The Awakening of Sunshine Girl (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl) by Paige McKenzie Page B
Authors: Paige McKenzie
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He pulls out his notepad and writes something down as he walks away. I begin to follow, but Lucio grabs my hand and holds me back.
“Hang on. I want to show you something,” Lucio says.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” he says as he leads me down another path.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Clementine
W e walk down a path that’s clearly used less often than the one we use to get to the playground. Overgrown with vines and loose rocks, I struggle to keep my balance.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’re not good with surprises, are you?” Lucio quips back, clearly amused by the situation. It’s true, I’m not, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that, so I keep my mouth closed.
“I’m disappointing him,” I say as I almost roll my ankle. The sun’s getting low, and it’s hard to see the ground through the thick shade of the jungle.
“Nah,” Lucio says, trudging down the path with little trouble. He plays with the tattoo on his right pointer finger. He’s the kind of person who’s always moving.
“It’ll get easier. Don’t forget, you’re descended from—”
“Two of the most powerful luiseach families in history, blah, blah blah.” I cut him off before he can finish. Lucio grins as heglances back, and I smile back. “I’m still waiting for my genetics to kick in. It’s a pretty good argument for nurture versus nature.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, because I was raised by a regular human instead of those two powerful luiseach, maybe I didn’t inherit their powers after all.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Lucio suddenly stops at the bottom of the trail. He motions with his hands to something green in front of him.
“An old tarp,” I say as I realize what it is.
“It’s not the tarp, it’s what’s underneath,” he says and then just stands there, admiring the idea of whatever is covered by the tarp.
“Soooo . . . are you going to show me what’s under the tarp?”
“Oh yeah!” He jumps forward and yanks it off.
“It’s an old motorcycle,” I respond, in a tone Lucio is clearly disappointed by.
“It’s a 1967 Triumph Bonneville TT Special! She’s my pride and joy.” His grin is so wide that I can tell this is important for him, but I can’t really wrap my brain around why he’s showing me . . . her ?
“She?” I ask.
“Clementine.”
“Clementine?”
“She’s a classic, so she needs a classic name.” Lucio beams. “What do you think?”
His enthusiasm is infectious. “She’s great,” I grin.
“Shall we take her for a spin?”
“Really?”
“You can’t come all the way to Mexico and not see some real Mexican culture. Plus, you deserve a break.” Lucio jumps on the motorcycle and kicks some part of it to start it. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. I’ve never been this close to a motorcycle before, let alone to a boy asking me to ride one with him. Lucio motions for me to get on behind him, and to my surprise, I do. Mom is going to kill me.
I wrap my arms around him, and we lurch forward as he navigates the rocky path, but soon we’re on a dirt road and moving quickly. It’s a different road from where I came into Llevar la Luz with Aidan. We must be on the backside of the property.
The sun sinks below the horizon as Lucio deftly maneuvers the pothole-filled road. It doesn’t take me long to feel completely safe as I hold onto him and watch the jungle pass by and finally fade into the distance behind us. Suddenly the Pacific Ocean comes into view in front of us, glowing as the sun sets above it. A tropical ocean breeze hits my face as we descend a hill toward what looks like a small coastal village twinkling in the distance.
For the briefest moment I close my eyes and pretend I’m not a luiseach. I pretend I’m not a sixteen-year-old girl whose whole life seems to be predestined for her. I pretend I don’t have a responsibility to help lost spirits every day for the
“Hang on. I want to show you something,” Lucio says.
“What is it?” I ask.
“You’ll see,” he says as he leads me down another path.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Clementine
W e walk down a path that’s clearly used less often than the one we use to get to the playground. Overgrown with vines and loose rocks, I struggle to keep my balance.
“Where are we going?” I ask.
“You’re not good with surprises, are you?” Lucio quips back, clearly amused by the situation. It’s true, I’m not, but I’m not going to give him the satisfaction of knowing that, so I keep my mouth closed.
“I’m disappointing him,” I say as I almost roll my ankle. The sun’s getting low, and it’s hard to see the ground through the thick shade of the jungle.
“Nah,” Lucio says, trudging down the path with little trouble. He plays with the tattoo on his right pointer finger. He’s the kind of person who’s always moving.
“It’ll get easier. Don’t forget, you’re descended from—”
“Two of the most powerful luiseach families in history, blah, blah blah.” I cut him off before he can finish. Lucio grins as heglances back, and I smile back. “I’m still waiting for my genetics to kick in. It’s a pretty good argument for nurture versus nature.”
“What do you mean?”
“You know, because I was raised by a regular human instead of those two powerful luiseach, maybe I didn’t inherit their powers after all.”
“I don’t think that’s how it works.” Lucio suddenly stops at the bottom of the trail. He motions with his hands to something green in front of him.
“An old tarp,” I say as I realize what it is.
“It’s not the tarp, it’s what’s underneath,” he says and then just stands there, admiring the idea of whatever is covered by the tarp.
“Soooo . . . are you going to show me what’s under the tarp?”
“Oh yeah!” He jumps forward and yanks it off.
“It’s an old motorcycle,” I respond, in a tone Lucio is clearly disappointed by.
“It’s a 1967 Triumph Bonneville TT Special! She’s my pride and joy.” His grin is so wide that I can tell this is important for him, but I can’t really wrap my brain around why he’s showing me . . . her ?
“She?” I ask.
“Clementine.”
“Clementine?”
“She’s a classic, so she needs a classic name.” Lucio beams. “What do you think?”
His enthusiasm is infectious. “She’s great,” I grin.
“Shall we take her for a spin?”
“Really?”
“You can’t come all the way to Mexico and not see some real Mexican culture. Plus, you deserve a break.” Lucio jumps on the motorcycle and kicks some part of it to start it. I’m not entirely sure what’s going on. I’ve never been this close to a motorcycle before, let alone to a boy asking me to ride one with him. Lucio motions for me to get on behind him, and to my surprise, I do. Mom is going to kill me.
I wrap my arms around him, and we lurch forward as he navigates the rocky path, but soon we’re on a dirt road and moving quickly. It’s a different road from where I came into Llevar la Luz with Aidan. We must be on the backside of the property.
The sun sinks below the horizon as Lucio deftly maneuvers the pothole-filled road. It doesn’t take me long to feel completely safe as I hold onto him and watch the jungle pass by and finally fade into the distance behind us. Suddenly the Pacific Ocean comes into view in front of us, glowing as the sun sets above it. A tropical ocean breeze hits my face as we descend a hill toward what looks like a small coastal village twinkling in the distance.
For the briefest moment I close my eyes and pretend I’m not a luiseach. I pretend I’m not a sixteen-year-old girl whose whole life seems to be predestined for her. I pretend I don’t have a responsibility to help lost spirits every day for the
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