Little Little Sister (standard:fantasy, 9936 words)
Author: MyMelodyOfTheHeart	Added: May 13 2014	Views/Reads: 2786/2140	Story vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
A 10 year old boy is happy with being an only child, but finds that a sibling can bring him even more happiness, big or small.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

the locker door. Being very passionate about sports, especially 
baseball, I was overjoyed because today, I will be playing against the 
baseball team from Brooke Elementary School, who are rumored to have 
small, inexperienced players. This ought to be easy. On my way to the 
boys' bathroom to change,  I ran into Nick and Jenna Serra, a friend of 
his and an acquaintance of mine. 

"Hi there, Mr. Show-Off! Going to play a game today?" they asked me. I
chose to ignore their nickname for me. "Yes. We are playing against 
Brooke today. I will win it all for us!"  Nick and Jenna looked at each 
other, rolling their eyes. "Well, good luck at the game, Harry. 
Remember your teammates as well. I gotta go. My Mom's waiting for me." 
Nick replied and ran off.  Jenna, meanwhile, hung around me while I dug 
through my baseball bag. "Don't you just love that Thumbelina story in 
class today, Harry? I would love to read it over and over." Not wanting 
to hear any more about that, I answered," good for you. I'm glad you're 
into small, weird people!"  Jenna glared at me as I was going into the 
bathroom. "If you weren't so stuck up on yourself, you can learn to 
appreciate all the good things in life. See you later, Harris Packard." 
She left and I got changed in the bathroom. 

In my uniform, all ready to play, I sat on the front steps of the
school, waiting for my Mom to come and take me to the park for the 
game. Minutes passed and Mom has not come out of school yet.  What 
could be keeping her? 

Just when I became so frustrated and wanted to leave, Mom came running
down the stairs. "Hi Harry! I'm sorry I'm late. I was busy cleaning up 
the classroom after the kids made cookies today. Are you ready for the 
game?" I stood up. "Hi Mom. I have been ready for a while here. Fine 
time to be late." I said, firmly. 

Mom was slightly taken aback, but then recovered. "I know you're anxious
about playing in today's game, but don't get mad at me about being late 
that couldn't be helped. Understand?" I nodded and asked, " Can we sing 
on the way there? It'll be really fun." Mom smiled  and nodded as we 
went into the car. I could tell that's what we needed. 

After singing along with the radio in the car the whole way, we were
finally at the park. There were lots of people, sitting on the 
bleachers, standing around, etc. I recognized my teammates and Coach 
Dempsey on the far end of the field. "Okay, Mom. I'm going to meet with 
the Coach and teammates now." I said, pointing to them.  Mom sat on the 
front row of the bleachers. "Good Luck, Harry. I know you will do your 
best out there." 

I ran over to the dugout where Coach Dempsey and my teammates were
discussing today's game. "Hi, Harris. Glad you could make it. We need 
to talk to you about something. "  Coach Dempsey greeted me and 
gestured for me to come where he was. "Sure, Coach. What's up?" I 
replied, putting down my bag. Coach grabbed one of my teammates, Julien 
Burke, and brought him over to us. "Julien here has been training hard 
to become a pitcher. So to help him practice, Can he take your place as 
pitcher for today's game? I'm sure it will be great for him and us."  
Julien jumped up and down and added, " Please, Harry! Let me be 
pitcher!" 

I was outraged when I was hearing this. How dare Coach to give Julien,
one of the puniest players on our team, my position that that is one of 
the most important ones there is?! "Sorry Coach, but my position is 
more important to me. Julien is the very last person I would give it 
to. He is as good as a benchwarmer." I told them straight.  Coach and 
Julien were horrified when I said this. Julien, especially, because he 
burst into tears and ran away. Coach took a glance at him, then he 
glared at me. 

"Harris Packard! How can you be so cruel and selfish like that?! Just
for that, you are not welcome to play in today's game. You are to sit 
on the bench and if you keep this up, you will be cut from the team! 
understand?!" I nodded , once again, and plopped onto the bench. "Who 
wants to play that stupid game anyway?" I thought to myself as I helped 
myself to some water. 

That's how I spent the whole game. Every now and then, I glanced around
the field at the game being played and looking in the crowd at my Mom. 
My Mom was cheering my team on, even though I wasn't playing. Julien, 
as the pitcher, and my teammates, as I watched them, were effortlessly 
beating Brooke Elementary by a few points. We only needed one more Home 
Run to win the game. "Without me, they won't win." I thought. But I was 
proven wrong. 

Julien went up to Home Base, bat in hand, ready to swing at the ball.
The pitcher on the Brooke team glared at him and threw the pitch. Using 
all his strength, Julien swung the bat and hit the ball, high in the 
sky. "Run, Julien, Run!!!", everyone on my team urged and away Julien 
went, running the bases. 

Finally, as if in a dream, Julien slid very far, right into Home Base.
We had won the game! ( I would have won the game the game more easily 
than he did.) Everyone cheered in the crowd, especially my Mom. "Way to 
go, Julien! That's a great team member! Right, Harris?" Coach asked, 
looking at me on the bench. "Yes, Coach. He is." I said and went to 
find my Mom while everyone on my team carried Julien off the field, 
cheering. 

"Hi, Harry! Great job on your team winning the game! What position were
you playing? I assumed you were the pitcher, but I didn't see you 
anywhere on the field."  Mom said when I met her near the bleachers, 
walking towards the car. At first, I was very reluctant to tell her 
what happened, but honesty is the best policy, so I told her  
everything that happened, including sitting on the bench for the whole 
game.  Needless to say, Mom was just as shocked and horrified as Coach 
and Julien were. "Young Man, let's get into the car and thoroughly 
discuss this." she told me very firmly and stomped off into the car. I 
ran to catch up with her and got into the car with her. 

During the drive home, we were silent for a while. Finally, Mom spoke
quietly, " Harris, when you show off and act stuck up, who gets hurt 
the most?" This was certainly something to think about. "Myself and 
others." I  muttered, looking down at my feet. "Right. You can't go 
through life degrading others and always wanting to be Top Dog. Life 
isn't like that. If you keep this up, as your Coach said, you will lose 
what's important. I want you to think about this. Okay, Harris?"  Mom 
lectured me. 

Not wanting to make my Mom any angrier, I agreed with her. "Yes, Mom. I
will." Then I spotted something on the side of the road. "Mom! Look 
over there!" She and I both looked. Three teenagers were beating up an 
old man in an alley way. 

"Oh my Lord! That poor man. Let's help him, Harry." Mom exclaimed and
stopped the car. I hesitated though. "How can we stop them? They could 
be dangerous." Mom and I looked through the car for something to scare 
the teenagers away. I spotted a battery powered flashlight and some 
rope in the glove compartment.  "Mom, why don't we use these?" I held 
the items up to show her. She frowned. " How are they going to help 
us?" I quickly explained how we can use the flashlight to shine light 
in the pitch blackness of the dark to scare the teenagers away. With 
them gone, we would throw the man the rope and lead him to safety with 
us. 

Mom was amazed. "I don't know how you did it, but that's a great idea!"
Getting out of the car, we put the plan into action. We approached the 
alley way. That poor man was getting bruises, cuts, and other injuries 
from those fools. "Stupid old F***!" "Try to use magic now!"  "What a 
sorry wimp!" were some of the things we heard them say to him. 

We knew that we were desperately needed as the man winced and whimpered
in pain.  Mom gave me a signal and I shone the flashlight in the dark 
at the fools. They shrieked while Mom threw the man the rope. "Come 
on!" she said to him. The man held back, but then he grabbed his bag 
and held onto the rope while Mom reeled him in to her. Meanwhile, it 
appeared that my flashlight only stunned them because now they were 
after me! "Now you're gonna get it!" one of them said and they all 
started to hurt me! "Mom, help me!" I cried out as the fools laughed at 
me. 

Mom heard me and tried to run to my aid. But the old man, despite his
shabby condition, stopped her. "Leave it to me." he said, softly to 
her. After he said that, he muttered something and waved his hand. Then 
something strange happened. 

Just when one of the teenagers were about to beat me as badly as they
did to the old man, they heard sirens and saw lights flashing. "The 
Cops!!!! Let's split!!!" they shouted and ran, leaving me unharmed.  
Mom and the old man came over to me. " Thank goodness you're all right, 
Harry! Who knows what could've happened if the Police didn't come!" Mom 
exclaimed and gave me a big hug.  The we turned to the old man. 

"Are you okay, Mister? You look like you're in bad shape after that
beating." I asked him. The man shook his head. "I'm afraid I am in too 
much pain to be fine. Can you please help me?" Mom and I knew that this 
was our chance to help someone in need and thought for a moment. "We 
can take care of you at our home and nurse you back to health, if you 
wish. Then we can take you to your home. How's that sound?" Mom 
suggested to him. 

The man's face lit up with joy. "I would love it if you can do that for
me. But I am homeless, so you can not take me to my home." Mom was sad, 
at first, to hear this, but she suggested that he can live at our house 
for as  long as he needed.  The man brightened up even more. "You are 
very kind. I accept this offer." However, this did not sit well with 
me. How can Mom take in a complete stranger like this? And invading  my 
personal life and relationships? Before I could open my mouth to 
protest, Mom opened the car door and the man went inside. "Come on, 
Harry." she said, gesturing me. 

On the way home, the man introduced himself as Ayden James Escourt, and
he is a world renowned Magician and Warlock. He was telling us his 
story, everything from how he came to be what he is now, to why he is 
now homeless. "I used to live in a nice, elegant apartment where I 
would perform magic for the little ones. Then their parents and my 
Landlord thought that my magic was a bad influence, so they evicted me. 
I tell you, Miss, life is not fair. " he explained. 

Mom turned around. "Please, Ayden. Call me Claire. Claire Reynolds
Packard. And this is my son, Harris Packard. It's our pleasure to take 
you in. You are quite an interesting person as well."  Ayden smiled and 
continued his story. As I was listening to Ayden, my mind was filled 
with disbelief. If he is so renowned, how come I never heard of him 
before? I really did not believe that he can do magic. To me, he is 
just an old man, invading my home and my life. 

Before I knew it, we were home. I got out of the car, carrying my
equipment bag and held the front door of the house open for Mom and 
Ayden. "Thank you, Harry." Mom said. Ayden, who was following Mom, 
carrying his bag added," What a Gentleman you are, Harris." As we 
organized ourselves in the Living room, Mom, to my dismay, explained to 
Ayden how he can live in the guest bedroom right next to mine. "Harry, 
can you carry Ayden's things and lead him to his room? I'll get some 
bandages and medicine for him while you're at it." she said. I nodded 
and picked up Ayden's things. "Yes, Mom." Ayden and I walked up the 
stairs. 

"You have a very nice home, Harry. Reminds me of my old home at the
apartment. " Ayden commented, looking around when we got to the top of 
the stairs. "Yes, we do." I muttered. Then we came to the bedrooms.  
"This is where you'll be staying.", I told Ayden, pointing to the guest 
bedroom, " And this is my bedroom. It's private, you know." 

Ayden was slightly taken aback, but went into the guest bedroom. "I knew
that. This is such a nice room. Do you mind if I unpacked my things and 
straightened up in here?" I shook my head and left the room to wait for 
Mom. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ayden place his bag on the 
floor. Then he muttered something and waved his hands. In a fast 
instant, the room became nicely decorated, complete with sheets on the 
bed, a thick book on a pedestal, and elegant wallpaper. "Ayden could 
not have done that., I said to myself,' I'm just imagining it." 

Just then, Mom came up the stairs with some supplies. "How's Ayden
doing, Harry? Is he making himself at home?" Before I could answer, 
Ayden stepped out of the bedroom. 

"We're doing great here, Claire. Harry here has done a great job showing
me to my room." Mom smiled. "Glad to hear everything went well for you 
two. Let's clean and dress your wounds, Ayden. Then I'll serve supper 
for us.'" Ayden flinched a bit at the thought of his wounds, but 
relaxed when mom said that. She and I went into his room. Mom was 
amazed at how the room looked. 

"Boy, you sure know how to make yourself at home, Ay. It's so magical."
I don't know where Mom got that idea from, but I didn't feel like 
agreeing with her on that. Ayden sat carefully  on a chair. " Please be 
gentle, Claire." Mom unwrapped some bandages and I mixed some soap and 
warm water  also. "Hold still. You'll be fine." Mom assured him. Then 
she began  to clean Ayden's wounds. As he cried out in pain several 
times, I decided I didn't want to hang around. "Mom, can I please go to 
my room and do homework? I can't take this."  Mom and Ayden understood 
my discomfort and let me go. 

I sat at my desk in my room and tried to concentrate. As I was working,
I continued to hear Ayden's cries of pain and Mom assuring him. "What a 
wimp for someone who claims to be a Warlock. Why doesn't he use his 
magic to heal himself and get a new home?" I thought, bitterly.  After 
finishing my homework, I laid in bed and rested for a while.  I didn't 
rest long, though, because just then, Mom called me to dinner. 

I came downstairs and met mom and Ayden in the Dining room. mom was
serving us bowls of Chicken Noodle Soup. "My favorite!" Ayden 
exclaimed, who was now all clean, bandaged, and in tip top shape. Mom 
gave me my bowl and sat down with us. "Glad to hear it, Ay. It's my 
favorite, too. Harry, Can you please tell us your day at school and 
your baseball game today?"  Swallowing my soup, it took me a little 
time to get started. " My day began with..." 

As I was telling Ayden and Mom about my day, Ayden was showing lots of
interest. But at the same time, I noticed he was doing lots of weird 
things. Like, when his water glass or soup bowl were empty, he would 
mutter something, wave his hand, and in an instant,  they were 
refilled. No wonder he didn't ask Mom for seconds. 

I finished my story at the same time we were finished with our dinner.
Ayden applauded for me.  "Well done, Harry. Sounds like you had a 
productive day." Mom began to clear the dishes. "Would you like some 
dessert, Ay? I made some peach cobbler earlier today." she asked him. 
Ayden gave Mom a big smile. "I would love some, Claire. But before we 
have that, I would like to speak to you and Harry about an important 
matter." Mom and I agreed. So when Mom finished cleaning up, we sat at 
the table and listened carefully to Ayden. 

"First, I would like to express my gratitude to both of you for taking
me in. With your care and a nice place to live, I am stronger than 
ever. I feel repayment is necessary for your kindness. Therefore, I am 
willing to grant each of you a wish. Anything your heart desires, I 
will give to you." 

Upon hearing this, I have never seen Mom so exhalant as she is now.
"Ayden, that is so sweet of you to do that for us. Isn't that great, 
Harry?" I, on the other hand, had quite enough of this magic that Ayden 
claims he can do. "Ayden, you have gone far enough with this. Do you 
really expect me to believe this crazy promise of wishes?! You are just 
a moocher. A moocher taking advantage of us!" I exploded at him.  
Suddenly, tears formed in Ayden's eyes. Mom became red in the face. 

"Harris Vincent Packard! How can you talk to Ayden like that after he
has been so nice to you?! You have not learned your lesson. I want you 
to go to bed without any dessert tonight and really think about your 
arrogance.   Do you hear me?!!" she said in a very loud voice.  I 
nodded quickly and left the table as fast as I could. As I did this, I 
overheard Mom apologizing to Ayden and began talking about her 
kindergarten class among themselves.  "Mom should have never took him 
in." I said to myself and went into my room. 

A little later, after I took a bath and changed into my pajamas, I was
quietly reading a book. Suddenly, I saw Mom walk past my room into 
Ayden's. She looked really intent on something  so I decided to 
investigate. "Ayden, I would like a word with you on my wish." I heard 
her say, closing the door behind her. Being as careful as I could, I 
got up, went to Ayden's door, and carefully opened it a crack. "I would 
be delighted to, Claire. What is it?" Mom, feeling shy, hung back a 
little. 

"This may sound very silly to make a wish of, but, for years after my
husband passed away, I have had a strong desire to have more children. 
My heart wants to love and care for other children of my own besides 
Harry. Therefore, since I am unable to have more children, I wish for a 
child to love and care for, and a sibling for Harry to play with." As I 
was watching this, I was hoping that Ayden would think that this is 
crazy and not grant her wish. 

But Ayden was moved by Mom's speech. "You sound like you're speaking
from your heart, Claire. I can sense it. You deserve to have your wish 
granted for your kindness and love.  I have just the thing for you." He 
got up out of bed and walked over to the dresser drawer. He opened it 
and pulled out a small bottle on a chain, containing a multi colored 
stone inside of it. 

"I have been wanting to give this to someone who is very special to me.
You happen to be it. Before you go to bed, take the stone out of the 
bottle, kiss it, and place it in some warm water. By morning, you will 
have your wish. After that, Can you please wear the bottle on the chain 
as a symbol of your loving wish?" Ayden explained. He placed the 
necklace around Mom's neck. 

Needless to say, Mom was so overjoyed that I thought she was going to
explode. She threw her arms around Ayden and gave him a big hug. "Ay, I 
am so joyful that you did this for me. You are the nicest and sweetest 
Warlock I have ever met. I will do as you told me and wear this 
necklace, too. Thank you so much!" 

I could not believe my eyes and ears. How can a rock grant Mom's wish?
Ayden must be playing a trick on her. I didn't want to spend much time 
figuring all this out, so I turned around and left for my bedroom. On 
the way there, I accidentally sneezed loudly. "What was that noise?" I 
heard Ayden ask Mom.  "Probably just Harry. He should have been in bed 
by now. I'll do as you told me and go to bed now. Good Night, Ayden." 
she replied. Ayden said the same to Mom. 

I quickly hopped into bed and turned out the lights. I got in there just
in time because Mom came in to check on me. With one eye slightly open, 
 I saw the rock inside the bottle on her necklace was gone. She did 
what Ayden told her to do with it. "Good Night, Harry. Hopefully, you 
will have  learned your lessons about arrogance someday." she 
whispered. The she kissed the bottle. "make me proud." I heard my 
bedroom door close and went to sleep. 

The next morning, I was awakened by a shout of pleasure. Getting up,
still sleepy eyed, I went into Mom's bedroom. "What's going on, Mom?" I 
groaned. Mom turned to me. She had something in her hands. "Harry, meet 
your new sister, Lena  Katrina Packard." Smiling so big, she opened her 
hands. There, Mom held a very small girl, about the size of my thumb. 
Lena waved at me. " Hello, Harry. My Big, Big Brother." I shook myself. 
Where did Lena come from, and why was she so small? Not wanting to make 
trouble, first thing in the morning, I greeted her. " Hi Lena. Nice to 
meet you, my Little, Little, Sister." 

It felt awkward, to tell you the truth. So I took Mom aside and asked
her where Lena came from. "I wished for another child and Ayden gave me 
a colored rock. he told me to kiss it, and put it in some water 
overnight. When I woke up, I found that the rock became a very small 
girl. My wish came true!! Ayden is so great!!!" she explained and gave 
Lena a big kiss. Lena giggled and said, "I love you too, Mother."  
After composing herself, Mom said, "Harry, Lena, Let's go see if 
Ayden's awake yet. Then we can have breakfast. How's that sound?" still 
uncomfortable, I said quietly," Sorry, but I need to get dressed first, 
Mom." Mom shrugged. "Suit yourself, harry. You ready to meet Ayden, 
Lena?" 

Lena gave Mom a happy dance and climbed into Mom's hand. "I sure am,
mother. Ayden sounds so nice. Too bad Harry's a Party Pooper." I got 
mad after hearing this. As we were leaving the room, I whispered," You 
better watch yourself, Goody-Two-Shoes Lena." Then I went to get 
dressed. 

After that, I joined Mom, Ayden, and of course, Lena, at the breakfast
table. "Good Morning, Harry. How are you on this fine morning?" Ayden 
asked. Sitting in my chair, I answered flatly," Fine. Just fine." Ayden 
and Lena were taken aback by my answer. But Mom came in, carrying a 
plate of toast. "Don't worry about Harry's grumpiness. He just got up 
on the wrong side of the bed."  "I thought so." Lena muttered and we 
began to eat. 

As we were doing this, I paid close attention to how Lena was eating.
She walked around the table, told Mom what she wanted, and Mom gave her 
crumbs of the food we were eating. Again, this made me uncomfortable. 
Why can't she eat like a normal person? I didn't want to figure out the 
weirdness of my new sibling. 

When we were done eating, I helped Mom, Ayden, and Lena clear the
dishes. Mom was very pleased that everyone, especially Lena, helped 
her. "What are everyone's plan for today?" Mom asked. Every one of us 
had plans. "I will be performing Magic Shows all day for a benefit 
event." was Ayden's. "i will be going to the Mall with some friends and 
then practice some baseball." were mine. Finally, Mom's plans were," I 
will be cleaning  the house this morning, then I will go to my Book 
Club meeting." the only one who didn't have any specific plans was 
Lena. But she went over to me and said, "Harry, I want to spend the day 
with you, my Big, Big, Brother. Can I? Please?" Mom and Ayden looked so 
pleased at her request. I, however, was not. I need to be with my 
friends, not babysitting a weird, very small sibling. 

"No, you may not. My friends and I are going to have fun. We don't need
a small person like you around. In fact, my friends don't even want to 
meet you." I said, nastily. Lena looked horrified and turned away from 
me. Mom stroked her blond hair with her finger, comforting her. 

Ayden rescued Lena by chiming in. " Harris, there's no need for
hostility like that. I'm sure your friends will enjoy meeting a sweet 
person like Lena. You should be happy she is so eager to spend time 
with you. So have fun today and be nicer to Lena, Okay?" I nodded as 
Mom picked up Lena in her hand. "It's okay, Lena. harry will be happy 
to spend time with you and his friends. Right, Harry?" she said as she 
put Lena in my front shirt pocket. I had no choice, so I muttered,  
"Okay, Mom. I'll take her." Mom and Ayden told us to have fun as we 
left. 

I got my Bike out of the garage and started pedaling it to the Mall. The
whole way, Lena was yelling happily," Wheee! Faster, Harry, Faster!!" 
"Wheee! This is fun!!!" She got on my nerves so much, that, I either 
felt like telling her to shut up, or throwing her out of my pocket. I 
couldn't do either one, because Mom would definitely frown upon it. So 
I kept my mouth shut and tried to ignore Lena. Finally, we arrived at 
the mall. As I got off my Bike and approached my friends, I pushed Lena 
further into my pocket  so no one could see her. 

"Hi Guys!", I yelled to Nick, Julien, and Jenna, who were standing near
the main entrance. They waved to me. "Glad you could make it, harry." 
Julien replied. He seemed to have forgotten all about the Baseball game 
yesterday. "What took you so long?" Jenna inquired. I explained how my 
morning went. As I said this, my friends spotted something wiggling in 
my shirt pocket. 

"What's that in your pocket, Harry? Your new bug collection?" Nick asked
me with a laugh. The others joined him. Not amused, I reluctantly 
picked up Lena from my pocket. "This is my new sister, Lena Katrina 
Packard. I don't know why, but we got her this morning. Mom made me 
take her here." 

You should have seen my friends' reactions when they saw Lena. When Lena
said in her sweetest voice, "Hello Friends! Nice to meet you!", their 
faces lit up as if they were candles on a birthday cake. "She's so 
cute!" "You're so lucky, Harry." "How sweet!" were some of their 
comments. Lena was overwhelmed at first, and I thought I was going to 
be lucky and she'll leave me alone, but she comfortable after my 
friends introduced themselves and talked with her for a long time. I 
became so impatient that I shouted," Can you guys stop going ga-ga  
here?! I would like to do some shopping today!!" 

Lena and my friends were stunned. "We're sorry, Harry. We were just
getting to know your little sister better." Julien said quietly. 
Grabbing Lena in my hand, I walked quickly into the Mall with my 
friends running behind me. The trip through the Mall seemed endless to 
me. At just about every store, Lena got excited at all the merchandise, 
especially the toys and my friends  joined her at every moment, 
especially Jenna.   I felt so left out, that, while I understand that 
they were just getting to know Lena, I felt that a spell was cast on me 
to make me invisible to them. 

We left the mall, our arms loaded with our stuff. I noticed that, out of
all my friends, Jenna became the most bonded with Lena. I began to hop 
on my Bike, with Lena in my pocket, when Jenna stopped me. "Wait Harry! 
Can Lena come over to my house to hang out for a little while? I 
promise I'll bring her back to your house."  I could care less at this 
point. But I asked Lena anyway. "I would love it very much. Jenna and I 
have so much fun together. Thank you so much!" Lena replied, happily. 
Jenna was also pleased. She held out her hand and Lena climbed into it. 
"Bye Harry! We'll see you later!" Jenna called as she pedaled away on 
her Bike. 

My mind was filled with hatred of Lena as I rode my Bike home. How can
my friends, who have known me for a long time, suddenly choose Lena 
over me? and Why is Lena suddenly so well liked, especially since she 
just became my sister today? I had a chance to get rid of these 
thoughts, however, because when I got home, it was the perfect time for 
me to play some baseball, all by myself as it ought to be. Parking my 
Bike in the garage, I got my equipment and headed out to the backyard. 
It was lots of fun, practicing my pitching, and hitting the ball. As I 
was doing this, I saw Mom leave the house to go her Book Club meeting. 
We waved at each other. "Good luck at your meeting, Mom!" I called to 
her. Mom smiled." Have fun too, Harry. Make sure Lena is taken care 
of." I explained how Lena is over at Jenna's house, hanging out. Mom 
was very pleased. "How nice! Lena is making new friends. She is such a 
great gift to us." 

I didn't agree with that at all. But I kept my mouth shut. Mom got into
the car and left. I picked up the ball and mitt and practiced some 
more. Soon, I heard two familiar voices in the distance.  Jenna was 
bringing Lena back home, unfortunately. "Thank you so much for having 
me over your house, Jenna." I heard Lena say, "You are more fun than 
Harry." Jenna replied," You are very welcome, Lena. You can come 
anytime you like. Harry is so lucky to have a sister like you." I tried 
to ignore them and pitched some more. But Lena came up to me. "Hi, 
Harry! Whatcha doing? Playing baseball? That looks like fun!" I slowly 
looked down at her. "Hello, Lena. Yes, I am playing baseball. No, you 
can't play, so don't ask." Undaunted, Lena climbed onto my mitt and sat 
there. "Jenna and I had so much fun together. We played with her doll 
house, made cookies, watched TV,...." 

She raved on like this, and talking about how much my friends admire
her. Listening to her, I felt my resentment and hatred build up inside 
me to the point that it was going to pop. Finally, it did when I 
interrupted her. 

I picked up the mitt, with Lena still in it, raving on, and yelled into
it at her. "Lena!!! Shut up already!!! I don't care one bit about what 
you did with Jenna! She is one of my friends and MY friends onlyI You 
have no right to steal my friends! I was much happier before you were 
created, but Mom made me so unhappy making that stupid wish to have 
you! Little people are worthless! You hear me?!! So get out of my face, 
never come back, and leave me alone, already!!!" It felt great to do 
that to her. However, Lena started to cry very hard. So hard, in fact, 
that something weird happened to her. Lena started shrinking until she 
was only a quarter of an inch tall. She was shocked when this happened. 
Then a gust of wind came blew her off my mitt, into who-knows-where.  I 
heard her faintly crying out for me when she got blown away. 

"Good riddance to Lena." I muttered happily and went to the garage to
put away my equipment.  I heard Mom and Ayden talking inside the house. 
Mom was crying, so I decided to investigate. I went inside the house 
and saw that the whole Living room, Dining room, etc. were torn apart, 
with items scattered all around. Mom and Ayden were sitting on the 
couch. "Mom, Ayden, what's going on?" I asked them. Mom looked up at 
me, sniffling. "Thank goodness you're here, Harry. I'm so glad you're 
fine. Poor Lena, my special child. I hope she's okay..." She broke down 
and Ayden handed her a tissue. I was puzzled, but Ayden saw it and 
explained things to me. "Your Mother has been trying to find Lena for 
at least two hours now, ever since she called your friend's house and 
found that Lena was not there. Your Mother is so worried sick about 
her, thinking that Lena is now gone forever. Do you know anything about 
the whereabouts of Lena, Harry? It would be so great if you did." 

After hearing this, I felt, for once, so sorry for Mom, knowing that
telling her the truth will make a big difference, I said," Mom, Ayden, 
I know what happened to Lena." Suddenly, they sat up straight on the 
couch, intently. "Tell us, Harry." they both said. 

As much as I could, I told Mom and Ayden the whole story, including my
whole hatred of Lena and how I yelled at her, and her shrinking and 
disappearing. By the time I was done, I could not believe how shocked 
and angry Mom and Ayden looked at me. 

"Harry, of all the things you have done, this is the absolute worst!  I
oughta Bomb Shelter you for life for doing this! Oh my goodness!!"  Mom 
was ranting at me. Meanwhile, Ayden tried to calm her down. "Claire, 
calm down. I'll take Harry up to my room and we'll think things over." 
With that, he gestured for me to follow him upstairs while Mom cried 
some more. We went to Ayden's room, went in, and shut the door. 

"You've really done it this time, Harry. Lena meant a lot to your Mother
as you mean a lot to her as well. I sensed how much she really wanted 
another child, besides you, so I granted her wish and created Lena 
using my magic. Now Lena is gone and your Mother is very sad about it. 
You have hurt her and yourself by doing what you did. How can you fix 
this?"  Ayden lectured me, firmly. 

I looked around nervously as I absorbed Ayden's information. I was
surprised to learn that he created Lena in the first place, how much 
damage I have done to Lena and Mom, and what a gentle guy Ayden really 
is.  Turning to face Ayden, I said my piece. 

"Ayden, I am truly sorry for this mess that I have caused. I am just so
happy to be an only child and felt that, since you created Lena, 
everyone, including Mom and my friends, will love her more and 
completely reject me. Lena is a very nice person, I really think so. I 
don't know what to do to get her back." 

Ayden nodded solemnly. "Sounds like you understand. You should know that
no one, not anyone, can ever reject you in life. Rather, they will love 
you just as much as the next person. I can help you with finding 
Lena."As he said this, he opened the really thick book  on the 
pedestal. Intrigued by Ayden's wisdom and idea, I went over to take a 
closer look. 

Flipping through the pages, I noticed that all the text in the book were
in some strange language.  How can Ayden understand it? A Warlock 
thing, I guess. Finally, Ayden came to the right page. "Here's the 
spell that will help us. Since I believe Lena's shrinkage was caused by 
your hatred of her, this spell will be useful for undoing it." I hung 
back a little, not knowing what Ayden will do. "If it helps Lena and 
Mom out, let's do it." 

Ayden stood in front of me, book in hand.  "Very good. Hold still,
Harry. Garbagio Flyberra! ( G-are-bah-gee-oh, Fly-bear-rah)" he said 
the spell and waved his hand at me. I didn't like the sound of that. 
Suddenly, sparkles swirled around and overtook me before I could cry 
out for Ayden. Then everything went blank. 

When I finally came to, everything looked so different to me. It looked
really enormous. I kept hearing a buzzing noise and noticed that I can 
fly. How weird was this? To find out what happened, I flew over to the 
dresser with a mirror and looked into it. It was horrifying when I 
looked. 

I had become significantly smaller, had six legs, wings, a silver body,
and antennae on my head. Ayden used his magic to change me into a fly!! 
Now I fully believed that he is a Warlock. I flew up to Ayden's face. 
"Ayden, out of all your spells, why did you turn me into a disgusting 
fly?!" My voice sounded squeaky. 

Ayden, meanwhile, looked proud and laughed at how I asked that question.
"Turning you into a 'disgusting fly' serves a great purpose for you, 
Harry.  Now that you're small, you'll see the world as Lena does and 
hopefully gain a new kindness and respect for her. Plus, I think 
changing you will help you find Lena as well." 

It was a great purpose, but I think he should have put a different spell
on me. "Where can I look for Lena, and How can I change back into 
myself again?" I asked, flying in circles around the room. Ayden got 
annoyed at my flying around him. After chasing me, he caught me in his 
hands and went over to the window, widely open. 

"You can start by going outdoors, as I sense that's where Lena is. I
can't change you back right away, but there will be another way for you 
to become human again. I'll tell your Mother what happened to you. Now, 
get going, Boy!!" He told me. Then Ayden opened his hands and hurled me 
out the window, into the yard. 

The way he did that, I thought he was throwing me to my death. But when
i remembered that I can fly, I used my wings and safely landed in one 
of Mom's flower patches. "Lena might be here.", I thought," She loves 
pretty flowers." With that in mind, I flew low and slowly over the 
patch. Ayden was right. Things do look different when you're small. 

Just when I was about to give up searching, I heard a familiar voice,
singing a pretty song next to a nearby pond. I buzzed over, having a 
good feeling whose voice it was. 

Sure enough, it was Lena, sitting on a lily pad flower!  Excited, I
buzzed over and tried to get her attention. "Lena! It's me, your Big 
Big, Brother, Harry! Please come back. I miss you and I'm sorry!" 
However, Lena took one look at me and said in disgust," You're not my 
brother. You're a disgusting fly! Harry is bigger than me and mean. 
Prove that you're my brother." I was shocked at her response. I pulled 
her close. "Look into my eyes." Lena and I did so. It seemed so magical 
how we saw so much of each other by doing that. That was all it took to 
convince Lena.  "Harry! I'm sorry for being doubtful. Why are you a fly 
and came all this way? I thought you hated me so much." I told Lena the 
whole story, from Ayden's spell to how I realized that I don't really 
hate her. 

Needless to say, We now became closer than ever. "How do you think we
can get back home to Mother and Ayden, Harry?" Lena asked me, feeling 
concerned. I knew the answer. "Hop on my back and I will take us home 
in a jiffy, Le." I gestured for her to do so. After that, we were 
bussing in the air for home. It was not so smooth sailing, though, 
because just then, we heard a louder buzz from behind us. A dragonfly 
was coming closer to us. 

This was bad because dragonflies eat regular flies and I happen to be
one!  He could eat Lena too!! Lena and I were so terrified. "Leave us 
alone, you mean bug!" Lena called out, but it didn't do any good. I had 
to do this as a last resort as the dragonfly was gaining. "I'm sorry to 
have to do this, Lena, but save yourself." I pushed her off my back 
into the long grass below. It broke my heart to hear her crying out as 
she fell, but I had to protect my sister. Meanwhile, the dragonfly 
continued to chase me. I buzzed as fast as I could until my strength 
started to run out When it did, I fell into a crevice of a bridge and 
finally, into the pond water. It became more scary, because flies can't 
swim and I was drowning. I yelled for help, but no one heard me. I 
sank, knowing that I had died protecting Lena's life. 

Something woke me up, though. I felt that a change came over me. I
opened my eyes and saw I had grown larger, scales covered my body, fins 
and tail replaced my legs and wings, and I was breathing underwater.  
Somehow, I had changed from a fly into a fish!! "How did this happen, 
since Ayden isn't around? Lena can't be underwater!" I thought to 
myself and began to swim, continuing my search for Lena.  I looked and 
looked, but there was still no sign of her. Despair began to fill me. 
"I'm sorry, Lena. I did all I could to find you. I guess I'll never see 
her again." Suddenly. Lena's voice came to me again. I swam up to the 
surface and looked towards where Lena was . She was trapped in a 
spider's web and the dragonfly was after her! I guess she was singing 
as to not feel so scared. 

This was another opportunity to show my love and care for Lena, as I
think that may be why I changed into a fish.  I swam to the surface and 
to where Lena was, she was crying. "You bully! Leave my little sister 
alone, or you'll be sorry!" I shouted at the dragonfly, who looked at 
me and gave a loud buzz that sounded like a roar to us. Lena realized 
that I became a fish and was once again, overjoyed. "Harry! I knew you 
would come for me, my fishy brother. Show that bug who's boss!!" she 
urged me on. I appreciated her encouragement, but I was scared.  "All 
right." I sighed and turned to the dragonfly, who growled and tried to 
bite Lena. 

"Hey! you can't eat my sister! She's the only one I have. If you want to
eat, come get me!!" I challenged  him and dove underwater. After saying 
this, I felt courage fill me from within.  How did that happen so 
suddenly? But I was too busy swimming to really think about it. I swam 
among the water weeds and looked around for the dragonfly. Then I 
thought, "What am I doing?  That dragonfly can't swim, so I won. I 
better find Lena and bring her to safety." That is what I began to do, 
until I heard a bubbly sounding growl  come from behind me. It was the 
dragonfly, swimming underwater!!! How ridiculous was that?! We faced 
each other, face to face. " You are so stupid.", I said to him," "It'll 
be a matter of time before you drown." The dragonfly still looked 
determined and began to swim after me. I swam as fast as I could, 
hoping that he can't get me too easily. When we got to an underwater 
wall of the bridge, the dragonfly roared at me once more and charged. 
But, he realized he was running out of air and began struggling to get 
to the surface. 

It was then that I realized I was hungry and he started to look edible
to me.  There was only one thing to do. I swam up to him, still 
struggling, and swallowed him in one gulp. "How do you like that, you 
tasty jerk?" I said as I chewed and then swallowed. With the dragonfly 
dead, I happily swam to where I saw Lena and then to the surface. But I 
was heartbroken by what I saw. 

Lena was still trapped in the web, but this time, the spider wrapped her
in the silk, unconscious, and was about to suck Lena's life out of 
her!!! I had to do something fast as Lena is too precious to me for her 
to die this way. What could I do since I am a fish and can't get on 
land? Then, in an instant, the answer came to me. I can kill the spider 
the same way the dragonfly died. I swam up to the web under the bridge 
and got the spider's attention. "Hey!! She's not a bug for you to eat. 
That's my sister. Let her go!!!!" The spider looked at me and faced me 
as if to fight. But I knew this was easy. As he crawled away from me, I 
filled my mouth with water and spat it at him, stunning him. 

Suddenly, a familiar looking Raven swooped down and caught the spider in
its beak. The Raven looked surprisingly like my Mother, but I didn't 
know for sure.  "Lena, are you okay?" I asked her, after the Raven flew 
away. But Lena was still unconscious, laying on the lily pad. 
Heartbroken, I very carefully tilted the lily pad and Lena slid onto my 
back.  I swam to shore and laid her on the ground. "Oh, Lena. I'm so 
sorry this has happened to you. I promise that, if you come back to 
life, I will always love you with all my heart and will never be mean 
again. Please, Lena." I said, softly, tears spilling from my eyes. When 
nothing happened, I began to swim away, knowing that Lena is no more 
and I will never be human again. But from underwater, a magic sparkle 
caught my eye and I swam over to it. It was such an amazing sight! In 
the sparkle, Lena was growing to normal person size!! I think my love 
for her made her change her size. I was so happy for her. When she 
stopped growing, she began to wake up, groaning. Lena was alive!! 

"Harry? Are you here?" she muttered, struggling to get onto her feet. I
could barely contain my excitement. "Yes, I'm here. Thank goodness 
you're alive, Lena. You look great!!" Lena looked puzzled, then she 
examined herself. "I am a big person, aren't I? How nice!! Do you know 
how this happened, Harry?"  I explained to her what I thought made her 
grow. 

Lena was amazed." That's interesting. I wonder if Ayden had anything to
do with it. But you're still a fish, Harry. I hope there is some way 
you can become human again." She had a good point. I hung back, feeling 
hopeless. "I hope so, too." Lena saw my sadness and stroked me on my 
head with her fingers. 

Suddenly, we heard a voice behind us. "Don't worry, kids. There is a
way." Lena and I turned around. There, swooping down in front of us, 
were two very familiar looking Ravens . "Lena, Harry! Thank goodness we 
found you both." one of the Ravens said to us. The other one muttered 
something and waved his wing. In an instant, the Ravens changed into 
Mom and Ayden!! This was so cool. 

"Hi Mother! Hi Ayden! You guys are so nice to come and look for us.
Look, I am now your size. Isn't that great?!! But Harry changed into a 
fish and can't change back. Can you help him?" Lena said after running 
to Mom and Ayden and giving them a big hug.  Ayden gave us a knowing 
nod. "You're right, Lena. It is great that you are normal size now. 
Know why? Because you and Harry have magic within each of you. Harry's 
love for you released it and that's what made you grow and Harry 
changed from a fly into a fish. Now, Harry, you can use your magic to 
become human again." With that, he, Mom, and Lena stepped aside. I was 
very fascinated by Ayden's explanation. It even explained why these 
things happened so mysteriously. "All right. I'll try." I closed my 
eyes and concentrated. Suddenly, I heard Mom's voice say, "Harry, 
Please get out of the pond. You're not a fish anymore." She and Lena 
laughed when I opened my eyes and saw how muddy and wet I became. I was 
myself again. That's what mattered. 

We were all very happy to be reunited and began to walk home. Mom took
me aside "I'm so proud of you, harry. It looks like you really learned 
your lesson about being nice and selfless." She patted me on the 
shoulder. I beamed at her, feeling great. Seeing Ayden ahead of me, I 
ran up to him to him to  thank him. "Ayden, thank you so much for 
helping me change my attitude and to love everyone, including Lena. 
Your magic does so much good. Lena and I will use our magic just as 
well as you do. I'm sorry for doubting your magical abilities." Ayden 
gave me a glowing grin. "You're welcome and I accept your apology, 
Harry. Deep down, you are the nicest boy I've ever known. I have all 
the faith in you and Lena to use your magic wisely. It's a great 
pleasure for me to live with you all and be a great influence." Lena 
and I gave each other a "We certainly knew that" kind of look and went 
home with Mom and Ayden to enjoy the rest of the weekend. There are 
only a few things left to tell. After the weekend, Lena got enrolled in 
my school and we became classmates. She almost instantly made friends 
there and I agreed that my friends can be her friends as well. 

When Ayden isn't performing Magic Shows in other places, he always
visits Mom, Lena and myself at school. Sometimes, just to visit, and 
other times, he performs Magic Shows for all the kids, especially Mom's 
Kindergarten students at school. Over time, he has become a big hit. 
"Ayden, you are the coolest magician ever!" they always tell him. "A 
magician always aims to please and enchant lives." Ayden always says to 
them. 

Aside from magic, Ayden has become like a Father to Lena and me, always
helping us, giving advice, and being there for us when needed. I am 
glad Mom took him in. "Welcome to our family, Ayden!" I have said to 
him and thanked him for creating Lena. One after noon, I invited Lena 
to come with me to baseball practice to watch me, and try out for the 
team, if she wanted. There, I apologized to Coach Dempsey, Julien, and 
all my friends and teammates about my bad attitude towards them. They 
accepted my apology and saw that I was a changed boy. 

Lena came over and I introduced her to Coach. "Nice to meet you, Lena.
You're a charming young lady. Would you like to try out for our team?" 
he asked Lena. She was excited at this chance. "Sure, Coach. I'm sure 
I'll do good!" 

But after a few tries on batting, pitching, etc., we've found that Lena
is not a very good athlete. I was sad to give her the news that Coach 
can't let her be on the team. "I'm very sorry, Lena." I said. Lena' 
however, didn't seem at all disappointed. "That's okay, Harry. I'll 
help your team in other ways." she replied with a twinkle.  When I 
started practicing, I saw what Lena can do for me and my team. From the 
bleachers where she sat, Lena uses her magic to help when the team 
needed it. From retrieving balls to healing my teammates when they are 
injured. I think Lena is a very important part of our team, even though 
she doesn't play the game. 

As Ayden said, Lena and I use our magic all the time wisely. To help
others, solve problems, make things easier, and just for fun ( changing 
our sizes, shape shifting into animals, etc.) in our everyday lives. We 
do lots of things together also. Most of all, the addition of a new 
sibling and friend, and a Warlock Father Figure has shown me that while 
being an only child can be fun at times, having people like Lena and 
Ayden come into my life makes it better and more meaningful. Mom's 
"Bottle on a Chain" necklace  is a constant reminder of this for me. 
People who come into our lives, whom we like and love, are special 
gifts. This has been the best experience for me and I hope you 
experience this also in your life. * * * 


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