They call you crazy when you see things they don't.
When you hear things other's can't.
When you KNOW things they just can't understand.
But sometimes they're not the ones who realize the shocking truth.
You are.
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I paced on the sidewalk outside. Our dad stood a few feet away, apparently deep in thought.
She will be back.
She will be back.
She will be back.
At least, that's what she had said. I wasn't sure what she had meant to do, nor how it would help us. But this was Evelyn. I had to trust her.
Dad snapped me out of my thoughts. "Do you think we should go after her?"
I didn't answer for a few moments. "I think-"
A flash of something caught my eye. It was the attic window. A figure wearing white walked by it. For a moment, utter relief flooded through me. But then my heart stopped.
Evelyn was wearing green.
And suddenly I knew what she had been planning. She'd asked me whether she could contact mom herself, and she could. So she thought she could lure Andrew upstairs and summon our mom to face him because she was tired of feeling useless.
But I wouldn't have come this far without her.
I abruptly stopped pacing. "You're right dad. We need to go. Now."
He sensed the urgency in my voice and picked off a rock from the yard. I silently pushed the door open and made sure to skip the bottom step, which creaked.
Loud voices interrupted my stealth, and I made a run for it the rest of the way. The attic door was bolted.
Our dad seemed to know this would happen and threw the rock he had at the latch. The bolt from the other side fell, and we were able to get in.
Evelyn and Andrew were in the middle of a row. I couldn't make out what they were saying since their voices overlapped. In fact, so much that it sounded as if someone else was trying to block the sound.
Then I noticed Evelyn clutching her wrist. When I looked closer, I noticed that one of her hands was badly disfigured.
Time seemed to slow to a stop.
Dad looked ready to make another move (though he hadn't noticed; he would have tackled Andrew for sure if he had).
I remembered Evelyn's mission. Taking the fact that neither of them had seen us, I yelled into the room, "MOM!"
Andrew fell backwards and Evelyn gasped. "What're you doing here? I told you to stay!"
"Are you serious- I-"
The sudden appearance of a gray wall cut me off. It wasn't a wall at all. Dozens of spirits faced us. Imprints of a departed soul, provided a very small voice in my head.
Only one of them was clear to us though. Our mom was separated from the crowd and came forward.
Speaking to us first, she said, "Good job. You have no idea how proud I am of you. But I started this, and I need to finish it. Thank you for letting me in."
