Disbelief and a Green Light

She shivered.

Nothing was right about this. It had to all be because of that damned light.

Her brain told her that there was nothing wrong with the light. It wasn’t the cause of her problems. She knew it, but it sure felt like it was.

She sighed, glancing across the solid wood table. “What do you make of it?”

“It’s probably nothing. Just a letter. That’s all it is.” Heather shook her head. She had a deep frown on her face. Her hair was starting to fade

June frowned. “I’m not so sure about that.”

“Are you going to go on about being cursed again? It’s not a curse.”

“If it looks like a duck and quacks like a duck…” June trailed off.

Heather rolled her eyes. “You need help.”

“I don’t need help. I need support. I’m asking you to help me make sense of this.”

“I’m not going to help feed this behavior.” Heather crossed her arms. “I’m not insane.”

“You think I’m insane.”

June toyed with the table.

How am I ever going to convince her? I’m not even really sure I believe all of this myself.

“What would you think in my situation? This isn’t normal. It never will be.” Heather shook her head.

June reached into her pocket and pulled out a rock. “I’m telling you it’s true.”

“Have you lost your mind? That’s a rock. Is that supposed to be proof?” Heather got up from the table. “I’m calling your mother. I’m worried about you. I think you need help.”

“Don’t start an intervention on me, please. Just listen to me. I know it sounds nuts, but I have proof.” June’s voice was desperate. She didn’t want Heather to give up on her too. “Everyone already thinks I’m crazy. Just give me a chance.”

“Fine.” Heather sat back down at the table. “Show me this magic rock.”

“I don’t know if it’s magic or not. But it does this thing. Let me show you.” June held up the rock. Then she dug in her pockets again. “Uh, do you have a coin?”

“Sure.” Heather pulled out a quarter.

June took the quarter. “Heads I win.” She flipped the coin.

The rock started to glow.

Heather gaped at it.

The coin twirled on the table, pausing for a moment before it flipped over to tails.

Heather frowned. “It looked like it did that on purpose.”

“That’s what I’m saying!” June jumped out of her chair. “I know it sounds nuts, but it’s not. Whenever I need something to happen for me, the opposite happens. I think it’s cursed.”

“I wouldn’t go that far. Maybe it’s just got some sort of special light. It just looks like a rock.”

June sighed and put it on the table.

Heather reached for it. The rock never made it into her hand. It disappeared under her fingers before she could touch it. “Where is it?” She looked around bewildered.

June held her hand out. “I can’t even give it away. I don’t know what to do. I need help.”

“I can’t help you. I don’t even know if this is real or not.”

“What do we do?”

“I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” Heather shook her head. “Magic isn’t real. Maybe you can learn how to deal with this. It’s a good thing to blame your rotten luck on, I guess.”

June sighed and put her head down on the table. “Finally, I get someone to believe me and there’s nothing we can do about it.”

“It’s fine.”

The rock flared to life, bright green light shining through the room. It was so bright that June had to squint.

Heather sat back up in a rush of movement. Her expression dropped. Her face was blank.

June started at the sudden movement. She blinked at Heather. “Uh, you alright?”

Heather suddenly smiled at her. “What did you need from me, June? You doing alright?”

“Uh, yeah, I’m fine. What did you think about the rock?”

“What rock?”