Page 140 of Lotus

She inhales a choppy breath, her tears spilling onto the ink. “It’s our initials, Oliver. I wished forus.”

There it is, in plain sight, gazing up at me:

sn + ol

“What’s your wish?” I ask her.

“I should write it down. Then it will definitely come true.”

“So write it down.”

Sydney sits up and reaches for her backpack, unzipping it and pulling a black Crayola marker out of the box. “Give me your arm,” she says.

I hold up my arm and watch as she etches the letters into my skin.

“Sydney, your parents want you home now.”

My stepfather’s booming voice interrupts us from the bottom of the hill.

Sydney pouts, her tongue poking out in concentration as she finishes her wish. “One second, almost done!” she calls back. She smiles at me as she pops the cap back on the marker and rezips her bookbag. “I have to go now.”

“Yeah…” Disappointed, I glance at the strange word written on my arm. “What did you wish for?”

“Us.”

Before I can question her further, she is already skipping down the hill, waving goodbye. “Bye, Syd. See you tomorrow.”

I sound the letters out in my head: l-o-t-u-s.

Lotus?

“Oliver, time to go. I’ll take you home,” Travis orders.

I don’t want to go with him, but he did promise me ice cream.

Frowning at the unfamiliar word illuminated in purple when the fireworks burst to life, I call back, “Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.”

Lotus.

What does it mean?

I’ll have to ask Sydney tomorrow.

Sydney is in my lap, holding me, weeping into the front of my chest.

All this time, it had been her.

She was with me in that basement for twenty-two years in the form of a childhood wish.

Written on my arm in black ink, misconstrued and upside-down, those letters manifested into the only true friend I had down in that hole. It created pages upon pages of stories and adventures, keeping me company, keeping me sane, keeping mealivefor so many years.

It was her.

It’s always beenher.

With our initials on my arm and branded in my heart, I squeeze her tight, peppering kisses into her hair as I whisper words of love against her ear.

Sydney Neville + Oliver Lynch

---