Teen Ink

You'll Be Mine

You’ll be Mine


“Star?” Julia asked. She waved her hand in front of Star, snapping her out of a trance.
“Where were you just now?” asked Julia.
Star answered, “Sorry, text.” Julia sighed and cross her arms. They sat on a bench in Everdeen Park absorbing nature serenity. Star was invited by Julia to catch up; it’s been a while since they’ve bonded. Since Star announced relocating to Europe tomorrow morning, Julia had made it her mission to reconnect with her.
“We haven’t done this in a while,” Julia spoke softly.
“Yep,”Star replied.
“It feels nice to hang out again,” Julia sensed Star’s disconnection from the conversation, “It was hard to get a hold of you, you know?” Star nodded in agreement until her phone beeped. Immediately, she browsed through her blackberry, her fingers moved like lighting on the keypad.
“That phone is going to be the death of you,” Julia humorously commented but Star was too distracted. Julia similarly glanced down at her cruddy, unimpressive phone. No messages from anybody— like usual. It was silent. Most of the sounds consisted of birds chirping and occasional indistinct chatter in background. Finally after several minutes of golden solitude, Julia attempted to pry Star away from her phone.
“I miss you, Star,” solemnly admitted Julia. Star un-expectantly lowered her hands and locked eyes with Julia.
“Uh, I miss you too, Julia,” Star forced the last words.
“You would rather be somewhere else, huh?” Julia’s tone of voice was sickening sweet. Star nervously bit her lip and tapped her left foot feverishly.
“No, no. I just—“she paused and gazed into Julia’s brown eyes. “It has nothing to do with you. Trust me; I’m just nervous about tomorrow.” Julia lay her porcelain hand on top of Star’s.
“Tell me about it,” urged Julia.
They both reminisced about their lives in high and grade school. Their conversations ranged from sleep overs, to past lovers: from their first year of college to childhood hopes and dreams. Star talked about her internship in Germany while Julia remained quiet on that subject. School was never her strongest suit; she didn’t want to bring up the fact that she’ll have to return to college tomorrow. Otherwise, it felt like old times: laughing together, joking around, recalling insides jokes and embarrassing stories. Momentarily, time had stopped to admire and envy the girls, a small fraction of happiness.
Afternoon rapidly approached and the sky was an orangey hue. Both girls explored the park, completely forgetting about the rest of their plans from before. Julia was tempted to test Star’s memory. She wanted to see if she could remember the word; a word they created specifically for their fabricated world. It was a world conceived from childhood, by both girls’ imagination. It was an illusion that used to envelop the two for hours when the girls were bright eyed and naive. Sometimes, their imaginations would become so vivid, almost like a planetarium. As they drifted towards the clearing, Star spotted a weathered old tree trunk.
“ So-lair-in-is!” proudly shouted Julia. Startled, Star was taken aback by Julia’s unpredictable outburst.
“You don’t remember, Star? We used to say that word all the time! It was our spell, remember?” Julia tried reminding her. Star massaged her neck and contoured a wry facial expression
“Uh, yeah, that word—“Star trailed off.
“What’s wrong?” Julia asked with genuine concern.
“Nothing, I was just remembering those days, is all,” Star answered.
“Yeah, remember all the fun we had especially with Ginger and Veronica. We were like a family back then!” Julia expressed happily.
“That’s until Ginger had a psychotic melt down… at her grandma’s funeral,” Star mumbled.
“And we formed our own sister hood and built a kingdom! It was absolutely fantastic!” Julia clasps her hands together, exclaiming like a child.
“Yeah, like when Veronica threatened to flay me alive if I left the group…good times” Star retorted but her snarky replies were overshadowed by Julia’s rambling.
“Remember our motto, Star? A friend in need is a Sister for life! So-lair-in-is!”
“Would you shut up!? Jesus Christ!” Star snapped. Being caught completely off guard, Julia had her hand firmly placed on her chest.
“I’m sorry, Star. I thought you got over all that,” Julia pouted while placing a finger on her lips. They’ve been here before, discussing, analyzing and crying over what happened between Ginger and Veronica. The problem occurs when one becomes too involved into their man made world. However, Star was not in the mood to engage in such conversation. Rarely was she ever; she tried to forgot such a time even existed.
Star sighed, “Look, just don’t mention that word again around me, okay?” In response, Julia placed a small hand on Star’s back.
“Star, you know I care for you, right? I would never do anything to hurt you, girl,” Julia reassured Star with a smile.
Her phone went off again causing her to revert back to texting. Afterwards, they walked past a couple of trees, enjoying the serene tranquility of nature. Behind them, a thumping noise droned in the distance. Soon the thumping gradually became louder, followed by the sound of grass and dirt being graze. A gray and orange spotted cat appeared and snatch Star’s phone from her hand.
“My Phone!” Star cried. The cat stormed by two willow trees, warm cascading light casted between the leaves dispersed on the brown speckled ground. Julia rushed by Star’s side, “Did you see that?”
“Obviously! That stupid cat has my phone!” Star hollered. Both girls ran after the cat which entered the woods. The mischievous cat squeezed through a small hole. Finally, the girls arrived and discontinue near the hole. It was a rock, shaped like an antlers, held up and supported by two branches with sandy texture. Star’s eyebrow cocked when she realized what was going on.
“So, that’s what you brought me here for, huh?” Star averted her attention towards Julia.
“What are you—“ Julia articulated but Star halted her with a hand.
“Don’t play innocent with me! You invited me today to play your little games! Forget it. I told you I’m freaking done with magic,” Star pointed her finger at Julia, accusing her. Without delay, Star made a 180 turn and stomped off. Julia leaped in front of Star and clenched her right arm, “Okay, yes! But I was having so much fun with you, and, I…Please don’t go!” It didn’t help. Star forcefully removed Julia’s hands and continued walking.
“Star…um…wait!” Julia pleaded but to no avail Star kept walking. “If you knew how I was then why did you come today?” Star stopped in her tracks; Julia was right. Why on earth did Star come today? Star turned around unhurriedly, facing Julia who was a couple of feet away, “I don’t know.”
“Come on, just one more magical adventure, before you enter the adult world. That’s not going to kill you, right?” Star explained carefully. “We’ll just go get your phone and I’ll be out of your life—for good.” Her words made Star think. It was fun playing with magic; she’s not going to lie about that.
“Fine. But I’m doing this for the phone,” Star gave in.
Julia jumped for joy and hugged Star. They returned back to the small rabbit hole wondering how to get through.
“I got it!” Julia shouted. Yet, Julia shot Star a concerned look, “We’re going to have to say something you won’t like.” Star already knew.
“So-lair-in-is!” Julia called out to the rock. The small rabbit hole expanded and stretched in the shape of Julia’s figure. Quickly she entered the rock; Star followed in behind her but the rock’s entrance regressed back into a small hole. Star tried to stretch the entrance by pulling on the inside walls with both hands.
“It’s no use Star! You have to say the word in order to enter!” Julia bellowed from inside the rock.
“Hell, I won’t. Why can’t you just cast some spell to open the rock up?” Star hollered from the other side.
“You know better than I do! It has to be you!” said Julia. What a setup but Star felt tempted.
“Damn my weak will! So-lair-in-is!” the rock opened up. Star felt strange; a very strange sensation of fear and adrenaline rush.
Shortly after entering, the two girls found themselves roaming in an inner sanctum. The ceiling was embossed in gold lettering and masterfully painted Angelic /Demonic figures casing the walls. Red satin transparent curtains were draped over Spiral columns; the curtains lightly contacted the golden sand on the ground. There was hardly any daylight and from the spacious lower level to the dome like ceiling, it remained dark. But there was a mosaic stained glass in the front, the slits of reflected moon light magnified and highlighted the shadowy sanctum with a brilliant magnitude of assorted colors.
“I remember this place,” Star muttered. Multiple crackling laughs, which seemed to sporadically arise from thin air, frightened the girls to the core. All of a sudden, the room light up into a hazy blue and the paintings on the walls began to move! Star and Julia were back to back as the manically cackling continued. Two women clothed in purple robes approached Star and Julia, levitating above the ground. One had fiery red hair that was alive and the other had long, fine green silk hair. It was the Rhyming Twitches.
“Bow, look whose returned to the Forbidden Kingdom,” the red headed Witch began.
“The rhyming sisters! Oh come on, out all of the creatures these still exist!” complained Star.
“How dare you! Out of all your ideas, we are the best!” began Fow.
“Which is why we hold your crowned crest!” continued Bow.
“Wait a minute,” Julia observed, “One is missing.” Star looked again and notices one was indeed missing. There were originally three before.
“Yes, our sister, Dow. Where may she be?” said Bow.
“Perhaps, ruling your forgotten kingdom by the dead sea!” answered Fow.
Julia gasped, “How? I thought I appointed Princess Juliet to rule after us!”
“Yes, she was, that’s before you left,”
“That’s until our sister Dow brought her to her death!” concluded Fow. They both floated around each other, twirling in harmony chanting, “One bite of fungus, one word uttered from thy lips and all sealed with a poisonous kiss!”
“What?” Star asked completely confused.
“That’s a spell, Star! Whoever participates in that spell, the caster has total possession of their soul— forever,” Julia explained.
“With a touch of toad’s blood, her soul is now dud and resides in a crystal mirror. Could we make this any clearer?” finished the witches.
“We have to save her!” declared Julia. Star stared at Julia with wide open eyes in total disbelief.
“Are you kidding me? What about just finding my phone?” cried Star.
“This is more important than that. We have to save the kingdom!” Julia said.
“You can’t save the kingdom! No Body will,” Bow interjected.
“Not until we conduct a spell that will give you a chill,” Fow finished and zapped at the girls with her fire powers.
The girls fought off the witches in a heated battle. At first, Star wasn’t as reluctant to utilize magic again but her adrenaline rush got the best of her. The inner sanctum was getting torn as the powers were shot back and forth. Eventually the witches tired out and Julia and Star took them out. The two girls high fived while standing triumphantly of other side of the witches. Their victory was short lived once a meow echoed through the corridor. It was the gray and orange cat from before. The cat morphed into a human being swathed in a gold flowing robe. It was Dow ruler of the Forbidden Kingdom.
“I knew you’d return once you find out about the Kingdom and I!” Dow sultry voice pierced the depths of the room.
“Yes, I did,” answered Julia, “I knew the Kingdom was in trouble. That’s why I brought one of the founders back with me.” Star fixed her eyes on Julia; she wanted to protect their world.
“It’s no use, Julia. The kingdom is all mine! Princess Juliet is gone and her soul belongs to me!” bragged the witch. Julia said a spell and casted a sword with pristine jewels. She turned to Star.
“Come one, Star. Let’s finish off this witch together.” Star nodded in agreement and conducted a spell herself and produced a rod. They fought off the Dow with all their might, dodging and countering every attack. Julia struck Dow down and Star pinned her robe to the ground. Dow grasp for as she held her stomach. The witch didn’t give up; she muster up all her strength and holstered herself up; she casted a spell. The Kingdom shook and rumbled; debris began to collapse and ceiling fall. A huge column fell towards Julia. Although she caught sight of the pillar, she wasn’t fast enough to get away. It crushed her legs; she yelped and writhed in pain. The witch died and fell; Star panicked and rushed to Julia’s side. She held her by her torso and laid her on her lap. Star took hold of Julia’s frail hand.
“Julia! I’m so sorry,” Star apologized. Star embraced her whilst tears were streaming down her face.
“It’s okay Star. At least I’m able to spend my last few minutes with you,” Julia weakly admitted, tears welled up in her eyes. The palace continued to crumble. All hope was lost until a fairy appeared.
“Master Star! Master Julia!” the fairy called. Star recognized the fairy; she was a messenger for them before.
“Eat these magical mushrooms! They will return you to the surface world!” the fairy offered it to them. Out of desperation, Star stuffed the mushroom in her mouth then she feed it to Julia. They both began to disintegrate into a powdery glow. A huge piece of debris was about to hit them but they vanished into thin air.
...
It was raining and the fantasy was over. The girls returned back into Star’s car, soaked. Star held her aching sides, content with joy while air ceased in her lungs. Consequently, Julia wiped the salty tears from her eyes. It was just like old times.
Through her blurred joy ridden vision, Julia gazed at Star. Abruptly, she seized Star’s face in mid laughter and passionately planted a kiss on her lips. At first, Star was flabbergasted but soon afterwards, her defenses kicked in. She pushed Julia off, wiping her mouth in disgust. A long awkward pause ensued between the two. Finally, Star broke that vouch of silence.
“Get out,” Star ordered.
“I’m sorry—“Julia apologized in a soft whisper.
“Get out of the car!” Star demanded harshly; she was looking ahead with a determined expression.
That’s what she did; she got out of the car.
Julia finally arrived at her apartment, entering the closet door. Lightly, she yanked the string dangling from the ceiling, allowing the attic stairs to lower down. Julia entered the attic; the dark is thick and suffocating. However, amongst the darkness, is an illuminating fluorescent glow gracefully flickering in the shadows. Melted candle waxed were caked and intact on the wooden floor. Withered roses lay adorned and scattered on the floors, the shadows danced in curvature motion. A book was plopped open, incantations sloppily written red slapped across a tattered pages. Star’s high school picture was positioned on a make shift shrine. Julia gently sat on the floor in an Indian style. With one finger tracing the divider, Julia stretched her entire hand over the surface.
“One digested Strangling Forest mushroom and utter of sorcery from thy lips” Julia fingered the final instructions, “sealed with a kiss.”
“I told her ‘your phone would be the death of you’.” And near the photo was Star’s phone covered in Toad’s blood.