We left the hotel for some brunch and a walk around. I was grumpy all through our meal, even though it was pancakes. We ended up at a bridge with tall metal spires and a metal grate along the side. As we walked across, the metal grate got more and more full of locks. Combination locks in all kinds of colors. Ruth told me they were wish locks, and that when you locked your wish in place, it would come true.

I guess my family is pretty amazing, because we went to a hardware store right away and bought one of those locks. They knew how much I needed that wish. Maybe I should have used my wish for something different, and maybe a ten-year-old is too old to be wishing for her stuffed killer whale to come back, but in that moment none of that mattered. I just wanted Murphy.

So I locked my wish in place, and took a picture of it for our Treasure Hunt, just in case. And guess what was waiting for me back at the hotel, resting neatly atop the newly made beds, like he’d never gone anywhere at all?

Something Magic.

There are no lock bridges in Tucson, Arizona, the city we’ll be reaching tomorrow. (Plus, when I was researching, I found out putting locks on bridges can actually be pretty damaging.) But when I googled Tucson, I found something just as cool. A bridge, a highway overpass, covered in metal mesh in the shape of a gigantic rattlesnake, complete with a pointed, rattle-y tail on one end and gleaming red eyes on the other.

Definitely a bridge magical enough for a replica picture.

We say a long goodbye to Darcy before loading into the RV. She and Ellie have made us all sandwiches with turkey slices and avocado and Dijon mustard and honey-oat bread that totally look gourmet, even though I’m not usually a sandwich person.

I give Darcy a hug. “Hey, thanks for everything,” I say. “I think your dad would say your superpower is making people feel relaxed. Easy with themselves. I wish I could do that.”

“Ha, that does sound like my dad,” she says. “But hey, no fair if you took my power. Stick with your own, girl.” She winks.

I try to remember what Eddie said mine was. Something about finding neat, pretty things to make people happy or excited. Ruth is in the doorway, tying her shoe. I just wish my power was to have whatever power people needed, to do exactly what they needed, exactly when they needed it, and I wonder if anyone has that power. It’s almost a game, trying to think of powers in this way, instead of as specific things like flying or talking to animals or breathing underwater.

What would Ruth’s power be?