Echo

of meeting a golden fairy. He cringed when he thought about what an idiot he sounded like. He knew he didn’t meet a fairy, duh. Just the mention of it embarrassed him. God knows what he might have said as a kid. Nonetheless, he did have an impression of talking to someone. And he remembered having dreams about a golden glow; perhaps eyes? All very nebulous and confusing; and his changes began sometime after that.
    He sighed. Sliding off the bed, he pulled open his bottom dresser drawer where he kept his treasures. Taking out a tiny wooden box, he opened the lock and pulled out the gold coin. His mother decided they would save it for Scotty’s college education. The coin would provide more than enough money to give him an education; almost unheard of for the likes of him. His mama understandably put all of her hopes for a better life on Scotty. She thought he stood a good chance of succeeding. No one dare fantasize about Abby’s future. They all knew the chances of her living a normal lifespan. Slim to none.
    Scotty wanted to use the coin to buy a new kidney for Abby. They discovered a kidney can cost over two hundred thousand dollars on the Internet. The coin was only worth a little over half that. Abby cried over Scotty’s generosities, refusing to take anything from him that would compromise his own chance for a future. He remembered the pitiful look on her face. Abby wouldn’t be in such a jam if he or his mom were a tissue match. But they learned a long time ago how to deal with that disappointment.
    The clock said it was time for his mother and Hiro to come home from the grocery. He liked to put the kettle on for them so she could relax her legs and catch up with Scotty about his day. When he was a kid he liked to rub the leg with the brace, hoping he could make it all better himself. The memories were silly, he knew, but he loved his mom, so there you have it.
    He put on his shoes and walked out to the living room where Barney lay relaxing his old bones. He tipped his head off the floor in greeting, his tail thumping its own special hello. Scotty slid down to the worn green carpet wrapping Barney up in a big hug, always a loyal and happy go lucky member of their extended family. He never caused a lick of trouble, except one odd day a couple of years back. Barney came home from his morning run to show Scotty his underbelly cut open and leaking blood. Somehow, he walked over something sharp and it slit his underbelly open. His mom rushed Barney to the front porch to stop the bleeding from leaking everywhere. While she ran to find Jose to drive her to the vet, Barney took off. Discovering him missing, Jose reassured everyone that he would find their injured mutt and took off after him, following his bloody trail.
    Jose and Barney were gone for hours. Emma and Bonnie refused to go to school until Barney returned home. So Scotty stayed home to wait while his mom went off to work with Mama Diaz, leaving her old Dodge behind so Jose could get to the vet’s office. Finally, after four hours, they both returned. Jose looked kinda weird, a blank expression in his eyes. Barney acted like he just discovered he was the sole dog in bunny rabbit heaven. And no blood, no sign off a cut, nothing; only blissful Barney, wanting to jump in everyone’s lap demanding his share of doggy love. Without explanation, Jose yelled at them to get their schoolbooks and off they went, even though only two hours remained of the school day. One look at Jose’s stormy face shut everyone up. No mention of the incident ever came up again. No one cared anyway, since Barney behaved better than ever and that’s all that mattered. And not having to pay a big vet bill, of course.
    Scotty looked again at the clock, relentlessly proclaiming it was past his bedtime. Where was his mother? She was really late now. He decided not to wait up. Taking Barney out for a potty break, he glanced balefully up the hill toward the enigmatic woods from his childhood. Could he find a clue in the woods to this strange transformation that gripped him? Just rocks and trees and creatures, he thought, nothing sinister, although, in the dark, the woods looked unwelcoming and dangerous. He didn’t lack for imagination. Whistling for Barney, he took him back inside the house. Shaking off a premonition, he gave the woods a last glance. Peeking in the kitchen, he noticed everyone had gone to bed. Still no sign of his mother or Hiro. He probably got stuck late stocking