Penny and I got a real treat in June. The Search and Rescue training was at the Coast Guard base, and we learned how to get in and out of big helicopters, how to look for wrecks and people on the ground, and how to rappel down two or three hundred feet into the woods where the helicopter couldn’t land. Of course, after that we had to climb up a rope ladder to get back into the chopper. But we had fun, and ate lots of fish and chips at dinner.
“What would you guys say if I told you I had found another Sprite?”
Michael asked as we all sat in my room one evening.
“Neat!” Penny said. “Who?”
Michael looked at me with a little worry. I smiled and he relaxed.
“Issa at the bakery! I haven’t told him anything, don’t worry. But we got talking about the Bible while we were kneading bread dough, and he said he thought God had hidden all kinds of magical signs and symbols in it. What should I do?”
I looked at Penny. “Invite him to have a picnic with us at the park.”
“His day off is Saturday. That’s because he’s Jewish. He told me their Sabbath is from sunset Friday to sunset Saturday.”
“If he’s super-orthodox Jewish, he won’t do anything on the Sabbath except study the scriptures,” I said.
“I don’t think he is,” Michael said.
“Where does he go to school?” Penny asked.
“At the high school. He’s just about to graduate. He’s a journeyman now, so he’s going to work at the bakery part time and also at one of those grocery stores that bake their own stuff. But I think he said he wants to take a couple of college classes next year.”
Because of his graduation, Issa couldn’t have a picnic with us until two Saturdays later. That was Penny’s birthday too, so we planned all kinds of things to do. Penny brought the rope, Michael brought drinks and chips and stuff, and I brought hot dogs and cookies. As we waited for Issa, I imagined him having a scraggly beard and driving a car about a hundred years old.
A guy that looked about 16 or 17 rode up on a ten-speed. He smiled when he saw Michael. He had wavy dark brown hair.
“Did you bring it?” Michael asked him.
“Yes,” he said and smiled. He opened his daypack and brought out a little white box. I could see Michael holding in a grin. He opened it, and inside was a big chocolate creampuff with one birthday candle stuck in the middle. He dug matches out of his pack and lit the candle.
“Wow!” Penny said. “Thanks!”
“How old are you?” Issa asked.
“Eleven.”
“That’s a nice age.”
Penny blew out the candle, took a big bite of the creampuff, and tore off chunks for each of us. I got the filling all over my fingers.
We got out our food and Michael started making a fire. Penny and I went into the trees to get wood, and Issa watched what Michael was doing. When we got back, Michael had a little blaze going with some twigs that were already there. Issa looked amazed.
“They taught me,” Michael said, pointing at us.
Issa didn’t say anything, but he smiled at us. He brought bagels out of his pack, sliced them with his pocket knife, and spread cream cheese on them.
From another package he took thin strips of smoked salmon and laid them on top.
“Lox!” Penny said. “I love it!”
Michael had the fire going, so I put hot dogs on the grill. Issa fixed bagels for everyone, and Penny opened the hot dog buns.
“You’re on the Search and Rescue team?” Issa asked.
Penny grinned and pulled her receiver out of her pack for a moment.
“I’m honored to know you two. Penny and . . . Ariel, right?”
“Right,” I said. “I’m 12, but I’ll be 13 soon.”
“Jewish kids become adults at 13.”
We opened cans of pop and put stuff on our hot dogs.
“You had matches. Do you smoke?” Penny asked Issa.
“No way. But I light lots of candles. They represent Spirit, and the rising smoke represents our prayers going up to God.”
“When are you going to open those potato chips, Michael?” I hinted.
He ripped open the bag, and they went all over the table. We all laughed and grabbed at them. Issa was laughing too. He was quiet but fun to be with.
We finished our picnic and headed for the cliffs.
“Where are we going?” Issa asked.
“You’ll see!” Michael said.
“Is Issa your whole name?” I asked as we started along the cliff path.
“It’s short for Isaiah. At home I’m called Yeshaya.”
Penny and Michael picked out a nice tree. Issa watched with wide eyes as I took the rope and scrambled into the branches. I made a swing and came down. “Who wants to fly?”
“Me!” Michael said. He took off, whooping and laughing.
“Is it fun?” Issa asked.
“You’ll have to decide!” Penny said. He smiled at her. Michael came back up and Penny flew. Issa watched silently. Penny finished and I hopped on.
A new Sprite? The thought was exciting. Each person brought something new to the Grove. Penny brought the Tarot. Michael brought music. I wonder what Issa will bring? I dropped off and climbed back up the slope, trailing the puller rope behind me.
“Issa, you want to?” Michael asked him.
“It looks like fun. How do I do it?”
Michael looked at me. “Ariel’s the Master of Trees.”
“Trust your hands, Issa. They keep you on the swing. Feet are optional,
and can do lots of different things, as you saw.”
“Like
this?”
“Higher on the rope. Yeah.”
Issa flew into the air. “What do I do with my feet?”
Penny and I couldn’t help but giggle. He was too funny.
Michael called to him, “You can put them in the loop if you want to!”
He swung without saying much, but I could see a smile on his face. I winked at Penny.
Issa had strong arms, and he climbed down and dropped off without any problem.
Michael was in a really good mood. He swung again, then climbed up the rope, only stopping once. I think he was really happy he had found a new Sprite possibility. After Michael brought the rope down, we all walked around together.
“Issa, what was that thing you told me about the Bible, something about magic?” Michael asked him.
“I believe magic is real. The Bible is full of it. But there just isn’t anybody around who does it anymore because Christians decided in the Middle Ages that only the Devil does magic. If you look at the Devil legends, you find that he wasn’t a worker of magic, he was an Angel or Spirit who failed to understand God.”
Toward evening, Issa left and the three of us went to Penny’s house. Her mom was making a special birthday dinner. We went out into the garden.
“I
was
so tempted to tell him we did magic!” I said.
“Me too!” Penny agreed.
“You think we have a new Sprite?” Michael asked.
“As good as he sounds, let’s do things with him a few more times before we tell him.”