kellyfamilyverhalen

Made bij Christel!

Kelly Family verhalen

Deze verhalen komen van een vriendin van me, ze vindt het erg leuk om verhalen te schrijven vandaar dat ik deze verhalen er op heb gezet en ze erg leuk vindt.

Mocht je niet zo goed Engels kunnen dan is hier een link.Kopieren en plakken : www.freetranslation.com.

The haunted hotel

The Haunted Hotel
It was somewhere in the middle of the night. Maite sat up in her bed. Something woke her up, but she didn't know what caused it. She heard it again. It sounded like footsteps outside her room, like there was somebody walking through the corridor.
She didn't really like sleeping in hotels. But this time, they had to. They would perform twice in the same city. Maite had a room of her own. Like everybody in her family. But most of them weren't really as alone as she was.
Patricia was with Denis and the kids. Angelo was with Kira and the children and Joey was with Tanya and Luke and the little unborn baby. Jimmy was alone, so was Paddy.
Jimmy and Paddy slept down the hall. The room across hers was occupied by Angelo and his family and the room next to her by Patricia and her husband and kids. Joey and his family had the room next to Patricia's.
Maite just wanted to lay down again when she saw something. A shadow by the door. Some light from the corridor outside fell under the door and it looked like there was somebody standing outside.
Maite felt like hiding under the covers but she didn't. She reached for the lamp on her nightstand and a few seconds later the room was filled with light.
She slipped out of bed. Her feet touched the floor and she shivered. As she came closer to the door she heard a sound. Footsteps. They were running away from the door. Maite rushed to the door, opened it and looked. The corridor was empty.
Her stumbling woke up somebody else. The door across hers opened and the sleepy face of her younger brother Angelo appeared. His blond hair was held together in a pony tail and he came out to see what was going on.
"Maite, what are you doing?" he asked as he rubbed the sleep out of his eyes.
"There was someone here" Maite answered. She was sure there had been somebody standing outside her room.
"Please Maite, like you and I can see, there's no one here. It was a dream. Go back to bed and please, do that quietly" Angelo said and he went back inside.
Maite shook her head, looked down the corridor one more time and than she went back to bed. Angelo had been wrong. It wasn't a dream...
                                                              ***

The next morning, Maite walked into Patricia's bedroom and found her sister in the bathroom. Patricia looked up. She smiled and asked:"Was that you making all that noise last night?"
Maite avoided looking at Patricia and inspected the carpet. "Yes. I heard something. It sounded like footsteps and I swear there was somebody standing at my door"
Patricia looked at her younger sister. "It was just your imagination. Please, just stay in bed tonight, okay? Come on or else we'll miss breakfast."
Maite followed her sister but didn't agree with what she said. What she heard last night, what she saw, was not a dream.
On their way Patricia remembered something "Did you call Barby?" she inquired.
"I did. She whished us all the best. She's staying with Kathy for a few days. Maybe you can call her too" Maite answered
Patricia nodded. "I just might"
***

At the breakfast table Maite and Patricia met up with their other siblings and their family.
"Saw any more freaky people last night, Maite?" Paddy joked and Maite's eyed turned to Angelo who was sitting next to Paddy
"Angelo!" she said and she was clearly mad "that is so not funny! And Paddy, you're such a child!"
"Paddy, leave Maite alone!" Jimmy told his younger brother. 
Paddy ate his breakfast, made a funny face towards Maite but she gave him a firm kick against his legs under the table.
***

After breakfast they had some time for themselves before going to the concert hall for their sound check. Maite went to her room and installed herself on her bed with a book.
She heard the laughter from the children in the corridor. They were playing together. She heard Kira and Patricia talk.
***

Maite didn't know exactly how much time had passed but someone knocked on her door. She realised she had fallen asleep.
"Maite, come on, we've got to go!" Paddy yelled.
She left her bed, glanced at herself in the mirror and than she left.
***

If she had to believe Paddy and Joey, the sound check was one of the best they ever had. Even though she screwed up one of her songs twice because she forgot her lyrics. 
Angelo informed her it was Patricia's job to do that.
Maite drank some water and watched how Joey and Paddy went over the organisation for tonight's show one last time. Shows in Germany were always pretty crazy. The fans all tried to be in the first row. German shows were huge.
"Can we go now? Maite and I wanted to see something of this town" Patricia said and looked at Paddy, Joey en Jimmy. Jimmy had joined them while they were looking over the show one more time.
"Yeah you can go" Jimmy answered "but we meet back at the hotel at six to have diner and than we go back here, all right? Don't be late, Tricia!"
Patricia kissed her kids goodbye. She left them in custody of her husband and than she and Maite left through a backstage exit. A bodyguard followed them and before they walked down the street, he looked to make sure everything was clear.
They walked into town and checked out several stores and shops and bought some things. Their bodyguard followed them from a distance but never let them out of his sight. Until Maite and Patricia split up.
Patricia disappeared into a baby store while Maite walked on. Her attention was drawn by a small bookstore not far from the store Patricia went to. Curiously Maite went in. A bell rinkeld over the door when she came in. The shop appeared to be empty, besides the huge amount of books.
Maite looked around and her eye fell on a book that, according to the title, described the history of this city. Carefully Maite took the book and opened it. She went through the book and than her eye caught something. The hotel where she and her family were staying.
"Can I help you, young lady?" she heard. The question was asked in German and Maite switched languages before answering.
"Not really, I guess. I was just looking around. I saw this book. It describes the hotel me and my family are staying. Why is it mentioned in this book that tells this town's history?' Maite asked
She was now talking to an older woman, probably in her late sixties. Her hair was silver-grey but her eyes where just as blue as her own.
"That hotel has got a bigger history than this town" the woman answered "too many wounds were caused and too many lives were lost"
"People died there?" Maite asked
"Many found the end of their lives their, my child" the woman answered "ever since it was build in 1897 people died between those walls. Some say, many of their spirits still live there. Some look for revenge, they say. Others never got a chance to get used to death and got lost somewhere between Heaven and Earth. Now doomed to haunt around forever"
Maite thought about what happened last night. "What will this book cost me?" she asked but the woman shook her head.
"Take it, my child. No one else cares about the history of this town anymore" she answered and Maite looked at the book in her hands.
When she looked up to thank the old lady, she was gone. Maite looked around but there was not a sign of her. She pressed the book against her chest and left. At that same moment, she saw Patricia leave the baby store and walked over to her.
"What's that?" Patricia asked, pointing at the book her sister was holding.
"Nothing special" Maite answered and held the book even tighter" Just something I want to read"
***

The show had been terrific and the crowd had gone crazy. After the final tones of "I can't help myself" had disappeared and they had gone backstage, Maite fell down in a chair and looked at her siblings.
"What an amazing show!" Angelo said and Paddy and Jimmy gave him some compliments on his amazing drumsolo. 
Patricia heard the joke that she didn't forget her lyrics. She threw her towel at Jimmy, but he ducked and so it landed on Joey's head.
He threw it back at Patricia but now she ducked and the towel reached Maite. Nobody had noticed that she had been sitting on her chair without taking part in the conversation that was going on or joining in with the towel throwing.
"Maite, what's wrong?" Patricia asked but Maite shook her head.
"It's ok. I'm just a little tired. I'll go change" she answered and stood up. She knew the others wouldn't believe her. Well, maybe Patricia. But she couldn't tell her around Angelo, Paddy, Joey and Jimmy because they would just make more stupid jokes.
Once she was alone, Maite took her phone and dialled a number. On the other side of the line she heard a familiar voice and smiled. "Hi Barby, its Maite again" she said when her other sister picked up.
Barby no longer took part in shows. She had to learn how to live her life the right way and in a healthy way. The pressure to be on stage would be too much for her to handle right now.
"Barby, I don't know if this sounds really stupid or anything and we never really talked about this in any way" Maite started "but do you believe in ghosts and spirits and all?"
"I guess I do" Barby answered "I never really thought about it in a direct way though. What is wrong and why are you asking these questions? Did something happen?"
Quickly, Maite told her sister what happened last night in the hotel and what the old woman told her. "I didn't get a chance to read the book yet, but I get this creepy feeling that whatever it was outside my room last night, wasn't a dream"
"Than what do you think it was?" Barby questioned her sister
"If there are such things, it might have been a ghost or spirit or whatever. How else could it have been gone when I reached the door? You can't run from a corridor that fast" Maite answered "I truly believe that the hotel that we're staying is haunted"
***

It was way past midnight when they arrived back at the hotel. When they walked in, Maite caught herself looking around. Like she expected something to happen or to see someone or something look at her.
They all went to their rooms. Tired after the show they were all glad that they finally could go to bed. There would be another show tomorrow night in the same music hall with a crowd just as big as this one. Both concerts were sold out.
Right after Maite had called Barby, she overheard Patricia doing the same but Barby never mentioned Maite's call only minutes earlier. Maybe she understood that Maite didn't talk to her family about her thoughts.
Now that she was lying in her bed, she carefully took the book the old woman had given to her. She opened it where the part about the hotel started. She read about wars, about fights, about murders that took place. 
How somewhere in the early 1900's a young woman was murdered by her fianc�e, how a man fell down the stairs and broke his neck. Many believed his death wasn't an accident.
Than the part began about the stories that were wandering around about the hotel. The stories from sightings people saw and things they heard while they were in the hotel. 
Sometimes they saw them clearly, other times they didn't. Footsteps, talking, laughing and crying. Happy voices of children and a young woman, crying and screaming in her despair.
Over the years the number of sightings grew but people believed it were the same ghosts. The spirit of a man who was shot in the back during a fight with one of his friends in 1937, a soldier that was killed during WWII, a young woman murdered by her fianc�e in a jealous rage in 1904, a small child died of an ammonia around 1925 and the man who fell down the stairs.
Maite turned the page and there she saw the pictures of the presumed spirits. A cold shiver ran up and down her spine. They had names, she saw. They were all known.
Maite closed the book and pulled the covers up to her nose, closed her eyes and tried to clear her mind. She tried not to hear or to think about anything. Finally, she fell in a restless sleep.
                                                              ***

Patricia woke up in the middle of the night. Quickly she glanced beside her. Denis was still asleep and she didn't hear her children either. Well, she had to go to the bathroom anyway so she slipped out of her bed and her feet touched the ground.
When she returned to bed, she heard something. Laughter. The laughter from a child and it came from the corridor. She frowned. That couldn't be Luke. Joey and Tanya had to be asleep and so was Luke.
Patricia walked to the door and seconds later, she stepped outside into the corridor, to discover she wasn't alone. Paddy looked over his shoulder when he heard something and was surprised to see his sister.
"Tricia, what are you doing up at this hour?" he asked her but she made a funny face.
"I guess I can ask you the same thing, mister" she answered "all the pretty girls are asleep right now. You might wanna try again tomorrow morning"
Paddy showed his tongue but than he became serious. "I heard something" he softly said "like a child that was laughing. I thought maybe it was Luke so I went to see"
Patricia wasn't surprised to hear him say that. He could see it in her eyes and she told him she had heard the exact same thing.
They looked up when they heard something. A door opened. They looked around but the all the doors were closed
"Listen" Patricia said and she and Paddy held their breaths as they listened.
Footsteps. Loud footsteps, as like they were made by heavy boots. A man's voice, deep and low. But they couldn't hear what he was saying.
And than it became quiet.
Patricia and Paddy looked at each other and waited for another few minutes but it remained quiet. Than Patricia let her breath escape and carefully she whispered: "You know, maybe Maite was right..."
Paddy slowly nodded. "I start to believe this place really is haunted"
"Let's go back to bed. Whatever it was, seems to be gone now" Patricia said but she sounded a lot more secure than she felt "and in the morning, we'll talk this over with the others. Maybe Maite can tell us something. Goodnight, Paddy"
Paddy whished his sister goodnight and watched her disappear in her room. He remained outside, standing in the corridor, looking around. Were his eyes cheating him when he looked down the hall or was there a little girl staring at him?
He blinked a few times and looked again. The girl was gone. He took a deep breath and went back to the bed. As the door closed, the ice blue eyes of a little girl watched from the other corner of the hallway.
                                                                 ***

Angelo looked around the table and said: "I heard this strange sound last night. Like there was somebody talking but I couldn't hear what that person was saying"
Patricia nearly suffocated in her coffee when she heard that. She and Paddy hadn't been the only ones hearing strange things last night
�I don't know if my eyes were fooling me, but I could swear there was somebody else in the room with me last night. A woman" Jimmy said and across him, Joey made a joke.
"Are you sure you didn't bring anybody home after the show last night?" he asked
"Jimmy and Angelo aren't the only ones who heard or saw something" Patricia suddenly said and now everybody looked at her "last night, I woke up because I heard something. When I went to check, I stumbled on Paddy. He heard something too."
"We both heard the laughter of a child. First, we thought it was Luke but there was no one there. Than we heard footsteps. And like Angelo described, someone talking but we couldn't hear what that person was saying." Paddy continued the story "and when Patricia went back to bed, I think I saw a little girl."
Maite listened to what her family told about last night. She remembered the people described in the book and she realised they were all just like the book said.
"This place is haunted�"
They all looked at her and they wanted her to explain. Suddenly nobody said she was talking crazy. She put down her cup of tea and started telling the story as it was described in the book.
When she was finished, she looked around. "We thought we were the only guests in this hotel because we are a pop group and they wouldn't let anybody else stay here with us. But I think no one wants to stay here. This place is haunted and we are not alone."
***

After breakfast the entire family went their own separate ways until they had to go to the concert hall for their sound check, but until then they had some free time

The conversation at the breakfast table had his impact. Everybody was nervous, looked over their shoulder and they kept their eyes and ears open. As soon as they heard something suspicious they reacted.

Maite and Patricia went downstairs to try and find out why the manager hadn't informed them about this hotel being haunted. They found the old man sitting in a small office not far away from the main entrance.
"Good morning ladies, how can I help you?" he asked friendly.

"Maybe call the Ghostbusters?" Patricia asked and saw how the man raised his eyebrows "why didn't you tell us this hotel is haunted?"

"Everyone knows. That's why there are barely people coming here" he answered "I thought you knew!"

"Well, we didn't but we know now!" Maite said and suddenly the conversation was rudly disturbed by a loud screaming. It didn't take them long to realise who it was.

"Angelo!" Patricia yelled and she and Maite flew back up the stairs. When they reached their floor, they found their youngest brother and the rest of the family had gathered around him already.

Angelo was staring at a wall. Because everyone was gathered around Maite and Patricia couldn't really see what was going on. Slowly Jimmy, Joey and Paddy stepped aside and the wall became more visible.

Blood red letters had appeared on the wall. There were red drops falling on the floor. The letters spelled out words. "You will never leave here alive...."

Patricia turned around, ran down the stairs to find the manager but when she reached his office, he was gone. She opened up another door but that room was empty. She tried another door, but that one was locked.

She went back and there she overheard Paddy say: "Call Kathy. She's on the outside. Maybe she knows what's the best thing to do"

Joey got his cell phone and dialled the number of their oldest sister. It took a few seconds before he heard Kathy on the other side. "Hello?"

"Kathy, its Joey" he said "we're having a problem. We're staying in a hotel that seems to be haunted. And no, this is not some kind of sick joke. I think we might be in some serious trouble. Blood red paint is dripping down the wall, saying we won't leave here alive"

"What's the name of the hotel?" Kathy informed and it appeared she believed her brother right away. Why would he be lying about this?

Joey gave her the name of the hotel and than he said: "We have a show tonight Kathy, but we don't know if we can leave. These ghosts seem to be everywhere. It's not just one ghost, its is like a whole bunch of them"

Maybe people called him the Iron Man but this time, fear got to him too. They were locked in here with ghosts that, considering the words on the wall, weren't really friendly and they were completely in their hands.

"I'll do my best" Kathy said, trying to calm her brother down "try to keep in touch with me. I'll get you out of there. If only I knew how"

At that moment the phone was disconnected. Joey looked at the others, quickly told them what Kathy had said but also mentioned the line was dead.

"And the manager's gone" Patricia said. Fear was standing in her eyes "I went down to tell him about the wall. Minutes before he had been there but now he is gone"

They all turned back to the wall. Tanya, Joey's wife, pressed their son Luke against her chest and Maite noticed that Angelo and Kira held their children closely. Her eyes moved back to the bloody words on the wall.

They whished Kathy would find a way to help them because they had no way to get out.

***
"So what are we gonna do now?" Paddy asked and looked around. They had all gathered in Maite's room. Patricia, Maite and Joey were sitting on the bed. 
Angelo had turned his back towards them and stared out of the window. Jimmy and Paddy sat on the floor.
"I don't think we should try to get out" Patricia slowly said "I don't wanna risk that any one of us, or one of our children, gets hurt"
"Than what do you wanna do? Stay here and just sit and wait?" Angelo asked and turned away from the window "we don't know what they want, Tricia. We have a show tonight and now we're locked in here with a bunch of crazy ghosts"
"I don't like to sit and wait any more than you do, but neither do I like the foresight of any one of us getting hurt." Patricia answered her brother and Maite prevented Angelo from answering by raising her hands.
"We have to think this over" she said but as she wanted to continue, she felt an ice cold wind touch her face. She wasn't the only one. Everybody looked around with fear in their eyes.
"What was that?" Joey asked
Paddy stared at a corner of the room. He saw something. He saw someone. Someone was standing in the corner, watching them.
Maite turned around to see what her brother was staring at and she froze. She saw the figure of a man. A soldier, he was wearing a uniform. His is eyes were dark blue but hollow, like glass. She saw the anger, the hate. He was holding a gun in his hand and just stood there.
The others saw him too. Angelo wanted to walk towards him, but Joey stopped him. They all looked at the soldier who now slowly raised his hand and with one finger he followed his throat from the right to left. Everyone knew what that meant.
He turned around and than he was gone.
"I don't think we have a choice" Jimmy said "whatever it was, just answered our question whether to stay or leave. We now know what happens if we try to leave"
"Cancel the show" Paddy said firmly "it doesn't matter how much we hate doing it and how much we disappoint our fans, but we can't take the risk of getting hurt.. or killed'
Joey took his cell phone again, dialled the number of the concert hall and was surprised the line was no longer disconnected. He got the manager on the line, came up with a strong story to cancel the show, apologised countless times and a few minutes later he hung up.
Immediately he dialled another number and still, the line wasn't disconnected. He informed Kathy about the show and the figure they had seen.
"Joey, what's going on up there? I tried to call you but your phone was disconnected!" Kathy said when she heard her brother's voice
"I think our spirit friends have some kind of influence on the phone lines" Joey answered "well, the status is that we cancelled the show. The threat on the wall is serious. First it was only written, but now we saw it too. There was someone here to show us what will happen if we leave"
"You mean you saw one of them?" Kathy asked "Barby and I are doing the best we can, we tried calling the manager but no one answered. We called the police too but they laughed at us. We don't know what else to do"
"All we can do is sit here and wait" Joey answered "but we do know that when we try to leave, or run, we might end up hurt, or dead"
At that same moment, the line was disconnected again and they had lost their line to the outside world. They were alone.
***

An hour had passed since Joey talked to Kathy. The family had all gathered in one of the bedrooms and was sitting there. Maite was trying to get some sleep, resting herself against Jimmy's shoulder.
Outside, the rain started to fall harder and harder. Dark clouds packed together over the hotel and somewhere far away the sound of the thunder came closer.
"Look at us, just sitting and waiting" Paddy remarked but Patricia put her fingers on her lips, telling him to remain quiet. First he thought that because of Maite sleeping but than he heard footsteps come closer.
Patricia sat up and watched the door. The footsteps were approaching. Joey and Angelo also reacted. Angelo walked to the door and opened it. Joey followed him into the corridor.
Tanya took Luke with her and Kyra and the children followed her example. Denis shared one look with Patricia and than he took the children too. They disappeared into the next room.
Maite woke up and noticed two of her brothers outside and she followed them. Paddy and Patricia didn't hesitate and followed too. Now they were standing outside and the footsteps still came closer.
It sounded like boots on a wooden floor. The footsteps were now joined by the soft giggling of children. But than everything was interrupted by an ice cold screaming.
It was a woman they heard. A woman that screamed in fear.
"My God, what was that?" Patricia whispered "it sounded like someone's who's in total fear, scared to death. Someone who faces something terrible"
"Someone who is about to die" Joey finished her sentence.
"The footsteps still come closer" Maite said and at that moment, they saw a man come around the corner. They saw him before. It was the soldier that had appeared earlier. But this time, he looked even less friendly than he did before.
Jimmy saw the soldier reach for his gun. He quickly looked around and he yelled: "Run!"
Everybody suddenly ran down the hall. Paddy quickly closed the door to the room when he passed, whishing and praying that Tanya, Kira, Denis and the kids would be all right.
Their hearts were beating in their throats. When they came around the corner, they saw it was a dead end. There was nowhere else to go and the soldier came closer. Than Patricia saw the door leading to the stairs.
She threw the door open and they all ran down the stairs as fast as they could. It was like the soldier came closer every second and they were standing still.
"Here they are! Here they are!" All of a sudden a little girl appeared right in front of Patricia, who was now leading the group, and tried to block her way. She was jumping up and down, waving her arms, preventing them from passing.
Patricia slowed down when she saw the girl. The girl's eyes were empty like glass, steel blue like the endless ocean. Blond curls were falling down her pale face. Her lips were blood red.
Out of nowhere the figure of a woman appeared next to the girl and Patricia was forced to stop. The others stopped too and tried to move backwards, but behind them the soldier came closer and Jimmy, walking in the back, saw him come down the stairs.
They were locked in.
"What do you want?" Paddy asked. He tried to keep his voice steady but he was scared.
"What do you think we need?" the woman asked "we need to survive. Every now and than we need fresh blood to keep us alive. Well, for as far as we are alive"
�I told you I would arrange something for all of us, right?" a familiar voice said and the entire family turned around. Maite and Patricia didn't know what to do when they recognised the manager.
"You!" Maite said and her eyes showed her anger "you tricked us! That is why you wanted us to stay here! The only reason why you wanted us was so you can feed us to these bastards here!"
"Not just to them, young lady" the manager answered "it's been a little while since the last time I had something to eat myself"
"You! You're one of them?" Angelo said. The puzzle started to make sense.
"You weren't in the book" Maite said and looked at the manager "the book described everybody who ever died here. But it never mentioned a dirty old man, pretending to be the hotel manager, luring unsuspecting guests into their death"
"The book described the people who died here because of a crime or after a lot of pain. The book doesn't describe the old man who lived here all his life and gave all his heart and soul. The old man who didn't have anything to live for. Who died peacefully and didn't want to leave" the manager answered.
"The old man who grew up with these ghosts, got to know them. Promised them that he would join them and make sure they would survive until eternity" he continued
"And you don't call this eternity?" Joey asked "haunting around this hotel for I don't know how many years pretty much sounds like eternity to me"
"One day, they no longer have to haunt around but can finally get the rest they deserve" the manager said "that finally, their lost souls will find their homes and their restless wondering will come to an end."
"The moment they pass over to hell" Jimmy said, glancing around to see if there was a way to escape. Suddenly, he knew.
"Patricia! Run!" he said and his sister just did what he said. The rest followed. The manager, the soldier, the woman and the little girl were completely surprised when the family started moving.
Patricia closed her eyes as she ran down the stairs. Seconds later, she realised what had just happened. They ran straight through the young woman and the little girl! She looked over her shoulder to see if they were still there, but Jimmy pushed her forward.
"Don't look back, Tricia! We just have to get out of here!" he said and Patricia turned her head and ran down the stairs as fast as she could. Finally, she came around the last corner and saw a door. She reached for it but when she tried to open it, she discovered it was locked.
"Damn it!" she heard Maite yell, but Paddy had the solution. He had his pocket knife and stepped forward. While he was messing with the lock, the others heard the soldier's footsteps come closer.
"Paddy hurry up!" Maite nervously said "I rather don't end up being somebody else's diner!"
"Got it!" Paddy said. The door was open. They went through and found themselves standing in the streets. They made it out!
"Kira, Tanya, Denis and the kids are still inside" Patricia said and she looked up to the windows of the hotel. They were standing outside but their loved ones were still in there.
Within a few seconds, they were soaking wet, the rain was still poring down. The thunder rumbled over their heads as lightening brightened up the black sky.
"Denis has his cell phone!" Maite said and Joey gave her his. She quickly dialled the number of her brother in law, and she heard the line was no longer disconnected now that they made it outside, and she heard Denis' voice.
"Denis, we made it outside!" Maite said and she threw the phone to Patricia so she could talk to her husband and give the instructions to make it out safely.
"Try heading for the main entrance as fast as you can!" Patricia said and she saw how Joey, Jimmy and Angelo already ran to the main entrance to pick them up "Jimmy, Joey and Angelo are on their way to help you! We'll wait here!"
Denis understood and than the conversation ended. Patricia kept Joey's cell phone. She, Maite and Paddy looked up to the windows of the hotel. It was all dark, there was nothing to see.
"Look!" Maite said and she pointed at a shadow in the rain "It's the manager!"
"And I had hoped he couldn't leave the hotel!" Paddy said "what is the best way to kill a ghost?"
"I have an idea but we have to wait until everybody made it out, and the manager has to get back in" Maite said and her eyes showed she really did have a plan.
All of a sudden, Joey appeared. He held his son Luke in his arms and was followed by Tanya. Than Angelo and Kira came around the corner with their children, they were followed by Denis and Jimmy with the kids.
Patricia ran towards her husband, locking him in her arms and kissed her children. Now they were all outside, soaking wet in the poring rain. But suddenly, the rain stopped.
"Just what I needed" Maite said and a smile fell over her face. She saw the manager go back in the hotel "I guess he knows he can't hurt us now. I hope nobody has got too many things of great value inside? Our instruments are stored at the concert hall"
"Our greatest value is standing here, our family" Angelo said and Maite nodded.
"Can I have your lighter?" she asked Jimmy. Surprised he gave it to her. Maite walked to one of the windows, used a stone to break glass and used the lighter to set fire in the curtains.
"Burn this place down!" she yelled when the first flames lightened up the building.
She walked to another window, broke the glass and set fire in the curtains. And so she went by all of the windows she could get to, setting fire in all of the curtains. By the time she had set fire in the last one, the first one had turned into a massive fire reaching the second floor.
Yellow and orange flames lightened up the sky, creating all kinds of shadows. The flames went high into the sky, reaching the roof in a matter of seconds. The building turned into a true inferno.
The family was standing closely together; cold shivers went up and down their spine because they were all wet from the rain. The children didn't cry, they all just stared at the burning hotel.
Somewhere far away, they heard sirens come closer. It sounded like the police, paramedics and the fire-fighters. But they were still far away, the sirens just echoed through the dark night, lightened up by the flames.
"I do hope now they find their eternity" Maite said and a smile broke through on her tired face "it's a shame to burn such a nice building down"
Suddenly, Joey's cell phone rang and he answered. "Kathy!" he said "yes, we are all right. Actually, we are standing outside watching the building burn down."
"Did anyone get hurt?" Kathy informed and in the background, Barby asked a whole lot of other questions.
"No, no one got hurt" Joey answered "Maite set the place on fire once everybody made it out. I guess this is the end of those ghosts. May they find the rest and peace they need"
"Well, maybe you are curious to know what Barby and I found out" Kathy answered "it turned out that no people have been staying in that hotel for over twenty years, which pretty much explains why they wanted you guys to be there"
"I would be hungry too after twenty years without food" Joey answered with a smile
"But that manager died almost ten years ago. When we started calling around, everybody said the hotel was closed down. They were surprised to hear our family was staying there." Kathy answered "but it doesn't really matter, you made it out safely"
"We're coming down to pick you up!" Barby said. She had taken the phone from Kathy "go to the concert hall and wait there. We'll be there as soon as we can"
"All right than, we'll see you there" Joey said and than the conversation ended "come on guys, we have to go to the concert hall. It will take a while by foot"
As the family walked away, the screaming of a woman filled the night. For the last time.
***

It had been a long walk to the concert hall. But the rain had stopped, the sky slowly turned back to its normal colour and weak sunshine fell onto their heads when they reached the concert hall.
The children had fallen asleep during the walk and didn't even wake up now that their parents slowly lay them down on the couch in the concert hall.
Maite found a blanket somewhere and she put it over the sleeping children.
The rest of the family sat down too. Tired but relieved. Maite let her head rest against Jimmy's shoulder.
 Patricia snuggled herself a little deeper into Denis' arms and she fell asleep.
***

Maite reacted quickly when she felt a hand on her shoulder. When she sat up she looked straight in the face of Barby.

Jimmy was already gone.Barby smiled when she saw Maite open her eyes and said: "Good to see you again, sis"

Maite looked around and saw their crew pack all their things into the Kelly bus. She had no idea where they had come from, but she was too tired to even ask.

She followed Barby. The rest of the family was already sitting together in the bus, including Kathy.

"I found the last one" Barby joked. Maite smiled and kissed Kathy on her cheek.

"Glad to see you in one piece" Kathy said "And remember never to piss you off. Before I know, you'll set the place on fire!"

Maite looked around. Everybody was tired and in need of a shower. Their cloaths were dirty and wet, Patricia's mascara had run down her cheeks and Angelo's blond hair had a somewhat strange colour.

Maite spoke for everyone when she said: "This is the end, guys. Those ghosts found their peace and now we need some rest too. The show's over. Lets go home"l

Rumble in Gymnich

Rumble in Gymnich

It was an early Sunday morning in the town of Gymnich. People were on their way to church. Out of a street a man and a woman came walking, joining the bigger group of people.

The man had short, brown hair, dark blue eyes and was wearing black pants and a white blouse. The woman next to him had beautiful long gold blond hair; beautiful blue eyes in an angel face and wore a white dress.

�Seems they didn�t forget us, Paddy� she whispered. He followed her eyes to a small group of elderly people who looked at them with a look that could be seen as disapproval. He shook his head.

�No they didn�t, Patricia� he answered �and I guess they�re not really happy with us being back here either. I think they still remember all the crazy fans coming to Gymnich, hanging around the castle and here in town�

Paddy and Patricia were two members of the Kelly Family. The family lived in Gymnich a few years ago. The entire family, including their father, lived in the castle that belonged to Gymnich and had the same name. That was back in the day when numerous fans followed the Kelly�s everywhere they went and many, many fans showed up in and around Gymnich. It didn�t make them popular with local folks; neither did it make the Kelly�s very beloved.

Now, they were back in Gymnich. Just for a little while. The castle now was the home of three restaurants and some of the rooms were available to spend the night. So they came back, considering this a reunion. Some of them would arrive this afternoon but Paddy and Patricia had decided to go to church in Gymnich this Sunday morning.

�No one still speaks to us� Paddy noticed when he and Patricia walked into church and found seats in the back row. Numerous people looked at them. Many of the faces were familiar. Paddy recognized them; he had seen them when they still lived here. When they were in town or when he went to church.

�Luckily no one needs to speak during church� Patricia whispered. She too looked at people entering the church and suddenly she took Paddy by an arm and pointed at the door. �They are not from around here, I can tell! Seems their daughter looks forward to going to church!�

Paddy looked as well. A man and a woman came in. Walking behind them was their teenage daughter; Paddy guessed she was eighteen, nineteen years old. She didn�t look happy. She was wearing jeans, purple shoes, a black top and many coloured rubber bracelets on each wrist. She wore dark make-up around her eyes. In her hair, or better around her head, she wore the same type of hair band his sister Maite did these days.

�People shouldn�t force their children to come if they don�t want to� Patricia sighed and looked at the girl. Suddenly the girl looked back at her and their eyes met. The sad look in her eyes scared Patricia but she weakly smiled. The girl didn�t smile back.

***

After church, Paddy and Patricia were the first ones to leave. Once outside, Patricia looked at the sky. It was light blue and the sun was shining on their heads. �I hope we can have diner outside tonight. I wonder if Maite will make it on her own�

�She has help� Paddy answered and told Patricia that one of the cooks from the restaurant was helping Maite �it would be a little too much if she had to cook for all her brothers and sisters and their families. What time would Barby get here?�

Patricia checked her watch. �She�s already at the castle. I think John and Maite are already there as well. Kathy said she�d be late, there were some things she had to do and Sean would be at a friend�s house so she has to pick him up first. Joey and Tanja with the kids arrived when we left for church. Only Angelo and Kira will arrive this afternoon together with Jimmy�

At that same moment, someone bumped into Patricia from the back. Patricia turned around to see who it was and saw the girl she had seen in church. Her eyes were turned to the floor and she quickly mumbled �I�m sorry� and walked on. Paddy and Patricia watched her go. Seconds later, the girl�s parents reached them.

�I�m sorry for my daughter; she never watches where she�s going. Did she apologize?� her mother asked and Patricia quickly nodded. She picked up the accent this woman was speaking with and heard where they came from.

�You�re not from around here� Paddy said and Patricia smiled. Paddy had heard it too.

�No, we moved here a few months ago. We�re from Holland but my husband got a new job just outside Gymnich. Living here is not quite what we were used to� the woman answered and her eyes moved from Paddy to Patricia �are you from around here?�

�We lived here a few years ago, but moved out� Patricia answered and she carelessly looked over her shoulder to see the daughter of these people waiting down the street �we�re back for a holiday.�

�Maybe we�ll see you around� the man said �I think you�ll see our daughter Cassie more often. All she does is wonder around town. Goodbye� They went up to their daughter and not much later they disappeared around the corner.

�Bye� Paddy said and than he turned to Patricia �lets go, Patti. Maybe we can help around the castle for tonight�s reunion party� They had just started walking again when they heard a car behind them and somebody blew the horn. Patricia looked over her shoulder and smiled.

�Kathy!� she said when the car stopped and she saw her oldest sister behind the wheel and her twelve year old son Sean sitting beside her. Kathy just told Sean never to blow the horn again but smiled when she saw her siblings.

�Get in, it�s better than to walk back to Gymnich� Kathy said and Patricia and Paddy took a seat in the back of the car, �so, how was church? Maite told me you two were going�

�Nothing changed. They still know who we are� Paddy answered and he met Kathy�s eyes in the review mirror �they still don�t speak to us and they still give us dirty looks�

Kathy grinned. �Just like old times. Welcome back in Gymnich�

***

They reached the castle Gymnich not much later. As they walked in, the first thing they heard was Maite yelling at John that he had to stay out of the kitchen and even more important, out of her way. When it came to cooking, Maite didn�t allow anyone around her.

Seconds later Paddy, Patricia, Kathy and Sean saw John leave the kitchen. He looked up when he heard their voices and came over them. They hugged and John told Sean that he had a present from Spain but that he had to pick it up by his wife Maite Itoiz. Sean left.

�Good to be back here, the memories are all coming back now� he said as he looked around. His eyes stopped at Kathy and she knew what he meant �It�s been long. It�s been way too long. Kathleen, I have to say you look amazing. Some women really do get prettier when the years move in�

�Lets hope the same goes for Maite� Patricia smiled and walked into the living area. There she found Joey and Tanja. Their oldest son Luke was playing with her oldest son Alexander and she smiled. She walked up to Tanja and Joey, who she had seen only three days earlier and kissed them on their cheek. �Where�s Denis?�

�Walking outside with Ignatius and Barby� Tanja answered. She held her son Leon on her lap and glanced at Luke and Alexander. Patricia nodded and went outside. She didn�t have to search long before she found her husband and her younger sister.

�Barby!� she yelled when she saw her sitting in the grass and ran over to her.

Barby looked up. She was holding Ignatius but quickly gave him to Denis when she saw Patricia run at her like a madman and stood up. She ran at Patricia and they met halfway, falling into each others arms, laughing.

�Tricia� Barby managed to bring out because Patricia was nearly choking her �it would be nice if you would let me breath�

Patricia let go of her sister and looked at her. �You look good� she said and meant it from the bottom of her heart �I should have known I�d find you in the garden� She looked at Denis. �Hello, love� she said and he smiled. He knew what this family meant to each other and especially the bond between Patricia and Barby.

�Let�s go inside� Denis said �as long as we stay far from the kitchen, Maite won�t chase us out�

***

Inside, it was one big family gathering. Everybody was having a good time. John held Leon as Maite Itoiz stroke the little boy�s forehead. Sean showed his gift from John to Kathy. It was the latest edition of Harry Potter and Kathy told him to start reading it and tell her about it later. She looked up when Patricia, Barby and Denis with Ignatius came in.

Paddy was talking with Joey and Tanja. He had Alexander on his lap and Joey had Luke. He too looked up when the other relatives came in and smiled when he saw Barby.

Barby quickly walked over to Kathy and her oldest sister locked her in her arms. Kathy whispered something into Barby�s ear no one else heard, Barby smiled and than quickly went to Paddy.

The only one who didn�t show her face was Maite. She was too busy in the kitchen and as Kathy and Patricia offered to help they were, with their own words, chased out by a lunatic.

***

Late that afternoon the rest of the family arrived which meant the youngest brother Angelo and Kyra with their children Gabriel and Helen and brother Jimmy. When they walked in, they were greeted by the entire family and the atmosphere got even better. Still, Maite never showed herself.

***

�Diner�s outside� Kathy reported after taking the risk of going into the kitchen, asking Maite what her plans were �and everybody help, we need to get everything outside! Diner�s almost ready, Maite will change herself and than we�ll eat�

The entire family started bringing tables and chairs outside. Barby and Patricia brought the plates, the glasses, knifes, forks and spoons as Paddy and Jimmy cleaned the tables.

�Maite went upstairs!� Angelo reported as he came walking out �so I guess that means diner in what? Three hours? Knowing Maite, changing cloaths will take hours!�

�Shut up, Lino!� a woman�s voice yelled from a window and they all looked up. Maite was hanging out the window, looking down �I�ll be there in half an hour and than we�ll eat! Everybody just take a seat� She disappeared again.

***

Diner was amazing and everybody complimented Maite on her cooking art. She turned red till behind her ears, and looked around the table, trying not to look too arrogant. She tried to feed Helen, who was sitting on Kira�s lap but the little girl refused to take food from anybody else but her mother.

They ate for nearly two hours. Paddy was the last one to finish his plate and when he leant back in his chair the entire family looked satisfied and happy. They talked and laughed. Kathy and Jimmy had forgotten about the differences they once had and were having an animated conversation which was funny because Kathy laughed.

Barby had a dreamy look in her eyes. She looked at the sky over their heads which slowly turned orange and red now that the sun went down. Next to her Patricia, Denis and John were talking. Seemed that Maite Itoiz and Tanja tried to talk as well and they were both trying this in English as Maite held Leon and Tanja had Luke.

Angelo and Kyra were busy with Helen and Gabriel, Joey watched. Sean had left the table and Paddy could see he had gone inside and read his Harry Potter book. Paddy�s eyes met Maite�s who was sitting across him and they didn�t need to speak to understand each other. They missed the same thing. A guitar.

Paddy stood up. Kathy looked at him, wanting to know what he was going to do. Maite stood up too. Barby followed, more out of curiosity than that she knew what they were gonna do and they went inside.

They had stored several instruments in an empty room and they took guitars, Barby managed to bring the accordion together with her congas and was dragging everything back into the backyard.

Kathy�s eyes lightened up when she saw her accordion and took it from Barby. Joey and John took two guitars and Patricia took some percussion. Paddy and Maite also had guitars; Angelo stole some percussion from Patricia and smiled at her. Jimmy didn�t play an instrument but used his hands. Now they were all set.

Till deep in the night, they played, danced and sang. Over their heads, millions of stars filled the Gymnich sky.

***

It had been late last night but for two Kelly�s it was an early start the next morning. Not especially the one with children, but Patricia and Barby had promised to go to the supermarket and buy things for breakfast because Maite had discovered there wasn�t enough.

So, early the next morning they left. They borrowed the biggest car and drove to Gymnich. Patricia sat behind the wheel, Barby next to her. The younger sister had a hard time keeping her eyes open and Patricia turned up the volume of the radio.

�Barbara, keep your eyes open!� Patricia said as she drove onto the parking lot of the supermarket. Barby stepped out and walked to the entrance. Patricia followed but stopped when she heard a voice behind her. She had heard it before and turned around.

She saw the girl she had seen in church yesterday. She was talking to her mother, who was obviously very angry. Barby wanted to pull Patricia with her but Patricia stopped her. She was just too fascinated by what she heard and saw.

�All you do is hanging around town, with or without that weird friend of yours! What should people think when they see you like this? They come to us to complain about the way you look!� the mother yelled at her daughter. Patricia remembered the girl�s name was Cassie

�If they have a problem with the way I look, they come to me! I guess you don�t like this? A small town in which everybody knows everything! Because, how terrible would it be, if they find out we�re not the perfect little family after all?� Cassie told her mother

�Harsh words� Barby whispered who was now standing next to Patricia �you know them?�

Patricia told her about church yesterday but than she looked back at what happened. It seemed the tension was about to burst. She was shocked to hear the next words. �I whish I never had children, Cassie! I no longer have a daughter!�

Barby whistled between her teeth but Patricia shook her head. Cassie�s answer was even more alarming. �And if I would die? Would you care, would you cry? Would you even miss me? Or do you whish I had never been born at all?�

�I can only hope you�ll die� her mother answered �with a monster like you, there�s no life. It would only make things better. For us but especially for you� She turned around and stepped into a car. When her mother drove off, Cassie stood up and disappeared.

Patricia turned to Barby. She felt uncomfortable, shocked by what they had seen and heard and sighed �Come on, lets do the groceries or the others will wake and there�s nothing to eat�

***

After they packed the groceries in the car, they walked into Gymnich to get a few other things. When they passed three older women, Patricia overheard them talk about a girl and she knew it had to be Cassie. They called her crazy and they said something else. Patricia bit her lip and walked on.

�Want a cup of tea before going back?� Barby asked when they reached the town square and Patricia nodded. They sat down on the terrace of a coffeehouse and ordered two cups of tea. Patricia looked over the square. On the left side there was the old water pit.

She frowned when she saw somebody sitting on it and recognized Cassie. At that moment, the girl looked up at Patricia. She recognized her, it was obvious. But when she wanted to come over, she changed her mind, glanced over her shoulder and sat back again. At that moment, a young man approached Cassie and wrapped his arms around her.

�Isn�t that her?� Barby asked. Patricia nodded. She looked at the young man and didn�t really trust what unfolded before her eyes. The young man seemed to be her boyfriend but there was something about him�

�Come on, we got to drink our tea and go back� Barby said �I think Kathy mentioned she wants to go shopping this afternoon. You can always go with her, if you wanna see her again. Patricia?�

�Hmm? What? Oh, yeah� Patricia said and drank her tea. When they were finished, they walked back to their car and drove to Gymnich.

****

Back at Gymnich, most of the family had woken up. They had breakfast in their pyjamas, except for Barby and Patricia, and after that, they had time for themselves

�Kathy, did you say you want to go to Gymnich?� Patricia inquired by her sister after breakfast. Maite looked up when she heard that and glanced at Kathy. Kathy nodded and turned to Patricia.

�It�s been ages since I�ve been there. You wanna come?� she answered

�Yes!� Patricia answered quickly and realized how that must sound. She was too eager to go downtown and hoped Kathy wouldn�t ask her why. Maite responded she wanted to come too and John came along as well.

So, only minutes later the four of them left the castle on their way to Gymnich. Patricia sat in the backseat with Maite. She had a strange feeling but didn�t know what it was. She hadn�t told anybody about what happened at the supermarket but somehow, this just didn�t feel right.

She thought about what Cassie�s mother had said and what she overheard the women say. People in Gymnich said things about each other sometimes and very often true. She wondered if all she heard was true. If so, she didn�t know if there was something she could do.

�You�re so quiet, Tricia� John said and Patricia showed him a smile. It was a forced one. He didn�t see it but when she met Kathy�s eyes in the review mirror, she knew that she did.

****

They had been walking for two hours when they sat down at the same coffeehouse where Patricia and Barby sat this morning. Immediately, Patricia�s eyes turned to the water pit but Cassie wasn�t there. The young man she saw this morning was, it looked like he was waiting for someone.

Kathy, Maite and John were having an animated conversation but Patricia kept distant. Her eyes were looking around for Cassie. Suddenly, she saw her coming out of an ally. Cassie saw her too and Patricia hoped she would stay where she was. To her surprise and stared at Patricia.

�I�ll be back� Patricia said and stood up. Her siblings looked at her in surprise and watched her go.

Patricia walked into the ally and saw how Cassie just pulled down the shirt she was wearing. 
�We�ve met before� Patricia said �yesterday, at church, remember?� She saw that Cassie didn�t trust her �you saw me talk to your mother but I am not a friend of hers or anything. My name is Patricia.�

�Cassie� Cassie said and smiled �yes, I saw you yesterday. You seemed different than anybody else in that church� She quickly looked at the water pit �I am not supposed to talk to you, you know�

�Why not? Is your boyfriend afraid I might steal you?� Patricia joked but Cassie�s eyes showed her fear. Patricia sensed something was wrong �Come on, what�s wrong with a small conversation?�

�Everything� Cassie whispered and looked at the water pit again �if he sees me talking to you, I don�t know what he might do. You have to go now. Thank you, Patricia�

�For what?� Patricia asked and took Cassie by an arm �Cassie?�

But Cassie pulled herself free from Patricia�s grip and ran to the water pit and the young man looked. Cassie gave him something. He kissed her on her cheek. Cassie looked back at Patricia; her lips spelled out something.

Cassie�s lips spell out two words. �Help me�

�Who was that?� Kathy wanted to know when Patricia returned �you know that girl, Trish?�

�Whatever it was� Patricia answered �it�s wrong�

She told about church yesterday, the supermarket this morning, what the women said, how she saw Cassie with the man this morning and again, now

Kathy nodded and her eyes showed she felt sorry for this girl. �No wonder Gymnich talks. That girl draws attention. And everybody knows�

�There is one thing I didn�t tell you yet, something the women also said� Patricia said and swallowed before she spoke the last words �they say she�s a hooker�

�What?� Maite asked and looked into the direction Cassie and the young man had disappeared in �she�s barely eighteen years old! That can�t be!�

Patricia sighed and shook her head. �Her lips spelled �help me� when she walked away. I somehow have the feeling its true��

***

That night, Patricia told everybody about what had happened. 
Paddy came to a conclusion, especially when his sister mentioned how Cassie pulled her shirt down and gave something to the man. �I think Patricia�s right. We don�t know her, but from what Tricia says she doesn�t do this for fun�

�I think he forces her� Patricia said and closed her eyes �I just know he does. Is there a way to help her?�

At that wooden table under a starless night, the plan to help the girl they didn�t even know was born.

***

The next morning at breakfast, they went over the plan one last time. Kathy laid it all out and everybody had to understand his or her role. Nothing had to go wrong.

�All right, we�ll go in groups� Kathy said and looked around. �And this is a Kelly only group which means only the eight of us. Considering Barby�s health, she stays here. We maybe need back up here at the castle�

�We�ll stay in contact by cell phone� Denis said and he looked at his wife. The biggest part of the plan was her idea. This was what he loved about Patricia so much. Her wanting to help people even though she barely knew them.

�We all go downtown. Patricia will keep an eye out for Cassie or the man she works for� Kathy told and looked at her sister �as soon we see them, it�s up to Joey and John to find out how they work. How does she get her customers? Does she pick them up; does he select them? As soon as we know, Maite comes in the picture�

�I follow Cassie when she leaves with her customer, trying to find out where they�re going and stay there until they come out. Patricia shows up too. When Cassie comes out, we talk to her, tell what�s going on� Maite explained �if she knows, and will let us do this, she can go back�

�Than Paddy shows up� Kathy said, looking around �he�ll make contact with the man, tries to hook up with Cassie. If he succeeds, Cassie will leave with him. He�ll observe the building on the inside. Paddy informs Jimmy what it looks like when he returns�

�Jimmy�s the one that will go in next and lead her out of the building, where Angelo is waiting, they go to Kathy�s car and drive to Gymnich. Once Kathy calls from the castle, the rest of us will leave, and call the police� Patricia concluded their plan.

Angelo smiled. �You know, we should have joined the FBI. Just keep your fingers crossed that this is going to work. This is some operation. �Operation freedom� would be a nice name�

Patricia checked her watch and looked up. �Action! Let�s go� The eight Kelly�s stood up, left the table and went to their cars, checked if their cell phones were all operational and than left. �Operation Freedom� had begun.

***

Once in Gymnich, Patricia didn�t have to look for Cassie or the man. They weren�t sitting by the water pit but underneath a big old tree, in the shade. She made eye contact with Joey and John, sitting not far away. Cassie saw Patricia and she looked scared.

Patricia�s lips moved without speaking. �It�s OK� Than the man saw her too. He had seen she said something to Cassie and she witnessed how he took her by an arm and dragged her away. John and Joey followed him.

Joey and John witnessed how the man hit Cassie in her face. �Flirting underneath my nose?! With a woman, Cassie? You�re gonna pay for this!� He hit her again.

�We have to stop this, he�s beating her!� John said but Joey raised his hands. They watched as the man and Cassie sat down. A man made contact with them. They talked for awhile, the young man showed Cassie like she was a piece of meat, and they made a deal. All this time, Cassie stared at the ground.

Joey called Maite and gave her their location. Seconds she appeared but he kept talking to her so it looked like he was just a man making a phone call. �This is going way too easy, Maite. Either he�s stupid or he knows. He saw Patricia, I wonder if he knows something�s wrong�

�Let�s just hope he�s stupid!� Maite answered. She looked up. �She�s leaving! I�m out of here! Tell Patricia I�ll call her soon!� She disappeared, let Cassie and the man pass the ally she was hiding in and than came out. John believed Maite really looked like a woman shopping and not a woman on a rescue mission

Maite looked through the windows of a store. She used the glass to keep an eye on Cassie. She took her cell phone and told Patricia where she was. Patricia was in the street next to her. Maite walked on, going around the corner. She ignored Patricia.

She witnessed Cassie disappear into the same ally Cassie and Patricia were talking in yesterday. She watched and followed them, telling Patricia where she was. Cassie and the man went into an old house

�So, this is where she does her job?� Patricia asked. She appeared behind Maite and looked at the building �not a very nice place, right? So, all we have to do now is wait�

***

Half an hour passed and than the man showed up. Quickly, the girls took cover. When they came out, Patricia looked at the square. Not a sign of the young man or from John or Joey so they were still with him. The door opened again and Cassie came out.

�What are you doing here?� she asked when she saw Patricia, together with Maite �if Nick sees you, you�ll be as dead as you�ll ever be. Why are you here?�

�We know what he�s letting you do� Patricia answered, trying to win Cassie�s trust �we wanna help you. Me and my family, there are eight of us here now. Don�t worry, Nick�s not here. Two of my brothers are watching him; they�ll let me know when he�s on his way.�

�Help me? You don�t even know me!� Cassie said and looked at Maite and Patricia �what makes you think I don�t do this for fun or because this is what I wanna do?�

�Do you?� Maite asked directly and Cassie shook her head. �Good, here�s the plan. Listen carefully because we only have one chance� She explained the plan, and Cassie nodded. Than Patricia�s cell phone rang. On her screen it said �Joey�.

�He�s on his way back� was all he said and hung up. Patricia looked at Cassie.

�He�s coming! Don�t worry, we�re watching you! Now, get away!� she said �we�ll be seeing you soon, girl. Than we�ll talk. First, we need to get you away from him. Now leave!�

Cassie quickly walked to the water pit. Only two minutes later, the man she called Nick appeared. Now, they had to wait for Paddy.

***

Maite and Patricia went to the coffeehouse where they had been before. Cassie and Nick were sitting near the water pit, Maite kept a close eye on them as Patricia called Kathy to let her know their status. Paddy appeared, Joey had called him it was time to move in.

He looked around, saw his sisters sitting at the coffeehouse but ignored them. At the other side of the square he saw John and Joey. They made eye contact with him and nodded. Paddy than turned to Nick and Cassie near the water pit.

Nick saw him. For a second, Maite thought he didn�t trust it but than he let Paddy come closer. Paddy approached Nick and Cassie and they talked. As Nick didn�t pay attention to her, Cassie�s eyes searched for Patricia and Maite.

�So, you like her?� Nick asked Paddy and he nodded.

�Perfect� he answered and he looked at Cassie from head to toe �how much?� Cassie looked back at him but didn�t show any sign that she knew what he was here for.

Nick gave him a price for half an hour. Paddy nodded. �You have a deal� he said and Cassie stood up. She and Paddy walked away. They passed John and Joey and Cassie glanced at them, whispering �thanks�

***

Minutes later, Cassie and Paddy entered the building where she �worked�. They went upstairs and entered a small room. It was dark and dirty. There was only one bed standing in the room. The curtains were closed. Cassie sat down on the bed, Paddy sat down next to her.

�We only have half an hour� Paddy said and looked at Cassie �what can you tell me about this building? We came in through the front door. Is there a back door?�

Cassie nodded. �When you enter through the front door you just have to walk straight ahead. At the end of the hall is a back door. I used it once or twice when men were... not nice� she answered �why are you and your family doing this?�

�Patricia�s idea� Paddy answered �she figured out what�s going on and came up with the idea to help you. She beliefs that what he does to you is wrong. We all do. When we get you out of here, we�ll talk about all of this. Beside the front and back door, is there anywhere else you can enter or leave the building?�

Cassie shook her head. The silence between her and Paddy was broken by the sound of her stomach. Cassie�s face showed her pain. �I didn�t eat yet. He said I didn�t deserve it� she whispered when she saw Paddy�s face.

Paddy checked his pockets, but all he could find was a candy bar. He gave it to Cassie and smiled gratefully. As she ate it she whispered: �No stranger has ever done anything for me. I don�t know how to thank you, Paddy�

�Don�t think about that now� Paddy said and checked his watch. The minutes passed away �we have plenty of time once we get you out of here. The next customer will be my brother Jimmy; he�ll get you out of the building. Two of my brothers still watch Nick and two of my sisters still watch you. It�s going to be ok�

He stood up. �Go back to Nick. Jimmy will be there soon and behind this building, my brother Angelo and sister Kathy are waiting. The three of them will bring you to the castle. There, Kathy and my other sister Barby will take care of you until we get back. Hold on a little while longer.� He gave her the money and left.

Cassie nodded and watched Paddy leave. Minutes later, she left too. When she passed the coffeehouse she saw Patricia and Maite. The two men, John and Joey, were still standing at the other side of the square, keeping an eye on Nick who was sitting at the water pit. She walked up to him, gave him the money Paddy paid and sat down on the ground.

Patricia called Paddy and he told her how it went. She got angry when she heard that Nick wouldn�t even let her eat. John told her that he hit her. She shook her head, hung up and called Jimmy. �Jimbo, it�s up to you. Please, take her away from him!�

It took a few minutes before Jimmy showed up. He pretended to be some kind of business man who was looking for fun. He was wearing a suit, tie and sunglasses and a lot of gel in his hair which he borrowed from Paddy.

�Kathy, are you ready?� Patricia asked as she called her sister �Jimmy is about to make contact, so I think it won�t  be long until he and Angelo will bring Cassie to your car�

�That man must be really stupid not to see anything� Kathy said and sighed �but on the other hand, this isn�t over yet. It�s over as soon as I bring her into Gymnich and the door closes behind us. How�s Jimmy doing?�

�Pretty good� Patricia answered and watched her brother. Maite crossed her fingers under the table �He�s not making contact with Nick but with Cassie. Something like a little flirt. Nick saw him�

�I�ll go now� Kathy said and her voice betrayed she was nervous �I�ll park the car in position and leave the motor running. It�s almost over� She hung up and Patricia kept a close eye on what happened.

Nick had seen Jimmy, left Cassie near the water pit and came up to him. �I see you like my girl� he said and inspected Jimmy from head to toe. Jimmy took of his sunglasses and looked at Nick.

�You bet I do. She�s young, she�s sexy� he answered and his face didn�t betray anything. In the back of his mind he thought that if he would ever stop singing, he�d go acting �Is she yours?�

�In a matter of speaking, yes� Nick answered, his eyes became smaller �but for 50 euro�s she can be yours for half an hour. Its up to you, do you want her or not?�

�I want her� Jimmy said and Nick told Cassie to come. She walked over and Jimmy. She smiled and than turned to Nick, like she wanted to see his face one last time before she would leave forever.

�Go� Nick told her and Jimmy wrapped an arm around Cassie�s shoulders. She suddenly felt save, turned to Nick and she weakly smiled. �Bye Nick� She and Jimmy walked away.

They headed into the direction of the house, but Jimmy�s cell phone rang and he found it in his pocket. It said �Patricia� and he answered.

�Jimmy! Hurry!� Patricia said �Nick doesn�t trust you! John and Joey follow him and they say he�s coming after you! Don�t waste any time! He can be there any minute!� She hung up.

Jimmy grabbed Cassie by an arm and pulled her with him �Run! Nick knows something�s going on! We�ve got to get to Kathy before Nick gets to us!� Seconds later they reached the house and went in, Cassie ran through the hallway to the backdoor, threw the door open and screamed when she saw another man.

�Don�t worry, its Angelo, he�s with us!� Jimmy said as he pushed Cassie ahead. Angelo also started running and asked why they were running �He�s after us! Where�s Kathy?�

�Just around the corner!� Angelo answered and the three of them ran down the narrow street. Somewhere far behind they heard the sound of a door open. The front door of the house Cassie and Jimmy just came from. Nick was closing in.

The three of them came around the corner and saw Kathy�s car. She opened the door on the passenger�s side and Cassie got in as fast as she could. The boys sat down in the back. They hadn�t even closed the doors when Kathy drove off.

Beside her, Cassie started crying.

***

John and Joey followed Nick to the house. He went inside and up the stairs to see if Cassie was really there. Not much later they heard his footsteps come down, shared a look and stepped into the shadow. They had to stay with him until the police would arrive.

Nick left the building, cursing. Some words neither John or Joey had ever heard before. They followed him and were accompanied by Maite, Patricia and Paddy.

�I called the police; they can be here any minute� Maite said �man, that was close. When Nick went after Cassie and Jimmy, I thought our plan had failed. Thank God they made it�

They followed Nick who was now walking around in Gymnich. From around a corner, suddenly a police car appeared. Immediately they heard through the speaker: �Police! Stay where you are! Raise your hands where we can see them!�

Nick was in shock but did what they told him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the people watching him. He recognized Patricia, who he had seen with Cassie. He recognized the men; they had been standing on the square. He recognized Paddy as one of Cassie�s customers and he recognized Maite; he saw her at the coffeehouse.

�You have her!� he yelled at them and Patricia nodded.

�Yes, we do! Thank Heaven, you don�t!� she answered and looked at her brothers and sister �come on guys, time to go home. The rumble in Gymnich is over�

***

Cassie, Kathy, Jimmy and Angelo arrived at Gymnich. Along the way, Cassie didn�t stop crying. Now that they arrived at the castle, her tears dried. Kathy helped her out of the car and it was than that she saw how bad this girl looked. Her make up had run out, her hair was dirty, so were her nails and her face showed she had been through a lot.

�Come on, you need a nice warm shower� Kathy said when they entered the hall. Barby was waiting for them, overheard what Kathy said and ran up the stairs to prepare a bathroom.

Jimmy and Angelo went outside where everybody was waiting. At that moment, they got the phone call they were waiting for. They bursted out in cheer when Patricia informed them that Nick was arrested and that she and the others were coming home. When she asked for Cassie, Jimmy told her she was in the hands of Kathy and Barby.

Cassie was in shock. She barely spoke and her eyes just stared into nothing. As Barby and Kathy lead her into one of the bedrooms, she sat down on the bed. Her hands were shaking, her eyes were empty. Silent tears were rolling down her face.

�Do you want me to help you?� Kathy carefully asked and Cassie nodded. So, Kathy helped her take off her shirt and her stomach turned up side down when she saw the bruises on Cassie�s body. She swallowed. �I�m glad you�re here now� she said �that you�re away from him�

Barby came back and told the bathroom was ready. Kathy nodded and took Cassie with her. The bathroom was where she left her alone. She closed the door and looked at Barby. �I don�t wanna know what would have happened if Patricia hadn�t run into her��

***

�Where is she?� was the first thing Maite and Patricia asked when they arrived at the castle. Paddy, John and Joey walked up to Angelo and the rest of their family who were waiting to hear their part of the story. Than Barby came down the stairs.

�She�s with Kathy� she answered �she took a shower and she�s wearing some of our cloaths. Tricia, Kathy said she doesn�t wanna know what would have happened if you hadn�t run into her at church Sunday�

Suddenly Patricia understood something. �I didn�t run into her, Barby. She ran into me!� she said �the first time I spoke to her in that ally, she told me she knew I was different. Maybe bumping into me was not really an accident after all!�

Maite looked up. Kathy came down the stairs, followed by Cassie. Her hair was wet and she looked so different without her make-up and wearing Patricia�s cloaths.

�Cassie!� Patricia said and walked over to her. Carefully, she took her in her arms and held her. �We made it� she whispered �we made it. Nick�s in jail and you�re free to go�

�But go where?� Cassie answered �not back to my parents� She was surprised to see Patricia nod and quickly Patricia explained that she and Barby had witnessed all that happened at the supermarket.

�We�ll talk later, first you need to eat!� Kathy said and they lead Cassie into the living area where all the other Kelly�s and their families were waiting. A little uncomfortable, Cassie sat down. Patricia sat down next to her and smiled when her son Alexander went up to Cassie and managed to crawl onto her lap.

Cassie smiled, like suddenly she realized. �I�m free.�

***

Later that night, the kids had gone to bed and the family was sitting around the table, Patricia finally asked the question. �Cassie, how did all of this happen?� she wanted to know. She was sitting next to her, Kathy was sitting on Cassie�s other side.

�My father was offered a new job just outside Gymnich so we moved here. If there was something I hated, it was that everybody knew each other. Mom and dad pretended to be the perfect little family � Cassie answered �but all we did was fight, it got even worse when we moved to Gymnich. I didn�t have any friends and there�s not much for me to do here�

She sighed �One day I was hanging around. This young man came up to me and started talking to me. First I thought he was strange but later that day I thought he was nice. He bought me drinks and everything. By the end of the day, he said I was special; he would like to see me again. No one ever said I was special, so I accepted the date�

�That young man was Nick� Maite said and Cassie nodded.

�It was my first week in Gymnich. We met again later that week. He again bought my drinks and bought me roses. I realized I was falling in love with him, even though I didn�t want to. He was good for me, gave me everything I wanted� Cassie said �at that point, I should have known that something was wrong�

�But you were in love. Love makes blind� Kathy said and put a hand on Cassie�s arm �you sensed something but didn�t wanna know that what you felt maybe was wrong�

Cassie nodded. �One night, we were at his house. I had been there before, spend the night. You know what I mean� she said and Patricia nodded �the doorbell rang. Nick opened up and told me it was a friend of his. He still owned him money. But that friend would forget it if I... if I would...�

Everybody understood what happened. �Blind as I was, I did what he asked. He said it would be just one time. I believed him. Two weeks later, another man came over. And that man had friends with him. I didn�t want to but Nick put a knife on my throat and swore to God he�d kill me if I didn�t do it.�

She told her story ice cold, Maite thought. Her eyes didn�t betray anything. Only Cassie�s voice betrayed her anger.

�That was the beginning. First he let men come to his apartment. I didn�t want it but he threatened me. I was too scared to leave him. He started to take me into Gymnich and pick up men from the street. People talked, the stories reached my parents. We fought even more and the outburst came at the supermarket� Cassie said �he forced me to go with these men. My love turned into blind hate. But I was too scared�

�And than you saw Patricia� Paddy said �you saw me and her at church�

Cassie nodded. �I don�t know, something told me she was different. I knew no one in Gymnich would help me. My parents would rather see me die than help me. So I hoped that someone would reach out a hand. She did and the rest of the story unfolded today�

�Where are you going now?� Jimmy wanted to know but Cassie pulled up her shoulders.

�I have nowhere to go. I didn�t have any friends in Holland. Gymnich is not an option. Maybe I�ll go to Berlin or Cologne. Big cities in which I don�t draw attention and can just start all over again. No one knows me, I know no one�

�You�ll know people when you choose to go to Cologne� Patricia said �you�ll know the Kelly Family, you�ll know us and we�ll help you with whatever you want.�

***

A week had passed. Cassie had never felt more save in her life. With the help from the Kelly�s she managed to find a job in Cologne, but a lot harder was it to find a house she could actually pay for. But Kathy had the answer.

�Move in with me and Sean for a little while, than you have all the time you need to save some money and find a place of your own� she offered but at first, Cassie didn�t want to take it. Eventually, she accepted Kathy�s offer and they agreed she would move in with her and Sean.

De day of leaving Gymnich came. Sunday morning they said goodbye to John and Maite so they could catch their plan to Spain. Angelo and Kyra were the next ones to leave; Jimmy would come along with them. Slowly, Gymnich was getting emptier.

Paddy left that afternoon together with Joey and Tanja and the kids because there were some things he and Joey had to arrange for an upcoming concert. They left after lunch and than the struggle began for Patricia to find all her children�s toys and, even more important, find Alexander who kept going back to Barby, wherever she was.

�We�ll see you soon� Patricia said when they finally had packed everything in their car and Barby and Cassie had already said goodbye �don�t worry, as long as you�re in Cologne, we�ll keep an eye on you. Just give us a call if you need something� Than she stepped into the car and they drove of.

�I found Sean!� Maite said and she and her nephew came walking out �he was lying in the backyard, reading his book. Are they gone?�

Kathy nodded. �It�s time for us to go too. Come on, get in the car. No more rumble in Gymnich, time to go back to Cologne.� She wrapped an arm around Cassie and they all walked to Kathy�s car and got in and minutes later, drove of into the direction of cologne.

***

6 months later

�That was the last one!� Cassie said and turned around. Jimmy had just carried the last box into the living room of her apartment in downtown Cologne, but now he ran to the bedroom because he heard Kathy scream that if nobody would help her, Cassie would probably have a hole in the floor that looked exactly like her bed.

�What do you think, does this look all right?� Patricia asked. She and Maite had been putting the couch and two chairs, two wooden closets and a small glass table in position as Paddy had been taking care of the radio, TV and DVD. They were standing in a corner of the room and now Paddy was busy to sort out all of her cd�s and put them away.

�Your kitchen is ready!� Angelo said and Cassie went to see. She smiled. It really was ready. Everything was in place, the coffee machine, the water boiler. She opened the fridge and freezer and even they were filled. Everything was there, up till the statue of a stone cook Maite had given her.

�Bedroom�s finished� Jimmy reported as he and Kathy came walking in. Kathy looked rather sweaty, she had been installing the bed on her own but smiled. Barby followed them and looked around.

�Everything�s in place, even the plants. I unpacked the last box as well. Oh, and I found this on the door mat!� she said and gave an envelope to Cassie. She opened it and smiled. It came from John and Maite, whishing her all the best in her new home.

�Guys, thank you so much for helping me. For painting my apartment, for helping move my stuff and help me decorate my very own house� she said and turned to Kathy �and thank you Kathy, for bearing me for six long months�

Kathy laughed �This asks for a drink� she said and opened one of the kitchen doors and found the glasses. Patricia opened the fridge to see what was there to drink. They filled the glasses, walked into the living room and sat down.

Cassie turned on the radio and looked around. �This really is the start of a new life and my rumble in Gymnich is over� she said and raised her glass �I can�t thank you guys enough�

They all laughed. Cassie turned up the volume from the radio when the music of the latest Kelly Family single �Blood� filled the room. She laughed. �Its time to rumble Cologne!�

Her new life really had begun.

Ghost from A past

Ghosts From The Past

"It's good to be back in Ireland for a family vacation" 
Patricia Kelly looked around. Her brothers and sisters were sitting in the backyard of the cottage they rented, somewhere in Ireland. The sun was going down and they had just finished diner, cooked by Maite.
"You know, I almost forgot how it feels without children" Angelo remarked "not that I don't miss them or that I don't think of them, but it's nice to just be with your brothers and sisters. And here in Ireland, its almost like old times come to live again�
"Right, Lino" Maite answered and stood up to clean the table. Walking back into the cottage, bringing the dirty plates to the kitchen, she thought to herself Ireland was nice. She loved Ireland. It was so different than Cologne.
"Need help, Maite?" Barby asked, following her sister into the kitchen. Maite nodded and together they did the dishes.Outside, the conversations came to live. Kathy was talking. 
"Being together with the whole family, including me, John and Barby. This asks for music! Paddy, you did bring the instruments right?" She looked at her younger brother
Paddy nodded and quickly he and John, Joey, Jimmy and Angelo left to get some instruments. Kathy turned to Patricia. 
"Its so nice and quiet around here. How did you find this?"
"When I was spending some time on the internet a few weeks ago" Patricia answered and smiled when she saw Kathy raise her eyebrows "and don't give me that funny look. I know how to use a computer and I know what I can do with it!"
The boys came back with the instruments and Barby and Maite came out. They played and sang their songs. 
Not far away, they heard the waves smash against the cliffs and a soft sea wind touched their hair. The sun was replaced by a pearl white moon in a dark sky, surrounded by stars. It was one calm night in Ireland
                                              ****************	
Patricia stared at the ocean. It was past midnight but she couldn't sleep. All her brothers and sisters were sleeping but she just couldn't. And here she was, alone, sitting at a cliff, looking over a dark ocean. 
Underneath her, the waves hit the cliffs. The wind stroke her hair. To herself, she began to sing.
"Today for the first time, for the first time you took my hand..."
Patricia looked up when she heard something. Footsteps. She looked over her shoulder, maybe somebody came to see where she was. Nobody. Or was there? 
A shadow on the other side of the cliff. Carefully, Patricia stood up, turned her back to the ocean and walked to the woods.
At the edge, she stopped and listened. She was sure she saw something. The wind became colder and she wrapped her arms around herself to keep warm as the wind pulled her hair. She heard it again and looked to her right.
"Hello?" Her voice echoed through the night but there was no answer. She saw it again. The shadow. But this time, not so dark. More silver like. Just quickly, than it disappeared into the night. Patricia hesitated but followed into the woods.
She saw the silver shadow, moving between the trees, going into the woods deeper and deeper. It became darker. The shadow stopped and so did Patricia. She believed to see a girl or a young woman wearing a white dress, with long blond hair just like her own.
"Hello?" she asked again but the young woman suddenly disappeared. Patricia was now alone, in a dark forest, without knowing which way to go. The wind was cold, the night was dark and suddenly she felt terribly lost.
Nothing but darkness around her. How was she supposed to get out? Patricia cursed herself for her curiosity. It was getting colder and the foresight of being in a dark forest, on her own, in the middle of the night panicked her. Where could she go?
"Patricia?!" It was John's voice coming out of the dark
"John! Here! In the woods!" Patricia yelled, relieved to hear her brother's voice. Only a minute later two flashlights appeared between the trees and she managed to discover the statues of John, Joey and Kathy.
"What are you doing here for Christ's sake?" Kathy asked, taking of her coat and giving it to her sister "we thought you were at the cliff but you weren't there. Joey suggested that maybe you went into the woods"
"I..." Patricia started but decided not to talk about what she saw "I went the wrong way. Thank God you found me. Can we go now? Its getting cold" 
As they walked away, Patricia looked over her shoulder one last time. She saw nothing.
                                           ****************

"Good morning sunshine" Jimmy said at the breakfast table. 
Patricia was the last one to come in. 
Maite and Angelo rushed her by, telling that they were going fishing. She couldn't exactly picture them doing that but smiled. 
Barby walked out, saying she was going for a walk, joking that she'd stay away from the woods.
"Not funny" Patricia grumbled and made herself some cereal and coffee. Kathy looked up from the local news paper, shared a look with Joey and didn't speak.
"Where's Paddy?" Patricia asked. John, Jimmy, Joey and Kathy were in the kitchen and the others had left.
"Went to do some groceries for tonight. Maite convinced him to cook" Johnny explained "but Kathy suggested that maybe we should go eating out. Knowing Paddy's cooking.."
"Don't let him do that the entire vacation or else we'll die of starvation" Patricia smiled and eat her breakfast, trying to read the paper over Kathy's shoulder. Suddenly something caught her eye just when Kathy wanted to flip pages. "What's that?"
Kathy looked at the small article Patricia pointed at. "Some local news" she answered "seems that last night, people believe to have seen a ghost. But they do that all the time here in Ireland. I wouldn't be surprised if this cottage has its own Poltergeist!"
Jimmy knocked on the table. John. Kathy and Joey laughed.
"Jimmy!" Patricia said and took the paper from Kathy, who yelled that she wasn't finished but Patricia left the kitchen anyway, reading the article.
"Last night, people outside the village believe to have seen the ghost of young Sarah O'Henry who died in 1897. It has been years since her ghost was last seen, the last time on a dark night in 1999 when the waves were high. Three people died. Many believed Sarah O'Henry took their lives, others believe she didn't. They heard her sing, saw her walk to the cliffs and wander around in the forest. Many also believe that again last night, she jumped of the cliff like she did in 1897, taking her own life.."
Patricia walked back to the kitchen, saw that Kathy was gone and left the paper at the table.
"What's wrong?" John wanted to know but Patricia shook her head.
"Nothing, I'm just tired. Do you think I can catch up with Barby?" 
Patricia left the kitchen and went outside, wondering if what she saw last night was the ghost of Sarah O'Henry. She shook her head. Ghosts were a part of Ireland's history, it was a part of the country's myth and what happened last night, was just her imagination.
                                                 *************

Paddy returned from doing groceries and Jimmy was helping him unpack the car, bringing what would become their diner into the kitchen. 
Kathy was enjoying the sun in the backyard, lying on her stomach in the grass.

Barby had installed herself in the shade of a tree and was making another painting while she softy sang. 
Patricia looked at what she was drawing, recognized Kathy and smiled. Than she saw another picture Barby drew and her mouth fell open as she picked it up.
"When did you make this?" she asked and Barby looked up with a dreamy look in her eyes.
"Last night, when the others were looking for you. It looks like you, right? I didn't realize it until this morning" Barby answered and glanced at Patricia "it looks like you, in the forest.."
Patricia nodded, looking at the painting. A woman, in a dark forest, with long blond hair falling down her shoulders, wearing a white dress.
�Yes, it looks like me. I like it" she answered. Barby told her to keep it, so she took it.
"Fish, anyone?!" Maite and Angelo returned from their fishing trip. Angelo tried to be funny by putting one of the fish on Kathy's bare back. Like stung by a bee she got up, a nasty word came out of her mouth and Angelo quickly ran away.
"If Paddy fails to cook we can always eat fish" John said as he came out of the cottage. He had his guitar so he had obviously been writing or playing songs "Angelo, leave Kathy alone! How would you feel if I'd put a dead fish on you?"
"You wouldn't get a chance to get near me" Angelo dared his brother.
 John got a fish from Maite and walked to Angelo.
 Kathy, not wanting another fish on her body, watched from a save distance. 
John chased Angelo through the yard with the dead fish, getting him and doing to him what he did to his sister.
Joey came into the backyard. He had been running and swimming. "I thought that fish was meant to eat?" he questioned "than why are we chasing each other through the backyard?" He said it dead serious but his eyes were laughing.
"Maite?!" Paddy yelled from the kitchen and she went inside to see what was wrong. Maite smiled when she saw him. Jimmy looked just as helpless and in complete despair.
"We should take Kathy's offer and go out! This is not working" he said and Paddy nodded. He knew cooking wasn't his kind of thing and he looked at Maite.
"All right, Patrick" Maite answered "what do we have?" She checked the groceries, remembered the fish and nodded. 
"This will do. Paddy, I have a nice job for you, so you can at least help!" An evil smile broke through "someone needs to clean the fish. Cut their guts out.."
"Yugh!" Paddy said and looked even unhappier "but lets get it over with. Where's the fish?"
"John's beating up Angelo with it" Maite smiled .Paddy shook his head and left the kitchen. Jimmy turned to Maite.
"You're our princess. Without you, we would have died of starvation a long time ago" he told her and made a funny face "Maite Star Kelly, you rule!"
Maite grinned. "I know! Now get your butt out of here!"
                                                   *************

The entire family was watching TV that night. It was something local, about the region they were staying. About its history, its myths. It was Barby's idea to watch this and she was really interested.
Patricia came into the room, she had called Denis to hear how he and the kids were doing. Knowing they were fine made her feel better. She didn't tell him about her little adventure last night. He'd know soon enough.
She sat down next to Kathy and just wanted to pull up her legs when she heard a name that rang a bell.
"Sarah O'Henry was the daughter of a businessman that lived outside the village. He had arranged marriage for her but she didn't want to marry the man he choose. One night, she left and wandered around the cliffs. Some say it was an accident, others say she jumped but her body was found the next morning, floating on the water. Her father died in all his pain, only 4 months later. The myth says Sarah's soul never found rest and still wanders around in her despair.."
The tv showed a picture of the young Sarah O'Henry and Patricia's heart stopped for a second. 
Not only was she sure that was the girl she saw last night, it was like she looked into a mirror, seeing herself when she was younger. The girl looked exactly like her when she was 20, 21 years old.
"Patricia? You never told us you were a ghost" Jimmy joked "but you sure look like one now"
�What was that?" Maite suddenly asked "did you hear that?" 
Everybody became quiet and Kathy put down the television sound. They listened and shared looks. Kathy slowly nodded and looked at Maite.
"I heard it too. Footsteps, like somebody's walking upstairs" she said and her voice was vibrating "I take back what I said this morning about Poltergeists. That was just a joke, right?"
"Was it?" Patricia asked and watched how John and Joey stood up and went upstairs. 
Once there, they checked every room but found nothing. John turned to Joey and pulled up his shoulders.
"Its cold" he said as he looked at his brother "are all the windows closed? Man, its freezing up here. Where does that cold wind come from?"
Suddenly Joey's face showed surprise. 
"Did you feel that?' he whispered and he looked around to see what it was "something just touched me. Briefly. A hand on my face, an ice cold hand. Just when you mentioned that cold wind, something touched me"
"You might want to look into the mirror" John suggested, staring at his brother in shock. 
Joey went to the bathroom and looked into the mirror. His mouth fell open when he saw the blood dripping down his cheek. He had a deep scratch on his right cheek. He took a towel and put it against his face.
"How did this happen?" he questioned when John came in "how could this possibly be?"
"It started bleeding when you said something touched you. It looks like someone scratched your face, like with nails or something" John answered "lets go downstairs so Tricia can look at that wound. Maybe she knows something for it."
When they went into the living room and the others saw Joey's bleeding face they wanted to know what happened. John told them as Patricia took care of the wound on Joey's face.
"If there's nothing up there, than how come Joey's face is bleeding?" Angelo asked as he watched Patricia take care of her brother. She pulled up her shoulders and turned to the others.
"I don't care what you say, but there is no way in hell that I am going to sleep up there tonight. I'm spending the night right here in the living room" she said firmly "I'm not going up there.."
"Me neither" Maite shivered and also the others didn't have the intention to sleep in their bedrooms tonight, lying in their bed all alone.
 So John, Jimmy, Joey went upstairs together and brought down all the blankets and pillows they could find.
A restless night followed.
                                                   **************

Just like old times, Kathy mothered about the others. She told them not to be afraid, like she had done many times when they were children. 
And even though the Kelly kids from back in the day were now all grown, Kathy's voice was still the same and it calmed them down like it had done all the years before when they were children.
Kathy and Patricia shared a couch, lying closely together, with two blankets covering them. Kathy had pulled the blanket up to her nose. Patricia's head rested on her shoulder. She didn't want to sleep but her eyes were heavy.
Maite and Barby were lying on the ground. Next to Maite lay John and next to Barby lay Paddy, they were protecting their little sisters. 
Maite tried to sleep while Barby had her eyes wide open, staring at the ceiling.
 John appeared to be sleeping but by his breathing, Barby could tell he wasn't. 
Paddy was talking with Angelo who was lying in a chair, rolled up in a blanket.
Jimmy and Joey shared the other couch and like Barby, their eyes were open. Kathy told them just to try and sleep. They were all together and nothing could harm them now. Her voice hit the target. All Kelly's closed their eyes and tried to sleep.
***

Kathy woke up in the middle of the night. Something cold touched her arm. As she carefully sat up, trying not to wake Patricia who was sleeping next to her, she realized that what she felt was Patricia's hand. It was ice and ice cold. 
Kathy reached out and touched Patricia's face. Cold too. Than she touched Patricia's arm and one of her feet. All ice cold. 
She looked around and saw a spare blanket by Jimmy and Joey. She got of the couch, stepped over Maite who was lying in a strange position on the ground, nearly broke her neck over Paddy and reached the other couch. 
She took the blanket and walked back to Patricia.
She tenderly covered her sister, who didn't even more or open her eyes and watched her for a second. 
Than Kathy covered herself in her own blanket, found a position to sleep in and slowly, her eyes closed once again.
                                            ************
Its a cold night. The wind is pulling her hair. She walks to the cliffs. Its dark. She can hear the waves beat against the rocks. She can hear them break. She reaches the edge and looks down. The water is dark and wild. The wind pulls on her dress, tears roll down her cheek. She took another step, and another. And Patricia jumped.
Patricia woke up, realizing what she just dreamed. Carefully, she sat up, noticing she's not the only one who's awake. 
From the ground, Maite is looking up to her. "What's wrong?" she whispered "you were moving in your sleep"
"I jumped of the cliffs" Patricia said it without even realizing it "it was a cold, windy night and I walked to the cliffs. I wore a dress. And I kept on walking and walking. The water was wild and the waves broke on the rocks. And I just walked on, and I jumped.."
"You didn't jump, Sarah O'Henry jumped" Maite corrected her sister. Patricia shook her head
"No, it wasn't Sarah" she answered "I was the one who jumped but I looked like her. The same dress, the same night she died. But it doesn't feel natural. It just didn't feel real. Like it wasn't true what had happened. Like I jumped but wasn't supposed to.."
Maite took a deep breath and looked at her sister. "You know Patricia, this is getting scary" she said and sighed "but lets try to get some sleep, just a few more hours. Lets try, okay?" 
She lay herself down and quickly, she fell asleep. 
Patricia watched her, closed her eyes, but the dream did not come back.
                                                          *********

"I think I found something" Paddy said during the afternoon "Patricia, do you remember the cliff you sat at the first night?" As his sister nodded, he went on "Sarah O'Henry jumped from that exact same cliff"

"Maybe the stories are true and Sarah does return to the cliff where she dies" Angelo wondered and Patricia took a deep breath. She didn't tell anybody what she saw that first night. She looked around.

"She does" she answered "she returns there. I saw her, the night I got lost in the woods. I sat at the cliff and followed her into the woods but suddenly she was gone and I was lost.."

"So, the ghost of Sarah O'Henry really does exist" Barby concluded "and we know that she returns to the cliff she jumped from."

"Patricia jumped too" Maite said and when all of her brothers and sisters looked at her in surprise, Maite explained the dream Patricia had last night. Patricia didn't have to speak at all, Maite told them exactly what she dreamt.

"Joey, what were you doing when you were scratched?" Angelo asked his brother "were you doing anything special or did you want to go somewhere maybe? One of the rooms?"

"John and I had checked all the rooms but couldn't find anything. Than we felt that cold wind and it looked like it came from Patricia's room. I didn't even speak out I wanted to check that room one last time, I just wanted to head for the door" Joey explained "than it happened.."

"Maybe something, or somebody, wants to prefend Joey from entering that room" Barby suggested "maybe they want Joey to stay out"

"But why?" Kathy wondered "no one else got hurt? Not Patricia or not any one of us! I've been into that room too. But, that was during the day. I don't know if it makes a difference or not"

"Patricia looks like Sarah O'Henry. I don't know, but maybe this is all connected in some way. Maybe we need to figure out how, or maybe we have to figure out why" Jimmy said and looked around the group. The others nodded.

"I'll try to enter Patricia's room" Maite suggested "lets see if I get hurt"

The family went upstairs and Maite headed for the door leading to Patricia's room. She reached out, opened the door, closed her eyes and went in. Somehow, she's expected to feel something but nothing happened. She had a free passage.

Joey wanted to follow but quickly reached to his cheek. Before their eyes another scratch appeared next to the one caused last night and blood dripped down his cheek. And nobody saw what caused it. 
One thing was clear. Joey was not allowed to enter Patricia's room.

"Maybe whatever is here, just doesn't like Joey" John remarked.

"Or, I look like Sarah O'Henry and Joey looks like somebody else from that time period. Somebody that is not wanted here" Patricia answered "a bad person maybe. Her father or maybe even the man she was supposed to marry"

"We'll go try and see if we can find out what happened and if there are any people fitting the description Patti just gave" Kathy said "come on Paddy, I can use an extra pare of hands. At least it keeps you away from the cooking"

Patricia stared at her room while the others went downstairs. Why couldn't Joey enter?

***********
Patricia stayed in her room as the others went downstairs. The door closed with a loud bang and her heart stopped for just a few seconds. She got herself under control and saw that the painting over her bed had come down and she was now facing the brick wall.
"Those stones are loose" Patricia mumbled, climbing on her bed and reaching out to the wall. Her slim fingers touched the bricks and she could feel they were loose. Carefully, she tried if she could take them out and within seconds, she had five loose bricks lying on her bed.
Her hand reached into the hole and touched something. Something from leather. Patricia's fingers fastened around the object and took it out, together with a lot of dust. She blew it off, sneezed twice and saw she held a book in her hands. 
The gold letters on the front spell Diary.
Patricia carefully opened the book and read the words on the first page. To Sarah O'Henry. A gift from your father. 1896. In her hands, she held the diary of Sarah O'Henry and it started in the year1896...
*************

Barby looked around. Nature was one of her favorite places to be. And Ireland was so calm and quiet. She whished she could stay here forever. 
She was on her way to the cliffs. The view she had from their was breathtaking and she would get inspiration for her poetry.
As she arrived at the cliff where Patricia sat the night she got lost, something got her attention. A white piece of paper, lying on the green grass. 
Barby frowned. "Did somebody else come here?' she wondered to herself. She went through her knees but at that moment the wind lifted up the paper into the air, turning it around.
Barby saw her own drawing. The one of the woman in the forest, the one she gave to Patricia. But how did it get here? Patricia never returned here.
The wind rested and the drawing came down. It landed right on the edge of the cliff. 
Quickly, Barby walked to it, wanting to pick it up before the wind would take it again and return it to Patricia when she came home, asking her how it got here.
She reached out her hand but the wind came again. The drawing was lifted up, and thrown off the cliff. Barby bend over, in attempt to reach it, but she felt how her feet lost contact with the ground. 
In panic, with the rough ocean below her, she tried to restore her balance. She balanced on the edge of the cliff but managed to throw herself backwards. She fell on her back in the grass.
Barby quickly got up, sat down on her knees and looked down. She could see her drawing fall into the water. It was taken by the water. She took her deep breath and realized how close she had been to dying. If she had fallen off that cliff�
She saw how her painting was taken by one of the waves and smashed against the rocks. Suddenly, the ice cold screaming of a woman filled the air. Barby put her hands over her ears but still heard her scream.
 The scream of someone in panic, in fear. Someone in danger. Suddenly Barby sat up, something became clear.
"The screaming of a young woman, here at the cliffs" she whispered "a young woman, who fell down. And died.."
                                                    ***************

Jimmy and Angelo were sitting in the backyard of the cottage. Angelo was reading a book as Jimmy was busy trying to write new songs. 
But every time when he had a few lines, he threw away the paper and started over again. Than he threw away his pencil and his paper and got up.
"Where are you going?" Angelo asked as he saw his brother walk away.
Jimmy pulled up his shoulders. "I don't know" he answered "I just feel like walking, that's all"
"I'll walk with you. I'm tired of reading anyway" Angelo said and left his book on the table. 
When he looked up, he saw Jimmy disappear around the corner of the cottage and rushed after him. He again saw Jimmy go around the next corner.
"What are you doing?" Angelo wanted to know when he finally caught up with Jimmy. They were now standing on the side of the cottage that was covered with plants, mostly ivy. Jimmy just stared at the wall and didn't answer. "Jimmy?"
Jimmy took two more steps to the wall and started to tear down the ivy. Slowly, the brick walls of the cottage that had been covered with plants became visible. 
More and more red brick stones appeared but than, a grey stone appeared. It became bigger and bigger as Jimmy tore down the ivy. 
Minutes later he and Angelo stared at a grey stone, in the middle of the wall.
There were words engraved into the stone. Build by Sean O'Henry in the year of 1892
Jimmy turned to Angelo after this discovery. "I think some things start to make sense now" he whispered and glanced at the wall again "we're not staying close to where Sarah O'Henry lived. We are staying where she lived. Sarah O'Henry lived here with her father..."
                                                  *******************

Barby returned from her walk but as she knocked onto Patricia's door, with the intention to tell her what had happened at the cliff, her older sister told her to go away.She wanted to be alone. 
So, rather disappointed Barby went downstairs, out into the yard and sat down under the tree.
Not much later, Kathy and Paddy returned and they called the entire family together. 
Maite, who was with Joey and John during the day, saw Patricia come down the stairs, holding the diary in her hands. Maite looked at her sister. She thought Patricia looked rather strange.
Kathy looked around the group. "Guys" she said "Paddy and I found out that we're..."
"Staying in Sarah O'Henry's house" Jimmy finished Kathy's sentence. She looked at him in complete surprise. Jimmy took her by the arm and lead her outside. 
Curiously, the others, who didn't know about the stone yet, followed.
"So, we are staying in the house where Sarah O'Henry lived" Patricia said. She still held the diary. She now understood how it came here. But none of her family members asked what she held in her hand. They were too busy with sharing their information.
"Joey resembles a man from Sarah's time period. He looks like the man Sarah was supposed to marry, the man her father choose for her" Paddy told the others "but that's not all. When Kathy and I went through some pictures of people that are connected to Sarah O'Henry, we found out that every single one of us has a resemblance to somebody out of that time period"
"As we already know, Patricia looks like Sarah O'Henry herself. And we now also know that Joey looks like Joseph O'Brien, the man she was supposed to marry" Kathy started telling what they had figured out "John resembles Joseph's brother, Stephen. He's in love with Sarah too. And than there's Tom, the young stable boy of the O'Henry family. Angelo looks like him"
"Why do I have the strange feeling that all of this is just all meant to be?" Joey mumbled "all nine of us being here. A ghost that wonders around, and we all look like people from that time. Why are we here and what are we supposed to do?"
"Go on, Kathy" Barby pushed her sister, who had stopped talking when Joey began but now Joey also focused on Kathy again.
"Sarah had a sister, named Hellen. She was a happy girl. Maite looks exactly like Hellen. Maybe even more than that Patricia looks like Sarah. Hellen left when Sarah died and nobody ever heard from her again. Barbara was Sarah's best friend. What's in a name? Barby looks like Barbara. But, besides Joseph and Stephen there was a third man that wanted to marry Sarah. Daniel, a friend of Sarah's father. Jimmy resembles him" Kathy told
"I resemble Patrick" Paddy continued "Patrick is the one Sarah really loved. A boy from out of town, the son of a farmer. But her father would never approve of him. And that leaves Kathy.."
"Who are you?" Patricia asked, looking at the oldest sister.
"Katherine, the nanny" Kathy answered "Katherine took care of both Sarah and Hellen ever since they were babies, when their mother died. She was like a mother to the girls, she also acted like a mother. And she was one of the few who said Sarah should not marry..."
"Sarah didn't want to marry" Patricia suddenly said and now everybody looked at her. "I found Sarah's diary, it was hidden behind some loose bricks in the wall. It starts in 1896. And she writes about all of these people. Listen.."

December 18th 1896

Katherine came to me. Father told her that Joseph O'Brien asked for my hand. Father said he could have it. Father never said that to Stephen. I know Stephen wants me to be his wife too. But Stephen's a dreamer, according to dad. And Joseph is man. Like my father. Courageous, brave.
Katherine said that father still doesn't know about me and Patrick. She promised me she would protect me, would make sure he will never know. Father would never approve Patrick. He's the son of a farmer, and that's not good enough. I disagree.
Daniel was here today, that friend of my father. He too asked for my hand. Why couldn't he go ask for some other girl's hand? Father said he couldn't have me. He said he didn't trust Daniel with me. I don't trust Joseph with me, but father doesn't see.
Tom saw Daniel leave and came running to me. He begged me not to marry Daniel. Poor little boy. I'm all he has and he's so afraid to lose it. So am I. Father doesn't care for him. Father doesn't care Tom's parents died and that's an orphan. Father never cared for anyone. Not even for me.."

"Where does the diary end?" Barby asked and Patricia looked at the last entry and when it was made. She looked up.
"March 1897. That's the last entry. There's no date, only the month and year" she answered "but Sarah did die in March. So, this must have been her final last entry before she died"

Father and Joseph are preparing the wedding. Its in a few days. Joseph lives here now. I want him out, begged father to throw him out but he didn't listen. Every night, Joseph wants to come into my room. Dad said its ok, after all I will become his wife. But I tell him to go away. But he said he could do all he wanted, that I belong to him now.
I ran to Katherine last night, I was so scared. She kept me in her arms, all night. Like she did when I was just a little baby. I told her I don' want to marry Joseph, and that I missed Patrick. I haven't seen him since the marriage became final. When he heard, he told me he didn't love me anymore.
Tom again begged me not to marry Joseph. He says he's bad and evil. Daniel said that too when I met him the other day. And that I was too precious to be used by that scum. Is it true? Is Joseph evil, does he want to hurt me?
Barbara does not want to come here anymore ever since Joseph lives her. She says he attacked her, that he wanted to hurt her. I don't know. Hellen's afraid of him too. He makes fun of her. He calls her fat but its not her fault.
I can hear Joseph out of my room now. He asks if he can come in. I just have to tell him to get out. He says he'll wait outside, I have to come out sometime.
The window.. I can climb out and run away. Run away forever. Go to Patrick and run away with him. I hear Katherine, she's outside. I'm going to leave. I'm going...

"It ends here" Patricia said and closed the diary "do you think she really did climb out of that window?" She had asked the question out loud
"Maybe" John answered "she wrote Katherine was outside, she could have helped her get away. She could even have caught her when she climbed out. We don't know, probably will we never know what happened that night"
�I believe she didn't jump" Paddy said "she didn't jump off that cliff, not to take her own life. Either it was an accident or someone pushed her. But she didn't jump. She wanted to get away, to be with the one she loved. She never mentioned dying. This is not a goodbye note"
"Maybe we have to uncover what really happened that night" Maite suddenly said "maybe we have to unfold the story. Because everybody always believed she took her own life. Why else would we be pushed into this direction? All the strange things that happened.."
"I think Maite's right" Joey answered "we have to unfold what happened. And how can we do that? To go over all that happened the day Sarah died, and especially that night. We should start with the moment that Sarah described Joseph wants to come in again, and that she heard Katherine in the backyard."
"I think Hellen's trying also to get Joseph away from Sarah's room, but he probably hurts her in some way" Maite answered "by calling her names, probably. I feel she was sensitive for that"
So, they went upstairs, besides for Kathy, she went outside.
 Patricia went into her room, locked the door and sat on her bed. Joey knocked on the door. 
"Go away! I don't want you here!" Patricia said. She couldn't think of anything else Sarah could have said
"You can't push me away forever, Sarah. I will be your man soon and than I can do all that I want to do" Joey answered on the corridor and looked up when Maite appeared behind him. 
Suddenly, he felt like he was no longer in this present time. The others noticed it too.
Maite raised her eyebrows. "Everything looks different. What happened?" she whispered "we are still in the cottage, but also.. we're not there anymore. Its like we moved through time and space"
"Look at the clock" Paddy said and pointed at an old clock hanging on the wall "that wasn't there before. And look at the time. Its two hours later than when we went upstairs to find out what happened that night. Does this mean we were thrown back in time?"
"I think we are in 1897 and that this is the night Sarah died. But only, we need to uncover what really happened" John said "so come on, let's pick up where we left of. Maite, Joey?" They fell back into the characters they were supposed to be.
"Leave her alone!" Maite told Joey as he again knocked on Patricia's door. They heard her yell that he should leave. "You hear she doesn't want to see you! So just go away!"
"And why would I do that, you ugly little fat girl?" Joey asked and Maite looked at him. She quickly turned around and walked away from him. The others watched.
In her room, Patricia looked out of the window and saw Kathy walking down in the yard. She opened the window and carefully, she climbed out. There she stood, in the gutter, looking down. It was high. 
Carefully, she bend over to the tree Barby sat under and managed to grab a branch
"Be careful, Patricia!" Kathy yelled underneath her. She looked up to her sister who now climbed into the tree and was trying to find the easiest way to get down. She looked down at Kathy.
"You have the catch me half way. I can't come down any further, the branches won't hold me" she said and carefully climbed down until she was halfway. Kathy stood under the tree, ready to break her sister's fall and bit her lip. And Patricia jumped....
Right into Kathy's arms. 
They lost their balance, rolled over each other. They got up, checked if everything in their body still worked and Kathy pushed Patricia out of the backyard into the direction of the cliffs. 
Patricia was now alone.
Everything around her looked different. She knew this had to be a different time, but the same place. This was 1897, the night Sarah died, the location where she died. But where was she? 
Patricia looked around and her heart stopped when she a young woman coming out of the forest, recognizing Sarah O'Henry in her white dress. Or did she recognize herself?
She placed herself behind a tree and looked at what Sarah did. She stood at the edge of the cliff and for a second, Patricia thought she was going to jump. But Sarah looked up. The sound of breaking branches echoed through the night like a gun gone off.
A shadow appeared. A shadow that took the form of a man. A man with long blond hair, wearing dark cloths and boots. He walked directly to Sarah. As Patricia saw him, she knew Sarah hadn't' thrown herself of that cliff. Seeing him here, told her all she needed to know.
"He pushed you, didn't he?" she whispered into nothing "he pushed you off that cliff" Before her eyes she saw the argument between Sarah and the man that had just appeared. 
He took her by the arm but she pulled herself free, trying to run away from him. Screaming, she would never be with him, she would never be his possession.
He held her, looked straight into her eyes. Telling her, that she would be all he wanted her to be. But that if he couldn't have her, no one else would have her. That if she would leave, she would leave for good. And he pushed her to the edge of the cliff.
Patricia wanted to scream. She wanted to scream that he had to stop. She wanted to scream that she knew he murdered her, but she couldn't. Her body was frozen and her voice was gone. But she felt all the fear, the pain and the anger Sarah felt. She felt it all..
And he let go of her. At the edge of the cliff he let go of her. And Sarah fell. But her hands reached out and managed to hold on. She screamed, cried, begging him to help her up. 
But he juts stood there, lifted up his boot and planted it on her fingers. She cried out, and let go. Her body fell down, light as a feather and disappeared into the black ocean.
Silent tears ran down Patricia's face as the man left. She sat down on the ground, couldn't stop crying. 
"I know now" she whispered "I know now. You didn't commit suicide, you didn't accidentally fall of that cliff. It was a cold blooded murder. Joseph O'Brien killed you..."
                                                ****************

When she returned to the cottage, Kathy saw the tears running down Patricia's face. Quickly, she walked to her sister and wrapped her arms around her.

"Tricia, what happened? We were worried. Where were you?"

"At the cliffs" Patricia answered. She looked around the cottage. It still didn't look normal and she realized, nothing had changed so far. "We're still not back in our own time"

"No, we're not" Johnny answered "but what happened at the cliffs?"

"Sarah O'Henry didn't take her own life" Patricia said "I saw it all. She arrived at the cliffs on her own, she just stood there, she didn't want to jump. And than he appeared.."

"Who?" Maite wanted to know, though she more or less already knew the answer.

"Joseph O'Brien" Patricia answered "he came to Sarah, he took her by an arm. She wanted to pull herself free, but he wouldn't let her. He pushed her to the edge of the cliff, and than he pushed her. Sarah fell, but managed to grab the edge of the cliff with her fingers. She begged him to help her up, she cried out for help�" Her tears came again

"But he didn't help her, did he?" Paddy asked and Patricia shook her head, washing her tears away.

She looked away from her brothers and sisters as the image of Sarah O'Henry falling of the cliff crossed her mind again.

"No. He lifted up his boot and planted it on her fingers" Patricia said "she screamed. But she had to let go. She cried out. And she fall. I watched her fall. I witnessed how her body was smashed into the ocean and disappeared. And there was nothing I could do to help her"

"Joseph O'Brien murdered Sarah O'Henry" Barby whispered "maybe that's what she wanted us to find out. To let us discover the truth and make sure, everybody would know. That everybody will stop thinking she committed suicide. And now we know the truth"

Suddenly, everything around them changed. The room they were standing in, changed. Maite looked at the wall. A painting that hadn't been there earlier, when they were in 1897, now again appeared on the wall. Everything turned to normal again. They were back in the year 2004.

"Now what?" Angelo wanted to know "we're back in the present time and we know the truth about what happened. What are we supposed to with that information"

"I'll take Sarah's diary to the local newspaper. I guess this will be the biggest news they had here in ages" Jimmy said "and I'll tell them all we know. The truth�"

Patricia excused herself and went upstairs, to her room. The room that once belonged to Sarah O'Henry. She still had the diary with her. Carefully, she sat on her bed and opened it again. She had been reading the book over and over. And now the truth was revealed.

She went to the last page and her eyes widened when she saw something that hadn't been there the last time she read it, to her family. New words had appeared at the end of the last entry. She was sure they weren't there before. The handwriting was exactly the same like the rest of the diary.

Patricia's fingers touched the new written words and she felt a warm flood go through her body. She weakly smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I know" she whispered to the nothingness around her "I know. Finally justice has been done to you. The world will know the truth about you. And you, dear Sarah, can finally go to rest. Goodbye little girl.."

She glanced at the new written words

No matter what happens to me, I know one day somebody will know. Somebody will tell the truth. And I know, than I can finally find my rest. Finally, one day I know I will be free�

To the heart

To the heart..

"Maite, where are you going?" Patricia asked when her sister headed for the door of their hotelroom.

Maite turned around, already one foot out of the door. "We�re in Enschede and it�s the day after the show. I wanted to go shopping. Don't worry, I know my way around"

"I'm sure you do" Patricia asked and glanced out of the window. Outside, the rain had stopped but the sky was still grey and there were huge pools of water lying on the streets. "You might wanna take an umbrella"

Maite gave Patricia a funny look but took the umbrella before closing the door behind her.

"Where is Maite going?" a voice asked and Patricia turned around to see Barby coming out of the bathroom. Her hair was still wet; she had just taken a shower.

"She went shopping" Patricia answered and walked up to her sister. Barby rolled her eyes.

"Why doesn�t anyone ever ask me to come?" she mumbled while she sat on the bed and played with her hands. Patricia sat down next to Barby, who obviously wasn't happy with the fact Maite hadn't asked her to come.

The door to the hotelroom opened and Kathy came in. She noticed Barby and Patricia on one of the beds. "What's wrong?" she questioned.

"Maite went shopping and didn't ask Barby to come" Patricia quickly explained "but I think its huge to come to a show, watch backstage and stay here for a full week with the rest of us�

"But I wanted to go out!" Barby said and a bit angry, she walked away and left the room. Patricia guessed she went to see the boys.

"So, how did you experience being on stage with the rest of us once again?" she asked Kathy, trying to ignore Barby's little outburst. Kathy grinned.

"It�s nice to be stage, and especially to see the surprise on the fan's faces when you come walking out when they don't expect you" Kathy answered and she and Patricia thought back at the show given last night at the music hall.

As a surprise, Kathy had been on stage with them. The fans had gone wild when they saw her. And she decided to stay with the family for the rest of the week, for they were staying in Enschede a little while longer.

Sean had to go to school but she knew he was looked after so with a save feeling in her heart, she had left Germany to be with the rest of the Kelly�s

***

Maite was walking through Enschede. She had just left a department store and was now walking at the market square. Not many people were on the street. Not that strange, considering the weather. She even started wondering why she just had to go today.

Maite was so lost in her thoughts that when she went around the corner, she didn't see where she was going and smashed back onto Earth when she hit something. Or someone.

There was a loud bang and suddenly, Maite's feet reached back to Earth and she saw what had happened. She bumped into another person and that person had lost her balance, falling right into a huge pool of water and was now soaking wet.

"I�m sorry" Maite said in her best Dutch and reached out a hand to help the poor girl up. When the girl was standing, Maite saw the water run down her cloaths. There was mud in the girl's face and in her hair and her cloaths were not just wet but also dirty.

The girl looked at Maite. For a moment her eyes lightened up but than she weakly smiled. She knew who was standing in front of her, but pretended not to.

"Its OK" she said and wiped some mud from her face "I'll catch the first bus home and take a shower" She checked her watch "too bad I�ve got to wait half an hour. The bus just left"

Maite realised she couldn't leave this girl walking around like this. She could catch an ammonia. She shook her head and transferred to English because her Dutch wasn't as good as Paddy's or Patricia's. "Please, come with me. I'm staying in a hotel nearby. You can take a shower there and dry your cloaths. You�ll get sick walking around this way"

The girl doubted. Should she go or not? "All right than" she answered and reached out a wet hand and smiled "Sarah De Boer"

Maite grinned and shook her hand. "Maite Kelly"

Sarah nodded while she and Maite walked into the direction of the hotel. "I know"

***

Patricia looked up when she heard the door open and close. "Maite?" she asked as she came from the living room. She and Kathy had been watching TV. "You might wanna go and... My God, what happened?"

Patricia saw who Maite brought along. The girl was soaking wet, she had mud on her face and in her hair. There was not a dry spot on her.

"Well, I wasn't paying attention and when I came around the corner, I bumped into Sarah. She fell into a pool of water and was all wet. I couldn't just leave her, what if she might get an ammonia?" Maite said and Patricia nodded while walking toward Sarah

"Poor girl" she said and helped Sarah taking of her coat "I guess you're the latest victim of Maite's daydreaming. My name's Patricia."

Kathy heard the noises and when she came in, she saw her two sisters and a soaking wet girl. "Maite!" she said on a strict tone while approaching "what is it you did this time?"

Sarah shook Kathy's hand. She knew very well who these women were and she guessed the others had to be in this hotel too.

"Come on, take a shower. We�ll make sure you're cloaths get dry. Until than, you can wear something from us" Patricia said. Maite lead Sarah to the bathroom. Behind her, her sisters went through the closest and she heard the door again. Barby asked what they were doing.

"Take of your cloaths" Maite said and sensed that Sarah felt somewhat uncomfortable doing that around her, she quickly said: "Just leave them on the floor and give a signal when you're ready so we can give you some dry cloaths. Is anything still dry?"

"My underwear" Sarah answered and smiled "when I went shopping I didn't think that I was better of wearing my bikini" She took off her shirt and Maite quickly left.

Sarah undressed herself and left her wet cloaths on the floor. Her underwear she left at a dry place. Than she stepped into the blinded shower cabin and let the hot water rain down on her.

She didn't hear the bathroom door open, didn't see the shadow that looked like Patricia take away the wet cloaths and leave behind dry ones, and she didn't hear the door close again.

***

Patricia, Maite, Kathy and Barby looked up when Sarah came out. She was wearing blue jeans that fit pretty good, grey socks, and black a white sweater that was too big for her, but sweaters were always too big.

"Look at that! A combination of Patricia's jeans, Maite's socks and Barby's sweater" Kathy said and gave Sarah a brush so she could brush her hair "and my brush"

"So here I am with the Kelly Family" Sarah said and sat down on a chair.

"You know who we are?" Maite asked and Sarah nodded.

"I recognised you as soon as I looked up to you, lying in my pool of water. And I recognised Patricia and Kathy and I recognised Barby's voice. Actually, I'm a fan of you, guys" Sarah answered

"You are one of the first not to go all crazy when meeting us" Patricia said and she smiled. They were grateful she hadn't gone crazy like many fans did when they were standing eye to eye with them.

"Why would I? To me you are just people. And you happen to sing and be successful. And you happen to hang on my bedroom walls. So?" Sarah answered "by the way if you don't mind me saying, great show last night!"

"You were there?" Barby asked and Kathy looked at her sister. It wasn't really like Barby to be so open towards people she barely knew but she seemed to feel comfortable around Sarah.

"Yep, first row. I started at the fifth row, but managed to work my way forward. That's pretty easy when you�re alone.  No one too look after. Just me, by myself�"

"But not alone" Kathy ended her sentence and they laughed. It had been the song Kathy had made her entrance with last night.

There was some knocking on the door. "Everybody appropriately dressed?" a men�s voice yelled "than we are coming in now!" The door opened and Paddy Kelly appeared, followed by Angelo, Joey and Jimmy. The men quickly spotted the new girl.

"Wow! Who do we have here?" Paddy asked when he saw the girl, surrounded by his sisters, wearing their cloaths.

"Meet Sarah. Sarah, meet the Kelly-boys. I don't think I have to tell you who is who. And its Maite's fault that she�s here!� Patricia said

"I wouldn't call that a fault!" Paddy whispered to Jimmy but he was overheard by Barby.

"I heard that!" she whispered when he sat down next to her. She let her head rest against his shoulder. She felt his fingers stroke through her hair.

"We thought it would be nice to have diner. Will you join us, Sarah?" Joey asked and Sarah looked around. Her eyes met Maite's and than she looked at Barby.

"Sure. With these cloaths it doesn�t look like I'm going anywhere" she answered and they laughed. Than they stood up and went down to the dining room.

***

During diner, the family had tons of questions to ask Sarah. She felt like she was being questioned by a reporter and she realised how the Kelly's must feel sometimes.

"How old are you?" Barby asked before sticking some chicken in her mouth

"Nineteen. I�ll turn twenty in October" Sarah hadn�t said it or the next question was asked.

"Going to school?" Kathy informed.

"Yes, I wanna be some kind of social worker one day, if I get lucky. And if get the chance I would leave this damn city as soon as I can to go somewhere better� Sarah answered

"Any brothers or sisters?" Patricia wanted to know. She was sitting at Sarah's right side; Barby was sitting at her left. Both Kathy and Maite were sitting across Sarah.

"An 18-year old sister. She�s the complete opposite of me. People say she's the normal one" Sarah answered and the tone of her voice changed but it was only picked up by Barby "I guess they�re right"

"And your parents?" Joey asked friendly "are you still living at home?"

"Yes, I am. But they pretty much let me live my own life. I don't see them very often, I guess. We all have lives. We all have our jobs or school, our hobbies and friends. When we get lucky we have diner together like three times a week maybe" Sarah answered.

"Interested in music?" Angelo questioned her and he smiled when Sarah looked at him.

"I�m a music junkie! Besides you guys, I like gothic rock and all kinds of music but rock mostly" Sarah answered "people often say that all I seem to like is something weird."

"Got a boyfriend?" Paddy suddenly informed. He saw the look Barby gave him, like she wanted him not to ask that. He ignored her.

"No" The tone on which she had answered that question was the end of the questioning and other conversations came to live at the table. Only Barby and Maite noticed that Sarah turned a bit quiet.

***

After diner they went back upstairs to the girls� room to watch TV together. Maite, Barby and Patricia had taken one of the couches. Sarah with Kathy took the other one. The boys were sitting in chairs; Angelo was lying on the ground.

Sarah felt a hand on her shoulder and hear a voice whisper "Are you all right?" It had been Kathy. Sarah turned her head and looked into Kathy's blue eyes. She nodded and Kathy didn't ask any further.

Hours passed and darkness came falling. It was Patricia who suddenly noticed it was nearly half past ten and she turned to Sarah. "We lost track of time. You still have to go home. Or at least you should let your parents know where you are. They might be worried"

"You don't have to go home. You can stay here for the night" Kathy offered and Sarah weakly smiled "call your parents and say you are staying with friends. They will let you stay, right?"

"Yeah, please stay!" Barby said and Maite nodded too

"You can sleep in my bed, I'll sleep in Barby�s bed!" she said.

"Hey!" Barby said and hit Maite against her shoulder "I would like to get some sleep! Knowing you, all I get are bruises because you beat me up when you sleep. No wonder no one wants to spend the night with you!"

They laughed and Sarah nodded. "All right, I'll call them but if they won't let me, would you please talk to them, Patricia? I would love to spend the night" When Patricia nodded Sarah reached for the phone. Everybody went quiet though only Paddy and Patricia understood Dutch.

"Hey mom, it�s me. I know I should have called! You did? Sorry, I left my cell phone at home" she said "I am sitting in a hotel right now, accompanied by some people. I'm staying with the Kelly Family. This is not a joke but it�s late and they offered me to spend the night. Talk to one of them? Patricia speaks Dutch�

Sarah handed the phone to Patricia and said: "My mom wants to talk to one of you"

"Hello, I�m Patricia Kelly. Yes, Sarah is staying with me and my family. She fell into a pool of water and was all wet. She showered here, we dried her cloaths and had diner but than we forgot the time. We don't like the foresight of her going home by herself so we offered her to stay" Patricia said and she look at Sarah, who was translating all Patricia said "all right, here's Sarah again. Good night, ma'am"

"Hi mom" Sarah said when Patricia gave the phone back "I can?! Oh you're the best. I'll see you tomorrow. Yes, I love you too" She hung up and smiled. "I can stay for the night but I have to be home by tomorrow afternoon"

"I'll drop you off" Joey said and quickly Barby said she'd come too. Maite wanted to come too and Sarah laughed.

"I guess it�s time to go to bed" Kathy said and the boys left the girl's room. Before leaving, Paddy walked to Sarah, not noticing that he was observed by the girls.

"I'll see you in the morning" he said and gave her a brief kiss on her cheek and than he left the girls� room like he was chased by the devil.

"Someone likes you!" Patricia joked but Sarah didn't laugh. She glanced at the door Paddy had just left through, the door that was now closed by Kathy. Behind her, Barby changed into her pyjamas and Kathy gave Sarah one of Maite's T-shirts.

"When Paddy likes you, you might wanna take cover cause he is gonna push it to the limit� Maite said and she witnessed Sarah take off the jeans and than the sweater, with her back turned towards them. Maite frowned. Did she just see scars?

Suddenly Sarah decided to keep on the sweater and explained herself by saying she always got cold while sleeping and preferred something with long sleeves. Her eyes met Maite's as she put Barby's sweater back on and slipped into Maite's bed. From there, she saw how uncomfortable Maite and Barby were in one bed.

"If I promise I don't bite, would you mind if I stay with you?" Maite asked Sarah "I think you and I will have more room than Barby and I will have in this bed" Sarah smiled and Maite slipped out of Barby's bed.

Barby made herself comfortable and Kathy joked: "We might wanna get the bag of ice already. Sarah will probably have a black eye in the morning"

Maite slipped back into her bed and she and Sarah tried to find a position to sleep in. Patricia was the last one to come in. She had turned of the lights in the living room, slipped into her bed, whished everybody good night and turned of the light.

****

It was the middle of the night. Maite woke up. She noticed her bed was empty but saw light coming from under the bathroom door. Seconds later she heard the toilet and some moving around. Sarah had to go for a midnight pee, she thought.

Minutes passed but Sarah didn't return to bed. The light in the bathroom was still burning but it remained quiet. Maite slipped out of bed and walked towards the bathroom. Suddenly the light went out and the door opened.

"Sarah?" she whispered, not to wake her sisters and saw Sarah�s shadow in the dark "is everything all right?"

"Yeah" Sarah answered and she and Maite went back to bed. She could feel Maite's warm breath in her neck and listened as long until she knew Maite was asleep.

She was happy she had turned off the lights just before Maite reached the bathroom. In the dark, Maite couldn't see she had been crying. A lonesome came down as behind her, Maite moved in her sleep.

***

Paddy tried to open the door to the girls� room. Behind him, Jimmy waited. "Damn! It�s obvious Kathy's back. The door's locked! Normally, it�s open!"

"Maybe Kathy's back in business, but Jimmy still rules" Jimmy said and showed his famous needle. He had used it before to open the door to the girl�s room. Normally with the intention to wake them with a pillow fight but now, it was Paddy's request. He hadn't

Hosted by www.Geocities.ws