Sally and Riley just stared at each other for a moment. Joy filled Sally as fear spread across Riley’s face. It was true. They really were as special as the lady had said. But how was this possible? How had Riley succeeded with no practice? Sally had spent her whole life training for this. Her work hadn’t made any difference. Was the lady’s theory, right? Did they need each other for it to work? Maybe that was it. A sudden cry of shock pulled Sally back to reality and away from her wondering.
The girls turned to see Jorden standing at the entrance to the garden. There was a look of pure awe and confusion on his face. In his left hand he carried a breakfast plate. The other breakfast plate had fallen to the ground and shattered, spreading milk and cereal across the grass. For a moment the past took over Sally’s mind. No, he shouldn’t have seen that. It was her secret to keep! No one else was supposed to know that she and Riley were half Forma! But the sudden fear left Sally almost as quickly as it had come to her.
The lady wasn’t here. The lady wasn’t in charge of her. The lady couldn’t hurt her anymore. Jorden and Riley were people who she could trust. They were people who could help her. She needed to explain things to them. Riley and Jorden were talking now. Their voices were loud, and they spoke very quickly. Sally didn’t need to understand them to see that they were interrupting each other. This looked like it was going to take a while. So, Sally sat down and began picking flowers to pass the time. She didn’t look up until the yelling and the shouting had stopped.
Jorden walked up to the sandbox and reached out for the shovel. He looked frightened. Why was he frightened by something as simple and harmless as a shovel? He lifted it carefully and held it up to the light. Riley looked over his shoulder, examining it closely. It was a normal everyday shovel. The only thing that was strange about it was how similar it looked to the one that Sally had used as a reference.
They didn’t know this kind of thing was possible, Sally reminded herself. This probably seemed like magic to them. That explained why they seemed frightened. Riley was staring down at her own hands now, a look of terror in her eyes. Sally took one of her sister’s hands and gave it a tight squeeze. It was alright. This wasn’t a bad thing at all. Riley needed to understand that. This was what made them special. Riley looked down at her little sister as if she were in a trance. Her eyes were wide with shock. If only there was a way for Sally to comfort or reassure her.
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Words were out of the question. So instead, Sally gave Riley her most reassuring smile. After a moment, Riley smiled back. Sally pulled her into a hug. She didn’t let Riley go until she felt her body relax. Sally’s tummy growled. She hadn’t realized just how hungry she had become. Jorden had set the plate of food down on the grass. Riley was pointing at her now and explaining something to Jorden. If only Lisa could be here. She might be able to translate a tiny bit for Sally.
Should Sally use the book? Maybe she could explain a thing or two with that. Where to start? Sally slid across the grass to the book. What should she draw first? The lady. That was something that Riley might be able to recognize. Slowly and thoughtfully, Sally’s hand flew across the paper. She couldn’t afford to mess this up. But it was very hard to draw distinct features with cheap crayons. The lady’s face began to appear on the paper. Sally had always been skilled when it came to capturing images through art. Riley and Jorden were both looking over her shoulder.
Sally thought back to her life before Lisa. The lady had given her several comic books to read when she was bored. Sally had loved those comics. They hadn’t had any words. But Sally had been okay with that. She had loved the fact that her comics didn’t need words to tell interesting stories that she cared about. The pictures had been enough. That was what she would do. She would tell Riley and Jorden the whole story in the form of her very own comic book. The first page would show her and the lady as they trained together.
The next page would show Riley arriving at the big house. Then Sally would show everything leading up to when they met Lisa. She would show the escape and how the lady had punished her. She would show how Riley had come back for her. She was especially careful when drawing the scenes of her training. She needed them to understand that it was the lady who had taught her to move the sand like that. By the time Sally had finished, her hand hurt from all the drawing. But she had done it. Fingers shaking, she set the crayons down on the grass. Jorden still looked confused. But Riley’s eyes were full of understanding.
Sally beamed. She had done it! Riley lifted the book up. Now she was pointing at the pictures and explaining them to Jorden. She could explain now. Sally had done it. She had helped and she didn’t even need to use words to tell her story.