Everyday Magic

“Don’t pout, Kenzie. Your aunt will think you’re unhappy to see her,” Kenzie’s mother scolded as she scooped up Kenzie’s rolling suitcase and set it on the ground.

Kenzie couldn’t help that her bottom lip puckered out. She wrapped her freckled hands around the suitcase handle. It was a rolling one, hot pink and plastered with a large rainbow unicorn. Unicorns were her favorite animal, and she had wanted to learn how to draw one at art camp with the other fifth graders.

“Honey, I know you’re upset. I’m sorry I couldn’t send you to art camp. I know you really wanted to go! But you’ll have fun with your aunt! I love you, I know you’ll be a good girl. Go inside now,” Kenzie’s mother said, kissing her cheek before rounding back to the driver’s seat.

Kenzie huffed, puffing her brown hair out of her eyes. She and her suitcase strolled up to her aunt’s bookstore and slipped inside. The bell chimed, announcing the beginning of a disappointing summer. She glanced back out the window to see her mom wave before driving away.

She couldn’t believe her mother was leaving her to be surrounded by dusty old books all summer. Since her mother had lost her job, she couldn’t afford to send Kenzie to art camp like she had promised. She couldn’t even stay home since her mother had been forced to take on a low paying job to get by. She sighed as she surveyed the store, peering around at the series of book lined shelves arranged in rows. If she were to knock one over, they would all tumble down like dominos, leaving a trail of dust in their wake. She didn’t understand why her aunt sold used books instead of shiny new ones with vibrant covers.

“Aunt Janie? Where are you?” Kenzie called out, her small voice booming in the silent store.

She walked around, expecting to find her aunt crouched behind a shelf replenishing stock.

Oof. She clattered to her knees, toppling her suitcase over. Looking over her shoulder, she noticed she had tripped over a crack in the wooden flooring. Actually, as she looked closer, it looked as if the piece of flooring could be peeled up, like a door.

Kenzie slid her fingers over the crack and lifted, revealing a ladder descending into darkness. She gasped, and swiveled her head around looking for an audience.

“Aunt Janie! Aunt Janie! Look what I found!” She cried. However, she received no answer. Biting her bottom lip, she gazed into the dark depths of the door. She knew she shouldn’t go down there without an adult, but she was so curious. She had missed out on going to art camp. Kenzie decided she wasn’t going to miss out on discovering what lay beneath the floor. She unzipped her suitcase, grabbed her hot pink flashlight, and climbed down into the unknown.

Reaching the last peg, she hopped off and swung her flashlight around, as if the light could save her from whatever ghosts could be lingering. Kenzie soon found there was no need to be scared. The mysterious room was a jumble of old junk, including more shelves of dusty old books. She perused around the trove, her eyes widening into saucers when she noticed the ornate, bejeweled box. Wasting no time, she lifted the lid, expecting diamonds or rubies or sapphires. Instead, her eyes rested upon a small black book. Sighing in disappointment, she picked it up and scrolled through the pages. They were crisp and white, without a single word blotting the pages. Kenzie wondered why such a gorgeous chest would only be hiding a blank notebook. Just as she was pondering this, words bloomed right before her eyes, scrawled in thick, black ink. She gasped, almost dropping the journal she was so shocked. When it was finished, the black ink thinned, and a rectangle was penned around the lettering. Kenzie realized it was a drawing of a check; she had seen her mother write one when she paid the neighbor boy for mowing their lawn. She reached her hand out to touch it, but she couldn’t feel the paper. Frowning, she wiggled her fingers and they seemingly went through the paper. Something tickled her fingers and she pulled them back, only to find an actual check clutched in her hand. Her jaw dropped open. It was no longer black and white, but instead pale blue, and scripted on the slip was the enormous amount of twenty thousand dollars. Kenzie’s jaw dropped.

And then she smiled. Art Camp.