Gigi shrugged. “See this little shell? That represents you. Then see how every bone in this bag fell around you in a circle? That suggests that you have a huge support system. But none of the matching bones are lined up, which says these people are not family but they are your family – if that makes any sense. But…it’s all these other pieces trying to get to you. None of it makes sense.”
Savannah picked up her phone and handed it to Gigi. “Take a picture and send it to him.”
“Oh, good idea.” She took the phone and snapped a picture. “Okay, just sent it to him. I’ll let you know if he responds. He’s not the best at technology.”
I swallowed through a sudden rush of unease.
“Sorry, Saffie. There’s got to be other things we can try.”
“OH.” Savannah’s eyes lit up. “I know what we should do!”
Gigi closed her eyes. “This can’t be good.”
“Light as a feather!”
Gigi gasped. “I take that back. Let’s do it.”
I frowned. “What…what is it?”
“It’s a little fun party trick. No big deal. Nothing dangerous or scary.”
“Here, this is it.” Savannah held her phone out to me and showed a video of three girls lifting another girl off the floor by their fingertips. “Cool, right? This is from the movie The Craft.”
I pursed my lips. “But does it work in real life?”
Gigi shook her head. “Not yet. We’ve tried.”
Savannah rolled her eyes. “Yeah, because we only tried with us. We should try it now that we have a third.”
They both looked to me. I had no idea what it was or what it was supposed to do besides just lift someone, but they were so nice and welcoming to me that I didn’t want to ruin their fun.
“Okay, but I’ll be the lifted.”
“YES!” Savannah turned to Gigi. “I’ll get the candles.”
“I’ll clear the floor.”
I just sat there with Freyja and Luna, watching the two of them scurry around. Gigi picked up all our food boxes, plates, and drinks, then moved them to the table on the far side of the room. While Savannah carried candles three at a time without putting their flames out. A few minutes later, they had candles circled around us. Their orange flames flickered softly.
“Freyja. Luna,” Savannah hissed and snapped her fingers. “Go get in my bed.”
Both cats lifted their heads and looked to her. She snapped her fingers again, and to my surprise, they got up off my lap and did as she told. Once they were a black blob on her pillow, Savannah turned to me with a wild grin.
“What do I do?”
“Lay on your back with your arms crossed over your chest and your legs straight down.”
Just like her cats, I did exactly as she’d asked. The hardwood floor was cool under my back but not totally uncomfortable. I crossed my arms over my chest and took a deep breath. “All right. Now what?”
“We do the rest. Just lay still.” Savannah winked to me then turned her attention to Gigi who was sitting on the other side of me. “Ready, G?”
Gigi nodded and then I felt their hands press against the underside of my arms and legs. They both closed their eyes and took deep breaths. I kept my body perfectly still.
“Light as a feather,” Savannah whispered.
“Stiff as a board,” Gigi whispered back.
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” they whispered together over and over.
After about the tenth time saying it, Savannah peeked her eyes open – then cursed. “It’s not working. Damn it. I had a really good feeling about it, too.”
Gigi groaned. “Maybe we need more than three people?”
I glanced back and forth at their deflated expressions and frowned. “Well we only tried once, maybe we need to do it again?”
Savannah shook her head sadly. “If it was gonna work it would have.”
She was probably right, but I wanted to keep trying for them. They would have for me. I sat up and adjusted my sweater. “Can I try? Let someone else be the lifted?”
Gigi sighed. “Why not, worth a shot. I’ll switch with you.”
I pushed myself up and off the ground then moved to where she’d been, careful not to get too close to the candles. Gigi immediately laid down in the exact position I’d been in, with her arms crossed over her chest. Her ombre curls fanned out around her head as she closed her eyes. I glanced over to Savannah and found her crouched on her knees so I did the same.
“All right.” I took a deep breath then exhaled. “What do we do now?”
“Okay, you take your middle and pointer fingers and you put it under her like this…” Savannah slid two fingers under Gigi’s ribs and the other two under her knees.
I nodded and copied her.
“Close your eyes and concentrate.” Savannah’s voice was soft. “Now you have to imagine that she’s super light, like she’s made out of feathers.”
I closed my eyes and focused on the warmth in my fingertips.
“Then you chant with me, light as a feather stiff as a board…”
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board. Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” I chanted softly, mixing my voice with Savannah’s. “Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”
The pressure on my fingers lightened. Cold air brushed over the backs of my hands. The tips of my fingers tingled. I didn’t know if I was allowed to or not but I cracked my eyes open a little bit — and gasped.
My jaw dropped.
My pulse skipped beats.
Gigi hovered a few inches off the ground.
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board - Savannah,” I hissed without moving my body even a fraction. “Light as a feather, stiff as a board.”
Her eyes had been closed as she continued to chant, but when I called for her a second time she slowly opened them and choked on a scream. No sound came out but I felt it in the air. She stared at Gigi’s floating body then turned wide eyes to me and mouthed oh my God.
Gigi sighed. “It’s not working, eh. We can stop trying.”
“Gi…” Savannah licked her lips and shook her head. “Don’t move. Open your eyes.”
“Light as a feather, stiff as a board,” Savannah and I chanted again and Gigi rose higher.
Gigi frowned and opened her eyes slowly, then blinked. “What? What’s going on?”
The flames on the candles circled around us stopped flickering and stood solid. I blinked and then they towered over our heads. The light off the flames brightened. The heat burned warmer. Cold air seeped up from the floor in a pale fog and whipped around us like a tornado, but the flames didn’t budge. The candle flame directly behind Gigi’s head turned blue. Savannah gasped. One by one the flames turned blue like someone was walking around our circle and touching each one. Voices whispered in my ears, chanting the words for us since we’d stopped.
I kept chanting. It was too late to stop now. We’d started something.
Gigi frowned. “Okay, whatever you’re doing you can stop now.”