Chapter 2

The Vanishing Glass

"Come on!" Jack woke with a start when his aunt knocked on the door. "Wake up! Now!"

Jack stretched in his bed and slowly got up. He sat on his bed for a moment and jumped again when his cousin began to pound on the door.

"Wake up Frost! We're going to the zoo!" Wee Dingwall shouted before running downstairs. He could hear his five-year-old cousin running through the hallway and giggling. He stood, got dressed and headed downstairs.

He and his step-cousin, Wee Dingwall were only one month apart. Today was Wee's eleventh birthday, and his parents were taking them to the zoo. Jack was only ten, and his birthday wasn't until July 31st. His little cousin, Emma, had just turned five, and was going to start kindergarten this upcoming school year.

Jack went and helped his aunt prepare breakfast. His uncle sat at the table reading the newspaper. He and Jack didn't get along well, but Dingwall Sr. wasn't the worst person you could meet. He was just…impatient.

"Hurry Jack, where's my breakfast?" He asked.

"Coming, Uncle Dingwall." He said.

"When are we going?" Wee asked.

"When you finish breakfast." Maudie replied strictly.

Wee sat down and ate his breakfast hastily. Emma ate her breakfast quickly as well.

"What will we do first?" Wee asked again.

"We're going to feed Emma to the lions!" Jack said.

"Nooooo!" Emma cried.

"Jack," Maudie said sternly, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Good idea Jack," Wee said. "Or let the gorillas have at her!"

"Noooooo!" Emma cried again.

"Boys, stop teasing her!" Dingwall snapped. The boys stopped but giggled silently to themselves.

Once breakfast was over, they all went outside. Wee and Emma piled into the car. Before Jack stepped in, Dingwall slammed the door and pulled him aside.

"I warn you boy, any funny business, and there will be consequences." He said. "Get in the car."

Jack rolled his eyes and did as his uncle told him.

~jb~

At the zoo, Wee was pressed up against a glass cage, looking into an enclosed area with a snake.

"It's not doing anything." Emma mused, watching it carefully.

"Make him move!" Wee said.

Dingwall tapped the glass. "Move!"

Wee banged on the glass violently. "Move!"

"He's asleep!" Jack reasoned.

"He's boring." Wee sighed and walked away. Maudie and Dingwall also walked away, Emma following closely behind. Jack lingered for a while.

"Sorry about him." Jack said. "He doesn't know what it's like, lying in there day after day, and watching people press their ugly faces in on you."

The snake opened its eyes and lifted his head, as if in response.

"Can you…hear me?" Jack asked hesitantly. To his surprise, the snake nodded.

"I'm sorry…it's just…I never talked to a snake before… You're from the jungles…what's it like? Do you miss your family?"

The snake pointed its nose to a sign, saying; "Raised in Captivity".

"I see," Jack said. "I didn't know my parents either…" Suddenly, Wee ran up to him and pushed him out of the way, as if he were just a piece of trash.

"Mummy! Look what the snake's doing!" He shouted.

Jack sat up and looked up at Wee. He was pressed up against the glass. Suddenly the glass disappeared and Wee fell into the exhibit. The snake slithered out and onto the floor. He lifted his head and looked at Jack. "Thanksssssssss." It said with a male-like voice.

"Anytime…" Jack said hesitantly. The snake slithered away, scaring people as it went.

~jb~

"Jack…" Maudie knocked on the door before opening it. "Are you all right?" She walked in and sat at the end of his bed. "Tell me what happened."

"I swear, I don't know!" Jack snapped from under the covers. He felt ashamed of what happened. He knew he and his cousin didn't always get along. But he pushed him over in his excitement, and Jack took offense without thinking…

"One minute the glass was there and then it was gone…" He continued. "It was like…magic!"

Maudie nodded. She stayed silent for a long time, but she kept opening her mouth as though she wanted to tell him something. She shook her head, fighting back tears.

"It's not your fault…" She said. "No…there's no such thing as magic…I'll deal with Dingwall…I just want you to forget this day happened." She stood and left the room.

Jack sat in his bed, lost in thought. Despite what Maudie told him, and after everything he saw today, he refused to believe there was no such thing as magic.