Juniper Berry by M. P. Kozlowsky

change.
    Yet, this promise, this was something. It was too late to change the past, but her future was wide open. There was still a chance to bring her family back together the way it was when they put on her plays, and perhaps this was it. And so she spoke.
    â€œI want to be a writer.”
    Skeksyl jumped up. “Read all over the world! Your words recited and lived by! Your name remembered for lifetimes! My dear, the worlds Giles visits you will see just as clearly. They will live in your head. This locked-up world will come alive for you. And, unlike Giles, we can start you out young, this very day. With such a head start you can become the youngest writer to ever pen a film, your name up in lights. Surely your parents couldn’t ignore that, could they?”
    The shadows danced more wildly now. Skeksyl turned, taking them in. When he faced Juniper again, he was smiling with understanding. “The family business. You can create roles for both your mother and father. You can be the one responsible for their next awards. How proud they will be of you. A true family, inseparable. They will return to you because you will finally be what they always wanted you to be. Soon people all over the world will love you for what you will give them. And with power like that, you can live whatever life you desire. You want to be a writer? I can help you become the greatest to ever live.”
    Juniper now knew the truth. Skeksyl had given her parents exactly what they wanted; they achieved all their dreams. There was no going back for them; Juniper knew this. But now there was a way she might be able to come along as well.
    But was that why she was here? She could hardly remember anymore.
    Skeksyl folded his hands atop one another as if to keep them still. “Do we have a deal? Is this what you want? Tell me and I’ll make it so.”
    There was no doubt the temptation was great. It was all she ever wanted. She could reunite with her parents and, as long as she could breathe, the wishes would be granted. Suddenly she saw it all before her, all her dreams, everything she could ever want, carried in a balloon.
    But if her parents made their deals, why didn’t they seem happy? Or maybe they actually were happy, maybe their happiness was different from hers, like what she witnessed in that room floating past the stars, whether they were real or fake: It’s all relative; it’s perspective. Happiness is happiness. If she didn’t have her binoculars, there would have been no signs that they weren’t really in space. She could have made herself believe it, couldn’t she? What was real? What was truth? What was happiness? She wasn’t sure anymore. Could it be different for everybody?
    She glanced at the balloon Giles clutched so tightly. What was in those balloons anyway? What was floating around in that magical air? She had seen what such a gift did going down her parents’ throats, and it frightened her, even if they returned to the tree for more. It was doing something to them, something horrible. That was real, that was the truth.
    â€œNo,” she said in an unwavering voice.
    â€œNo? What do you mean, ‘no’? I’m offering you a future of dreams. Do you know how many people would do anything to be in the position you are in right now?” Skeksyl’s hands shook once more.
    â€œI said, ‘No.’” She sounded strong, but inside she was coming apart. Was she giving up on her parents? The thought terrified her.
    Skeksyl sat back, calming. “I see. You’re not convinced. Not yet. How about another venture into that room, hmm? It can show you anything, everything.”
    â€œIt wouldn’t matter.” Juniper shook her head and glanced down at her binoculars. When I look through them I see the truth , she had told Giles, and she believed that. Going back in, she knew she would only see an empty room.
    Skeksyl followed her gaze. In a flash, his