10 TRANSFORMATION

CHAPTER 10 TRANSFORMATION The secret is in the tip of your thumb and your second finger," Claire's mom said to the wall beside Kaz. Kaz wished he could glow so Claire's mom could see him when she spoke to him. "You have to touch the very tip of your thumb and your second finger to whatever it is you want to transform, and then quickly pull your hand away." Claire's mom demonstrated with her own hand. "That's what pulls the solid out of the object. If you're a ghost that has the ability to transform an object." "Try it, Kaz," Claire urged. "See if you can transform that leaf on the floor."

Kaz dived down to a leaf that had fallen from the plant in the corner. "Remember, just the tip of your thumb and your second finger," Claire's mom said again as all eyes focused on Kaz. And the leaf. Kaz slowly picked up the leaf. He held it between his thumb and second finger and then let go. The leaf remained solid as it fluttered back to the floor. "I think you have to let go faster," Claire suggested. "And don't squeeze it too tight," Claire's mom said. "You need to hold it kind of loose. Molly used to sort of balance things on the tips of her fingers, then flick her hand away!" Kaz reached for the leaf again. But this time he had such a light hold that it fell to the floor before he could even try to transform it. Grandma Karen groaned. "Keep trying, Kaz," Claire said.

Kaz sighed as he picked up the leaf again and held it gently, gently, gently. So gently that it sort of hovered there in the air between his thumb and his second finger. Then he quickly flicked his hand away as he let the leaf go. Kaz stared in amazement as the leaf turned ghostly! "You did it!" Claire clapped her hands together. Her mom and Grandma Karen smiled. "Yay! Kaz!" Little John exclaimed. Even Beckett looked impressed. "Now tell him to put it back." Claire's mom leaned forward on the bench. "Then ask him to see if he can bring my doll back, too." She was growing more and more excited. "He can hear you, Mom," Claire said. "He's right here."

"I don't know if I can transform it back," Kaz said as he grabbed the ghostly leaf. "I don't know how that works." "Did Molly tell you how she made things solid again?" Claire asked her mom. Kaz turned the leaf all around. He tried squeezing it between his thumb and first finger. Wait! Second finger, not first, he said to himself as he switched his hold. And just like that, the leaf turned solid again! "Looks like he figured it out," Claire's mom said. Kaz turned the leaf ghostly again. Then solid. Then ghostly. Then solid. "I think I've got it!" He giggled. Little John brought the ghost doll over to Kaz. "Go ahead and transform Windy," he said glumly. "She belongs to Claire's mom. Not me." "Thanks, Little John," Claire said. "I've probably got another doll around somewhere that you can have."

"Okay," Little John said. Kaz squeezed his two thumbs and two second fingers around the doll's middle. The doll turned solid, then fell to the floor. Claire's mom lunged for it. "Oh, thank you," she said, looking somewhere between Kaz and Little John. "Thank you! Thank you!" While Claire and her mom and grandma exclaimed over the doll, Kaz said, "I know what I should transform now."

Little John perked up. "The envelope in the secret room!" The ghosts raced to the craft room and sailed through the bookshelf at the back of the room. Kaz swam over to the envelope and picked it up. He held it with the very tip of his thumb and second finger, then quickly flicked his hand away. The envelope turned ghostly! "Aha! Now we can open it and see what's inside," Little John cried as he reached for the envelope. "No." Kaz snatched it away. "Now we can take it through the wall." Holding tight to the envelope, Kaz turned and swam through the wall. Little John groaned. "Back already?" Claire said as the three ghosts returned to the craft room. Her eyes widened at the envelope in Kaz's hand. "Is the recipe inside?" "I don't know," Kaz said. "I think you should be the one to open it." He squeezed the envelope with the tip of his thumb and second finger, and