Before I Fall

Chapter 25

Rikki's Journal

Summer was looking up. With friends, and fun, and no sign of moving any time soon. My daddy loved his job, and he was good at it too. The street was very friendly, and my daddy let me play with my friends all day on the street outside. I guess we had found where we belonged, and nothing was going to pull us away.

Being 10 was the best thing ever. I had more freedom, more fun. I knew more than the little kids on the block, and I liked being wiser. Kids looked up to me, and I kind of liked that. I felt like I was back in South Africa. I felt like I belonged here.

This summer started out as the best summer of my life. With Ivy, Lilith and Michelle, I had lots of fun everyday and not even the Torture Twins could ruin it, nothing could ruin it. I was a whole new girl, I was a part of something. Life was great for me. I didn't think anything could go wrong, and nothing in the world could be wrong. But I was young, and I thought a lot of things.

Ivy had crazy ideas, ideas Lilith seemed to always be against. I loved her ideas, and was always on her side when Lilith and Michelle tried to talk us out of things. We never listened, and ended up in so much trouble. This time was no different.

Ivy had decided that we were going to visit this old fountain deep in the forest behind her house. She had been back there once, and she had told us that it was pretty far back there, but the walk was worth it to see this fountain. She explained about the old path that you could barely see and she was going to take us there. Lilith was completely against the idea, even going so far as to say she wasn't going to go with us. I could tell Michelle didn't want to come, but she didn't want to look like a baby in front of Ivy.

In the end, after lunch that day we all started into the woods behind Ivy's house. Ivy was in the lead, Michelle and me right behind her. Lilith followed close behind the two of us. Ivy had been right when she said you could barely see the path. It was cover with leaves, and many branches were in our way. We had to hold branches back, climb over tree trunks, and step around holes. But there was defiantly a path, for every other part of the forest was not as clear as this one part. Still if didn't know where you were going, you would get lost, fast.

"Are we even going the right way?" Lilith asked when we had been walking for a long time. I was wondering the same thing, but I didn't ask.

"Yeah, it's just a little further," Ivy said pushing another branch out of the way. "Trust me, this is worth the walk."

I heard Lilith sigh, but she was still following close behind Michelle and me. I think she knew we were lost before we even started into the woods.

After about another hour or something like that, we made it to this clearing, and in the middle of the clearing was a fountain. It was beautiful, really old and covered in a green plant, but you could still tell that it was a statue of a mermaid in the middle. She had no face anymore, and I think one of her arms had fallen off as well. She was in this sitting position, and I couldn't help but just stare at her.

"I told you it was worth the walk," Ivy said with this smile that kind of scared me. "And it's magical."

"Magical?" Michelle and Lilith questioned at the same time.

Ivy nodded and pulled out a penny from her pocket. She looked to each of us, then smiled, before she throw the penny into the fountain and said, "I wish that one day something magical could happen to all three of us."

There was a bit of silence after the penny fell into the waterless fountain. We all just stared at the fountain for a little bit, then Lilith burst into laughter and said, "Yeah, like something magical is going to happen to us one day. Maybe we will all turn into mermaids." She sighed and stepped away from where the three of us were standing.

"Nonbelievers get nothing," Ivy called to her. "Only believers get magic, right Rikki?" She was looking to me now. I didn't know what to say.

Finally, I found my voice and I whispered, "Right." But Ivy was already looking at Michelle.

"I don't know, maybe," Michelle said softly. "I don't know."

"You two are nonbelievers," Ivy said putting her arm through mine. "Only we will get magic, right Rikki."

"Right," I whispered again. Truthfully I didn't know what I believed, but I do know that the place did seem magical. I wanted to believe in what Ivy was saying, it was so easy to. But I didn't want to upset Michelle or Lilith.

"Can we go back, I think it is getting dark," Lilith said right then, looking up past the trees to the orangish sky.

"Yeah, Yeah we're going," Ivy said starting back into the woods with the three of us on her tail.

It didn't take long for it to get dark. No matter how much we couldn't see the path anymore, Ivy continued to walk, with us close on her heels. I was starting to get scared, and stepped a bit closer to Ivy. I could tell Michelle and Lilith were scared as well. They were standing close together behind us, Lilith almost grabbing my shirt.

"You do know where we are?" Lilith asked, the fear Michelle and I weren't showing coming out in her voice.

"Of course I do," She said as she pulled another branch out of the way. Then she stopped and looked around. "Or at least I think I do."

"Ivy!" Lilith cried.

"I'll get us home," Ivy said, but I could already hear the fear in her voice too. I was starting to worry.

After another few hours of walking in circles, we could see light. Lilith and Michelle ran ahead of us. Ivy and I came through into the opening not too far behind them to find that we were now in Lilith's backyard, three houses down from Ivy's. There was also a lot of commotion on the street. We walked out there to find everyone and a few police gathered in the street.

"There they are," I heard Cassie, one of the torture twins call pointing in our direction. Then we had parents and police all over us, asking where we were and saying they were so glad that we were safe.

It turns out that it was midnight by the time we had found our way home. Everyone had been worried sick, especially my dad. The next day, my dad spent all day packing up the house, and keeping me inside. Late that night, he put most of our stuff in the car, put me in the car, dressed in my nighty, and he started to drive. He didn't stop until it was very light outside, and I had no idea where we were. Even then we only stopped for breakfast and to change into regular clothes. I didn't know how long we were going to drive, and I was scared my daddy didn't either.