âWhen we were kids, the Phonics Wizard came to our town to show off how the letter E can change the sounds of vowels. He turned a can into a cane, a pin into a pine. This one kid had a cap and he changed it into a cape, that kind of thing.
âAnd we loved it, we were all having a great time, but then he saw my sister and I, and he just got this - this look in his eyes, and then-â
She hesitated, worrying the coarse material between her fingers. âThings got pretty bad after that,â she muttered. âI know itâs silly, but I try to keep - her - comfortable. We donât know if she can still hear us, or see us, or if sheâs even still in here, but I like to think she is. I talk to her when I can, I leave music on when Iâm out of the house. I tried to convince my parents to bring her with us when we went to Disneyland, but they didnât - didnât really take that well.â
After a moment, she put the ball of twine back onto its pillow. âAnyways. They tried to arrest the Phonics Wizard, but he had a plan in case something went wrong and he turned it into a plane and flew away.â















