Enchantment (47 page)

Splat!

Ever
y
o
n
e
howled
with
laughter.
Kerrigan
was
laughing
so
hard,
he
w
as
doubled
over.

Meeka’s
m
outh
w
as
wide
open
as
s
he
used
her
fingers
to
clear
the
batter
off
her
face.
The
bird creature
cake
landed
in
the
pan
and
said,
“
S
or
r
y
.
” A
s
m
i
l
ed
for
m
ed on
its
face.

The
fur
around
Padd
y
’s
e
y
e
s
glistened,
wet
from
the
tears
caused
by
laughter.
She
handed Meeka
a
towel.

“Oh,
we’re
sorr
y
, dear,
but
y
ou have to
admit it
was
real
l
y
funn
y
.”

Meeka
took
the
towel,
wiping
her
face
of
the
batter.
“I’m
not
s
ure
I
like
creature
cakes an
y
mo
r
e.”
She
laughed.

Even
though
s
he
was
covered
in
Creature
Cake
batter,
M
eeka
had
a
blast.
She
couldn’t re
m
e
m
b
er
a
t
i
m
e
w
hen
s
he
had
laughed
s
o
hard.
What
she
did
re
m
emb
e
r
was
tr
y
i
n
g
not
to
have fun.
Every
t
i
m
e
s
he
let
herself
have
fun,
so
m
e
thing
bad
w
ould
happen.
The
bad,
of
course,
would be
so
m
ething
hurtful
from
her
parents.

Meeka’s thoughts
flashed
back
to
Christ
m
as
when
s
he
was
twelve
y
e
a
rs
old
and
had tried
to cook
holiday
dinner
for
her
parents.
B
y
the
time
dinner
w
a
s
cooked,
they
were
both
drunk,
and her
m
om
had
fallen
down
in
the
bedroo
m
.
Meeka
ran
down
the
hall
to
help
her,
and
b
y
the
ti
m
e
s
he’d
gotten
back
to
the
kitchen,
the
potatoes
had
burnt.
She
had
sworn
to
herself
and
turned
the stove
off.
Lucki
l
y
,
she’d
m
a
d
e
enough
food.
She
hoped
her
father
w
ouldn’t
notice
the
m
issing potatoes,
but
she’d
been
wrong
again.

He’d
stu
m
bled
into
the
kitchen
and
discovered
the
burnt
potatoes,
s
worn
at
her
with
eve
r
y vulgar
word
he
could
use,
and
then
in
his
last
breath,
said,
“You
never
were
any
good
for an
y
t
h
ing.
Y
ou’re
just
like
y
o
ur useless
m
other. This
food
isn’t
fit for
a
dog.”

She’d
stood
by
silent
l
y
and
watched
him
grab
the
turk
e
y
on
the
platter,
open
the
front
door, and
to
s
s
it
on
the
ground.
Meeka
knew
if
she
ran
out,
her
m
other
would
take
the
brunt
of
his anger,
so
she’d
sta
y
e
d
,
j
u
st
like
s
he
alwa
y
s
did.

* * * *

Kerrigan
could
tell
Meeka’s
thoughts
had
regressed
to
bad
place.
H
e
could
see
the
look
of sadne
s
s
on
her
face
as
she
fought
back
tears.
He
hated
the
s
pot
he
was
in.
Her
life
in
Upper World
m
ust
be hell,
and
he was
supposed
to send
her
back
there,
back
to
a world
that
caused
her
s
o
m
u
ch
pain
and
hurt.
He
had
to
change
her
thoughts.
Her
pain
w
as
unbearable
for
h
i
m
.

“So,
Meeka,
do
y
ou
think
y
o
u
m
ight
be
brave
enough
to
venture
outside
into
the
world
of Enchantment
?
”

H
i
s
voice
brought
her
tu
m
b
l
ing
back
to
the
present,
effectiv
el
y
halting
the
bad
m
e
m
or
y
.

“Oh…I
gue
s
s
so.”

“I
w
as
thinking
we
could
all
go
for
a
picnic
and
go
funn
y
-
fishing.
D
ad,
y
o
u
need
a
d
a
y
off, and
Mo
m
,
we
haven’t
gone
for
a
picnic
in
a
ve
r
y
long
ti
m
e
.
”
Kerrigan
said.

“That’s
a
great
idea,”
Paddy
excla
i
m
e
d.
“Meeka,
dear,
if
y
o
u
thought
creature
cakes
were fun,
wait
until we
go
fishing for
funn
y
-
fish.”

Meeka s
m
iled
sad
l
y
.
Happiness…hurt. “The ju
r
y
’s
still
out on
creature
cakes.” She
laughed, continuing
to
wipe
her
face.

“What
do
y
o
u
think,
Catz?
S
hould
we
venture
outside
?
”

Catz
s
poke
to
Kerrigan.
“
I
don’t
know
if
this
is
such
a
good
idea.”