“Okay, okay. Geez, I get it.” She sounded annoyed, but Aru could see the small smile lifting up the corners of her mouth.
As impressed as Aru was, she also felt bad. Mini hadn’t been lying when she said the backpack wasn’t hers. It was meant to be her brother’s, when he went off on his quest.
Now Aru understood why Mini was so hesitant about everything. Not once had Mini been taught to think that maybeshewas supposed to be the hero.
“Imagine what your family will say when they wake up and realize you saved the world!” said Aru.
Mini beamed.
Boo fluttered to Aru’s shoulder. “Come along. We need to find the Court of the Seasons. I know it’s in here somewhere…” he said.
“And the second key, right?” said Mini.
Aru glanced at the mehndi design on the side of her hand. The symbol for the second key was a book. But there were no bookstalls in sight.
“You move so slowly,” scolded Boo. “And your posture has gotten worse. I don’t know how such things are possible.”
“You’re so grumpy,” said Mini. “Maybe your blood sugar is low.” She fished around in her backpack. “Here, have an Oreo.”
“I don’t want an—”
But Mini broke the cookie into small pieces and shoved a bite into his beak. Boo looked outraged for about five seconds before he finally swallowed it.
“What ambrosia is this?” He smacked his beak. “Gimme more.”
“Say please.”
“No.”
Mini fed him part of an Oreo anyway.
As they made their way into the bazaar, Aru could finally read the three huge signs pointing down the three main paths through the market:
THINGS YOU WANT
THINGS YOU NEED
THINGS YOU DON’T WANT TO NEED
“Well, weneedto get our armor and the second key…so the second sign?” Aru guessed.
Boo nodded, and off they went. Around them family clusters streamed toward the three paths. The signs floated above the ground, completely unsupported and shaped like giant ribbons with hanging tassels. The round, scalloped ends of the tassels reminded Aru of cat paws.
As Aru, Mini, and Boo got closer toTHINGS YOU NEED, the sign started moving. It skirted around the edges of a shop that sold laptops and computer wiring. They jumped and lunged at the sign, trying to catch it. But the sign kept scooting out of reach. It was dodging them.
“Hey! We’re not playing!” shouted Aru.
But the sign wouldn’t listen. It moved behind a pack of empty grocery carts. The carts swiveled on their wheels in unison, like a herd of antelope. The sign sneezed and the grocery carts scattered off in a huff.
“Why is it making this so difficult?” grumbled Mini. She had almost walked into a family of tortoise-shelled beings.
Boo flapped his wings. “You can’t just ask for things you need. You have to chase them down! Make yourself known as a worthy recipient! I’ll distract it. Then it’s up to you two.”
Boo strutted back and forth in front of the sign, as though he didn’t care about it. The sign gradually lowered itself to the ground. It reminded Aru of the way a cat oozes down from a couch, curious to investigate. Boo walked faster and turned a corner.
The sign bent around to see where he had gone…and Boo jumped out at it.
“GOTCHA!” he shouted.
