It happened on a boring Tuesday. The kind where it’s too hot to go outside, and nothing good is on TV. So, naturally, Max did what he always does—he snuck into Ellie’s room.
Again.
I know, I know. She’s thirteen, I’m ten. “Boundaries,” she always says, like she’s some kind of grown-up. But it’s not my fault her room is the only one with working A/C and the best stash of candy on Earth. And okay, maybe I was sort of curious what she was hiding in that drawer she always slams shut when I come in.
So I waited until I heard the front door slam—she’d gone to the store with Mom. Boom. Perfect timing.
I crept in like a ninja (well, a ninja wearing SpongeBob socks) and headed straight for The Drawer. I opened it sloooowly, expecting the usual: lip gloss, old notes, maybe that dumb journal she writes in when she’s being dramatic.
But instead, there was a box. A metal one, weirdly heavy, glowing just a little blue around the edges like someone had stuck a flashlight inside.
I opened it.
Inside was a rock. Not like a boring rock from the backyard—but one that hummed in my hands. It was warm and buzzing, like it was alive. And under it was a piece of paper. Folded up a hundred times. When I opened it, my heart stopped.
It said:
“Do NOT tell Mom. This is from the meteor. The rock gave me dreams that came true. I’m not crazy. Max can NEVER find this.”
—Ellie.
What. The. Heck.
I stared at the rock. Then the letter. Then back at the rock. This wasn’t just “older sister being dramatic.” This was weird and maybe kind of magic. My brain was spinning. Did she really touch a meteor? Are her dreams really coming true? Is she like… psychic now or something?
For the first time ever, I didn’t want to mess with her stuff. I put everything back—exactly how I found it—and backed out of the room like it was on fire.
But all night, I couldn’t sleep. What if it was dangerous? What if Ellie was in trouble? What if she already knew I had found it—because she dreamed I would?
The next morning, I sat at the kitchen table poking at my cereal when Ellie walked in. She looked straight at me and said, “You went in my room yesterday.”
My spoon dropped. “What?! No I didn’t!”
She narrowed her eyes. “Yes you did. I had a dream about it. You touched the box.”
I swallowed hard. “Is it… real?”
She sighed and sat across from me. “Yeah. And it’s doing something to me. I don’t know what yet.”
“Are you gonna tell Mom?”
“I can’t. Not yet. She’ll freak.”
Silence.
Then I said, “I won’t tell. But I wanna help.”
She blinked, surprised. Then, slowly, she nodded. “Okay. But no more snooping.”
I smirked. “Deal. But only if I get some candy from your stash.”
Ellie rolled her eyes, but she smiled too.
I think we both knew… nothing was ever going to be normal again.