“I appreciate all the trouble you went to. You’re the most amazing friend a girl could have. Thank you.” Gillian pulled her into a hug.
“Someone needs to give you both a good, swift kick in the ass. I figured if not me, then who else would?” Saje said in a voice thick with tears. She pulled away and sniffed the air. “No offense, but you smell like Eau de vampire. They will smell you from twenty paces away.” Saje tapped her foot. “Hold on.” She picked up a packet of herbs from the table and pulled off the gleaming, silver, heart-shaped amulet from around her neck. She opened it, sprinkled some herbs inside, and waved her hands over the locket. “This will mask your scent and your heartbeat.”
“Way to think on the fly. Thank you. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t need to say anything, just go get our girl back.” She walked to the end of their table and stopped to chat with a group of women who wanted to buy raffle tickets.
Could Garrett be human again? The question reverberated inside her head like a mantra.
Once the parade got started, families with kids filled the park and gravitated toward their table. Shrieks and laughter rang through the air. The sweet smells of Carmel apples, funnel cake, and popcorn drifted closer, making her stomach rumble. Uniformed officers patrolled the area. Every now and then one would stop at the table to hand out stickers to the kids, and let her know they were keeping a close eye on her.
Gillian and Saje gave out packets of dried herbs from their garden and incense cones to the adults. The kids got candy and wooden wands. A donation can for Hope Club sat on the table. Children from the local hospital, many of them leukemia patients in remission, took part in the festivities and got the chance to march in the parade. This was a fundraiser to help pay for their treatments. When she tried to imagine the ordeal of having a sick child, and the astronomical medical expenses not covered by insurance, her heart squeezed.
A little girl who looked around six or seven, wearing a black and red witch costume, broke away from her mother and skipped toward Gillian. She stopped at the table, eyeing the candy in the cauldron before her big, green eyes darted to Gillian’s costume. “You’re Glinda, the pretty witch.”
“Well, thank you.” Gillian bent down so they were at eye level.
In the bright light of day, the girl’s pale skin and dark smears under her eyes became apparent. But her spirit shone through from her soul. No doubt about it—this kid was a fighter.
“You’re a pretty witch too. What’s your name?”
“Sienna. We both have on witch’s costumes.”
Gillian smiled. “Yes, and do you know what every witch needs? Some real magick.” Before Sienna could respond, Gillian waved her hand at the cauldron. It slid from the other side of the table and stopped in front of the little girl.
Her eyes widened. “You can do magic. You’re a real witch.” She reached toward the cauldron and pulled out a candy bar.
“Are you here with a parent, Sienna? We’d better ask first to make sure it’s okay.” Gillian gestured to the chocolate in her small hand.
Sienna turned her head and a tall woman with short, brown hair hurried over to the table to stand beside her. “Mom, can I have some candy? This is Gillian and she said I could.”
“Go ahead.” The woman smiled at Gillian. “Thank you. Hi, I’m Jacqui. I hope she’s not bothering you?”
“No, not at all. I’d like to sprinkle a little fairy dust on her if it’s okay. It’s great for making wishes.”
“Can I please have some fairy dust, Mommy?” Sienna jumped up and down with excitement. “Pretty please.”
Jacqui nodded. “Sure.”
Gillian picked up the pink sparkle dust from a cup on the table and poured some in her hand. “Can you take off your hat for a moment, honey? The dust works better if we place it on your forehead.”
When Sienna took off her hat, Gillian tried not to stare. All of her hair was gone, only peach fuzz remained. “My hair was brown before my chemo treatments, and when it grows back, I wish for it to be purple. My favorite color.”
Her mother touched her arm and pulled her close. “Sienna, your hair can’t grow back purple. Only hair dye can change the color. How about you wish for something else, sweetheart?”
“Okay, I wish for my hair to grow back again, no matter what color, so people stop asking if I’m a boy.”
Gillian tried her best not to cry, but tears clogged in the back of her throat. Sienna’s courage blew her away. When she gathered her composure, she whispered, “I think that’s a perfect wish.” She gently pressed the dust to Siannas’s forehead. “I want you to close your eyes and imagine the place where you keep all your dreams. Think of the wish in your mind over and over again until it becomes real to you. How about I add a spell for some extra magick?”
With her eyes squeezed shut, Sienna nodded her head.
May all good things come to thee.
Your beautiful hair will grow back for all to see.
And this is my will, so mote it be.
Sienna opened her eyes and smiled, revealing a missing front tooth. “Thanks for the fairy dust.”
