*The Wishing Stone*(working title)
an excerpt

*seven months ago….

It was a day that every normal child looked forward to with great anticipation. But not Libby. This day had traditionally been a disappointment, one that she would rather not repeat. She had given up on getting her hopes up, as the fall was too painful.
Libby woke in the morning and did nothing special. She got ready for school. She neither expected nor received any well wishes. She waited for her bus at the stop along with the other kids from the neighborhood, and no one spoke to her. Which really was somewhat of a gift, because they usually made fun of her. She found a seat near the front and sat down, alone.
At school there was no celebration. Libby had managed to convince the teacher that there was some sort of error in her paperwork - she was born August 12, not November 12. She didn’t want them to know. They would expect treats; everyone brought treats on their birthdays. There would be no cupcakes or cookies in celebration of Libby’s birthday, so it was easier to just pretend that it wasn’t.
She made it through the day, and when she arrived home, her mother was sitting at the kitchen table. There was a package, about the size of a cake box from a bakery (Libby had seen one once when her classmate had brought a cake to school). Her stomach did a summersault. Please, oh please let it be a cake. Libby thought.
“Hi, mom, what’s that?” Libby asked.
“It’s a gift. It’s for you.” Her mother replied coldly.
“Thank you, mom.” Libby said as she hugged her mother around her middle.
“It’s not from me. It’s from your grandmother.”
“Oh.” Libby said, not even trying to hide her disappointment. She had thought that her mother had bought her something, anything…
But, no matter, a present is a present. Libby thought.
“Can I open it?” she asked.
“If you want.” Her mother said with no emotion.
“Of course I want.” Libby said, and she began to tear at the paper. It was wrapped in shiny silver foil. Libby had it open in seconds. Her mother looked on.
She opened the lid of the box. It was filled with tissue paper. It could not be a cake, but that was okay, surely it was something better than a cake. She plucked each piece of paper out of the way and threw it over her shoulder. She got her first look at the gift. It appeared almost fuzzy. Maybe furry. It could be a stuffed bear or something. Libby reached in the box and touched it with her hand. It felt a little bumpy, like it had been knit. She took hold of it and pulled it out of the box.
As the tissue paper fell away to reveal her gift, Libby was only more confused.
“Mom, what is it?” She asked, and looked at her mother for an explanation.
Joann looked it over carefully and said, “Good Lord, I think it’s a turkey.”
Sure enough, it was a turkey. It had been knit out of a brown variegated yarn. It had a yellow knit beak, and a red furry waddle, and long brown wings.
“Oh, my God. Is it a hat?” She asked as she examined it further. It sure seemed as though it was. There was definitely a head shaped opening on the turkey’s underside.
She placed it on Libby’s head. There were two long strings with what looked like bird feet hanging down on either side of Libby’s face. Joann tied them under Libby’s neck, to make sure it stayed securely on her head, as it was quite top heavy.
“What in the hell was that woman thinking?” Joann asked in disgust. “She has all the money in the world, and the best she could do was a freaky turkey hat?”
“Look, mom, there’s a note. ‘Dear Libby, I saw this and thought you would enjoy it with your birthday being so close to Thanksgiving. Grandma.’ Well that was nice.”
Libby said, trying to think the best.
“What kind of woman sends a child a turkey hat for her birthday?” Joann huffed as she began to walk away. “I have to get ready for work.”
Libby knew it was weird. She also knew that it was perhaps the ugliest thing she had ever seen. But, hey, it was a present. She hadn’t gotten many presents in her life.
So she went into her bedroom, took the turkey hat off and placed it in the most prominent place in her bedroom - right on top of the dresser - next to her treasure box.
She plopped down on her bed and snuggled Mr. Bear. She tried to ignore the turkey, but she just couldn’t. She kept looking at it, and it seemed to be staring at her with its little beady eyes. She was thankful for the gift, really she was. But she couldn’t stand it looking at her. It wouldn’t mean I wasn’t greatful, she told herself. So she got up off her bed, took the turkey in her hands, and carefully tucked it into the deepest corner of her closet.
That was better, much better.

* present*

“Come on, you guys, I have something very important to show you.” Libby said to Trick and Jo. She had backpack slung over her shoulder, and she was running into the woods. Trick and Jo followed her.
“Come on, hurry.” She said. They ran farther and farther into the woods, to their hiding spot. When they got there, they were all panting and out of breath.
“So what is so dang important? It better be good.” Trick said, hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath.
“Oh, it is, trust me.” Libby said, and she began unpacking her backpack. She took three things out of the backpack: a small bundle, a large bundle, and a Polaroid camera.
“Okay. I have to show you something, but you have to swear that you will not tell anyone.”
“But, swearing is wrong.” Jo said.
“Oh, hush, Goodie Two Shoes. She means promise, not swear.” Trick said.
“And I mean no one. Not your parents, not any of the other kids, no one.” Libby said.
“Okay, okay, what is it already?” Trick said.
“Not yet. Before I show you, you need to do something.” She picked up the brown bundle. “I need you to put this on.” She said, and she unwrapped the bundle
Once it was completely visible, Trick said, “What is it?”
“It’s a turkey.” Libby told him.
“It looks like a hat.” Jo said.
“It is. It’s a turkey hat.” Libby said.
“I am not putting that thing on my head!” Trick said and backed away. He crossed his arms in front of his chest in defiance.
“Yes you are. If you want to know my secret, you will. And I am going to take your picture. That way, if you ever decide to tell anyone, I can show the picture of you in the hat to all the others.”
“You’re not going to do this, are you Jo?” trick asked, appalled.
“Libby, I don’t think this is necessary. If I tell you I won’t tell, you can believe me. I would never break a promise.” Jo said to Libby, trying to talk some sense into her.
“That’s the deal. If you’d never tell, then you have nothing to worry about. Put on the hat, or you don’t hear the secret.” Libby said, and she meant it. And they knew it.
Jo was the first to act. “Okay, I’ll put it on, I mean, how bad can it be?”
Libby handed her the hat. Jo took it and looked it over. She had never seen anything so ugly. It kind of gave her the creeps. But, she wanted to hear what was going on with Libby, so she hoisted the turkey on top of her head, and turned to face the others.
Trick bust out laughing.
“Oh, my God, that is hysterical.” He said and he was laughing so hard he held his belly.
“Just take the picture, Libby, okay” Jo said, humiliated.
Libby snapped the picture and pulled it out of the front of the camera. She began waving it in the air to speed the development. Jo hurried to get the hat off her head, and held it out to Trick.
“Ha, ha, ha, real funny. Well, now it’s your turn.” Jo said, offering it to him.
“No way. I’m not doing it. It’s not fair. She’s a girl, it doesn’t look half as stupid on a girl.” Trick protested.
“And you’re twice as likely to blab. Now put it on, or leave.” Libby said.
Trick stood there for a minute and looked at them both. He wanted to leave, but he really wanted to know the secret. And he knew Jo would never tell him, now that Libby had the picture of her.
“Fine. Gimme it.” He said, and he snatched the hat from Jo’s hand. “But you better be ready, you got 5 seconds.”
He put the hat on his head. Both girls bust out laughing. Not only was the bird ridiculous, the look on Trick’s face was priceless. Libby managed to snap a picture.
She waved it about like she had with Jordan’s, which was now fully developed. Trick ripped the hat off his head, and folded his arms again with a “hmpf.”
When the picture began to develop, Libby started chuckling again. Trick charged forward and tried to grab it out of her hand.
“Be careful Trick!” Libby screamed, franticly. “I took this camera from my mom’s room, and if it gets broken, I’m dead.”
Trick backed off, and Libby was no longer laughing.
“Alright, you have your stupid pictures, so now what’s your big secret?” Trick asked.
Libby turned around and picked up the small bundle. She held it in her hand and began unwrapping it, exposing the treasure
“That’s it? A rock? You made us put that stupid hat on to see some old rock?” Trick was incensed. He pushed Libby at her shoulders.
Libby lost her balance a little, but maintained hold of the stone.
“Libby, tell me there’s more to this.” Jo said.
Libby looked at them both and smiled. “Oh, there is. This is not just some old rock. It’s magic. It’s a Wishing Stone.”