The Boy with 17 Senses by Sheila Grau

Author:Sheila Grau
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Abrams
Published: 2016-07-08T04:00:00+00:00

19

FORGIVENESS IS A SUPERPOWER

Jaq sat at home, wondering what to do. He had to save his grandfather, and he knew the only way to do that was to rescue Plenthy and bring him back to Yipsmix. That meant going back to Earth, a prospect that terrified him.

How could he go back to Earth alone? The giants were so big, and the planet was so overwhelming.

As he sat there hunting for some courage, his mother came home.

“Jaq,” she said, “I just got back from town. They won’t release Grandpa.” She dropped her bag and paced. “I told them he’s not going anywhere, but they want to keep him in jail until the judges can rule on his case. That could take forever! And what if they find him guilty? What are we going to do?”

“They stole my chicken,” Jaq said. “Those Vilcots. They told the police that I’d taken it from Tormy. And the police believed them.”

“Of course they did. Ripley Vilcot has bribed everyone in town. Grandpa is never going to be free.” Mom shook her head. “I have to get back to work. I’ll be home late, to make up for the time I took off this afternoon. Will you be okay?”

Jaq nodded. After a pause, he said, “What if I could get another one? Another glug-filled bird.”

Mom stopped pacing and looked at him. “How?”

“It’s a long story,” Jaq said. “But to do it, I need to ask you a question.”

“What?”

“When you’re working at the factory, how do you handle all the noise? Doesn’t it fill your mouth with flavors and your vision with colors and shapes? Doesn’t it make it impossible to fuction?”

She opened her bag. “They give us these,” she said, pulling out a package of earplugs and some thick earmuffs. “And this,” she said, holding up a nose plug on a rubbery string. “And sometimes I wear these,” she said, putting on a pair of sunglasses. “And this.” She shook out a package of Blandie Biscuits—The Biscuit That Fights Off Flavor. “Eat one of those, and no unpleasant tastes will pop into your mouth unexpectedly.”

“To get another bird, I have to go up by the waterfall,” Jaq said. “It’s really hard to walk next to it.”

Mom nodded. “Take them,” she said. “And, Jaq”—she grabbed his shoulders and looked him in the eye—“tell me that the waterfall is the only danger. Promise me. I could not bear it if anything happened to you.”

“I promise,” Jaq said. “I’ll be fine.”

It was the hardest lie Jaq had ever told.

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