- 21 -
SPF
The next morning, Mom smeared a cooling gel onto Mary's mouth. She raised an eyebrow. "Curry?"
"Yeah, the leftover one in the fridge," Mary explained. "That stuff becomes nuclear grade when you let it sit for a while. OW!" She really had eaten that leftover curry before she and Phos went to Vietnam last night, and it really was spicier than when Mom had brought it home from Spice.
"Hold still," Mom said. "If it was so hot, why'd you keep eating it?"
"Because it was delicious," Mary said.
Mom laughed. "Well, take it easy next time. And keep this aloe gel with you, so you can put more on when your mouth starts hurting again."
Mary practically ate that gel like candy for the next few days. It helped with some of the redness, but her lips were still pretty swollen. "Did you get Botox or something?" Sienna asked at school. Days later, Mary's mouth started blistering. There was nothing that Phos could do about it. After all, he was all heat energy.
One night, Mary awoke to a soft tapping on her window. Phos knelt outside on the fire escape.
Mom was off that evening and watching TV in the living room. Careful not to make much sound, Mary opened the window. "Phos! What are you doing here?" she whispered.
"I'm sorry for waking you," he said. "But I would like you to meet someone."
She glanced at the clock on her nightstand. "Right now?"
"I would have waited until tomorrow, but she's very busy," he said. "And if she'll see you at all, it has to be now."
Mary thought for a moment. "My mom's here tonight. I can't be gone long."
"I'll have you back in no time," he said.
She climbed onto the fire escape and left the window open by an inch. Then she put her arms around his neck and blinked.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw they were standing on a beach. The sand was soft and powdery under her feet, and the air was heavy with salt and humidity.
"Where are we?" she asked.
"An uninhabited island near French Polynesia," he said, looking towards the water. "She's here."
"Punctual as ever," came a flowing voice.
Mary watched amazed as a small wave rolled onto the beach. But it didn't fall back with the other waves and kept moving up the dry sand, growing taller until it formed a slender figure robed in flowing crystal robes. An astonishingly beautiful face appeared on the figure's head.
"Mary, this is another radiant like me," Phos said. "You can call her Mayim."
Mary stood speechless as the watery creature flowed closer.
"My, my. That was quite a smooch," she said.
Mary wrinkled her brow.
"Is there anything you can do?" Phos asked.
Mayim took Mary's chin in her hands. If those could be called hands. She didn't have fingers.
"This might be a stretch for me," she said.
"You've helped burns before," he said.
"Fires," she said. "I wash, cleanse, and shield against energy like yours. But a burn on a human? That is a job for the M—"
"Please," Phos said. "Will you try?"
Mayim looked at him for a long time, as if they were exchanging words that Mary couldn't hear.
"All right," she said at last. "I will try something. Hold still, so that I can find the energy frequency."
Mary didn't move as Mayim placed her "hand" over her mouth. Suddenly, Mary felt cold. It stung as sharply as the burning pain she had already. The two types of energy felt like they were fighting against one another. Is this how Scotty felt when Phos touched him in the hospital?
Mary shuttered and wanted to pull away, but she fought to keep still. After what felt like ages, the stinging cold finally stopped.
Mayim removed her hands. "How does that feel?"
Mary opened and closed her mouth. It didn't hurt anymore. "That's amazing."
"Thank you," Phos said.
"Do not thank me yet," she said. "I helped the burn, but the skin is still damaged. It will peel tomorrow."
"But it's better," Mary said. "Thank you."
Mayim smiled. "Then you are welcome." She looked at Phos. "Just be careful from now on. And—"
They're eyes locked again as they exchanged silent words.
Phos nodded. "I understand."
"I must go," Mayim said. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Mary. I can see by your energy why he can not leave you alone."
Mary watched Mayim turn and flow back into the ocean.
"I'll take you home now," Phos said.
"Wait," Mary said. "What did she just say to you?"
"You heard what she said," he said.
"I mean the part that I couldn't hear," she said. "I'm not dumb, Phos. You looked worried."
He hesitated. "She just…reminded me of something. That is all."
By the look on his face, she knew there was more. "Well, can you tell me something about Mayim then?" she asked.
"What is it?" he said.
"She sorta looked human," she said. "How is that?"
"She chose to appear to you in her 'real' form but in a human shape," he explained. "It was rather daring. On the rare occasions that one of my kind has done that, humans have mistaken them for all sorts of things. But Mayim is around humans a great deal, and she knows quite a lot."
"Do you have a real form, too?" she asked.
He nodded.
"May I see it?"
"No."
"Why not?"
"Because my energy is different from hers," he said. "I could blind you."
"Oh," she said.
"It's time to go," he said as he wrapped his arms around her.
"Wait," she said. "I want a kiss."
"After what happened before?" he asked.
"It wasn't bad at first," she said. "Maybe if it's only for, like, three seconds. You won't hurt me then."
He thought for a moment. "Well, she did say to 'be careful.' But she didn't say 'no kissing.'"
Mary smiled. "Yup."
He chuckled. "In that case—"
Phos kissed her. Short and sweet. It still felt like a hot pot on her mouth, but Mary didn't mind.
"Okay?" he asked.
She nodded and wrapped her arms around him so that they could translate back home. Mary was glad. As long as they stuck to their three-second rule, Phos wouldn't burn her. She also made a mental note to get SPF lip balm. After school the next day, Mary stopped by the corner store to buy some.
Again, the woman behind the counter told her the price in Vietnamese.
Mary stared at her for a moment. Rather than argue this time, she paid for the lip balm without a word. The woman also said nothing as she gave her the change.
Mary turned to leave. But at the door, she stopped and looked back at the woman. She didn't know much Vietnamese, but she did know how to say thank you. "Cám ơn, chị."
The woman looked at her in surprise. Then, she nodded. "You wewcome."
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