guardianship thing today.”
Faith scrunched her face up like she smelled something bad. “Before or after they repair the fire damage in your room?”
My eyes opened so wide a pain shot through my head. How did she know about the fire?
“She has a point,” Krista said. “Louise, would you rather us get lost for a while?”
“Heavens, no. I love having both of you around. However, Maryah, I do think you should see more than just our house before you decide whether or not to live here.”
“Krista, how long are you here?” Faith asked.
“Our flight home is booked for tomorrow night.”
“Then we’re definitely spending the day together. No debating.”
Krista shoved Evil Twin’s shoulder and I worried she was about to get punched. “Are you going?”
Much to my relief, Harmony didn’t shove her back. She didn’t even look up from her purple fingernails. “No, I’m meeting Carson here. We need to talk to Louise and Anthony about Carson’s birthday present.”
“I thought his birthday wasn’t for another couple months?” Krista asked.
How the heck did she know that?
“Right,” Harmony agreed. “But he can’t wait that long. He needs his Mustang now.”
I must’ve made my What-the-Fudge face because Louise glanced at me and elaborated. “All of the men in this family have Mustangs. Dylan and Nathaniel both received theirs on their sixteenth birthday. It’s tradition.”
I couldn’t imagine anyone giving me a car. I couldn’t even imagine owning a car. As bratty as Carson was, it hardly seemed fair. But nothing about life seemed fair anymore.
Faith grabbed a handful of cookies before heading for the foyer. “I’ll wait for you two out front!”
The front door slammed shut. Louise and Harmony’s tense silence was my and Krista’s cue to exit and we happily took it.
As we got ready in the guest room, I kept thinking about the ominous vibe Harmony gave off. I’d seen and met Goth kids that put effort into looking scary, but Harmony didn’t wear pale powder or dark lipstick, or draw dramatic lines around her eyes. She didn’t need to. “Something about Harmony is genuinely shuddersome.”
Krista tied her hair into a loose bun. “You think so? I like her.”
“Like her? She barely said two sentences, and she looked like she wanted to kill someone.”
“Maybe she’s had a rough life.”
“How rough could it be? Her sister is like a real-life Tinkerbell—a vividly colorful version. How’d she end up so happy, and Harmony end up so…not?”
Krista waited by the door. “People walk different paths, even when they’re family.”
I pulled on Mikey’s Ravens hat. “Can you believe she has the audacity to think she can talk Louise and Anthony into giving Carson his car early?”
“Who are we to judge?”
“You act like everyone here is perfect, even when they act weird or mean. Seriously, what’s going on with you?”
She looked away and dug through her purse. After several seconds I realized she wasn’t going to answer me.
My breath caught in my throat.
How could I have been so blind? Krista wanted me to move to Sedona. That’s why she kept acting like these people could do no wrong.
I clenched my jaw and forced my eyes to stay dry. I’d been so caught up in my own misery that I didn’t think about what others were going through. I was an uninvited dark presence in Krista’s previously happy home. I’d be a constant reminder to my uncle that his only sister was gone forever. I probably brought everyone down. No one deserved that.
“You ready?” Krista asked.
I didn’t want to ruin Krista’s perfect life. Or be a burden to my aunt and uncle. If I really loved my family, I’d move to Sedona so they could get on with their lives. “Sorry I took so long, but yes, I’m ready.”
