2. Magic in the Air

"When was the last time you saw Fidget?" asked Kirsty's mom as she poured some coffee for the Twitchings. "Yesterday afternoon," Mrs. Twitching replied. "It's very strange, because usually she doesn't miss a single meal." "Kirsty and I could help you look for her," suggested Rachel. "Good idea," Kirsty agreed, finishing her cereal. "Let's go now." "And I'll check our garden and the barn," added Mr. Tate. As Kirsty and Rachel got up from the table, Kirsty stared extra-hard at the Twitchings' heads. She thought she could see wisps of smoke there again, but they were so pale and misty, it was hard to be sure. "Rachel," Kirsty said quietly as they headed outside, "did you notice anything funny about the Twitchings today?" Rachel looked confused.

"What do you mean?" Kirsty told her about the wisps of smoke. "I'm not sure if I really saw them or not," she finished. "Do you think they could have been magic?" Rachel asked. Kirsty felt a thrill of excitement. "Maybe," she said eagerly. "While we're looking for Fidget, we'd better keep our eyes open for magic, too!" The girls walked into the village, keeping their eyes peeled for the tabby cat, but there was no sign of her.

"I hope Fidget isn't lost for good," Kirsty said, looking around. "Oh!" Kirsty hadn't been watching where she was going, and she'd bumped into someone. "I'm so sorry," Kirsty said politely.

The woman glared at her. "Why don't you be more careful?" she said grumpily, and hurried off. "Well!" Rachel gasped. "That wasn't very nice." But Kirsty looked confused. "That was Mrs. Hill, one of my mom's friends, and she's usually very nice," she said. "I wonder what's wrong?" Rachel nudged her. "Look over there," she whispered. Outside the post office, two men were arguing. They both looked very grouchy. Then Mrs. Burke, who ran the post office, came out to see what was going on. Kirsty was surprised to see that her usually happy face was grumpy and sad. "There's something strange happening," she whispered to Rachel as they went into the park. "Everybody's in a terrible mood. Look at the kids on the swings."

Rachel stared at the children in the playground. They didn't seem to be having fun at all. Every single one of them looked sad! They didn't even cheer up when the ice-cream truck stopped close by. The girls stopped at the park gate. "I think we've been all over Wetherbury, and there's no sign of Fidget anywhere." Kirsty sighed, glancing at her watch. "We'd better go home, Rachel. It's almost time for lunch."

Rachel nodded. "We can always keep searching later this afternoon." The girls turned back toward the Tates' house. On the way, they passed the tiny movie theater. The Saturday morning show had just finished, and the audience was pouring out. Just like everyone else, the people looked grouchy. "It must have been a sad movie," Rachel whispered to Kirsty. "But it wasn't," Kirsty replied, frowning. "Look." She pointed to the poster outside the movie theater. "This hilarious film is a must. You'll split your sides laughing," Rachel read. "Well, the audience definitely didn't find it very funny," she continued. "Look at their faces." Kirsty stared at the people walking gloomily out of the theater. Suddenly, her heart began to pound. There they were again! She could definitely see cloudy smoke drifting over people's heads, just like she'd noticed over her next-door neighbors. "Look, Rachel!" She nudged her friend. "There's that smoke again."