Page 172 of Bewitched By the Sea Monster

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“He’s a brilliant young man. But he takes nothing seriously, and we can’t get him tostayin the classroom.”

A woman’s face fills the darkness of my ruined eye. A…

There’s a word.

Teacher.

A teacher.

My teacher.

“It’s Pippi. Not Pippa. At least get my name right if you’re gonna act like a condescending sack of shit.”I try to hold on to Pippi’s voice.

But she keeps slipping.

And my life returning.

I am older, trapped between being a boy and man, and I am lost. Not knowing where I belong. Being told my dreams are too big, and my heart too soft.

“You’re too emotional, Alistair. And too…all over the place. It’s admirable, what you want to do, but something like that takes resolve. Grit. You don’t have either. You’re aiming too high, son.”

That face…Thatvoice.

My father.

A man as cold and strict as I am emotional and energetic.

I don’t listen to him.

Actually, I decide he’s an old stiff who needs to get his nose out of my life.

And I keep my dream.

It grows, as I grow. And, at times, it seems too big for me. But I continue to chase it.

“My ears work, Jackson,”Pippi says. “And if anyone is blabbering nonsense, it’s you.”

I am an adult.

I am in love. With Indigo.

And the dream has a name.

SorcerSoft. Putting magic ateveryone’sfingertips.

It is real now. A dream no longer, but a company I own. A company that is changing lives, as I hoped it would.

But it is destroying me.

I am lost in it. In the work. The projects. The passion of my team. In my customers. I am lost. My heart is slipping.

Pippi pauses. And I miss her words. Her voice.

I lean into her touch and say,“You’re so lovely when you’re m-m-mad. Has anyone told you that? It’s s-s-s-sexy.”

Her laugh chases some of the hurt away.

I am a beast—broken and empty.

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