The Summer of Lost Wishes by Jessa Gabrielle

more
mature, things probably would’ve been very different. My mom never
would’ve left Coral Sands, and my life in Tennessee would be
non-existent. We wouldn’t be living in the Calloway Cottage now.
I’d have grown up going to candlelight vigils every year, and I
wouldn’t have faux deer heads covered in old sweaters waiting to be
placed on my bedroom wall.
    “I think we turned out okay,” I tell Mom. I
sip on the milkshake to keep from saying anything else that may
make the conversation awkward.
    Further down the pier, a man pulls back on
his fishing line, and a massive fish lands on the floor. It flops
around, and a little girl screams. I sort of want to turn back now.
I don’t want to be blasted by a flying fish.
    Fortunately, Mom seems to feel the same way
because she stops and walks over to the railing overlooking the
ocean. I join her, but we stand in silence sipping pineapple
milkshakes for a few minutes before she finally speaks.
    “I’ve been thinking,” Mom says. “I’m torn
between letting you make your own mistakes and stepping in to keep
you from being hurt. I don’t want you to go down the same path I
did falling for a pretty boy with a bad reputation, even though I
know firsthand how tempting it is.”
    Oh, great. The awkward ‘dad talk’ has now
turned into the ‘stay away from Rooks’ talk. Here we go again.
    “But I think you’re a good influence on the
boy,” she says, completely surprising me. “Maybe having the right
people around him and working with his dad will help him get back
on the right track. So I’m not going to stop you from hanging out
with him. Or whatever you kids call it these days.”
    I stir my straw in my milkshake and stare
down at my flip-flops for a moment, trying to find the right words.
I don’t know if I should thank her, reassure her, or just nod.
    “Are you sure they didn’t spike your
milkshake?” I ask. Humor shouldn’t fail me now.
    Mom cracks a smile. “I’ve been thinking
about it,” she says again. “But the first time he gets in trouble,
he’s not coming back around. I’m going to give him the benefit of
the doubt for now. This summer is about fresh starts, so I’m
willing to let him have one too, but I expect you to guard your
heart like it’s your most prized possession.”
    She has no idea how skilled I am at guarding
things these days. If I can guard ancient love letters like a hawk,
my heart might as well be locked away in a vault somewhere. I’ve
got this, Mom.
    “I’ll be careful,” I say. “Promise.”
    Mom gives me a somewhat sympathetic smile,
like I have no idea how much of a silly little girl I am, but she
has to let me figure it out on my own. Her smile quickly fades,
though, and turns into an expression of panic or worry.
    “You!” someone shouts from behind me.
    I spin around and come face-to-face with the
reason behind Mom’s concerned stare. The handle of his mop is aimed
in our direction. We haven’t had the displeasure of meeting yet,
but I’ve seen this man before. He was on the docks at Moonlight
Harbor, glaring into me with evil eyes and scaring me out of my
skin before we boarded The Dragon’s Jewel.
    I still don’t think he’s washed his hair
since the last time I saw him. He wears a white T-shirt with an
apron over it, just like last time. But now that I can see his face
up close, he looks as if he’s been beaten by the waves, washed
ashore, and left for dead. His skin is wrinkled from long hours in
the sun, and his eyes appear hollow and frightening.
    “Go away!” he shouts. “You’re only making
things worse around here. Haven’t we suffered enough?”
    His voice is gruff and sandy, like he’s
swallowed sandpaper and hasn’t figured out how to use his newly
damaged vocal chords.
    I dare to glance around us at the silenced
crowd. Parents hold their children back while others try to pretend
they’re not paying attention, although it’s clear that they are as
they’re all holding their