The Wishing Game

by Meg Shaffer

if you need to call a friend to help you answer our last question, then you may. None of us should have to make our wishes come true on our own.”

saw it was you, Lucy! I wanted to talk to you! That Mastermind taught me not to be afraid of the phone!” “Sweetheart, I’m so proud of you. I’ve never been so proud—”

what’s written on page 129.

“I win!” Lucy shouted. “It says, ‘I win!’”

Finally, he says he’ll let her stay if she plays a game with him—the hardest game for any child to win. She must play the staring contest game, and it isn’t easy, she knows, to win a staring contest against a shadow.

On page 129, Molly shouts, “I win!”

The Mastermind had let Molly win.

“I know you all wanted to win this contest very much, so I’m certain you’re all feeling some disappointment. Each of you will receive signed first edition copies of the book for your own collections. Thank you for being a part of one of the better accidental marketing campaigns in the history of children’s literature.”

“No, no, Lucy didn’t win the book, but she won second prize. It’s a painting. One of mine. A big shark painting. She said you’ll love it.”

“What’s your favorite shark? Hammerhead? Good choice. More animals should have heads shaped like that. Hammerhead cats. Hammerhead dogs. Hammerhead snakes. Wait. I think you gave me an idea for a new painting.”

Always be quiet when a heart is breaking.

“I want you to have the house…on Clock Island.” He opened the book. A key was lying in the center of it. A house key. A house key. A key to a house. A key to the house on Clock Island. “Jack…” she breathed. “What—” “You don’t get the book, but you do get your wish. Lucy Hart—do you still want to be my sidekick?”

In the last letter, Christopher promised that the next time Lucy tried to call him on the phone, he would answer it.

“You helped Christopher get over his fear of phones,” she said, looking up at him. “Not the books. You did.” “If anyone knows anything about fear, it’s me.”

“Lucy Hart, thirteen years ago, you wished to be my sidekick. Wish granted,” he said. “If you want it to be an honorary title, it can be. Or you really can move in and live with me and help me try to start living my life again. And Christopher’s wish was that you could adopt him. Wish granted.” He smiled fiendishly. “I’ve already asked my attorney to start the process for you. She thinks she can get all the ducks in a row in a few months’ time.”

“He’ll be more than fine when he knows someone is with me. Then he can stay of his own free will or move of his own free will. No more worry. No more guilt. And don’t worry. I’m giving you the house on Clock Island when I pass. But he gets the island.”

“I’ve waited long enough to be happy. Don’t make me wait any longer.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “What do you say?” What could she say to that? Lucy smiled and said, “I win.”

Of course, the Mastermind had let Lucy win.[*]

It was some of the best work he’d done. Who knew happiness was the best muse of all? “Next time a child asks me if the Mastermind is real,” Hugo said, “I’m telling them yes.”

“Jack, you can’t save the world.” “And I would never try,” Jack said. “All I did was keep my promise to those kids.”

“You did all this for me?” He could barely hear his own voice speaking. The words were like knives in his throat. “You were going to leave, yes? And here you are. And you haven’t packed a single bag yet.” He swallowed. “Jack.”

Distract her with something. Make her help you with a project. Works every time. He was right. It worked.

“This whole bloody game was a ploy to try to trick me into staying?” Jack laughed his old laugh. The laugh he laughed when his cleverness astonished even him. He elbowed Hugo in the side and pointed to the escalator where Lucy and Christopher were slowly descending. Jack said, “We win.”

And he smiled and laughed and did somersaults around their house for no reason except he could. Because he was safe now. Because he was loved. Because that safety and love weren’t going anywhere ever again.

adopt Christopher officially, not only did Ms. Theresa and her whole family come, but Christopher’s teachers and his entire second-grade class attended. Even Mrs. Costa, the social worker, brought balloons for Lucy that said, It’s a boy. Lucy was happy to see her there. She’d been right, after all. It did take a village to raise a child. And Lucy was getting a brand-new village.

“First off, we’re going to start a nonprofit to provide free books, backpacks, and school supplies to kids in foster care. Care packages postmarked from Clock Island. What do you think?” “I think that’s one of the best ideas I’ve ever heard.”