hot day .
I show up in a sauna.
It’s not a sauna, but it’s a sweltering car. It’s so hot I can barely breathe. I’m in the backseat, and next to me is a tiny Pomeranian, a fuzzball of a dog. He’s on his hind legs, his paws on the window, and there’s condensation on the glass from all his panting.
My heart breaks and I immediately know I did the right thing.
“You poor little guy,” I coo. “Let me help you.”
I press the button to roll down the window a crack, but nothing happens.
Of course not. The car’s off.
So I click the door handle, but it doesn’t work either. Child lock?
I’m getting dizzy from the heat. I should have brought water with me.
“It’s okay, puppy,” I say soothingly. “I’ll climb up front and open—”
That’s when I hear the growls. By the time I turn around, the fuzzball has bared its fangs and it’s an inch away from my face.
“Easy, puppy,” I say with a smile. “I’m just trying to help. I’m like a superhero, get it?”
The dog doesn’t get it. It lunges, and I only just manage to throw my arms over my face before the attack. The Pom might be tiny, but it’s strong. I can feel its little teeth and claws gnawing through my clothes and scraping my arms, but I don’t want to bat it away and hurt it, so I’m basically wrestling with a teeny tornado of fur and blades. Then I hear a deep male voice shouting outside the car.
“HEY!” it yells. “Who’s in there? What’s going on?”
I’d look and see who the guy is, but I don’t want to get my eyes scratched out by the Pup of Doom. I somehow manage to twist my back to the dog and bend double while I write Home on the map. I hear the double-beep of the car unlocking and feel the cool rush of outside air just before I appear back on my bed.
“I am not a superhero,” I say in a quavering voice. “I’m not.”
I bring my phone as I stagger to the bathroom. I wasn’t gone long—Mom and Erick are still at the movies—so I FaceTime Jenna while I clean out my scratches.
“Did the dog have its shots?” Jenna wonders.
“I didn’t really get the chance to ask,” I say. “It didn’t break my skin, though. Not with its teeth.” It scratched my arms like crazy, but nothing too deep. “Maybe this
zemi
isn’t my dad’s spirit at all,” I say. “Maybe it’s some evil spirit trying to mess with me.”
Jenna shakes her head. “You forgot something. With the diary, Eddy said your dad wanted you to bring peace and happiness—”
“To the world,” I finish. “I know. Which clearly I suck at doing.”
“To
your little corner
of the world,” Jenna reminds me. “Saving random people around the universe is great, Autumn, but it has nothing to do with your little corner of the world. It’s too much.”
“So how do I use the map to bring peace and harmony to my little corner of the world?” I ask.
“You already started,” she says. “You came to visit me when I was totally stressed out and gave me the best night I’ve had since we left camp. And what about Ames and Taylor? Didn’t you start with the diary because you wanted to help them?”
Jenna’s right. That
is
why I’d pulled out the journal. Ames and Taylor are both pining for guys they can’t get. Helping them is something I would have tried to do with the diary, so now I’ll do it with the map. And I probably won’t get clawed in the process.
Now I just have to figure out how.
6
It takes me a while to figure out how the map can help my friends’ love lives. In the meantime I use it to make a couple of trips back to Jenna in Stillwater. She drives us to some stores a few towns over so we don’t run into anyone who will recognize me, and she helps me pick out a costume for Reenzie’s party on Saturday. I’m still nostalgic for the Halloweens I used to have, but Jenna promises me that if I get really depressed, I can call her. She’s going to a party, but it’s nothing big and she’s happy to slip out if I need
I show up in a sauna.
It’s not a sauna, but it’s a sweltering car. It’s so hot I can barely breathe. I’m in the backseat, and next to me is a tiny Pomeranian, a fuzzball of a dog. He’s on his hind legs, his paws on the window, and there’s condensation on the glass from all his panting.
My heart breaks and I immediately know I did the right thing.
“You poor little guy,” I coo. “Let me help you.”
I press the button to roll down the window a crack, but nothing happens.
Of course not. The car’s off.
So I click the door handle, but it doesn’t work either. Child lock?
I’m getting dizzy from the heat. I should have brought water with me.
“It’s okay, puppy,” I say soothingly. “I’ll climb up front and open—”
That’s when I hear the growls. By the time I turn around, the fuzzball has bared its fangs and it’s an inch away from my face.
“Easy, puppy,” I say with a smile. “I’m just trying to help. I’m like a superhero, get it?”
The dog doesn’t get it. It lunges, and I only just manage to throw my arms over my face before the attack. The Pom might be tiny, but it’s strong. I can feel its little teeth and claws gnawing through my clothes and scraping my arms, but I don’t want to bat it away and hurt it, so I’m basically wrestling with a teeny tornado of fur and blades. Then I hear a deep male voice shouting outside the car.
“HEY!” it yells. “Who’s in there? What’s going on?”
I’d look and see who the guy is, but I don’t want to get my eyes scratched out by the Pup of Doom. I somehow manage to twist my back to the dog and bend double while I write Home on the map. I hear the double-beep of the car unlocking and feel the cool rush of outside air just before I appear back on my bed.
“I am not a superhero,” I say in a quavering voice. “I’m not.”
I bring my phone as I stagger to the bathroom. I wasn’t gone long—Mom and Erick are still at the movies—so I FaceTime Jenna while I clean out my scratches.
“Did the dog have its shots?” Jenna wonders.
“I didn’t really get the chance to ask,” I say. “It didn’t break my skin, though. Not with its teeth.” It scratched my arms like crazy, but nothing too deep. “Maybe this
zemi
isn’t my dad’s spirit at all,” I say. “Maybe it’s some evil spirit trying to mess with me.”
Jenna shakes her head. “You forgot something. With the diary, Eddy said your dad wanted you to bring peace and happiness—”
“To the world,” I finish. “I know. Which clearly I suck at doing.”
“To
your little corner
of the world,” Jenna reminds me. “Saving random people around the universe is great, Autumn, but it has nothing to do with your little corner of the world. It’s too much.”
“So how do I use the map to bring peace and harmony to my little corner of the world?” I ask.
“You already started,” she says. “You came to visit me when I was totally stressed out and gave me the best night I’ve had since we left camp. And what about Ames and Taylor? Didn’t you start with the diary because you wanted to help them?”
Jenna’s right. That
is
why I’d pulled out the journal. Ames and Taylor are both pining for guys they can’t get. Helping them is something I would have tried to do with the diary, so now I’ll do it with the map. And I probably won’t get clawed in the process.
Now I just have to figure out how.
6
It takes me a while to figure out how the map can help my friends’ love lives. In the meantime I use it to make a couple of trips back to Jenna in Stillwater. She drives us to some stores a few towns over so we don’t run into anyone who will recognize me, and she helps me pick out a costume for Reenzie’s party on Saturday. I’m still nostalgic for the Halloweens I used to have, but Jenna promises me that if I get really depressed, I can call her. She’s going to a party, but it’s nothing big and she’s happy to slip out if I need
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