The Ones She Left Behind

Chapter Ten

Monday came too quickly for Maggie. She had thought about faking sick, but then she realized that, if she didn’t show up, Lewis might have gotten concerned. She didn’t want to give him or anyone else reason to worry about her. She couldn’t exactly tell them she faked being sick so she could work on a plan to find a ghost who happened to be her best friend, and lying was never something she was comfortable doing, even though she had to do it at least once a week while she was growing up. For every noticeable bruise, she had to come up with a new excuse.  She swore she never wanted to go back to the life of making up excuses ever again, and that left her with no escape from going to school today.

As she got dressed, she thought about the night before. Maybe wishing on a star wasn’t going to be enough, but that didn’t mean she was going about it entirely wrong. Now that she was older, maybe the forces at play were making this more difficult for her. She had to prove to them just how badly she wanted Topher back.

Another question struck Maggie. What if he wasn’t coming back to her, not because he couldn’t, but because he was choosing not to? Maggie tried to shake the thought away, but her dream continuously came back to her. If that really had been Topher, he didn’t seem happy to see her. But, he had to know how sorry she was for sending him away. He should’ve been able to tell that all she wanted was for him to return to her. Regardless of what he wanted, whether he wanted her to find him or not, she wouldn’t give up.

Normally before homeroom, Maggie would catch up with Lewis or Rydelle, but today, she made a quick escape to the library. She hadn’t been given much of a chance in the past to learn much about astronomy, and what she did know mostly came from Topher, but the type of information she needed wasn’t the type of information Topher had ever given her. Even though she had made a wish on a star and he had appeared for the first time, he told her it was a coincidence and that he had been watching her for over a week before making his presence known. He said he had chosen that moment to make himself known, but Maggie still believed her wish had ultimately brought her best friend to her. She guessed she could have also found the information she needed online, but she feared being given the wrong information.

As she headed for the science section, she saw a girl who appeared around her age staring intently at a row of books. Her straight, dark hair hid her face, but the blue sweater hugging her slim frame.  Anxiety rose within Maggie as she realized where she had seen her. Diana was the girl who sat in front of her in history class. She hadn’t spoken to her since her first day, and Maggie had tried to avoid having another conversation with her, but now it seemed inevitable as Maggie realized the section of books that she needed was right in front of Diana.

“Do you need something from here?” Diana’s voice snapped Maggie out of her thoughts.

Before she could think, Maggie nodded. “Um, yeah. I need the astrology section.”

Diana stepped aside. “That’s what I need, too. Are you taking an astronomy class as well?”

Maggie shook her head. “No, but I need it for a personal project.”

Diana raised her brow. “I never pictured you as an extracurricular type.”

Maggie shook her head. “I’m not, but this is important and I can’t screw it up.”

“Mind if I ask what’s so important?” Diana took another step back as Maggie came closer to the books. “I’m not being nosey, but I might be able to help you if I know what you’re trying to do.”

Maggie bit her lip. “This is going to sound stupid, but I need to make a wish on a star.”

Diana raised her brow. “Wow.”

“I swear it works,” Maggie said. “I made a wish on the first star in the sky six years ago and it instantly came true. I tried again and it didn’t work. I need to know all that I can so I can get the next one right. If I don’t get it right, I might not ever see my best friend again.”

Tears slid down Maggie’s cheeks. She tried to wipe them away as Diana touched her arm. Her touch was gentle, but Maggie still jumped.

“Sorry.” Diana pulled her hand away. “But, I can help you. If you want, you can come to my house tonight. I have a telescope which could make things easier for you.” Diana looked back at the books in front of them. “As for wishing stars, try this book.” She pulled out a book on shooting stars. “It’s said that wishes on stars are most likely to come true if they’re made on shooting stars, contrary to what the nursery rhyme says.”

Maggie took the book from her hands, feeling a slight sense of relief. Maybe the secret to reaching Topher was in this book, she thought. Between this book and Diana’s offer, maybe she would get lucky enough to find him after all.

“Thank you,” Maggie said, meeting Diana’s gaze. “You don’t know how much this means to me.”

Diana shrugged. “No problem. I don’t know your situation so it’s hard for me to really give you advice, but all I can say is that there are probably more practical ways of solving your problem.”

Maggie shook her head. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but I don’t have much choice. I know you probably think I’m crazy and I probably am, but if I don’t try, I might not ever see him again.”

The harsh reality hit Maggie once again as anxiety threatened to consume her. What if she really would never see Topher again?

“Maybe your way is right.” Diana shrugged. “But, I guess we’ll find out tonight, won’t we? How does eight o’clock sound? The sky will be dark by then, and I figure we could get two hours in. Or actually . . . What might make better sense is if you spent the night, if you’re okay with that of course.”

Maggie was a bit taken aback by the offer. Diana was barely an acquaintance, and already she was acting like they were best friends.

“I know, you barely know me, but I’m just a little excited to finally have someone as interested in the stars as I am,” Diana admitted. “And, I promise my family doesn’t bite.”

I think she’d make a good friend for you.

Topher’s words came back to Maggie. At the time, she had thought he was joking, but now she understood. He was always watching out for her, and he never would have said it if he didn’t mean it.

“Okay, that sounds perfect. I’ll make sure I have everything I need, but something tells me I won’t be getting much sleep.”

Diana chuckled. “A night of stargazing is worth being a little sleep deprived tomorrow.”

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

The rest of the day couldn’t go by fast enough for Maggie. She made it through her morning classes and lunch, but the closer it came to the end of the school day, the more excited and nervous she became. She couldn’t wait until night fall. If she would bring Topher back at all, tonight had to be the night.

That evening, Maggie managed to get a ride from Lani. When Maggie had told Lani about her plans to stay at Diana’s, Maggie thought she had seemed a bit too relieved to get rid of her for the night. The feeling was mutual, however. While Lani was far from being the worst person she had ever lived with, Maggie had a feeling she would end up taking care of Lani more than Lani would have to take care of her.

Once at Diana’s, Maggie thanked Lani and headed for the door. She rang the doorbell, and a slightly older woman who looked much like Diana opened it.

“You must be Maggie.” The woman smiled. “Diana is in the backyard. You can just go around and meet her there if you want.”

“Thank you.” Maggie turned and headed to the back yard. She found Diana there, as the woman she assumed was her mother had said. She was staring into a telescope, seemingly oblivious to Maggie’s presence.

Maggie took a few steps closer, mouth agape as she neared the telescope. She had never used one before.

“That is so cool,” she said.

Diana jumped and turned to her. “It’s nothing fancy, but for this it should work.”

The sky was almost pitch black now. The first stars were beginning to appear. Maggie felt an odd stirring in her chest. The only person she ever stargazed with was Topher. In a way, she felt like she was cheating on him.

No. Diana was going to help her find him. As soon as she found him, everything would go back to normal.

Diana motioned her closer, stepping away from the telescope. Maggie pressed it against her eye, steadying it so it was looking only at the stars.

“They look huge,” she said, admiring the sky.

“Just keep looking at the sky through that and I’ll look at them with my handheld one. One of us is bound to see something.”

Maggie scanned the sky, vaguely recalling the constellations. The Big Dipper was the easiest to see.

“If you look hard enough, you might be able to see some planets,” Diana said. “I can usually see Saturn and Jupiter.”

Maggie continued looking at the stars. Her only concern was finding Topher, meaning all she cared about was finding a shooting star. There would be plenty of time to see other things once he was back.

Several minutes passed, but Maggie didn’t see anything. She didn’t care how long it took. She would see a shooting star tonight.

“I’ll be right back,” Diana said after several minutes as she headed inside.

“Okay.”

Once Diana was gone, Maggie pulled away from the telescope, giving her eyes a break. She stared up at the sky.

“Come on, stars. Can’t one of you just fall already?” She sighed. She had hoped this would be easier, but she was willing to stay there until Topher came back to her, even if it took all night.

She pressed her eye against the telescope once more.

“Please work,” she murmured. “Please give him back to me.”

A bright orb of light shot across the sky, right in her line of sight. Maggie gasped and pulled away. Looking in its direction, she could still see it.

Tears filled her eyes. Her moment was finally here. She would be reunited with her best friend.

“Please send Topher back to me! Please help me make this right!”

Maggie fell to her knees, gasping for air as she clutched her chest. This had to work. Topher would be standing before her any second now.

A few minutes passed, but nothing happened.

As she heard footsteps against the wooden boards, Maggie jumped to her feet.

“Did you see anything?” Diana asked, handing her a mug. “And no worries, it’s just hot chocolate. It shouldn’t keep us up all night.”

“Thanks,” Maggie said, taking a drink. “And, yeah, I saw one.”

“Did you make a wish?”

Maggie nodded, staring up at the sky. It was long gone. “I did, but I don’t think it’ll work.”

“Well, hopefully you didn’t wish for something like a million dollars falling from the sky.” She smirked. “As long as it’s not something ridiculous like that, it could happen. Give it some time and maybe try a few more. If it’s a big wish, maybe doing it multiple times will also help. It’s said that you can see a falling star every fifteen to thirty minutes, so you should keep trying.”

Maggie nodded, though wishing for a spirit boy to fall from the sky was almost as ridiculous as a million dollars falling from the sky. No matter how ridiculous it was, she couldn't give up.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Two hours had passed. During that time, Maggie had seen a total of five shooting stars, but with every passing one, her hope died a little more as anxiety and despair threatened to take control. After the sixth one passed without any luck, Maggie fell to her knees.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Diana dropped her handheld telescope on the porch and walked over to her.

Maggie shook her head. “It’s not working. I’m . . . I’m never going to see him again.”

Diana placed her hand on Maggie’s back. “Come to the porch. Let’s take a break for a few minutes. My mom baked cookies.”

Maggie nodded as she got to her feet and followed Diana to the porch. Sure enough, a plate of cookies sat on the porch swing. Taking one, Maggie sat on the step and stared at the ground, refusing to look at the sky.  Memories washed over her of all times she had stared up at the stars with Topher. As a child, it amazed her that he was able to see all the constellations without a telescope thanks to his unfiltered spirit vision.

Ten-year-old Maggie stared up at the night sky. It had been a month since she had made the wish that changed her life, and Topher was right beside her, staring at the sky as well.

“I wish I could see the constellations,” Maggie said. “Can we swap eyes for five minutes?”

Topher chuckled, shaking his head. “I really don’t think that’s possible.”

“But, I thought you could do anything.” Maggie pouted.

Topher looked thoughtfully at the sky for a moment, and then he turned back to her. “I suppose it is technically possible for us to switch, but the problem is I would have to take over your body and something tells me you wouldn’t like that too well. Plus, I wouldn’t even if you wanted me to.”

 “It might not be so bad if it’s just five minutes.”

“Five minutes could turn into more than that if I get stuck,” he said. “When a spirit possesses an object or person, they always run the risk of getting permanently trapped in whatever they’ve possessed. It would be easier for me to possess an object, like a door, for instance, to keep your father out of your room, but the risk of getting permanently trapped in the door is why I’ve never done it and probably will never do it unless I have no other choice.”

Her lips curled into a small smile. “You do a good enough job of protecting me without doing that.”

 Maggie gasped as tears rolled down her face. Something soft fell across her shoulders, and she jumped up, causing the object to fall to the ground. When she looked down, she realized it was only a blanket. Diana stood in front of her, her mouth hanging open as if she was getting ready to say something.

“I-I’m sorry.” The tears fell faster as Maggie tried to steady her breathing. “Th-this was . . . a mistake. I should go.”

“Maggie, I didn’t want to pry into your business, but if you want to talk, I’ll listen,” Diana said. “I don’t want you to leave knowing that you’re this upset. Whatever the problem is, maybe there’s something better we can do than make wishes on shooting stars.”

Maggie stared at Diana through her tears. “I-I can’t tell you. You won’t believe me.”

“Just tell me.” Diana placed her hand on Maggie’s shoulder, causing her to tense.

Maggie stared at the ground. Diana didn’t seem as bad as she initially thought, and she had been willing to try to help her find Topher despite not knowing what she was actually doing. But, total trust wasn’t something that Maggie was capable of doing easily. When she first met Topher, she instantly knew he could be trusted with her secrets as well as her life. She was always an open book with him, but for the rest of the world, she didn’t think anyone could be trusted with knowing her past. Yet, there was a part of her that wanted to tell Diana everything.

“My father . . . abused me . . . when I was young.” Maggie stared at the ground, refusing to look at Diana. “He hurt me and my mother. When I was ten, I made a wish on the first star in the sky to have a friend that he wouldn’t know about or be able to send away. Almost instantly, a young boy came through my open window. He was a ghost. He promised to protect me and be my friend. He said he wouldn’t leave me . . . unless I wanted him to. He had been with me ever since, but I was so stupid . . . We got into a fight, and I told him to go.” Tears continued to stream down her face. “All I want is for him to come back, so I can apologize and talk to him about what happened that night, but no matter what I’ve tried, I can’t reach him.” Maggie’s hands balled into fists. “My biggest fear is that I can’t reach him because he doesn’t want anything to do with me now. I just . . . I miss him and I can’t handle life without him.”

Finally, Maggie looked up at Diana. The surprised look on her face was partially what Maggie had expected, but Maggie had also thought she would scoff at her for believing in ghosts.

“I know it sounds crazy, but he’s real,” Maggie continued. “I wouldn’t be sitting here right now if he wasn’t.” More tears welled up in her eyes. “I . . . didn’t even thank him for all that he’s done for me.” 

“I know it sounds crazy, but . . . I believe you.” Diana reached her hand toward Maggie’s shoulder, but before making contact, she retracted. “You lost someone who meant a lot to you. If he wasn’t real, you wouldn’t be so upset and desperate to find him.”

Maggie wiped her tears as she tried to collect herself enough to speak again. “Please, you can’t tell anyone about this. Promise me you won’t tell.”

Diana nodded. “I understand. Don’t worry. Your secret is safe with me.”

Maggie wrapped her arms around herself as her tears started to slow. For years, she had kept Topher a secret from her family. He didn’t want anyone to know about him, not for fear of his safety but for hers. He was afraid they would try to send her to a psychiatric ward for claiming to see ghosts. But, somehow, she thought she could trust Diana. 

“He actually told me, when I first met you, that he thought you would be a good friend for me.” Maggie swallowed the lump in her throat. “At first, I thought he was joking. Now, I’m glad I listened to him.”