A SMACK OF COMMON SENSE
by
Duckling
Chapter 8
The Chapters
The
blond boy paused to push back a vivid memory of that isolation.
“Anyway,” he continued, his voice strong, “I was only able to come
back for two reasons: First, Callie’s wish was inadvertent. Had she
intended for me to be wished away forever, I would never have been able to
return.”
“Second,”
here Joe smiled fondly at his brother, “I was able to come back because
it was Frank who made the wish. Brotherly love was strong enough to break
the unintentional forever-wish.”
“What
if it had been deliberate,” Frank asked quietly, half-afraid of the
response.
Joe’s
eyes met Frank’s own, and the older brother saw clearly the flash of
despair in their sapphire depths. “That,” the younger brother intoned
solemnly, “Nothing could have overcome. Not even a brother’s love.”
Both
brothers shuddered. Frank reeled at the thought that he had come so close
to permanently losing his baby brother.
Joe
glanced down at the genie, still prostrate at his feet. “Get up,” he
commanded. “You must go back into the lamp.”
The
genie did not protest. But his face was full of sadness.
Joe
reached out and touched him on the arm. “Don’t worry,” the blond boy
promised. “I won’t leave you there,” he said with an encouraging
smile.
The
genie looked up into the teen’s eyes and nodded slowly.
Joe
turned to Vanessa and held out his hand for the lamp. The gray-eyed girl
gave it to him reluctantly; afraid of what would happen if Joe were to be
the one to touch the lamp.
“Genie,”
Joe commanded, the lamp in his open palms, “You must return to the lamp
and let Callie Shaw go. Bring her back to us, now.”
The
lamp glowed golden as the genie began to fade away. Suddenly a ruby light
shot out from the lamp glowing and growing as it took on the form of a
teen-aged girl.
The
red-gold light paled to rose, and Vanessa could make out the features of
her friend. As the last of the pink light faded away, the teens were
relieved to see a pale, but grateful, Callie standing beside them.
Frank
rushed over to her, embracing her in his strong arms.
“Oh,
“Shhhh,”
Callie soothed, leaning back from him to place a finger to his lips.
“Just believe me when I say I understand exactly how you feel!”
She
hugged Frank tightly before turning to face Joe, who stood silently with
the lamp in his hands.
“Thank
you,” she said softly. “You had every reason to leave me there.”
“Callie,”
Joe replied gently. “You know I would never be able to do that.”
The
girl smiled at him, leaning in closer against Frank.
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Disclaimer
The Hardy Boys belong to Simon and Schuster and the Stratemeyer Foundation. The authors have just borrowed them for an adventure or two. The authors promise to put the boys back when they are done with them. The authors do claim copyright to the original characters in this story. Please do not borrow original characters without express permission of the authors.