Page 42 of The Wishing Game

We get out of the station and still there's no sign of her.

"Don't worry. She'll find us.Eventually." He smirks.

Taking out the phone, I choose our location as a starting point so the GPS can give us a route to the theater.

"Okay, this way." I point ahead.

Despite being well after midnight, the area is bustling with tourists. Lights flash from the huge advertisements placed on every building, and for a moment, I just take a deep breath, absorbing everything.

It's not a dream. This is actually real. I may have a chance to get Nikki back.

It might be jarring that I've suddenly been thrust into this foreign world, but from the moment I was born, I've done nothing else but make do with the information I was given.

At sixteen, I found out there were no ancient gods and that there was freedom in the world—of thought, of speech, of being whoever I wanted to be.

At nineteen, I experienced that world for myself, savoring every moment of happiness after being deprived of it for so long.

Now, at twenty-four, I find out that godsdoexist, as do other creatures. I find out that the world is much vaster than I'd ever thought possible. But somehow, it's the knowledge of that infinity that helps me digest this new information. Just because I don't know something, that doesn't mean it doesn't exist. I've been proven that time and time again.

My lips tremble with optimism as hope blossoms within me.

Nothing is impossible. Just like nothing will stop me from achieving that impossible.

Wait for me, Nikki. We'll meet again.

Cer clears his throat and I give him a tentative smile.

"Sorry," I mumble. I turn the GPS compass right and left as I try to make sense of the orientation. When I finally get it right, I nod to the building a few feet from us.

"This is it," I say as I stop in front of a flashy building. "Doesn't seem very haunted, does it?"

"Things are rarely as they seem," Cer grunts, taking a step forward as he studies the facade of the building. A billboard runs over the top part of the entrance, the banner highlighting the current show being played at the theatre. The entrance leads right into the middle of the busy street, and that might pose a problem if we're to break in.

Break in?

My mouth parts in a silent O as it dawns on me that if I want to win this game, I need to get rid of my previous sensibilities.

"There you are, guys," Thea exclaims.

We both turn to see her running toward us in a zig-zag pattern to avoid the tourists meandering about. She's dressed in a knee-length pink dress that's covered in glittery feathers, and to complete her look, she also added a sparkly pink headband and equally sparkly pink heels. Paired with her rich red hair, she looks as if she stepped out of one of those billboards.

Yet as she comes closer, I note that she can barely walk in those heels, bouncing from side to side as she tries to maintain her equilibrium. All the while, the smile has never left her face—until she sees her brother's expression, that is.

"What are you wearing, Thea?" He pinches the bridge of his nose as he takes her in.

"I think the most important question is—where did you get this?" I ask as she reaches our side. "All the stores are closed."

"Oh, that." She licks her lips. But whatever answer she was about to concoct is useless as I pluck the tag from the dress—still attached to it.

"Did you break into a store to steal these?"

"What? Of course not. I, uhm, I?—"

"Couldn't you have at least stolen something less...conspicuous?" I close my eyes with a sigh.

"But it's pretty," she whispers. "And pink. Your world has such fun colors and clothes."

That gives me pause.

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