CHAPTER SEVEN

No!” shouted Clara as they watched Shimmer Leaf dart toward the sky. “Where is she going?”

Sky Dance began chasing her sister, but then paused in midair. Shimmer Leaf was slowing down. She flew in a U-shape and headed back toward them, landing gently on Clara’s still-open palm.

“Clara!” said Shimmer Leaf. Her voice didn’t sound scared anymore. It rang out bright and happy. “You caught me, then set me free! That means I’m your Wishing Wing!”

Sky Dance rushed to land next to Shimmer Leaf.

“Shimmer Leaf!” she cried. “Do you know who you are?”

Shimmer Leaf touched her wing to Sky Dance’s. “Yes, Sky, of course. Why wouldn’t I?” She let out a huff and turned back to Clara. “Sisters can be so irritating.”

Sky Dance laughed and said, “The enchantment’s broken!” She flew two joyful flips in the air.

“Yay!” cheered Addie. “Nice work, Clara!” Then she caught sight of the sun and remembered there was one more, very important thing they still had to do. “Shimmer Leaf! The wish!”

“Oh!” exclaimed Shimmer Leaf, looking at the pink-and-red-striped sky. “Where did the day go?” She turned to Clara. “I’m here to make a wish come true for you.”

“Really? That’s amazing!” said Clara, pretending she didn’t already know it. She winked at Addie and Sky Dance. She’d had a little time to think about her wish, but made a face like she was just deciding now. “You know what I’ve always wished for? A pet of my very own.”

“A pet of your very own . . .” echoed Shimmer Leaf, nodding. “That’s a great wish. Let’s see, I think I can make that happen.”

She looked around, her antennae pointing back and forth. Squish was lying on a nearby rock. Clara must have left him there when she went to coax Shimmer Leaf out of her hiding spot. When Shimmer Leaf spotted him, she shot into the air. In an instant, she was wrapping Squish in her glittering purple, peach, and mint-green rainbow. After her third time around, she landed.

They all watched the sparkles shimmer and blink. Addie couldn’t wait to see what would appear in Squish’s place! She laced her fingers through Clara’s and squeezed her sister’s hand.

But when the colors and sparkles vanished, there was nothing there.

No Squish. No real live pet.

“What happened?” Clara burst out, nearly in tears. “Where’s Squish?”

Sky Dance and Shimmer Leaf didn’t answer. They were both looking at the last tiny bit of sun as it fell behind the treetops. It was officially sunset. Sky Dance turned to her sister and looked her up and down.

“You’re still a Wishing Wing!” she remarked. “We did it!”

“You mean, I earned my magic?” asked Shimmer Leaf.

“Yes! Yes! Thanks to Addie and Clara! I’ll tell you the whole story later. I have a feeling these girls have to get home right away.”

“Where’s Squish?” cried Clara.

“That’s why you have to get home,” replied Shimmer Leaf with a mischievous smile. “Hurry! There’s someone there who needs you.”

Clara gasped excitedly and grabbed her backpack. “Come on!” she said to Addie.

Addie led her sister a few steps in the direction of Silk Meadow, then suddenly stopped. She turned back to the butterflies.

“When will we see you again?” called Addie.

“If the next chrysalis opens and we have the same problem . . . then very soon, I’m sure,” answered Sky Dance. “Maybe even tomorrow! We’ll need your help finding children who need wishes.”

“We’ll be ready!”

“We will?” whispered Clara to her. “We don’t know any other kids here.”

“We don’t know them yet,” said Addie. “But you said yourself: there are friends everywhere.”

Clara grinned. “I did say that, didn’t I?” She waved to their first two new friends. “Goodbye, Sky Dance! Goodbye, Shimmer Leaf!”

The butterfly sisters flitted into the air, flapping their wings in their own special kind of wave.

“Let’s go!” said Addie. She grabbed Clara’s hand again and they raced toward home.

They ran until they reached the border between the woods and their house, then stopped to catch their breath.

“Hey, Addie,” said Clara, watching a bird fly overhead. “That turning-into-a-butterfly thing was pretty crazy. But did you notice how I didn’t freak out?”

“Yes, I’m so glad,” Addie replied.

“However,” said Clara with a serious face now. “I will if I don’t get a turn to do that, too!”

Addie couldn’t help but laugh. “I understand. Hopefully, there will be a chance next time.”

They stepped through the trees that bordered their backyard. It felt strange, yet wonderful, to be back where their adventure had started just a short time ago.

Clara began looking frantically around. “Shimmer Leaf said there was something here that needed us . . .” she said. “But I don’t see anything. Do you?”

Addie walked a circle around the yard, but didn’t notice anything either.

“She could have given us a hint,” said Clara, frustrated. She picked up a log from the woodpile to peek underneath.

“Maybe she didn’t think we needed it,” said Addie. She thought for a moment, then remembered something. “Hey,” she added. “When we were searching for Shimmer Leaf, we found her by listening. Maybe we should do that now.”

They were quiet for a few moments. Addie heard the wind whistle through the trees, the neighbors laughing next door, and a car rumbling down the road.

Then, she heard something else:

Mew.

“Addie!” Clara exclaimed.

“I heard it, too!”

“Where is it coming from?”

Mew. Mew, mew.

“I think it’s coming from under the deck!” said Addie. They both rushed to the side of the deck, where there was a small space between the wooden boards and the ground. Addie was about to crawl under, but then stopped herself.

This was Clara’s wish. It was Clara’s discovery, and Clara’s moment. She didn’t want to take that from her sister.

Addie stepped aside and motioned for Clara to go ahead.

Clara dropped to her knees and disappeared under the deck. A few moments later, she reappeared, scrambling backward with one hand.

In the other, she clutched a tiny, orange-striped kitten. He had big blue eyes just like Squish, and smudges of dirt on his face and paws just like him, too.

Mew, the kitten cried, but he sounded less frightened and lonely now.

Clara stood up and hugged the kitten, kissing his fuzzy little head.

“Squish!” she cooed softly to him.

Addie had never seen her sister so filled with joy. It was like she’d never been sad, or angry, or lonely in her life.

The back door slid open, and Addie’s mother and father stepped out.

“Addie, there you are!” exclaimed Mom. “Have you girls been outside this whole time?”

“Yup,” said Addie. It wasn’t a lie, after all.

“What’s that you’ve got there?” asked Dad when he noticed the fluff of orange nuzzled under Clara’s chin.

“We found a kitten under the deck!” said Clara. “Isn’t he the cutest, sweetest thing ever?”

“He looks just like your Squish,” remarked Dad.

“He must belong to someone,” said Mom.

He belongs to Clara, thought Addie, but she knew she couldn’t say that. Instead, she said: “Can we take care of him until we find the owner? If there isn’t an owner, can we keep him?”

Mom and Dad looked at Clara. There was no denying it: Clara had never seemed happier. Addie’s parents exchanged a long glance, then finally smiled.

“Okay,” said Mom. “Let’s bring him in and clean him up. The poor thing must be hungry!”

Mom and Dad went inside, and Clara followed. As she passed Addie, Addie could hear Squish—a real live breathing Squish!—purr like a loud motorboat engine. Addie knew that if humans could purr, Clara would be doing it, too.

Before Addie went into the house, she turned to stare at the woods. Now she knew so much about them: There were dangers and dark enchantments out there, but also wonders beyond her imagination. Every New Bloom who needed their help earning its magic would mean another set of challenges.

Addie felt a flutter in her stomach.

She couldn’t wait for the next adventure to begin.