The Alchemy of Forever

kicks up again, encouraging the garden’s chimes to dance fitfully, their silvery peals drifting up toward us. I feel taut, like a violin’s string.
    “I thought you’d be at the party,” I say, watching his face, the way the branches cast their moving shadows across his cheeks.
    “I was. But it was stupid. I hate costumes,” he says. “Just a bunch of people looking for attention.”
    “Was Nicole there?” I ask, biting my lip.
    “Yeah.” He looks away.
    I take a deep breath. “She likes you, you know.”
    “I know.” He fiddles with his shoelaces. “I think I may have accidentally given her the wrong idea. She’s . . . not really my type.”
    “What is your type?” The words are out of my mouth before I can take them back.
    At this, he looks up slowly, his eyes searching mine. He chuckles softly. “Well, until recently, I wouldn’t say I had one.”
    My heart starts to pound. I want him to kiss me. I want his hands to tangle in my hair, to feel his beating human heart against my stolen one. The thought is unbidden, but I can’t say it’s brand new. I also can’t say it doesn’t scare me.
    “What does that mean?” I ask quietly, almost in a whisper.
    He smiles. “Kailey, it’s pretty obvious.”
    “Is it?” I feel my mouth wanting to follow his lead, but I push the smile away.
    He hunches his shoulders, digs deeper in his pockets. “We’ve been friends for a long time. Even though you haven’t always been the nicest to me. It’s okay, I don’t care.”
    I don’t take my eyes off him. “I don’t believe you.”
    “Something’s changed about you. Something . . .” His voice trails off, and he pulls his hands out of his pockets. “I can’t stop thinking about you,” he continues. “And I only hope I didn’t just screw up our friendship by telling you that.”
    “You didn’t,” I say softly, finally returning his gaze. His eyes lock on mine, and the wind stops for just a few seconds. But sometimes seconds can last a very long time.
    And then.
    And then he kisses me, and my life slides into focus. Since I am strong, I do not worry about losing control like I did when I was trying to save Kailey. Instead, I close my eyes and picture the wind moving through nighttime flowers, the moon casting beams on his thick-browed turquoise eyes, the ever-present hood that hides his crow-black hair.
    I feel his hand move hesitantly to my cheek, and I touch his arm. I may only be a spirit, but my lips are warm against his. The ancient redwood tree sighs contentedly.
    I pull back and regard his face. It’s different. I realize that his eyes are usually so sad, that his casual demeanor hides the sadness. But now they’re not. He touches my cheek and says, “We have time,” then lies back to look at the stars. I lie beside him, quietly, smiling in the darkness.
    Time. College, Kailey , Mrs. Morgan said. Two years away. To an Incarnate, it’s nothing, it’s insignificant. But when you have people who care about you, who you’re excited about, each day becomes significant.
    Maybe, just maybe, I can stay here until then.

twenty-two
     
    I wake up the next morning with a smile on my face. I want to stay in bed and think about Noah, but I go out to the kitchen and eat breakfast. Bryan’s not here, and Mrs. Morgan reminds me he has early football practice this morning. That means it will just be Noah and me in the car. Little jeweled butterflies rise in my stomach, and I can’t suppress my smile. “ You’re in a good mood,” observes Mr. Morgan, amused.
    I throw on my usual outfit of jeans and a sweater, but I’m not satisfied. I look boring, not like a girl who was kissed in the Halloween wind. In the back of Kailey’s closet, I find a white crocheted dress that makes me feel like I ought to be making daisy chains in a soft-focus meadow. Better. I even put on lip gloss and mascara. I definitely don’t need blush. I pick up the bottle of Kailey’s jasmine perfume, but decide against it. That belongs to Kailey. I look up at the sound of the doorbell.
    “Kailey!” Mrs. Morgan’s voice drifts down the hall. “Noah’s here!” I can hear her mix of confusion and glee—Noah usually just pulls up to the curb and waits for Bryan and me to run out. I peek out the window and see his car, but he’s not in it. Don’t blush!
    I grab Kailey’s leather messenger bag and force myself to walk slowly out to the foyer. Noah’s standing awkwardly next to Mrs. Morgan, holding a cup from