The tortilla burned from the inside out, the flame eating its way to the edges until it was little more than black ash. These were quickly swept away and another tortilla was laid flat on the cement that was probably hot enough to fry eggs on. The sweat stuck like syrup to on the three faces crowded around the little experiment. They sat on the porch of an expansive backyard covered with grass of saturated green and a generic oval rectangular swimming pool. The younger of the two girls, Jacelyn, squinted as the silvery beams of sunlight reflected over the water’s surface into her watery blue eyes. Wrinkling her nose as the smell of scorched air wafted upwards, she absentmindedly drew lines on the sidewalk with her finger. The other girl, Krista, bent further over as Jason, Jacelyn’s older brother, flicked the kitchen lighter on to repeat the project.
Krista’s eager eyes glanced at him in anticipation when Jason hesitated, “What are you waiting for? This is so cool?”
Jason’s eyes were on the sliding glass door behind him. “What’s going on?” She glanced over at Jacelyn who had suddenly stilled and tensed up. A metallic screech ripped through the quiet. Looking over in her shoulder in childish curiosity, Krista froze when she saw Jason’s mother glaring down at him with unrestrained ire.
“Jason Michael, what the hell do you think you are doing? Get in the house now.”
Shaken and white-faced, he got up without a word, leaving the light next to the neglected tortilla. As soon as he was in range her hand shot out like a snake snatching its prey and seized his wrist, her long crimson nails contrasting against his skin. He ran to keep up with her as she hauled him into his room just off of the kitchen. The door slamming behind them was a gunshot through the house.
Krista glanced wide-eyed over at Jacelyn who was starring downcast had her hands clenched together, fingers white from the stifled blood flow.
“Can we go over to your house?” She still didn’t look up.
“Don’t you want to stay here? What about your brother?” Krista was confused over why everyone was so upset. They had just been acting silly. Nothing happened.
“I just want to go over to your house. You’re back yard is bigger and you have swings. It’s more fun.”
“But your is-“
“Please, can we just go?”
She sighed and consented. Krista hadn’t want to because it was torture every time her mom forced her to pick her toys up by herself, which inevitably happened every time Jacelyn was over.
Jacelyn rushed through the house in a beeline towards the laundry room. Krista had to run to keep up with her. They did not move fast enough, though, to escape overhearing the bashing and shrieking coming from behind Jason’s white wooden door. Blanching and avoiding Krista’s perplexed look, she gabbed her friend’s hand and quickly pulled her through the laundry room and out to the garage. She was on her bike and down the smooth cement driveway before a syllable could be uttered. Krista hopped on her own pink and grey bicycle. By the time her wheels struck the blistering asphalt, Jacelyn was half way up the street. She pedaled as fiercely as she could, the plastic tassels on her handgrips blowing in the wind, to arrive at her house at the same time.
Reaching the end of her cul-de-sac, Krista’s white two story dwelling came into view. They both parked their bikes outside the open garage door because Krista’s mother ha parked her red space-shuttle-shaped van inside.
Jacelyn looked over at Krista with a grin. “Race you to the play room.” They were off as they bursting through the garage door, the incident from earlier pushed to the back of their minds. Their laughter resonated through the lofty house as they scampered up the carpeted stairs in a chorus of foot stomps. Both were panting when they reached the sunlit playroom.
“I beat you again.” An expression of glee ornamented Jacelyn’s face.
Trying to appear nonchalant, Krista squared her shoulders. “Yeah, well. You always do.”
Sticking out her tongue, Jacelyn turned her back to her friend and turned her attention to a plastic covered chest with a design of bunnies and flowers. “I know what we should do. Do you want to go on an adventure?”
“An adventure? Where?”
“To find a wishing well of course. That way we can wish for anything we want as many times as we want and it will come true.” Jacelyn opened the chest and started to dig through the oversized dress up clothes. “We’ll have to dress up first.” She pulled out a black cocktail dress from the eighties complete with puff sleeves, shoulder pads, and ruffles at the hem in a vivacious floral pattern. Krista went for an eggplant-purple gown that was her mother’s cast off bride’s maid dress. She thought it made her look like a princess while her mother thought she resembled more a pilgrim.
Thus, a grand adventure ensued. First there was the evil witch who tried to entrap them because she wished to pilfer their youthful beauty for herself. Then their was the three headed dragon that had wanted to kidnap them and use them as bait to lure out the knights for supper because he preferred his meat tough. Lastly, the lion they had to outsmart that ended in them using magic they had stolen from the witch to turn him into a gopher. At last they reached the wishing well. They could see it as they stood on Krista’s blue and yellow play set, the tarp roof half torn off. It was just on the other side of the garden fence.
Jacelyn squealed with delight. “There it is. Now all we have to do is thrown in a crystal and we can make a wish.”
“But I don’t have any on me?”
Jacelyn stilled in contemplation for a moment before taking off for the far side of the yard. Krista followed suit and soon they found a plethora of crystals. Grabbing large handfuls from the side of the house, they made their way back to the fort part of the play structure. Using one hand, they climbed up the curvy plastic slide and dumped their treasures on the sandy floor. Without a word, the grabbed on, shut tight their eyes, and wish as hard as they could. Then they both hurled their crystal over the brick fence into the well. Then they decided to make another wish and another. Soon, they ran out and went to fetch more to replace them. Krista wished hard for a Jasmine Barbie for her upcoming birthday and that she would wake up tomorrow a fairy.
She glanced over at Jacelyn and noticed she was wishing particularly hard. “What are you wishing for?”
She looked over with a half-smile. “I can’t tell you.”
“Why not?”
“Cause then my wish won’t come true.”
“Oh…I didn’t know that…Can you tell me what it is about?”
“Alright. My mom.”
Krista thought remembered what had happened earlier and opened her mouth to speak when another voice cut in. Her mom was standing at the other end of the grassy yard, yelling for them to come in immediately.
The air-conditioned air hit them like an ocean wave as they walked in. Krista found her mother standing in the kitchen with a stern countenance and her hand resting atop the phone. “Would you two care to explain why you spent the afternoon throwing rock’s into the neighbor’s pool?”
Krista stood their dumb-founded being unaware that such an act was wrong. Jocelyn sported a smile expression. “Well….mom, we thought it was a wishing well.”
She sighed and tried to keep herself from rolling her eyes. “A wishing well? That’s just great. You two are aware that I should make you two march over there and fetch all the rocks from the bottom of her pool.” They stared back with vacuous expressions on their innocent faces. “Never mind. Bonnie said they were going to take care of it herself. You two, however, are going to pick up all the rocks that are left on this side littered all over the backyard.”
The two were shuffled upstairs to change out of their costumes before being forced to put their magic crystal back were they had fetched them from, even after the sprinklers turned on. After instructions were given for Krista to take Jacelyn home because her mother had phoned wondering where she was, they were back on there bikes riding at a much slower pace the Jacelyn’s home. The garage door was still open, waiting for the two of them. Jacelyn hesitated before the front door.
“What’s wrong? Don’t you need to go in?”
“Yeah. Could you come in with me?”
The two entered to find the house deceptively normal. Pointless prattle leaked from the television in the family room. The scent of onion and tomato permeated the air from the pot Jacelyn’s mom was stirring.
“You’re finally back Jacelyn. Dinner will be ready in five minutes. Why don’t you tell Krista good bye.”
“Alright mom.” Jacelyn was too busy peering around for someone to pay much attention. As her brother came out of his room her eyes alighted on him. Krista looked on at him stunned. Angry red welts ran down his face as well his arms. Grabbing Krista before she could speak, Jacelyn dragged her down the hall towards her room. She paused outside the door, unsure what to do.
Krista opened her mouth to utter one of a million questions but not much come out. “W-what happened to him?”
Again, Jacelyn avoided looking at her. “It’s nothing. It’s…fine. It just…it didn’t work.”
“What? What didn’t work?”
Jacelyn finally looked her in the eyes. “My wish. It didn’t come true.”

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