The Boy Who Would Walk On Air

Tommo could hear a voice in his dream, a familiar voice whispering, mixing with his hesitant “I can walk on air . . .” “Yes, you can,” the voice whispered. “I can’t walk on—” he whispered back, having a change of heart. “You can . . . . You can . . .” the voice answered softly. “I can’t wah—” “Wake up! Wake up!” the voice commanded. And then something tickled his nose. Tommo stirred and brushed his face with his hand, mumbling, “Stop tickling me. Stop tic—” And then one eye opened and he saw Takli holding a feather. A feeling of pleasure and annoyance ran through him as he tried to rub away the tickle. How can that be? he wondered. How can I have two different feelings at the same time? “Oh, hi, Takli,” he said as he rolled over onto his stomach, ready to get up. But then, as he got to his knees, he still felt tired, - 12 - sort of discombobulated. He stood and looked at Takli. As he gazed at her, trancelike, he patted his face and legs, picked up a flat, round stone from the beach at the edge of the creek and skipped it across the water. “I guess I’m not dreaming. You were tickling me with something, weren’t you?” Takli said, “It was just a little feathery tickle.” “Ooh, that made me feel really weird . . . goose bumps all over. I thought I was going to sneeze. Where’d you get the feather?” “From Nica . . . . But he cried when I plucked it from his back.” Nica, who had been standing near Takli, listening, objected. “I did not!” he whistled. “You did! You said it hurt,” Takli countered. “It did hurt!” “I’m sorry. I won’t ask you for a feather again.” “Promise?” “Yes,” Takli said, “I promise.” “Good!” “If you two are done fussing, can I speak?” Tommo asked, sounding a little snarky. “Oh . . . . Yes. Sorry, Tommo,” Takli said. “Your turn.” “Thanks.” Tommo paused, wondering if he should even ask because he was sure he knew the answer. But he asked anyway. “Was I talking in my sleep?” “You were. You were mumbling things like ‘I can walk on air.’ And then ‘I can’t walk on air.’ But you can, Tommo, if that’s what you really want.” - 13 - “No, I can’t. I’ve tried, and I fell on my behind.” “When?” “I walked off the picnic table when no one was around. I thought and thought and thought really hard so I could do it, but . . . . Well, I fell . . . right on my tailbone. And it hurt! You won’t tell anyone, will you?” “No, that’ll be our secret. But I have a secret too, one that I’ve never told anyone, not even my parents.” “You can tell me. Cross my heart, I will never tell.” “And you can’t ever tell!” “I won’t. I crossed my heart, didn’t I?” “Yeah, well . . . I believe you, Tommo, so now you have to believe me. Anyhow . . . when I was eight, I accidently unthreaded the back of my teddy. I don’t know why I did it, but I did. My fingers wouldn’t let me stop. There were things inside and a letter to me from my grandpa. He said that my name held special powers, and that I had to be careful how I used them. He also said that he changed his last name from Li Na to Makan. So . . . when my name and his are put together they make the word, Taklimakan, which means that I would have magical powers. That’s why my mom called me Takli. Grandpa must have requested that I be given that name, and Mom honored his request.” “I’m supposed to believe all that?” Now why did I say that? Tommo asked himself, immediately wishing he could take it back. Takli jumped on Tommo’s response. “Have I ever lied to you?” “No, not that I can remember.” - 14 - “I haven’t!” Takli answered emphatically. “Are you going to believe me or not?” “Yes, of course I believe you. Hand on the Bible.” Looking relieved, Takli whispered, “I can make things happen. That’s my secret.” “Like what?” “I can make you walk on air.” “How?” “Do you really want to walk on air?” “Yes, it would be fun. It’s always fun in my dreams. But how can you make it happen?” “If that’s what you want, it will happen.” “I guess I’ll have to believe it when I can do it, then. Can’t you tell me when?” “No. You’ll just have to wait and be patient, like my ancestors.” I wonder if she’s just teasing. She might be . . . but I don’t think so. “Okay, I’ll try . . . . Let’s walk along the creek for a while. Want to?” “Sure. We’ll just take the air, like rich people do in the English movies. They talk funny. They say things like that: ‘We’re just going to take the air.’ My dad said only posh people talk that way. I’m not sure what he meant. But he’s from Ireland, so I guess he should know.” Takli looked down at Nica, and because he had already walked all the way from their house, she asked, “Are you up to more walking, Nica?” He nodded his bill up and down and whistled, “Yeah, sure!” - 15 - “You lead the way then, Tommo.” Tommo agreed to go first. Takli followed, and Nica, who hadn’t been wearing his lead, brought up the rear. The path was too narrow to walk side by side. As they ambled along, Takli asked Tommo what good could possibly come from being able to walk on air. At first he could only think of it as being fun, but after a few thoughtful steps he said, “I would be able to go where other people couldn’t and maybe help someone if they were in trouble. I could do something good, I think. Mostly, though, it would be re-e-e-ally awesome.” As they continued walking, Takli took out a small, black, stringed bag from her pocket. Tommo was unaware, noticing only the color of the trees and jabbering on about how he loved the fall. “Stop for a minute, Tommo, and turn around.” He stopped and as he pivoted, Takli said, “Close your eyes and wish that you could walk on air.” He closed his eyes, but he peeked just when Takli took a pinch of golden dust from her bag and threw it over him. It sparkled in the sun as it took wing and covered him from head to toe. It was so fine he didn’t feel the magic when he made his wish. - 16 - “What was that?” Nica whistled. “Nothing, Nica. Just a puff of wind,” Takli replied. “Oh.” “Did you wish hard, Tommo?” Takli asked. “Yes, but I don’t feel anything.” “Maybe you won’t,” Takli said. “I haven’t tried anything huge like this before. Just little things, like wishing my teddy could talk to me. He could, but I had to take my wish back. I was afraid that he might say something to my mom or Lala when I wasn’t there and scare them silly. I didn’t think about that before I did it. I know I should have, but . . . I guess I’d completely forgotten about what Grandpa had said to me in his letter. So . . . be patient.” “Do you think it will scare me?” “At first, maybe, but being able to walk on air will probably chase away any scary feelings you have.” - 17 -