Mandarin Mannequins of Chinatown. Patricia Laurel

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      It was bigger than the old one, and had more space for the collage of drawings and photographs she would use to describe her journey.

      Her old bright pink journal saved all of them a year ago.

      “Write down all the anger you felt toward those girls, and what you did to defend Maya, even though it was unintentional,” Jack said. “It will make you feel a whole lot better.”

      “OK, Dad,” Sammy said, closing her new journal. She looked up to see Jack staring at Yvonne.

      Something else was up, and it didn’t have anything to do with her. A nagging feeling tagged at her as she watched her parents. They had been too quiet lately.

      “You didn’t get to the best part,” Yvonne said, interrupting her thoughts. “There’s something inside you missed.”

      Sammy leafed through the pages until she got to the back casing. A bulky envelope fell out. She opened it. An airline ticket jacket and a small card were in it.

      She took out the ticket. “We’re going to the Philippines? Oh wow, wait until I tell Ollie. This is great!” She picked up the card. It read:

      Dear Samantha,

      Your birthday’s coming up, and because you did so well in school, and especially because you are our special girl.

      Love,

      Mom and Dad

      p.s. May your next adventure be a very happy one!

      Sammy got up and hugged her parents. “This is the coolest birthday present. But Mom, if we’re leaving soon, how come we don’t have boxes and boxes to pack?”

      “You know me too well, Sammy,” Yvonne said, laughing. “It’s not our turn to give the fiesta, that is another family’s responsibility. We had our turn last year.”

      “So, we’re not going to go nuts packing this time?” Sammy asked.

      “No boxes this time, promise. Well, maybe a box for the obligatory pasalubongs,” Yvonne said. “But it’s only you going this time. Your Dad and I will stay here.”

      “Huh?” Sammy looked at her parents. “That’s no fun.”

      “You’re not going alone,” her mother said. “You’re flying with Tita Mari and Victoria. Tita Patti is already there.”

      “Oh yeah, right,” Sammy said. “Isn’t she learning pottery from her friend Ugu?”

      “Yes, and you guys will be staying for a couple of days in Honolulu to visit with John, Solo and Nani before flying to Manila,” Yvonne said.

      “Wow! That’s way cool. When do I go?” Sammy asked, flipping through the airline ticket.

      “Next week. We need to do some shopping and organize the things you’ll need for your trip,” Yvonne said.

      “Ah, that’s your mother. The woman we all know and love,” Jack said, getting up. “I think I’ll retreat to my sanctuary and let you two plan the trip. I know when I’m not needed.”

      Sammy watched her father get up. Was it her imagination, or did she see another look pass between her parents? The look adults exchanged when things weren’t right, and children were not allowed to know.

      “Mom, is everything all right? Is something’s going on between you and Dad?” Sammy asked, watching the door close behind her father.

      “It’s just a minor thing that your Dad and I need to work on. Don’t worry about it. Things will be back to normal by the time you’re home from your trip,” Yvonne said, looking at the closed door of the study.

      “Ok,” Sammy said, but an uneasy feeling came over her.

      “C’mon, let’s get busy. We’ll go to Fillmore and browse around, and then we’ll shop for pasalubongs and supplies,” Yvonne said, nudging her daughter out of the kitchen. “Go get ready while I clean up here.”

      Sammy walked to her room, turned around and saw her mother’s bent head leaning on the kitchen counter, as if concentrating her next move. The expression on Yvonne’s face was a look her daughter only saw once — a year ago when the duwende and cousin Jenny wreaked revenge on the family.

      It was a look of worry, uncertainty and fear of the unknown.

      Sammy closed her bedroom door and sat on her bed crossed-legged with hands on her knees. She cleared her mind, inhaled, held her breath and slowly let the air out, just like Tita Patti had taught her.

      “It’s like Yoga, you breathe in slowly through the nose, and exhale the same way. Do it several times. Your body begins to calm down, and clarity and peace of mind take over,” her aunt instructed her.

      Tita Patti, where are you? I need to talk with you, Sammy reached out to her aunt.

      Mind talk, the gift handed down to her and her aunt from their ancestors. Sammy had discovered her ability to mind talk during her first trip to the Philippines.

      Patti had the gift since she was a child, but refused to accept it until she was an adult. It frightened her and it was only when the family was threatened that she was able to finally come to terms with it.

      Under the guidance of Solo, their special friend from Hawaii and Lolo Ciano, their spirit ancestor, Sammy and Patti learned to use the gift.

      Lolo Ciano said the mind talk was most likely inherited from the family’s Chinese ancestor, Cue Yi-Lam, a merchant from the Fujian province in the south of China who emigrated to the Philippines before it became a colony of Spain.

      Sammy and Patti discovered that along with mind talk, they possessed other abilities: they could see and converse with spirits, send messages to people in their dreams, dream of things to come, and transport themselves back in time, but only as observers. No interaction was allowed. Touching someone from the past would bring the visitor back to the present time. Lolo Ciano, on the other hand, could materialize and touch someone in the present.

      Tita Patti, are you there?

      What’s up, Sam? Sorry, I was in the middle of throwing. I have to concentrate or else clay will splatter all over Ugu’s studio. Not bad for a first attempt at pottery. What’s on your mind, sweetie?

      Have you talked with my Mom lately? Is there something going on with her and my Dad?

      Why do you say that? Are things not right with the world in the Plum household? Sorry, your question is serious, and I’m making light of it. What do you mean?

      I’m not sure, but I get the feeling they’re having problems and hiding it from me.

      I haven’t spoken with your Mom. Did you ask Tita Mari? She usually knows what’s going on in the family. We don’t call her Radio Mari for nothing. Oops, sorry Sweetie. I must be in a good mood today. I haven’t been lately . . . I’ve got the dreaded writer’s block. I seem to be all tapped out and my concentration is gone and missing.

      Patti had the first book of her young adult trilogy published СКАЧАТЬ