Anything You Can Imagine

"I know a magical place where you can see anything you imagine," Jenny stated matter of factly swinging her fire red pony tails from side to side. 

"Hmph..." Cason the freckled face boy standing beside her in front of Jack D's Bayside Restaurant replied, "You do have a wild imagination just like everyone says."

Cason, outdone with the annoying red haired, pig tailed girl, flipped around and began walking down the sidewalk. 

"Where ya going?" Jenny ran to catch up and bounced beside him. 

"As far away from you as possible!" Cason retorted, "Take a hike little girl."

Jenny's face turned as bright red as her pig tails, "I will have you know, I am not a little girl!" 

Cason groaned before sprinting away. When he was several yards away he flipped his head around and shouted, "Stay away from me, weirdo."

Jenny didn't chase Cason this time. She kicked rocks off the sidewalk as she meandered along alone. It was true, she knew she was probably weird compared to everyone else. She loved witches, wizards, unicorns and everything magical. She loved daydreaming, hearing stories and searching for treasures. Most of all Jenny loved the magical place where you could see anything you could imagine. 

Jenny had watched Cason from afar for several months. She wasn't sure why, but not long after her tenth birthday, Cason all the sudden had seemed so cute. However, no matter how cute, Cason rarely smiled. He always seemed so unhappy. Jenny really wanted to see Cason smile. She thought if she took him to the place that made her the happiest of all, he just might smile. Then, as if magic itself, a light bulb in her head popped on. Jenny knew exactly she needed to do. 

Jenny skipped down the sidewalk towards Clara's house. Clara was a witch. She didn't wear a black pointy hat like in the stories you hear, but Jenny knew for a matter of fact, Clara was a witch. Clara would have exactly what Jenny needed. 

Jenny had been to Clara's house before. Well, she had been there, but she'd never been inside. She had always just stood at the back window on her tip toes peeking inside. Clara lived alone with at least a dozen black cats and what seemed like a million candles. Books were strewn all over the house, the floor, the tables and even the chairs. Jenny thought Clara's house looked like a witch house.

Jenny ran around the house to the back window where she'd always had luck peeking inside. She held her breath as she raised herself on her tip toes. She had no idea what she was about see, but whatever it was, she desperately needed something Clara had in there. 

A sense of relief came over her as she peeped through the dingy glass pane. There were at least a half dozen black cats curled in a ball sleeping in various places and so many unlit candles she couldn't begin to count laying around. Clara was probably out walking with her favorite cat, Hexi, hobbling down the street leaning against her cane like she often did. 

Johnson Bay was a small sleepy coastal town on the southern edge of Mississippi, not far from New Orleans. It was October so the few summer visitors in town already went home. Sidewalks lined the streets throughout most of the small town, allowing the residents to often walk or ride bicycles from place to place. The coffee shop, ice cream shop, unique boutiques and several of the restaurants were the local's favorite escapes. Clara loved the coffee shop best and spent most of her free time sipping from a steaming cup and chatting with the other elderly ladies. 

Jenny hoped Clara was sipping and chatting at the coffee shop right now. She tugged at the window to lift it high enough to squeeze through. For a moment, she thought it was locked, until she finally used enough strength to lift the old creaky thing about halfway open. At least it was high enough for a skinny fire red haired girl to crawl through. 

When she stuck her head through the opening, a tickling sensation engulfed her face. A spider web now made it's home across her nose and cheeks. Afraid to open her mouth since she didn't imagine spider webs tasted very well, much less spiders, she clamped her lips closed and continued to squirm her way through the opening she had managed to create. 

A strong aroma filled her nostrils. It was slightly odd but sweet. It reminded Jenny of something musky, earthy and fruity all in one peculiar odor with a hint of freshly snuffed candle wick. With nothing in the space between the window and floor, Jenny crawled through and landed face down. The unmistakenly pungent odor of cats flooded her nose. 

As she tried to gain her composure, the smell of the house no longer controlled her senses. Instead she could only focus on the sound of footsteps getting louder and louder as each foot pelted against the wooden floor. 

"Hexi, what in the world could that be?" Clara's gruff voice rang through Jenny's ears. 

Jenny held her breath. When Clara found her lying in the floor, she could only imagine what would happen. Maybe Clara would cast some horrible spell on her? She really hoped she didn't turn into a frog or a black cat. Maybe all Clara's black cats were people at one time. Worse yet, what if Clara decided to eat her? Witches have been known to dislike children a lot. The thoughts made Jenny feel sick to her stomach. 

"Ah it's you, the little red headed snoop," Clara said followed by the scariest hackle Jenny had ever heard, "You're name is....Jenny...right?"

Jenny didn't answer. She couldn't answer. She couldn't even breathe. 

"I can't hear you. It's Jenny, right?"

"Yes," Jenny managed to whisper. 

"And Jenny, what brings you to my dungeon....uh...house?" Clara asked.

"I'm sorry," Jenny replied still whispering. 

"Little girl, get up and speak. I can't hear you. You can get up, right?" Clara hissed.

Every single body part Jenny owned shook relentlessly as she moved at a snail's pace to her feet. She held her head down and stuffed her hands in the pocket of her denim pants. 

"Look at your elders when they speak to you," Clara snapped. 

Jenny lifted her head and looked Clara in the eye. "Yes ma'am."

"Now tell me, why are you here today?"

Jenny's voice shook just as much as her body, "I need a potion."

"A potion?" Clara hackled again.

"Yes," Jenny replied fighting the urge to look away from Clara's angry face. 

"What made you think to come here for a potion?"

"Because....because.....you're a witch!" Jenny said louder and closed her eyes for fear of what might happen next. 

"A witch? Huh?" Clara laughed. "And you need a potion?"

"Yes," Jenny replied without opening her eyes. 

"Well my dear, you will need to open your eyes to see my potions."

Jenny peeked between the half closed lid of one eye while she kept the other eye tightly shut. 

"Come on now child. Let's see what you need," Clara said and motioned her to follow.

Jenny took a deep breath and opened both eyes. Maybe Clara wasn't going to punish her with a spell or worse, eat her, after all. She followed Clara to the kitchen but kept her distance even though she knew the witch stories very well. No matter how far away she stayed, a witch's spell didn't rely on distance. 

Clara opened a cupboard door, "You will have to come closer to see these."

Jenny hesitated but took a few extra steps to get close enough to read the labels. Animal Communication, Animal Transfiguration, Big Head Spell were just a few. The potion bottles in red, green, blue, yellow and purple were neatly lined in alphabetical order, and they all sounded absolutely horrid. Jenny took a few steps back and glanced at the open window in the next room as she debated making a run for her life. 

"I asked what kind of potion you were looking for," Clara's voice clearly indicated her impatience. 

Jenny mustered enough confidence to spit out, "I like a boy."

"So you want a love potion?"

"No....no....I didn't want that." Jenny shook her head.

"Then tell me, what did you want?"

"I want him to be happy. He never smiles. I want him to smile. I thought if I took him to this magical place I know where you can see anything you imagine that he would smile, but he hates me. I need to convince him to go." Jenny said it all just as fast as she could.

"Ah..." Clara said with a slight grin as she fumbled around in the cupboard before pulling out a small yellow bottle labeled, Convincing Potion. "This is just what you need. However, there is one small problem."

"What kind of problem?" Jenny asked as she took the bottle from Clara and inspected it. She'd never held a real potion before. 

"You will have to get close enough to sprinkle the potion on his skin."

Jenny cocked her head to one side and said, "I think I have an idea how to do that."

Clara smiled as she led Jenny to the door and watched her skip down the sidewalk to find Cason. 

Jenny searched downtown, often Cason sat on the benches watching people walk up and down the street. She didn't see him anywhere, so she headed over to the park where he often shot basketballs with his friends. 

She didn't find him shooting basketballs today though. Today he was sitting on a park bench as if he might be waiting for someone. She started to open her mouth to speak to him, but she knew good and well he would just jump up and run away as soon as she did. 

Instead she reached in her pocket for the yellow potion bottle Clara had given her. She turned around and slowly opened it, very careful not to spill a single drop. It was a tiny bottle and the slightest accident might ruin the whole thing. 

Carefully making sure she did everything perfectly, Jenny walked toward Cason without speaking. She hoped he wouldn't look her way because he would surely run. When she got within a few yards of his park bench, she walked just a little faster and just as if she had practiced, she pretended to trip over her own feet. When she tripped, she tossed the contents of the yellow bottle towards the bench. 

"Ewwww...." Cason bolted from the bench, "What is that? Smells like perfume!"

"Wait, please don't run away," Jenny pleaded, "I'm sorry I spilled that on you. I just wanted to ask if you were ready to see the magical place where you can see anything you imagine?"

"No!" Cason shouted rushing away, "I'm not going anywhere with a crazy girl like you."

Jenny felt tears well up in her eyes. Even a potion wasn't going to convince Cason. He hated her. Just about the time Jenny gave in to the tears, Cason halted mid step and turned around to face her. 

"Okay, I'll go just this one time."

Jenny smiled. Now she knew for sure Clara was a witch. The potion had worked! She had to make a point to stop back by and thank her very soon.

"Let's go," Jenny said. 

Together Jenny and Cason walked several blocks to the opposite side of town. 

"Here we are."

"This is not a magical place!"

"Yes it is. Just come inside. You will see."

Cason rolled his eyes, but he had come this far already and something he couldn't quite understand nudged him to follow her inside. 

After they walked up the concrete steps and crossed through the heavy front door, Cason looked around and shook his head, "Jenny this is just our town library."

"I know." She beamed with happiness, "but there are so many magical places to see here. Come on let me show you."

Cason smiled as he followed Jenny, maybe he could start to like this fire red pigtail girl after all.