magic dew you’ve been promising us?” she’s asking Alanna when I join them. “Will it really make my skin beautiful?”
Alanna smiles. “Good morning to you too, Min. Hi, Sunny. And, yes, it’s certainly supposed to. Follow me, girls. We’ll try the grass beside Red Moll’s Castle. I’ll explain what to do when we get there. And then I’ll show you some special May Day fortune-telling.”
“Hey, Sunny.” Mollie bumps her shoulder gently against mine. “You OK?”
I smile at her.
“Don’t know about you, but I’m half asleep,” she continues. “You awake?”
I shrug and then nod.
We follow Alanna up the hill and climb over the gate that leads into the field surrounding the castle ruins. The grass is glistening with tiny drops of water and I’m glad that Mum made us wear our wellies.
“Now, soak these cloths in the dew, girls,” Alanna says. She hands us each a square of white muslin the size of a face cloth. “And then dab them on your skin and you’ll all have beautiful complexions for the whole year.”
“Here’s hoping.” Mollie bends down and rests the cloth on the grass for a few seconds. Then she pats the damp square over her face. “It’s actually very refreshing. A bit cold, though. Hope it sorts out my spots. I hate them.”
“Everyone gets spots. It’s perfectly normal,” Alanna says. “You have lovely skin, Mollie.”
“Thanks,” Mollie says happily and she dabs the cloth over her face again.
We all do the same, soaking our cloths and bathing our faces. Mollie’s right – it’s nice: cool and tingly.
As she washes her face, Min wiggles her bum and sings a song that she’s made up to the tune of “Call Me Maybe”: “I’ve just met dew, And this is crazy, But feel my skin, It’s gorgeous, maybe.” She bursts into giggles at the end.
“Min!” Mollie groans. “That’s terrible.” But we’re all grinning at her antics. My little sister may be crazy, but she is funny.
Chapter 10
That afternoon we go to Alanna’s cafe to meet Landy. According to Mollie, he’s found something in the woods behind Lough Cara that he’s desperate to show us because we’re the only people on the island who will appreciate it. He refused to tell her what it was, though, and we’re all dying to know, especially Min. Alanna has to stay and run the cafe, so Mollie promised to fill her in when we get back.
It only takes about fifteen minutes to walk from the cafe to the woods, but we have to go past the edge of Lough Cara and it’s always tricky to avoid the swarms of midges that hover near the water. Sometimes the tourists wade in the rushes on the banks and disturb them, and, boy, do they regret it!
“Come on, Landy,” Min moans as we tramp around the lake. “What’s the big secret? What are we looking for? Is it a squirrel or something? I love squirrels.”
“I’m not saying, Min, so stop asking,” he says.
She pulls a face at him.
“She’s been up since four this morning,” Mollie says. “She might be a bit tired.”
“I’m not tired!” Min looks disgusted.
“What were you doing up at four?” Landy asks.
“We were bathing our faces in dew and making May Day spells with Alanna,” Min explains. Then she makes her voice go all mysterious. “We were discovering the name of our one true love.”
“Really?” Landy says. “Go on, tell me. Who’s your one true love, Min?”
“The name begins with an
L
,” she says, gazing at him like a lovesick puppy. She’s shameless! Landy just grins, though. He knows all about Min’s crush on him and thinks it’s funny.
Mollie snorts with laughter. “Min, it was so not an
L
. It was more like a
W
.”
“It could have been an
L
,” Min says stubbornly. “Maybe I just left my slug on the flour for too long.”
“Slug?” Landy asks.
“We collected slugs and put them on a plate of flour,” Min explains. “And they wrote the first letter of our true love’s name in the flour with their
Alanna smiles. “Good morning to you too, Min. Hi, Sunny. And, yes, it’s certainly supposed to. Follow me, girls. We’ll try the grass beside Red Moll’s Castle. I’ll explain what to do when we get there. And then I’ll show you some special May Day fortune-telling.”
“Hey, Sunny.” Mollie bumps her shoulder gently against mine. “You OK?”
I smile at her.
“Don’t know about you, but I’m half asleep,” she continues. “You awake?”
I shrug and then nod.
We follow Alanna up the hill and climb over the gate that leads into the field surrounding the castle ruins. The grass is glistening with tiny drops of water and I’m glad that Mum made us wear our wellies.
“Now, soak these cloths in the dew, girls,” Alanna says. She hands us each a square of white muslin the size of a face cloth. “And then dab them on your skin and you’ll all have beautiful complexions for the whole year.”
“Here’s hoping.” Mollie bends down and rests the cloth on the grass for a few seconds. Then she pats the damp square over her face. “It’s actually very refreshing. A bit cold, though. Hope it sorts out my spots. I hate them.”
“Everyone gets spots. It’s perfectly normal,” Alanna says. “You have lovely skin, Mollie.”
“Thanks,” Mollie says happily and she dabs the cloth over her face again.
We all do the same, soaking our cloths and bathing our faces. Mollie’s right – it’s nice: cool and tingly.
As she washes her face, Min wiggles her bum and sings a song that she’s made up to the tune of “Call Me Maybe”: “I’ve just met dew, And this is crazy, But feel my skin, It’s gorgeous, maybe.” She bursts into giggles at the end.
“Min!” Mollie groans. “That’s terrible.” But we’re all grinning at her antics. My little sister may be crazy, but she is funny.
Chapter 10
That afternoon we go to Alanna’s cafe to meet Landy. According to Mollie, he’s found something in the woods behind Lough Cara that he’s desperate to show us because we’re the only people on the island who will appreciate it. He refused to tell her what it was, though, and we’re all dying to know, especially Min. Alanna has to stay and run the cafe, so Mollie promised to fill her in when we get back.
It only takes about fifteen minutes to walk from the cafe to the woods, but we have to go past the edge of Lough Cara and it’s always tricky to avoid the swarms of midges that hover near the water. Sometimes the tourists wade in the rushes on the banks and disturb them, and, boy, do they regret it!
“Come on, Landy,” Min moans as we tramp around the lake. “What’s the big secret? What are we looking for? Is it a squirrel or something? I love squirrels.”
“I’m not saying, Min, so stop asking,” he says.
She pulls a face at him.
“She’s been up since four this morning,” Mollie says. “She might be a bit tired.”
“I’m not tired!” Min looks disgusted.
“What were you doing up at four?” Landy asks.
“We were bathing our faces in dew and making May Day spells with Alanna,” Min explains. Then she makes her voice go all mysterious. “We were discovering the name of our one true love.”
“Really?” Landy says. “Go on, tell me. Who’s your one true love, Min?”
“The name begins with an
L
,” she says, gazing at him like a lovesick puppy. She’s shameless! Landy just grins, though. He knows all about Min’s crush on him and thinks it’s funny.
Mollie snorts with laughter. “Min, it was so not an
L
. It was more like a
W
.”
“It could have been an
L
,” Min says stubbornly. “Maybe I just left my slug on the flour for too long.”
“Slug?” Landy asks.
“We collected slugs and put them on a plate of flour,” Min explains. “And they wrote the first letter of our true love’s name in the flour with their
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