said you have more magic than Mommy inside you. Can you tell me your
secrets?"
Meg shook her head and sighed. “Miles, I keep telling you. Magic is pretend.
Mommy is playing a trick on us when she makes fire appear.”
Miles slumped in his chair.
Seeing his disappointment, Meg jumped up. “Ok, Miles. I will teach you
how to make magic." Twirling around and knocking everything in her path over,
she called, “Wind and Air, come to me.”
Miles laughed as our sister threw stuffed animals so that they could fly
through the air.
“Water, sprinkle your magic on us.” Meg giggled, dipped her fingers into a
glass of water, and flicked the moisture onto Miles.
“Enough, enough.” Miles wiped the water droplets off his face. Then, he
grew serious. “I like you, even if you don't have magic inside you, Meg.”
“I like you, too, Miles, even if you are my bratty little brother.” Meg
smirked. “You are in luck. Mara taught me how to be a good big sister.”
“Will she like me, too?” Miles timidly asked.
“She will not like you, Miles." Meg grabbed his hands. "She will love you as much as I do. So will Gram. She will make us yummy treats and tuck us into bed. Cole will teach you to play kickball, and he’ll take us swimming. He tells
the best stories about the King of the Snapping Trout.”
Miles pulled away from Meg and sat down at the table. “They will never let
me go with you."
Meg wrapped her arms around the younger boy. “I'll always take care of you,
Miles. Gram and Mara will find us and take us both home.”
With those final words, the mirror lost the image. Tapping on the reflective
material, I began calling out to my sister, “Meg, I'm here, and I'll come to take
you home. I promise.”
Knowing she couldn’t hear me, I felt the anger and frustration beginning to
grow inside me. I decided to find something to smash the looking glass with, hoping I’d get to Meg. Turning around, I smacked into the elementals.
“Bring the image back! I need to find my sister!" I shouted.
“Mara, we can't bring the image back. It was a gift from Danu for you. Meg
is safe, though, and she’s with Miles, who you can see she loves already.”
“How is a small boy being there going to comfort me? She is with those
horrible people while I'm wasting time running around magic land. I need to go
to her now. He can't protect her.” My breath quickened, and I began to shake.
The elementals just stared at me.
“Show me how to get back home!” I barked, trying to push past them.
Bay hugged me tightly. “Mara, we still have the celebration. You can't leave,
yet.”
“I cannot stay here another minute." I broke out of her arms. Please, tell me
how to go back. I need to find my sister.”
