The Diary

December 23rd

I went for another walk yesterday and didn’t get lost. That’s the good news. I’ll tell you the bad news later. I got a little bit farther on my hat and then decided I was bored with it. Mom suggested that I go out and collect some firewood so we could have a fire or something.

So I brought a sled to drag it all on and a small axe and dressed warmly. Then I headed out. I went in the opposite direction of before. There wasn’t much difference in the scenery. Trees, snow, etc. The same dog came along and followed me. I picked up a whole lot of wood before I noticed that it was starting to snow.

I wasn’t really worried about the snow falling because it wasn’t snowing hard. So I went back to work at it, picking up wood and cutting off some branches low down to get some wood. By the time I had filled my sled with wood, the snow was coming down harder. I headed back home and found it was tough walking through the snow. I couldn’t see very well and the sled kept getting stuck in the snow. I was starting to get cold.

I walked for awhile but I had come pretty far out and I knew I had to find some shelter. “Maybe I could teleport,” I thought to myself, and then tried it. But I was so cold. Somehow it didn’t work. So I had no choice but to keep walking. It must have looked pretty silly – a sixteen year old struggling through a blizzard pulling a sled of wood and being followed by a sled dog.

Then I noticed that there was a small cave up ahead. It was really just a bunch of rocks that had some larger rocks on top of them. Between the rocks there was enough space for me to go inside and maybe warm up.

Inside the narrow space the ground was dry. Wind came from the outside but it was still a bit warmer than outside, and here I was safe from the blowing snow. I used some of the firewood and tried to build a fire. But how to get it started?

Then I remembered a page from one of my mother’s spell books. It was about how to start a fire. I’d skipped over it because I figured I’d never need it, but I remembered it being one of the easy ones. If only I could remember it… There were only three steps.

I remembered that one of the main elements in every spell was to focus, so even though the ground was cold I sat down on it, cross-legged, and focused on the idea of fire. Then what? There was probably something I had to say…

I focused on the idea of fire and the magic that I felt inside of me.

“Fire hot,
Fire bright,
Fire lights up the night.
Fire helps and fire harms
Help me fire
Keep me warm.”

It sounds sort of dumb, I know, but it works. When I opened my eyes a moment later, the fire had started.

My first reaction was to be thrilled. It was the first time I had used a spell (other than teleportation) for something practical, and not just for an assignment. I sat down next to the fire and managed to keep it going for the next hour.

The storm was pretty short-lived, so I didn’t have to keep it going any longer. When the snow stopped, I decided it would be a good idea to head back before it started again. There’s always a chance of that in Alaska.

Of course I had to gather some more wood to replace the wood that I had lost, but that didn’t take too long. Then I teleported myself, the wood, and the dog that had followed me back home. I was too cold and tired to bother to walk it back, and I did need to practice. Plus it’s fun.

It was only after I arrived back home that I noticed that weird stone glowing again. I meant to ask Mom and Aunt Clarice, but I was so tired I decided to take a nap instead and then forgot. I guess I’ll ask them tomorrow. If I remember.

December 25th

Today Mom decided that we should have big dinner and so she began to cook a really big turkey. I went out and got some more firewood so that we could eat in front of a warm fire. When I got back Mom had the turkey in the oven and was starting to make an apple pie from some of the supplies stored in the attic. Aunt Clarice was making some vegetables, and the whole kitchen smelled really y. I was getting hungry just standing there.

The cooking process took all day. When the turkey was finally over we still had to put the pie in. Then there was gravy and fresh bread to go with it. I set the table with a cloth and nice plates and then built up the fire so it would be toasty warm.

The dinner was really great. We all stuffed ourselves and then went into the living room to sit near the roaring fire.

Aunt Clarice noticed the chain and the stone that I wore around my neck. “That’s a pretty stone,” she said, and I looked down at it. At the moment it was looking a little reddish, but it often changed colors. Mom didn’t recognize the stone either, and asked where I got it.

“From George,” I told them. Then I told them about how it glows sometimes.

Aunt Clarice wasn’t too surprised. “It would be just like George to give her a magic stone,” she said.

“A magic stone?” I asked, not knowing what a magic stone was.

Aunt Clarice explained that a magic stone is one that’s collected in the magic realm. It’s just like a normal stone except that it knows when you use magic or if you have strong emotions. Sort of like a mood ring, but more complicated. She said that she’d never seen one that had such a range of colors in it before, and that it must have been very expensive.

Mom said that it would be something George would do to buy me an expensive stone to impress me. I’m not sure what she meant by that. Why would George want to impress me?

Then Aunt Clarice dropped the bombshell.

"I think Skylar should stay with me for a while this summer."

You could tell that she hadn’t mentioned it beforehand to my Mom, because Mom looked very surprised by this statement. She had until then been quietly sipping her tea, looking very at peace and calm. But when Aunt Clarice mentioned that I should stay with her for a summer, she nearly spilled the tea.

“Why?” she asked.

“Because she’s never visited me before,” Aunt Clarice replied simply.

Mom wasn’t too sure that was a decent reason, and said so right then and there. Aunt Clarice told her that it was too a decent reason. She was getting old to travel between dimensions so much, and she wanted to see her niece.

“I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Mom insisted.

Aunt Clarice informed Mom that it would most certainly be a good idea. I had magic in me and I’d never even been to their realm. It was not only a good idea, it was a necessity.

“She has been!” Mom retorted.

“When?” Aunt Clarice asked. The two times I was there I was only a baby or really small. I didn’t remember much about it.

“She doesn’t need to go,” Mom tried another tactic. Doesn’t need to go? That really sent Aunt Clarice off. Of course I needed to go. It was an absolute necessity .

They kept arguing like that for at least another half hour. I was kind of tired, so I don’t think they even noticed when I sneaked off to bed. I think it would be pretty neat to go to stay with Aunt Clarice for a while. The big question is if Mom will let me go…

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