I leaned back against the elevator wall, watching the numbers over the door go up. When it got to seven, a bell dinged and the door rolled open. My leather shoes made a slight squeaking noise as I walked down the quiet hallway. I turned my key in one of the doors, and walked into my office.
It wasn't really an office. I liked to call it an office since it was in an office building and it was an office on the rental agreement. Besides, "office" sounds better at cocktail parties. The walls had the same white paint as any other office in the building. There was the same bland brown floor as all the others. It was everything else in the room that made it not fit the definition of office. An easel stood in the corner, next to a wooden sculpture of a tiger. I'd bought the sculpture from a fellow artist at a convention. A bulletin board held images of family and inspirational quotes. My microwave and mini-fridge sat on an old table on the other side of the room.
I had pinned some concept sketches to another bulletin board, placed over my desk. The sketches were for a children's picture book my sister May Belle and I had created called Lisa's Mystical Adventure. May Belle wrote the book, and I drew the pictures. We combined our ideas like we did in the days of Terabithia. In the story, a five year old girl named Lisa finds her older brother Davie wrecking the places where she normally plays. She brings him on a magical adventure through imagination, and teaches him about the possibilities it brings.
I sat down at my desk and flipped to a clean page in my sketchbook. Lark Creek Library wanted me to paint a mural for their children's section. I pulled their letter from the stack of papers.
Dear Jesse Aarons, Jr:
Lark Creek has recently been granted permission to build a new library next to Lark Creek School. The Lark Creek Library Committee has decided that a native of the community should be asked to create a mural for the children's Reading Corner. It would be a pleasure to have you working for us.
We would like to promote the joy of reading with the mural. The mural will be 3 feet long and 5 feet wide. We have enclosed a photograph of the wall you will be working with.
My best regards,
Alison Lindgren
Lark Creek Library Committee Representative
So, they wanted to promote children reading for fun. How could I show that using visuals? "The joy of reading" is extremely vague idea. I didn't know how much leeway I really had with this project.
"Go back to your roots," I told myself. I thought back to the days of Terabithia. There were mountain trolls, ogres, fairies... what else? There was Prince, the dog I had given to Leslie as a Christmas gift, but I doubted he would look good in a mural. I sighed. There was nothing else I could think of. I just had to start drawing.
I worked so hard, creating and shaping the world in the mural. I took everything I knew from Terabithia, but eventually combined it with other ideas. Fifteen square feet began to seem too small for everything I wanted to put in. Page after page of sketchbook paper was wasted on flawed attempts of making the scene. They were all good, I knew, but to me, good wouldn't cut it. It had to be perfect.
When I finally got the drawing just right, I had been drawing for six hours straight. My wrist hurt. My stomach growled. I put my pencil down carefully, afraid to even put a single stray pencil mark on my creation. I held up my picture to my desk lamp. The light shone through it like the glow around an angel. I was done!
The mural was divided into three different sections. Three children held open books, centered on each of the sections. The boy on the left held a yellow book. Behind him, a group of green aliens stood on a rocky moon-like surface, mingling with astronauts. The sky was filled with stars. The center section had a girl with a red book. Behind her was a forest filled with trees. A knight was pointing his sword at a fierce, fire-breathing dragon. I also hid Lisa in the background. The boy on the right held a blue book. His background scene was a stereotypical Western town, with a dusty country road, a boardwalk, and several rickety buildings. Two cowboys pointed their fingers at each other threateningly. There was no way I could get away with giving them real guns. Each of the background scenes would blend together when I had it painted.
"That's a beautiful picture, Jesse! Who's it for?"
I jumped. I had been in such a state of glory after finishing the sketch for the mural I didn't even notice May Belle come in. She carried a black and white striped cookie tin in her hands and a purse on her arm.
I explained, "It's for the new Lark Creek Library. They want me to make it into a mural for the kid's reading corner. What's in the tin?"
"They were supposed to be pecan chocolate-chip cookies, but I left them in the oven too long," May Belle sighed. "They were for the picnic I was going to take Robert on. Now I have to make another batch."
"Who's Robert?"
"Robert Thompson is my boyfriend, remember?"
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Sometimes it was difficult for me to remember May Belle was grown up. It seemed such a short while ago I was crowning her the Second Queen of Terabithia. I took the cookie tin from my younger sister and pried it open. I took one of the burned cookies out of the tin to eat it.
"So, you're just here to give me some cookies?" I asked.
Her eyes lit up. "Oh no," she insisted. She rummaged around in her purse before pulling out a folded piece of paper. She handed it to me.
I opened it up. It had the Blue Sky Children's Publishing letterhead, but was otherwise blank.
May Bell explained, "Blue Sky contacted me yesterday about Lisa's Mystical Adventure. They said they wanted to publish it and asked if we wanted to dedicate it to anyone. I think we both know who we should dedicate it to. I wanted to bring it to you because I knew you would have the right words."
"You're so much better with words than I am!" I exclaimed.
"Usually, but not with this. These words have to come from your heart." Her voice was steady and motherly. It reassured me.
"To Leslie," I said.
May Belle prompted me to keep going.
I took a deep breath. "To Leslie," I said, quieter this time. "To Leslie... who opened my eyes... and... showed me a world beyond."
"Beyond what?" May Belle asked.
"Beyond. Beyond here. Beyond the schools and the rush hour and the taxes, to something more beautiful than could ever exist in our world. The children will understand."
"I hope they will," May Belle said. "I'll see you next week."
She turned and walked out of my office, closing the door behind her. She'd left her tin of cookies behind. I'd just eat the cookies and give her the tin whenever I saw her again. I turned my attention back to the mural sketch. I put it into a padded envelope. I would have to take it to Alison Lindgren tomorrow. I still had errands to run.
I switched off the lights, picked up the envelope, and left my office. I locked the door. As I walked to the elevator, I thought back to what I had said in the dedication. "To Leslie, who opened my eyes and showed me a world beyond." It was the perfect thing to say. I looked up. Somewhere in heaven, I was sure Leslie was smiling.
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Author's Note: Thank you for reading my very first one-shot! I'm a bit nervous about how people will respond to this, especially with keeping Leslie dead. Please don't kill me!
I'd also like to thank LeKat for beta reading this story. She was really good at pointing out my continuity problems. If there's something we both missed, don't hesitate to let me know.