Talisman 01 - The Emerald Talisman

the mouse to activate the screen. From the desktop, I opened the browser and typed in ‘mountain lion’ and clicked ‘search’. A few menacing images of lions popped up with over a million links to choose from.
    I scanned the list and then clicked “ mountain lion attacks on people in the US and Canada. ” On that page, I clicked, “ statistics of attacks, ”. The new page loaded and I looked for the details in California. To my surprise, there had only been one attack last year and no deaths.
    Interesting.
    I clicked another link and jumped as the sound of a cougar cry came through the speakers.
    “Geez!” I exclaimed.
    “What’s that?” Dad asked, calling from the other room.
    “Oh, nothing. I’m just researching something for school,” I said and quickly turned down the sound.
    On the screen was a list of Do’s and Don’ts.
    Do’s and Don’ts . . . Never turn your back on a lion. Never ever run from a lion. Do look at them in the eyes. Don’t go out in lion territory alone. Don’t go out from dusk to dawn. Act aggressively towards the lion. Make menacing noises. Smile and show your teeth. Use a stick and thrust it towards its face . . ..
    Then I scrolled to the bottom and my eye caught a peculiar sentence.
    It’s important to keep in mind that lion attacks are still extremely rare in California and nationally.
    Rare?
    I clicked to read some first hand stories and noticed a common thread. All of the attacks happened during the day and most of the victims survived. Still the stories were creepy and I shivered.
    Maybe it was another cat ? I looked up “bobcat”.
    Though the Bobcat prefers rabbits and hares , it will hunt anything from insects and small rodents to deer .
    Nope, it wasn’t that.
    Extremely rare?
    Something just didn’t fit.
    Suddenly Aladdin jumped up onto my lap and startled me. She looked right up at me and meowed loudly, begging for some affection.
    “Laudie, you brat,” I said as I gave her my meanest glare.
    It didn’t faze her as she rubbed her head against my outstretched arm, meowing repeatedly. Reluctantly, I scratched her neck.
    She gently purred and started kneading my leg as if it were dough. I continued to pet her when it donned on me; she belonged to the cat family.
    I mentally reached out to see if I could sense her emotions. I would think I’d be able to feel her happiness and contentment as she purred softly on my lap, but I felt nothing.
    So, it had to be something other than an animal or was it only extreme emotions I felt.
    I thought about startling her to be mean, but decided against it as I casually glanced at the time. It was 9:32 p.m.
    Where did the time go?
    I felt all hope drain from my body like a deflated balloon as the reality sank in. He hadn’t come and I would have to start the wait all over again tomorrow. I sulked as I limped upstairs and got ready for bed, fighting my disappointment.
    Why did I make such a big deal about it at school today? If it wasn’t for Luke actually meeting him, I would be sure people would think I’d made the whole story up. I started to think that I had, but my healing cuts and aching bruises were a constant reminder that it had really happened.
    Oh, this is so embarrassing.
    I climbed into bed and turned off the light. I looked out the window again at the night sky, wanting the stars to guide me, maybe give me answers.
    But what could have kept him? I didn’t know his last name, where he lived, or anything about him to find him. I worried my earlier gut reaction was right and I’d never see him again.
    The letdown was overwhelming. I had such hopes that maybe he was different. That he cared. Not knowing made me furious. I started to wish he’d just left me there. I’m sure I would have survived the fall. At least being laid up in the hospital, with pain medication, would feel better than the complete embarrassment I felt right now.
    Why would he promise to come see me and not come? I wanted to feel sorry for myself, but my frustration overpowered me. He wasn’t going to have this type of pull on me any longer.
    I refuse to get upset over some boy I just met! Get ahold of yourself, Julia!
    Angrily, I grabbed the dirty shirt I slept with the night before and threw it in the corner. His scent had no business lingering on my bed, even though it had faded to just a whisper. I balled up my pillows before throwing my head down on them and shut my eyes tight. I was going to go to sleep if it killed me.
    It