***  
Reality...
Whatever you believe it to be,
will not be found here...

If it is what you search,
you best look elsewhere...

***  

Prologue

        Cassandra kneeled down beside her firstborn's body and wiped a tear from her face. "Your shell awaits... Return. Your time has yet to come... Return!" She whispered, trying not to let her voice tremble as much as it wanted to. 
        Unwilling to accept what her mind judged true, her heart urged her to repeat the words, again and again, louder and louder. "Eve! Your shell awaits... Return! Your time has yet to come! Return!! Please..." The words seemed harder and harder to speak, her daughter's body still limp on the ground. "Your shell awaits! Return! Your time has yet to come! Return!"
        "It's useless." A single voice stated coldly.
        Cassandra turned around to face her husband. "John, don't say that... I have to try..."
        He stared at her, no sadness or desperation in his expression. His face merely hung there, frozen. "Her shell is worthless, empty. Her essence, gone."
        The calmness in his voice alarmed her. Rage and surprise invaded her mind and words like an unstoppable wave. "Aecteri!"
        "I'll bring her back," he said with a smile. "If you give me what I want."
        "You can bring her back as much as you can kill me right here and now." Cassandra responded with forcibly controlled anger. With a stubborn refusal, she looked down at her child one more time and whispered. "Return..."
        "At times like these I wonder... how someone so bright and powerful, can be so naive... Did you honestly believe you could get away with deceiving me? I don't know whether to call it arrogance or foolishness. And you thought I was lying..." He laughed at her, but there was a touch of sadness hidden in his smile. "They will have nothing but betrayal and death to look forward to. A curse for a pact; a damnation for a lie. I gave you life, I take it back. Children of your children shall pay for your mistake. They belong to me; to control and to destroy. And the biggest irony of it all: Their power will blossom, as does youth. And on the nightfall of the eighteenth year of their lives, darkness will fall on them. You get what you deserve for a promise not kept. To each her gift, and to each her curse... And thus it shall be, until the end of time, end of the line... or until I am given what is mine.  I do so hope your daughter has enjoyed her eighteen years..."

        John opened up a mocking smile and fell to the ground, unconscious. Cassandra let out a piercing scream as the full realization of  what was to happen fell on her. Silent stone walls observed the morbid scene. Tears were the personification of all the sorrow of a mother's broken heart. The death of the first child... The knowledge of more deaths to come... Grief mixed with anger and hate...
        "If it takes a thousand years," Cassandra vowed. "This curse will be broken. Greed and desire will bend the darkness itself and aid the light. Irony? You will see irony! Darkness will save their lives, and the sole purpose for your vengeance will be the sole cause of your destruction!"
       Cassandra clutched her fists tighter together, even though the blood had already begun to pour. Her crystalline tears blended with the red blood, forming a crimson puddle on the ground. "Fear won't stop us. Threats and offers won't corrupt us. Our hearts are pure... No fake promises, no pact for salvation. Only one may decipher the book, and she will be my equal in will and power. And where I failed, she will succeed. Blood from my blood; child of my children, she will be the one. And she will destroy you, Aecteri. Just you wait and see... She will destroy you!!!"
 

        Helena Statler was asleep in the small cave. She had laid there for hours, too weak to get up, lacking the strength to even awake. She had been taken ill that same day, slowly weakening up to the current point. With the remainders of her strength failing she had set out to find her protector. And there, at the entrance of the cave, she had collapsed, unable to maintain herself aware.
        Now almost an hour later, she was awakened by the soft yet powerful voice that echoed throughout the cave. Slowly opening her eyes to the soft candle light that illuminated the alcove, Helena set them upon the old woman standing in the center of the cavern, her back turned to the young girl as she continuously chanted apparently to no one other than herself. Helena tried to stand, but her legs refused to comply. She forced herself to sit up and tried to speak, her voice sounding weak and frail. "Am I dying?" She managed to ask.
        The old woman turned to her and calmly assented. "I'm afraid so, child. The illness is fatal."
        "The illness or the curse?" She asked with bitterness.
        Hagia lowered her head and closed her eyes, a deep sadness trying to be contained. "They are one and the same..."
        "Can you stop it?" She asked. And even though she had forced herself to pronounce the words, she'd already known the answer.

        The woman shook her head, her face filled with sorrow. Helena felt as if the last of her hopes had been crushed into a thousand pieces. She felt as if this was the certainty that her life had been leading to nothing other than death. Nothing other than sorrow and pain for those who had already suffered so much. She thought about her family, how they would react to her being gone. Helena wanted nothing more than to be able to live, to stop whatever it was that consumed her from the inside; to stop death from calling out to her. But she couldn't. She, who was supposed to be a symbol of life, found herself slowly drifting towards death. Her sadness was suddenly replaced by anger. How could she be expected to fulfill a prophecy when the same curse she was to break had left her at death's door. Hope had been the one thing she had clung to in the last years. Now it seemed as if her hands were slipping and she couldn't hold on, no matter how much she tried.

        She looked into the old woman's eyes and sought the answers she so wanted. "Than it is not I who will unite the three?"
        The woman kneeled down on the floor next to Helena. "Silly child. Did not the prophecy state that it would be the first born of the twenty-second generation who would escape the curse?"
        Helena nodded, still not understanding the point.
        Hagia tried to smile, her smile had always seemed kind, it still seemed that way, but it was paler. "Listen to me. I do believe we have found the answer. You are destined to unite the three."
        Despite her friend's calmness, Helena was beginning to lose her patience, it had never been one of her virtues. She wondered what the old witch was implying. She did not enjoy charades, she wanted answers, straight answers. And that she wasn't getting from her protector. They appeared to be going round in circles, speaking the same words, yet saying different things. She rubbed her forehead, feeling her dizziness return.
        "But I am the first born of the twenty-second generation..." She said with conviction. Then even that conviction faltered momentarily. "Aren't I?"
        Hagia nodded. "And therefore you must be the one to cast the spell."
      "But I cannot! The curse has sealed my fate. I will turn eighteen soon, and as soon as night falls, I will also die. My shell is poisoned, I cannot harbor the essence."    
        The woman laughed for the first time and pulled back a strand of gray hair that had fallen on her face. "It is true, you have not escaped the fate that befell your ancestors. But the prophecy stated not that you harbor the gathering, only unite them. You are the past, not the present."
        Hagia took an ancient amulet and placed it around Helena's neck, gently brushing her hair aside. The young girl looked at the amulet, then at the woman, a new light in her eyes. All seemed clear now. The sun would go down beyond the hills and as the curse foretold, on her eighteenth birthday, the life would be drained from her, like all the others before her. But she would not die, she trusted the prophecy as much as she believed the curse. Her body would slowly decay and turn to dust, but it is merely the shell. What truly mattered was what it contained.
        The old witch helped Helena to her feet and stood her in front of a large wooden table surrounded by candles and ornaments. As soon as the girl was able to stand on her own, the witch fell back into the shadows. Helena opened the large book set on the table in front of her. The pages seemed to turn by themselves, as if they were being carried by the wind, but there was none. The pages finally stopped, opening the book on the dead center, candle light washed over the old pages revealing the ancient words. Helena felt herself weaken, her legs falter. With what strength she still had, she supported herself on the table. She knew darkness would soon consume the skies outside. This was her last chance, and her last hope. Failure was no option.
        She gathered all her strength and removed the amulet from around her neck, placing it on a small silver platter set in front of the book as she began to recite the spell they had chosen. "My gift is wisdom... I am the one who is long gone... I am where it all began... I am the one who casts the spell... I am the power that binds it together..."
        She paused for a moment as the gem began to glow. She lifted a small glass container and spilled its red liquid on top of the amulet, which seemed to absorb it as Helena continued to speak; her voice no longer sounding as her own. "My gift is war... I am the survivor... I am the one who is to come... I am the protector... I am the strength that guards the shell..."
        She raised the amulet as the final words escaped her lips. "Shar ton letesh... Sars ton ravil... Enthe ton aenn... Where there are three, there shall now be one... Where there is one, there shall now be three..."
        As the last of the spell was spoken, Helena collapsed on the floor, her hands still grasping the amulet in a tight grip. Through the strands of hair that had fallen on her face, she could see the figure of the old woman kneel down next to her and say good-bye. At that moment, she knew the sun had set. She didn't close her eyes, but darkness enveloped her all the same.

        The old witch observed as the life slipped out of the terrified blue eyes of the child in front of her. She closed them, and said her final words, knowing they would never be heard by anything but the cold rocks that surrounded them and the ephemeral light of the candles guiding her. "You do not know what awaits you... The curse shall be kept a secret as it has always been. The others will not know what destiny has in store for them... And he shall come for them, as he came for you. Farewell my child. I wish you luck."
        And with that, Hagia left the cave and sealed it, leaving the tomb untouched for whenever the power awoke.
 

60 years later
        Jadia Christine Statler sat alone on the top of one of the tallest buildings overlooking the city. She went there often to watch the sun go down. She enjoyed the solitude, the peace of that place. Her eyes stared out at the lights that covered the streets and other buildings. The soft breeze played with her hair, accentuating its curls. She smiled at herself, thinking that she was as restless as that hair. She watched as the sun began to disappear behind the tallest buildings; it would soon be dark and she had to be getting home. Not because there would be anyone expecting her, or waiting for her arrival. Even though today was her birthday, she knew no one would probably even remember. Her parents seemed to pretend she didn't exist. It had been years since they had gotten a divorce and months since she had last seen her father. Her family life was utter chaos, between getting tossed around from one house to the other and being forgotten and sometimes ignored, she didn't consider herself as having a family anymore, just her friends and just the streets and the top of the buildings. She looked at the sun again, she'd have to get going, she had to get home before the late hours of the night. It was dangerous to walk alone among the streets, she knew that even in the daytime she shouldn't go walking alone. But today she wanted badly to share in some of the peace and quiet that the nightfall brought with it. Today was the day she turned eighteen; she knew that was supposed to mean something, she just didn't know what.
        Her thoughts were disturbed by the sound of footsteps somewhere behind her. She stood up and whirled around to see a boy about her age leaned up against a battered wall, his hand sheltering his eyes from the sun. As a cloud dimmed the rays, the boy removed his hand, a smug expression being revealed on his face. "Ah, we finally get some time to ourselves. You left in such a hurry... I didn't get a chance to talk to ya."
        Jadia relaxed a bit when she saw it was only David, his face still carrying a few darkened spots from the punches he had endured. They had fought that same afternoon, she couldn't even remember why it had started anymore. Who had thrown the first blow, if it had been one of hers, one of his. It didn't seem to matter, not really. All that mattered was that, when it was over, David was the one who had hit the sidewalk. A smile formed on her lips as the previous thought were replaced by the image of David lying on the ground with his hands clutched to his stomach. Her voice came out with a challenging yet mocking tone, almost condescending, as it always did when she talked to him. "What the hell d' you want? Oh, wait, do let me guess. You wanna beat me up. And when that's over with, what would be the fun if no one knew? So I bet you're gonna go scurrying off to tell your little friends all about it..."
        He applauded her with a fake enthusiasm and started walking towards her. She stood still, there was no need to run, she knew could handle him. But this was unlike him, he wouldn't search her out and come alone. There would be no witnesses. But then again, if he wanted to break the rules, it would be perfect. He had something up his sleeve, and as much as Jadia didn't want to admit it, she was scared of the possibilities.
        "Y' know, J.C., you could try a carrier in fortune telling..."
        She cocked an eyebrow and her lips curled even more to form a grin. If it hadn't been for her instincts telling her that he had something planned, she would have laughed in his face at that very moment. "You're awfully sure of yourself for someone who had to be helped off the floor today. I'm not buying."
        "You're hurting my feelings, J.C. All I want's a rematch. C'mon, just us, I don't have any weapons. C'mon, it'll just be us..." He said with an obvious grin.
        Jadia stared at him suspiciously. She knew him too well to be fooled by any of his acts. And this was surely one of them. He was too calm, too confident, something was definetly up... "Cut the bull... What's the catch?"
        "There's no catch..." He said with a strange smile. "Just... an insignificant detail."
        David grinned as three other youths stepped out from behind the wall he had been leaning against. Jadia lost her smug expression, her face hardened. She did her best to mask any fear that threatened to arise and stared at the newcomers in the diminishing light. Of the two boys, Rhys was the only one she recognized. The other seemed older than them. He was hanging in the back, as if he didn't belong or want to be there. He wasn't looking at Jadia; instead, he looked at the others, as if he were waiting for something. Jadia also recognized the last component of the small group, Rebecca. The wind played with the girl's hair and tossed it in her eyes, making her twitch nervously. In any other occasion, Jadia would have found it funny.
        David and the others began to surround her. She was aware of the fact that she wouldn't have a chance to fight all of them at once, so she decided to gamble. "I knew you were a coward, but you just keep on surprising me."
        She carefully looked at each of the others, but as she expected, neither Rhys nor Rebecca budged, and David might as well have been turned into stone for the amount of reaction he showed. She looked at the other and when he finally looked at her, she held her gaze.
        Jason turned to David, "Man, she's just a girl. Can't you handle her?"
      Jadia managed to hide a smile as David shoved the boy aside and told the others to back up. As soon as they did, he half-turned and sent a kick in Jadia's direction. Luckily, she had been expecting it. She grabbed his foot and pushed it back. David was still trying to regain his full balance when Jadia kicked out, hitting him in the stomach. He fell back, but jumped to his feet and launched a punch at her with his left arm. His fist went flying straight at her jaw. It connected hard, and she could taste the blood in her mouth, but she knew she would have time to deal with the pain later. At that moment, it was the least of her concerns. She dodged another blow and kicked out again, this time catching him in the ribs. She barely waited to hear the sound of his back against the concrete before she started moving away. With only a corner glance, she saw that Jason had left, and Rhys was moving towards David.
        Jadia took the opportunity and started running towards the stairs, she had barely reached the wall the others had been hiding behind, when a hand grabbed her shoulder and pulled her back, pushing her towards the ledge. She regained her balance quickly, and turned immediately. Her fist connected with Rebecca's face, but the girl merely kicked her, sending Jadia back a few steps. In a moment, Rhys was on her. He managed to land her a couple of solid punches. Jadia fell back and tried to regain her balance while dodging Rebecca's foot. She sent a kick in Rebecca's direction. She heard a small sound as it hit the girl's face and she let out a muffled cry, whipping the blood with her sleeve. Suddenly Jadia felt something hard hit her back. She faltered sideways, trying to face all her opponents at once. She saw David in the dim light of the faraway setting sun, a wooden stake in his hands and a strange smile on his lips. She tried to ignore the pain and all the blood, but it was too much. She was barely able to stand. If it had been one of their games, she would have been declared beaten and that would have been the end of it. Then again, they would never have fought her three on one. Rebecca and Rhys came forward, charging at her from both sides. She did her best to kick Rhys, but Rebecca grabbed one of her arms and twisted it. Jadia screamed at the pain as Rhys did the same with her other arm. She thought she heard bones breaking, but she convinced herself it was simply her imagination. None of it was real. The pain was not real. She didn't want it to be. She was immobilized and presumed beaten. Each breath seemed harder, and yet she forced herself to keep her eyes wide open and on David.
         He walked up to her and punched her, the confidence in his voice overwhelming. "Now the fun begins, J.C."

        A deadly glare was the only thing she was able to give him as a response. With what strength she managed to gather, Jadia supported herself on Rebecca and Rhys and kicked David in the chest as hard as she could. He fell back, unbalanced, and so did she, along with Rhys and Rebecca. She shoved Rhys aside and got up, releasing herself from the other girl's grip. Jadia whirled around and was about to run when she realized she was standing on the very edge of the building. She heard Rebecca let out a scream. Just as she was about to turn around, she felt herself be pushed forward. Jadia tried to whirl around, desperately attempting to grab something, anything. But it was too late. She heard the screams as she fell towards certain death. Despite her own despair, Jadia couldn't help but notice the sun had gone down and night had fallen upon the city. She didn't feel the ground, she had only the felling of darkness and the feeling that, far away, someone was calling her name...
 

30 years before
        Lise Allen Statler sat alone at one of the many tables at the mall. She had her brown hair carefully made into a delicate french braid, light brown eyes drifting from one face to another; from one stranger to another. On the table, her half eaten sandwich and her unfinished cup of coke lingered in front of her. Her attention was drawn to three familiar faces. She wished they would walk past her, that they would just ignore her. She thought of walking off, but she didn't want to leave her meal. She thought of hiding under the table, but even she knew that was ridiculous. Without any other option in mind but pretending she hadn't seen them, she just sat there and hoped they wouldn't notice her. The three girls walked up to Lise's table and sat down with her. Amy grabbed her coke and made a face, whispering some comment to her friends. Lise couldn't hear the words, but the tone was clear enough. While the other two laughed, Darcy opened up a smile. "Hi Lisa. All alone?"
        Marcia let out a small laugh. "What else is new..."
        Lise ignored the last comment and just sighed. "My name is Lise, not Lisa. L-i-s-e."
        She thought she heard Amy whisper something that sounded like: "Oh, and she learned how to spell too."
        Marcia rolled her eyes and laughed. "Lise... Lisa... big difference."
        Darcy leaned on the table and smiled widely. "A little grumpy today aren't you, Lise, L-i-s-e, Lise?"
        "Maybe it's cause it's her birthday and no one bought her a gift." Amy whispered.
        Lise tried her best to think of something to say, but her mind always went blank when she needed the most. No rebuttals seemed to come easily, or at all. She didn't even wonder how it was that these three knew her birth date. Must have been something they heard in class.
        Darcy pointed to Lise's shirt as the girl finished her drink. "You know, she really shouldn't wear yellow." She said, not even trying to lower her voice.
        "Yeah, and what's up with the hair?" Marcia added. "Think she glued it in a braid?"
       Lise stared at the table, not wanting to see the looks she knew she was getting. Instead, she was content with trying to pretend that they weren't there. That, or try to make them evaporate with sheer will power, whichever happened first. She wished the childish remarks and jokes would just stop amusing them, but that didn't seem to be happening. One of the girls threw a balled up napkin at her. Lise merely picked it off the floor and put it back on the table while Amy laughed uncontrollably.
        "There, don't say I never gave you anything." She managed to say between the laughter.
        Lise wanted to get rid of the girls, but she could never find the courage to just tell them to leave. And even if she did, she truly didn't believe they would. She preferred to just wait until they got bored and left on their own. She was getting used to the routine by now, at school, and outside of it. She hated this city. She had hated it ever since the first time she saw it two years ago, and she hated it even more now. She'd rather be in her home town with all her friends and family. But her parents had decided that coming to this place was the best thing to do. And they knew best, right? She heard herself laugh in her thoughts. Her attempts to ignore the outside world were interrupted by another familiar face, a much friendlier one this time. The boy waved at her, smiling, and made his way across the crowd. She smiled back at him, and her companions turned to greet him with fake smiles. As soon as he reached the table, he tried to ignore the other girls.
        He looked only at Lise, and before he even started speaking, he was already pulling her out of her chair. "Hey, Julia's looking for you."
        Lise made a mental note to thank him for the rescue as he dragged her away without even bothering to acknowledge the other occupants of the table.
        "Is Julia still around?" She asked when they were a good distance away.
        The boy laughed and stopped in a corner. "Who said she was here?"
        Lise simply laughed. She started walking again, heading for the nearest exit.
        Ryan walked with her. "Are you going straight home?"
        She nodded. "Yeah, why?"
        "Want some company?"
        "Sure. You going now?"
        "Yeah. I just stopped by to talk with Jules, but she left early today."
       They left the mall and started on their way home. They were a few blocks away and the sun was heading slowly towards the horizon, leaving the sky a blur of red, orange and blue. They walked in silence through the half-empty streets until Ryan's voice came. "You know, you really should just tell them to stop bothering you."
        Lise stared at the drawings the setting sun left in the sky and sighed. "I know... but I... I just can't... I'm too much of a... a..." She staggered a bit, trying to search her mind for the right word.
        Ryan smiled, trying to help her along. "Nice person?"
        She gave him a half-smile and sighed. "Actually, I was going to say idiot. And besides, it wouldn't do any good."
        "Hey, you won't know unless you try." He said.
        The last rays of light cut through the buildings and the trees and lighted their faces. Suddenly a boy stood in front them, blocking their path. They tried to go around him, but he did his best to stand in their way. Lise stopped, and so did Ryan. "Excuse us..." He said.   
        The boy looked sideways, his head lowered, his hands in his pockets. He didn't say a word. It was only then that Lise realized there was another boy behind them, slightly older than the first. She looked around the streets, they were empty. The clouds began to cover the skies, the darkness threatening to come earlier. The first boy stepped forward and took out a gun, pointing it at Lise. Despair started surfacing along with the realization of what was about to happen. She heard the first boy's voice, hurriedly, yet somewhat menacing. "Gimme your money and your watch... hurry up and you won't get hurt..."
        The second boy grabbed Lise's backpack; she held on to it, no rational thought involved. Ryan turned around and grabbed the other boy's arm. The first boy knocked Ryan to the ground while Lise let out a scream and kneeled down beside him. Through the midst of despair, she heard voices. Everyone seemed to be talking at the same time, their words making no sense to her. Ryan was on the floor... what was he saying? One of the boys was yelling at the other, gun in hand. Lise looked up, horror filling her eyes; she couldn't scream; she couldn't cry. She was frozen by pure fear as the boy turned to her, gun steady in his hands, his finger on the trigger. Of all things that could come into her mind at the moment of her death, the thought of the setting sun was what she least expected. That and a word. She thought she spoke, but she heard nothing. She never closed her eyes, but the darkness enveloped her just the same. No sight, no sound, just darkness. Then, far away, someone was calling her name. She was snapped away from the darkness and found herself staring into the eyes of a terrified Ryan.
        "Lise!! What the hell are you doing?!?" He shouted at her.
        Confusion danced around her mind. It took her a while to realize that Ryan was laying on the ground and that she had a knee on his chest, one hand on his throat, and the other pressing the gun to his forehead. He was staring at her, just as, or even more confused than she was. Lise still took a few seconds to fully grasp what was happening. She stared at his face, then at the gun in her hand.
        "Lise!" Ryan insisted. "What's going on?"
        She tried to speak, but her voice refused to collaborate. She finally managed to overcome part of the shock and move. Slowly getting up and allowing Ryan to do the same, she still couldn't understand the situation. Ryan carefully took the gun from her hand.
        "What's wrong with you?" He asked in what was barely a whisper.
        Lise was still confused. Her eyes brushed the darkened streets and found no trace of their assailants. Did she faint, was she knocked out, shot? There was no blood. How did the gun end up in her hands? All she had were doubts. That and a tremendous headache. With a slightly trembling hand, she rearranged the strands of hair that had fallen from their braid.
        "What happened?" She finally managed to ask.
        Ryan looked at her, shock clearly painted across his face.
        "What do you mean, 'What happened'? We were almost mugged..." He replied in a much harsher tone than he had wished.
        Lise hesitated until the echo of his tone stopped lingering. "And after that?" She forced herself to ask.
        Ryan tried to forge a laugh, thinking his friend was playing a game with him. "You're joking, aren't you?" There was no laughter in his voice, no amusement.
        Lise's expression alone answered his question.
        "You don't remember?" He asked, not even trying to disguise his schepticism.
        Lise shook her head silently.
        Even though he still wasn't buying into it, he decided to play along and see where she was going. "One of the boys had a gun, he pointed it at you. You were right next to me. Then everything got confusing. You whispered something, I couldn't hear what it was. I was expecting to hear a shot, but I heard your voice instead. Next thing I know, you had their gun and you were gonna shoot them. I tried to stop you, and you threw me to the ground..." He paused as if something had just popped into his head. "Why were you asking who I was?"
        Lise didn't answer. She had no answer. She merely looked at him.
        "And where did you learn to fight like that? You really gave me a scare. For a moment there, I actually thought you were going to pull that trigger."
        Lise secretly waited for him to burst into laughter, but that never happened. He was as serious as she had ever seen him. Lise picked up her backpack from the floor and held it tightly against her chest. Ryan stared at her with a worried look on his face. "Are you feeling alright?"
        Lise's eyes focused on him again and she nodded.
        "C'mon," he said as he placed the gun in his jacket pocket. "Let's go home."
        He started walking ahead, but Lise hesitated.
        "Hey, let's go." He insisted.
        Lise took one last look at the half empty streets surrounding them, but the only thing that seemed to draw her attention was the simple fact that the sun had gone down. The dim streetlights accompanied them as they made their way through the night in silence. Ryan didn't know what to say. He felt he should tell her he was lying for some reason, even though he wasn't. Just to try and make that strange look on her face vanish. He knew what he had seen, and he was sure of it. But he also knew that Lise probably would never be able to do what he was so sure he saw. Maybe it was the adrenaline, the fear. They tend to bring out things you'd never know were there. Maybe that was it , he thought as he tossed a look at her. Maybe that was all that was. He repeated, still trying to convince himself. And if he simply let it go and didn't question any of it, maybe then, he could believe it.  
        Lost in her thoughts, Lise hadn't even noticed Ryan was observing her. She was walking slowly, watching her feet come and go. She tried to disguise the subtle limp the pain in her leg caused. She didn't know why her leg hurt. Maybe he wasn't joking, she thought to herself, maybe I did take away their gun... And the moon is made out of cheese. If Ryan hadn't been so serious about it, she would never even have considered believing him. But then again, how else could the gun have ended up in her hands, and why would she ever point it at Ryan. It took her a few seconds to notice that they were no longer walking. She forced herself to snap out of it and look up from the ground. She saw Ryan leaned up against the gate, trying to force a smile.
        "Are you going in or not?" He asked slowly.
        She clumsily searched her pockets for the keys and opened the gate. She went in without saying a word. Ryan went after her, closing the gate behind them. "Aren't you going home?" She asked seriously.
        "You in a hurry to get rid of me?" He asked with a smile that didn't quite seem natural.
        "I'm not... but shouldn't you tell your mother what happened?"
        "Why? Anyway, she's not home. And I get the feeling you're gonna need some help explaining this to your folks."
        Lise shrugged and opened the door. Everything was dark. Since her parents were supposed to be home, it was strange that the lights would be out. She grinned at the thought of a power failure as she searched for the light switch.
        "Strange." Ryan whispered, venturing in the dark after her.
        The sudden light blinded them momentarily and a loud burst of voice and laughter clouded their hearing. "SURPRISE!!"
        As soon as her eyes adjusted to the change, Lise found herself staring at a dozen of her friends, her mother and father. She turned to Ryan, who tried to disguise the look of definite remembrance that appeared on his face. Lise just wanted to let herself fall on the couch, but she was quickly surrounded by her friends with hugs and kisses and presents. When they were finally content in talking amongst each other, Vanessa approached her daughter. Her smile slowly diminished as she saw the bruises on Lise's arm.
        "Honey, are you hurt?" She asked worriedly.
        "I'm fine, mom."
        "What happened?" Her father asked.
        "We were almost mugged." Ryan answered.
        "Where? Did they take anything?" Her father asked.
        "Who cares..." Vanessa interrupted. "Did they hurt you?"
        "Mom, calm down." Lise said softly.
        "They didn't take anything. And aside from a few bruises, we're fine." Ryan tried to say with a calm voice.
        Daniel Statler ran his fingers through his golden-gray hair and frowned. "Wait. You were mugged, but they didn't take anything?"
      Lise didn't say a word, she wasn't sure what to say. She turned to Ryan, expecting him to have the answer, but he was also silent. Noticing that there was something making them hold back, Daniel tried to encourage them. "We just want to know what happened..."
        Ryan opened his mouth, accepting the task of trying to explain. "We were walking home from the mall and we... these two boys came along, one took out a gun... but he dropped it. And when we picked it up... they ran off..."
       For a moment, he thought they might have noticed he was lying. He actually stopped breathing. Then his paranoia melted and he saw that the explanation had seemed satisfactory, at least for a while. He felt guilty for lying, but he convinced himself that it was a mere manipulation of the real events; and that the truth, if someone actually believed it, would only get them in trouble. Lise forged a smile, carrying in it a silent thank you.
        Vanessa was more focused on worrying about the marks on Lise's arm than his words. "Let's go clean those up and put something on them."
        Lise quietly followed her mother out of the room. Ryan saw Lyta in a corner and decided to go talk to her, but Daniel held him back.
        "Tell me something, Ryan. How did Lise get hurt?"
        It took Ryan a few seconds to think up something to say, but that was enough time for Daniel to realize something wasn't right. "What really happened?" He asked.
    Ryan felt himself backed up against a corner with nowhere to turn. He hadn't actually thought of an acceptable explanation for everything yet. He didn't even consider reality itself an acceptable explanation at that moment. He tried to forge a smile, but found it didn't come as easily as it always had. "Well, they did drop the gun... they just didn't drop it by themselves..."
    "What happened?"
    Ryan considered sticking to the truth, but it seemed to him that the truth was the least plausible explanation. He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, trying desperatly to buy a few seconds of time as his mind came up with another answer. "There were two boys, and they were going to rob us, but Lise was holding on to her backpack and they got into an argument. One of them pulled out a gun and they started fighting with one another. We didn't even move. Next thing I know, the older guy hits the younger one and he drops the gun. I picked it up and they ran off." He said it all with half his normal voice level, and when he finished the string of events, he saw Daniel's eyes regard him seriously. They both stood there in absolute silence for what seemed like hours.
        Then Daniel shifted slightly, his eyes always on Ryan. "The gun, you still have it?"       
        "Yeah." He answered. And this time it was the truth. "I was afraid someone might get it if I left it lying on the street."
        "You should give it to the police." Daniel said.
       "I will." He said, holding his breath for a moment when he thought Daniel was going to ask something else. His eyes darted about, looking for a way out, an excuse, any excuse. Even thought he was sure Daniel wasn't going to press the issue, Ryan still waited, he felt Daniel was observing him. With a glance sideways, he moved slowly across the room to where Lyta was, wondering what the hell he would tell the police. He wondered if there was any way he could give them the gun anonymously. With another subtle glance towards Daniel, he decided to get the matter out of his mind, at least for a few hours, even if the ache in his back didn't seem to allow it.

***

         Lise carefully observed her arm. Her hands hurt when she opened them or made a fist, and there was a small dark circle on her forearm. She pondered for a moment how they had really gotten that way. She tried to hide the pain and smile as her mother walked into the room with a pack of ice in her hands.
        "You don't have to put ice on it..." She said, trying to pretend that it didn't really hurt.
        "Are you sure?" Her mother asked.
        Lise nodded, supporting herself on her arm and trying not to flinch when it actually hurt.
        "Well, at least get out there and stay with your friends. It'll distract you." Vanessa said with a smile.
        Lise dragged herself to her feet and left her room, straying herself to disguise he slight limp in her steps. Her mother either didn't notice, or simply didn't mention it since she didn't call Lise back. Lise walked through the room quietly, speaking to the friends that came up to her or smiling discretely to the ones whose eyes merely met hers as she passed. She found a quiet enough spot away from the music and the laughter and let her mind wander. Her eyes locked onto some unknown star in the sky and her mind emptied itself of any thought. An eternity as long as the darkness she observed seemed to go by before she was dragged back to reality by a distant voice. "Hey, I've been looking for you."
        Lyta sat down beside her and noticed the distant look in Lise's eyes.
        "Are you feeling all right?"
        "Yeah... I... I just can't... remember something..."
        Her hands started trembling, but she pretended not to notice. And even though her voice was also shaking, she convinced herself it was merely the cold. The wind played with the tree branches and bush leaves, calming her. Nevertheless, nothing in her surroundings seemed to fill the inexplicable void inside of her.
        "Lise? Hello? Did you hear me? I said your mother is calling you..."
        Lise nodded and got up, following her friend inside the house. The wind in the garden slowly settled and stopped.
        In the living room, Ryan enjoyed his time alone to calm down. He was as nervous as he had been in a long time. He felt as if his own actions weren't his; as if he were watching himself speak and move. He wasn't sure of anything anymore. Was it all a dream? He heard the gate at the house next door, his house, open. He sighed and left, going home. No, it definetly wasn't a dream.
        Adriane Summers cursed as she looked at her watch and saw that she would be late. Judge Seldon had invited her and a few other acquaintances from the court house to a celebration dinner. She glanced at the clock on the wall and tried to estimate how long it would take her to drive to the restaurant.
        "Five minutes to spare." She whispered as she changed her clothes.
        She heard the front door open.
        "Mom?" Ryan called.
        She grabbed her purse and started walking out, still combing her hair. She almost ran into her son. "What is it?"
        "Where are you going?" He asked surprised.
        "I won't be back very late. You can fix yourself some dinner, can't you?"
        Ryan nodded, even though he didn't like the idea at all.
        "Maybe if I took Ponds up to..." Adriane's voice trailed off as she walked out of the house. Ryan heard the gate close and a car take off and sighed. He went in the kitchen and looked inside the fridge, confirming his suspicions that there wasn't anything eatable in there at the moment. He just sat down on the couch and closed his eyes.
        "I didn't feel like eating, anyway." He whispered to himself bitterly. He didn't notice that his eyes had closed. Didn't even notice he was falling asleep. Nor did he notice when his mother came home, hours later, to find him passed out on the couch.
 

***

        Lise tried to hide a yawn as she said goodbye to Lyta.
         "Sure you don't need help cleaning up?" The girl volunteered kindly.
        "No. We'll get to that in the morning. But thanks for the offer, anyway."
         "Okay, then. See you Monday."
        "Is your brother coming to pick you up?"
        "Nah, he's in way past REM by now. K.T.'s gonna give me a ride. I think that's her mother out there already."
        "Bye."
        "Happy birthday!" Lyta still shouted one last time.
        Lise smiled as her friend walked off, and let herself yawn again as she went into the house. Her mother was already going to sleep on her feet and her father was locking the doors and turning off the lights.
        Lise crawled into bed and covered herself with her blankets, content with the subtle warmth they brought. She let fatigue close her eyes and send her to sleep. Just as reality dissolved from her thoughts, a scene quietly took its place. Slowly at first, then rapidly turning into a whirlwind of sound and color. When it halted, Lise found she was staring out across a patio, staring out into someone else's life, through someone else's eyes. The dream went on by itself, dragging Lise along as a leaf blown by the wind.
        "Hey, Chris! Over here!"
        She turned and saw a tall girl briskly walking her way. The girl's short blue colored hair and honey colored eyes gave her face an exotic appearance. One Lise was sure never to have seen before.
        "Where's Nick?" Lise found herself asking.
        "We heard that Lauren had something to settle with his cousin, he went t' find 'em."
        "Where are they?"
        "On the corn--"
        Before the girl could finish, Lise found herself walking through a gate and down a narrow street. She heard footsteps as the other girl gained on her. "You can't go there." She said.
        "Really? Watch me." Lise shot back naturally.
        "You shouldn't go there." The girl rephrased.
        She held Lise's arm, forcing her to stop. Lise turned to face her, her actions and words automatic. "Why not? No one messes with one of ours and gets away with it like nothing happened."
        Lise freed herself from the girl's grasp and continued with a steady pace, Reeshann now showing the same determination as they walked side by side down the street.
        "You know all the gang's gonna be there and we'll be by ourselves..." Reeshann said as if she were stating a fact for no specific purpose.
        Lise's answer was a mere nod.
        "And you do know that Austin isn't gonna like this one bit. Us going after his sweet darling of a sister..."
        "Uh-hu..."
        "So? What do we do if he comes looking for us later on?"
        Lise smiled, but for what reason, she didn't know.
        "Well, then we'll just ask him to keep his little sister out of our way."
        "Yeah, that'll work..." Reeshann said with a heavy dose of sarcasm.
        The two girls quietly made a left into an even narrower street and saw Nick arguing with a short light-haired girl, Lauren. Up against the wall, another boy was being held steady.
        "Lauren!" Lise shouted, still a few feet away.
        The girl slowly turned around with an annoyed look on her face.
         "J.C., long time no see." She gave out a dry laugh. "What do you want here? Can't you see I'm in the middle of something?"
        "Nick's one of mine; and as long as he stands up for his cousin, we stand up for him. Simple, isn't it?"
        Lauren's fake smile dissolved in an instant. "Uh-uh, you're not placing claim here." She said with a scowl.
        "You're just dying for a fight, aren't you?" Reeshann asked through clinched teeth.
        Lise held her friend back with a strength she couldn't account for.
        "Do you really want a fight?" Lise asked with an incredulous tone in her voice.
        "Yeah, I was looking forward to seeing a fight today. TV's broken..." Lauren answered with an enigmatic smile.
        Lise and Reeshann exchanged confused glances, both shrugging.
        "I'm in..." Nick said slowly.
       Reeshann looked at Lise and they both nodded at the same time. Lauren's friends released the younger boy, who quickly moved away from them. Lauren walked over to a rock and sat down, looking at her watch.
        "What's she doing?" Reeshann whispered low enough only for her friends to hear.
        "Why the hell's she looking at her watch?" Nick wondered out loud.
        Lise's mind quickly reached a conclusion that was already there. "You want a fight? You'll get a fight! Get up!" She screamed.
        "She's waiting for Austin, isn't she?" Nicholas asked, not expecting an answer.
        "Get up and fight you lit--!" Reeshann started to shout, going towards the girl.
        "Hey! What's going on here?" A voice demanded from behind.       
        Lise whirled around and a name came to her mind as fast as lightning: Austin.
        The boy's tone was only matched by the angry expression on his face. "I asked what the hell is going on here. Get away from my sister!"         
        Lauren hid a smile and pouted innocently. It couldn't have been more fake if she tried to make it, but her brother was no longer looking at her. Lise rolled her eyes and turned again to face Austin.         
        "I asked a question!" He said briskly.         
        "Your sister was forgetting the rules... I came for my cousin, that's all." Nick answered with a sideways glance at his cousin.          
        Austin's reaction was a mocking smile. "And the three of you just came to help him out. That's why Lauren's sitting quietly over there and the three of you are charging her."         
        "Interpret it as you wish," Reeshann said with a grin. "We're not hanging around."
        As they started to leave, Lise got a sick feeling at the pit of her stomach. It wouldn't be that easy. She knew she was right as soon as Austin got in her way. "Not so fast. You came for a fight, it would be rude of me not to comply."
        "Misunderstanding at its fullest..." Nick mumbled.
        "Unless of course... you're scared, and you're backing down." Austin threw in with a smile.
        Lise knew he had pushed the right button. She wouldn't back down, and she wouldn't admit fear.
        "Fine, you'll have your fight. But... it's gonna be just the two of us."
        Before her friends could protest, Austin agreed. Lise saw the smile on Lauren's face and had a sudden urge to punch it right out of there. The others backed away silently to make enough space for the fight.
        "You do know I'm better than you?" Austin teased.
        "Yeah, so?" She asked with indifference.
        "And I'm gonna wipe the floor with you without even breaking a sweat..." He said confidently.
        "We'll see..." She tossed back with a touch of defiance.
        Austin smiled. "Be honest. Don't you want to back down? Don't y' know you'll lose?"
        Lise put on her best fake smile and raised an eyebrow. "Ready when you are" She whispered.
        "Just keep in mind I'm not as stupid as David." He said with an even broader smile.
        Lise let herself laugh. "No one is."
      Austin nodded and charged at her. She dodged him and went back a step, barely dodging his foot when he tried to trip her. She tried to punch him, but he dodged it and punched her. Reeshann wanted to help, but she was held back by the others. The fight went on with a series of misses and hits. Lise managed to throw Austin to the ground, but he kicked the back of her knees and sent her down. The boy jumped to his feet just as she did, but his foot was sent at her stomach before she was prepared. She grasped for air and fell to the ground as he threw another blow. She still tried to get up, fight back, but she could barely breath. Austin held her from behind in a tight lock, his arm tightening around her throat.
        "You're right..." He said with difficulty, his voice a hoarse whisper. "I didn't wipe the floor with you..."
        His arm still pressing against her throat, Lise started to lose focus on reality, everything started to darken, fading away. She couldn't breath... there was no air... the tight hold around her neck... she was suffocating... Air, she needed air. Breath! She screamed at herself in her thoughts.
        She opened her eyes and took in all the oxygen she could. Her despair left her reluctantly with every breath she took. It was so real, but it had been just a dream. She rubbed her neck, still feeling it sore and closed her eyes, content to hear only the sound of her own breathing.
        "Just a dream." She told herself. "Just a dream..."
        She tried not to fall asleep again. Nightmares, for this had been a nightmare, had never been her favorite things. She glanced at the watch and sighed as she noted the hands indicated 6:30.
        "That's not so bad..." She mumbled as she made her way to the kitchen.
        She carefully tried to open both the cupboard and the refrigerator without making any noise. She stared at her glass of water for a moment before actually drinking the liquid. With relieve and a bit of surprise, she found it smoothly went down her throat. She felt her neck again, searching for sore points that weren't there. She went back to her room and crawled into bed, staring up at the blank ceiling as she simply waited for the hours to pass.  
 

***

        Julia Sonneborn carefully put the sculpture back on display and sighed. There went another customer who wouldn't be coming back. She could always tell the difference between those who were merely browsing because they had nothing better to do and those who would surely come back with money later. The sad fact was the latter were always rare. Julia was about to rearrange the window display when she saw a very familiar face on the other side of the glass. She waved at her friend and signaled Lise to come into the shop.
        "Hi, are you busy?" The girl asked in a loud whisper.
        "Nah, got all day." Julia replied loudly. "Come here you, lemme give you a hug. Happy birthday!"
        Lise smiled, mouthing a 'thanks'.
        "Sorry I didn't get a chance to go to your house last night."
        "I missed you there. Everything was so quiet and calm..." Lise said with a smile.
        "Thanks... I think. Anyway, my mother made this enormous fuss about me leaving the house just because she was mugged on her way home from work.. And then we kindda got into this huge fight about I don't know what... Anyways, sorry, again." Julia paused, seeing Lise's barely noticeable reaction to her words.
        "What's that look?" Julia asked.
        "What look?" Lise asked, not entirely sure what she had done.
        "That 'someone just said something important' look. What's up?"
        "Nothing important."
        "Don't give me that. I know you... C'mon, spill it."
        "All right, but don't make a big deal out of it."
        "I won't. I promise..."
        Lise didn't quite believe Julia's honest smile, even not seeing the girl's fingers crossed behind her back, but she told her anyway.
        "Ryan and I were almost mugged last night."
        "Really? Where?"
        "Between here and my house..."
        "I told you guys a thousand times: don't take that shortcut!" Julia almost shouted.
        "Shh! If you're not gonna work, at least keep it down!" Julia's coworker whispered loudly.
        Julia tossed her a mean glance, but lowered her voice to address Lise.
        "On your birthday? Wow, that must have been awful. I hope they didn't take anything important."
        "No, they didn't take anything."
        "What? How come?"
        "It's a long story... complicated, confusing, you don't wanna hear it."
        Julia arched an eyebrow and stared at Lise until she saw her friend give in.
        "Fine, I'll tell you later, when you can get away."
        Julia raised a hand and turned to Rachel.
        "Hey, Rach, mind if I take a break? I'll work 'til six in your place..."
        The young woman thought about it for a few seconds. She could surely handle the shop for a few minutes alone - which was probably what she was already doing - in exchange for going home early and leaving Julia to take care of everything for a change.
        "Deal." She said plainly.
        Julia was already pushing Lise towards the door. The two friends found a quiet place and sat down.
        "So..." Lise started reluctantly.
        "Out with it. What happened last night?"
        "Well, two boys surrounded us with a gun... And I thought they were going to shoot me, then..." Lise's voice just trailed off as her thoughts jumped to the part of events where the gun was already in her hands.
        Julia noticed the interruption immediately, but still awaited a full two seconds before her impantience to hear the rest of the story got to her. "What?" She asked.
       "I don't really remember. Ryan says I took the boy's gun away from him and then fought them and that I was going to shoot them with their gun... which was with me... and... he said I was going to shoot them and he tried to stop me and I shoved him to the ground and put the gun to his head... From there on, I remember everything else. It's like there's a hole in the middle of what I remember about last night. As if I had just, like... erased it. It was so weird."
        Lise expected her friend to laugh, but Julia knew her too well to not take it seriously.
        "Is there anything else?"
        Lise told her exactly what happened, as accurately as her memory would allow it. She also tried to describe the strange dream she had that same night. She thought of as many details, names and actions as she could remember, surprised that a mere dream would have left such a vivid impression on her. When she finished, she found Julia just staring at her in complete silence.
       "Say something." Lise urged her.
        "Weird... very weird."
        "What?"
        "Everything."
        Even though those weren't the words Lise was longing to hear, they were better than the previous silence.
        "What do you think that dream means?" She asked suddenly.
        "Well, let me think about it for a moment. Well, I guess we could start by looking at what surrounds the dream. You were faced with a life-threatening situation and supposedly defended yourself. Then, in your dream, you were put into a situation where you depended on your skills. Were you sure you'd win? Did you take the fight for granted?"
        Lise pondered about the questions. All the doubt and uncertainty she knew were there came to mind.
        "No, I was never certain I would win. I was almost afraid, I think. I just refused to admit it."
       "Then you weren't confident, but you tried to show that you were. Maybe that means you're insecure about your capacity, and the fact that you lost in the end could mean you believe you don't have what it takes to accomplish a given task."
        Lise let a small silence come between Julia's words and her reaction. She tried to review her friend's words, understand them, but something in her mind refused to.     "That makes little to no sense." She let out with a sigh.
        "Just because you don't want it to." Julia shot back with fake hurt in her voice.
        "Maybe..." Lise gave in with a smile.
        "Do you want me to set up an appointment for you with my dad?" Julia offered kindly, the start of a grin already showing.
        Lise considered the offer for a few seconds before she decided she didn't really think there was anything wrong with her. "No thanks." 
        "Ah, c'mon. There's no harm in seeing a shrink, I see one every day." The girl said with a smile.
        Lise merely stared at her. "I don't need one. I'm fine."
        "Suit yourself. But when your parents commit you to a mental institute, don't expect any help from me."
        Lise just laughed, not managing to think up a fair response to Julia's joke.
        "Hey, would you like to see some dream interpretation books? We've got a few good ones at the shop." - Julia offered.
        "I don't know. I'm tired already and besides, I didn't want to go home after dark."
        "I don't blame you. Call your mom, I'm sure she can come and pick you up. If not, I'll give you a lift on my way home, you'll just have to wait until after six."
        "I don't know..."
        "C'mon, lazy Lise, move it."
        Julia got up, dragging Lise to her feet. The girls walked back to the small store that smelled like incense. The 'Eye of Isis' was a strange little shop, selling  anything from amulets and lucky charms to incense and books on witchcraft; from gems to sculptures and little cloth dolls in the form of witches and elves. Lise followed Julia to a shelf in the back of the store filled with books. Julia grabbed two or three books and took them to a small table.
        "Let's check these." She opened the smaller one and browsed through the pages. "Dreaming of: vampires... water... body parts... decapitation..."
        "This is not a library, you know." Rachel said with a grin. "Why don't you go and see if that guy's gonna buy anything?"
        Julia sighed and turned the book over to Lise. "See if you can find anything interesting. I'll be right back."
        Lise looked through the pages, her eyes scanned the words, but her mind was far away. She felt tired, exhausted. After a while, she carefully placed the books back in their respectful order and waved Julia goodbye. She walked to a phone and dialed her home number.
        "Hello?" The voice on the other end asked.
        "Mom? Could you come pick me up?"
        "Sure. I'll be there in a few minutes. You'll wait for me outside, okay?"
        "Uh-hu. Bye."
        She hung up and started towards the exit. She felt as if she were dragging her feet along, as if the air itself held her back. She just wanted to lie down, close her eyes and sleep. Sleep, and dream...
 
 

***

        Ryan picked up the receiver as soon as he heard the first ring. "Hello." He said lazily.
        The other voice came almost instantly. "Hey, son. How are you?"
        "Dad! Are you in town?"
        "No, I just called to talk to your mother."
        "Oh." He let out, disappointed. His voice changed. "She's out. I could give her a message, though."
        His father seemed satisfied. "Ok, tell her that she's going to have to pay for your ticket."
        That got Ryan's attention. "What ticket?"
        "Aren't you coming to visit me next weekend?" His father asked.
        The question caught him by surprise. "I am?"
        "I already set it up with your mother."
        Ryan grinned, even though he knew his father wouldn't see it. He felt like asking why they hadn't talked to him first, but he didn't say anything. He didn't want to start a fight and miss the chance to see his father again. It seemed a long time since they had last seen each other. 
        "Tell Adriane she's the one who's going to pay for your plain ticket."
        "But it's your turn." Ryan pointed out.
        His father's voice seem to loose some of its strength for a moment. "I know... but my raise didn't come through."
        "All right. I'll talk to mom."
        "See you next week, then."
        "Bye..." Ryan said as the busy signal took over.
        He glanced at the large white clock on the wall and whispered to himself, trying to hear his own voice. "Seven thirty." There was no point in waiting for his mother to come home for dinner. He grabbed some money and locked the house. Just as he stepped onto the sidewalk, a car pulled up next door. A tall dark-haired woman stepped out of the car and smiled at Ryan.
        "Good evening, Mrs. Statler."
        "Hello, Ryan. Is your mother home?"
        "No, she went to a dinner or something. I think she'll be back around 10pm. Is it urgent?"
        "No. Just tell her I've set aside a few samples for her."
        "Samples?"
        "Styles, combinations, color arrangements; that sort of thing."
        "I'll tell her when she gets home."
        "Thank you. Lise, when you come inside, don't forget to lock the gate, okay?"
        "Okay. Hey, Ryan, where are you going?"
        "I'm gonna go grab something to eat."
        Lise nodded, as if the sentence had made sense to her, but it was all jumbled up in her head at that point. She strained herself and focused. "Just do my conscience a favor and don't use that shortcut."
        "Are you kidding? I'm not going near the place."
        He walked off, mumbling something about stealing the car and enough money to go to the supermarket. Lise laughed to herself and went inside, almost forgetting to lock the gate behind her.
        "Mom, I'm gonna lie down for a few minutes." She said as she passed her mother in the living room. "I'm feeling a bit tired."
        "All right. I'll call you when dinner is on the table."
        "Thanks."

***

        Lise took her shoes off and pushed the covers aside, lying down on her bed and closing her eyes. She felt sleep carry her away, but she was powerless to stop it; she didn't even want to try. A scene started to surface from the darkness. It resembled a painting; the stillness of the trees, the silence in the air, the soft patterns the faraway clouds formed in the sky. It started to swirl, it all started to become an enormous vortex, rapid, intoxicating, turning faster, stronger, and finally throwing Lise against the ground. She felt her entire body hurt as if it had been crushed against concrete. She held back a scream as the tears began to crawl down her cheeks. She heard a soft, menacing voice not far away; mocking her, teasing her, but most of all, threatening her. It called her by a name that wasn't hers and dared  her to defy it, knowing there was no way she could. She knew the terror had only begun, and it would not stop. She closed her eyes, wishing it would all go away, wishing they would be safe, but she dared not question who or why. Before the answers could make themselves clear, her eyes snapped open and the river of images left her standing at the edge of the woods.
        "Where are you going?" She heard a small boy ask from behind. His blonde hair falling on his eyes, tired from running to catch up with her.
        "Don't worry. I'll be back before nightfall." She said with a smile, brushing his bangs back.
        "Mom wants you to take care of me and Phil." He said.
        Lise smiled again, trying to comfort the little boy. "I'll be back, I'm just going to visit a friend of mine."
        "In the woods?" He asked with a frown as he blew his bangs out of his eyes.
        "It's a shortcut." She said naturally, but she felt it was wrong somehow. "Now go home."
        "But Lena..." He started, pouting. "I wanna go with you."
        Lise sighed. He was stubborn, almost as stubborn as she was. But she knew a way around that for the time being. She put on a smile and kneeled in front of him. "Why don't you go home and see if any letters came for me?"
        The boy's eyes opened with excitement. "You think he wrote?"
        Lise didn't answer, she just smiled that special smile she knew was reserved just for him. She ruffled his hair and turned to go, but still heard him call her one more time. She turned around, but found herself looking at another boy. He was older, his light brown hair brushed back, his dark blue eyes staring into hers, unleashing a sea of emotions.
        "I don't want you to go." She said softly with amazing control over her own words.
        The boy tried to forge a smile. "I don't want to go either, but I don't really have a choice."
        She sighed. "I know, but I'm worried. What if..." The words found themselves fighting the tears back and losing badly. They were lost, but their omnious meaning hung in the air like a curse. She saw the boy kneel down in front of where she was sitting, his eyes brimming with tears. He removed a gold chain from around his neck and put it around hers.
        "Take care of it, will you?" He asked, trying not to surrendering to the sadness. "It's for you..."
        The image started to blur... darkness...
        "It's for you... Lise? Are you awake?"
        Lise opened her eyes and felt the clash of light with the previous darkness. Her mother stood there with the phone in her hands. Lise tried to erase what was still left of the dream in her and reached out, taking the phone.
        "Hello?"
        "Your voice sounds awful. Are you sick or something?" Julia asked from the other end.
        "No, I was just sleeping."
        "Oh, that's why I called. I was thinking about your dream..."
        "Let it go, Julia, it was just a dream." Lise said through a yawn.
        "That's where you're wrong." She said hurriedly, her voice overflowing with excitement. "Dreams are manifestations of a person's subconscious. So something in your subconscious caused it. Maybe something in your subconscious feels threatened or..."
        "Julia..." Lise interrupted. "Dreams don't have roots in anything real. I dreamed with things and people I've never seen before. It was just a dream."
        "Well, I don't agree. Every dream has a meaning..." Julia insisted. "And I'll find the one in yours."
        Lise heard a slight knock on her door and it half opened, her mother peered in.
        "Dinner's ready."
        Lise nodded in acknowledgement and said goodbye to Julia. Her friend reluctantly hung up and Lise dragged herself to the dinner table. She went through dinner straining her eyes to stay awake. Not even a shower woke her up. She finally collapsed onto her bed and slept. She slept all through the night, embraced in the soft comfort of a dreamless sleep.
 
 

***

        Julia rummaged through the piles of books she had in front of her and found her notebook. Opening it to a blank page, she noted down a few words:
        "Lise A. Statler - Dream 1"
        She focused for a moment, organizing her thoughts, putting them into words. After a few minutes of pondering on her train of thoughts, she finally began to write. "The dream contains various figures, each one representing a different feeling emanating from the subject. The place itself is significant. A large patio turning into a narrow street, and ending in a dead end. The subject subconsciously believes that she is following a predetermined path (that fact alone is supported by the subjects incapability of action or speech, being a mere observer in the place of a character in the dream). The fact that decisions must be constantly taken enforce the idea that the subject feels that she may be at a crossroads, possibly at a difficult time in her life where she must make choices who will not only affect her, but others as well.
        As for the characters, the subject denied knowing or having seen any of them before, therefore, they must be personifications of different sentiments. Reeshann is the first character to appear; challenging the subject's impulses at first, then advising and finally supporting the subject's actions. This character thus represents the cautious nature of the subject, which questions her own actions and possibly motives. The second character of significance is Lauren: challenging, irritating, devious, and mostly, despised by the subject. This character might represent the subject's hidden side, which she possibly finds as unwelcome as the character in her dreams. The third character, Nicholas or Nick, appears only as a complementary player in the events. His actions, although noble, of protecting his cousin are what result in the final outcome of the dream, discussed further on. The interpretation of character nº 3 could be taken in various ways, depending on the subject's feeling about his actions and their consequences. It is my guess that this particular character reflects the side of the subject's personality which decides what to do, being balanced by character nº 1. The fourth significant character is Austin. This character can't easily be interpreted or placed in any distinct division of personality. At the same time as this character sides with character nº 2, being manipulated by her into taking an opposite position as to the other characters, including the subject herself; he never exhibits proof of being of a devious or evil nature. He fights with the subject as equals, even though there seems to be a consensus that he can easily defeat her. At the end of the dream, the subject is clearly beaten, but character nº 4 does not give any indication that he enjoys it, thus he cannot easily be classified as the angrier, rebellious part of the subject's nature. The classification of both character's 3 and 4 must be examined further to ensure a correct assertion."
Julia stared at what she had written and sighed, rubbing her eyes. Why was she working so hard on Lise's dream? Lise herself said it hadn't been anything, just a weird reaction to what Ryan had told her about the mugging. Julia jumped slightly as she heard the phone ring. Before answering, she quickly scribbled on the corner of a page: "Mugging = dream/events". She put her pencil down and rushed to the telephone, picking up the receiver to put an end to the irritating sound.
        "Hello?"
        "Julia Sonneborn, please." - a woman's voice said from the other end.
        "This is Julia. Who am I speaking to?"
        There was a small silence, followed by an incomprehensible word.
        "Tell me the numbers." The voice demanded softly from the other side.
        "What numbers?" Julia asked confused.
        "Any numbers..." The woman replied calmly.
        What a weirdo, Julia thought to herself, giving out a silent laugh. She suddenly felt a headache start to creep up on her and shrugged it off as tension or stress catching up on her. "Fine, " she said out loud. "25, 5 and 19."
        "Thank you."
        "Who are you?" She asked. All she got as a reply was the constant busy signal from the other side. "Freak." She muttered. She hung up the phone and glanced back at the full page of notes she had made on Lise's dream. She tore off that particular page and threw it in the trash can without a second thought. She closed all the other books, putting them back in their respective shelves and sat down again, staring at an empty page. She felt the urge to write, but her mind refused to divulge what she wanted to write about. So she just sat there, waiting for a thought, or an idea to come to mind, not knowing whether it would or not.
 

***

        The sound of her mother's voice was the only thing that pulled Lise from her peaceful sleep. No strange faces, no names she had never heard, just the serenity that held her back in a tight embrace.
        "You're going to be late. Ryan's already waiting for you." Vanessa insisted.
        Lise's answer was a silent groan and a yawn.
        "Honey, you can't be that tired." Her mother argueed.
        Lise just shook her head and opened her eyes and forced herself to her feet. Vanessa smiled and walked out of the room, turning on the light. Lise covered her eyes for a moment, while they accustomed themselves to the brightness. She stared at her watch for a few seconds before being able to fully recognize what time it showed. She saw it clearly enough, however, to know that she was late.
        Outside, Ryan stared at his watch. "I should have bought her an alarm clock for her birthday." He mumbled, knowing there would be no one around to hear it. He settled for observing the pearly white clouds across the sky. It made him calm down and lose track of time until Lise finally came out, not even looking like she had gotten ready in a hurry. Her hair was carefully arranged into its usual braid, her pace as steady and calm as it always was. She gave Ryan an apologetic smile as soon as she saw him.
        He grinned. "You wanna be late or you just couldn't remember what time school began?" 
        She disregarded the comment as she walked faster to try and keep up with him as he hastily made his way to the bus stop. Her leg was still a bit sore, as was her arm, but she still didn't know why. She grimaced and slowed down again, knowing the bus stop was just around the corner.
        "What's wrong?" He asked when he saw her putting more weight on one leg than the other. "Did you hurt yourself or something?"
        She shrugged. "It's been hurting since yesterday. I don't remember getting hurt."
        "Maybe you fell off your bed." Ryan said with the edge of a smile.
        "I think I'd remember that."
        "Why should you?" He asked, signaling the bus coming their way. "You don't even remember having a real fight day before last... That's how I think you got hurt, by the way. Noth that you believe me or anything like that."
        Lise didn't say anything, she just sat down on an empty seat on the bus and looked at the houses as they went by. It didn't seem funny. It was getting to her, she was letting it.
        "You really don't remember, do you?" Ryan asked, sitting beside her.
        She shook her head absentmindedly. "No. I thought I had blacked out or something. I felt like fainting or... I don't know..."
        "Maybe it's one of those things we see in movies. You know, when someone goes through a traumatic experience, their subconscious wipes that memory from the conscious part of the mind."
        Lise turned to him with a skeptical look. "And you think that's what happened?"
        "Well, except for the fact that I wouldn't call beating up a couple of fine citizens a traumatic experience, yeah, I think that's it."
        "Guess we'll never know for sure."
        "Don't be so sure." He said with a grin. "Have you mentioned any of this to Julia yet?"
        "Yeah, yesterday at the mall. Why?"
        "Oh, you've just volunteered to become her newest guinea pig, you know."
        They both stood up and joined the other students getting off the bus.
        "And we could always go to a doctor and ask him if anything else is wrong with your brain lately."
        Lise stopped where she stood and stared at him for a moment. "Hey, wait a minute." She protested, but Ryan just kept walking. She just let out a sigh and went after him. She found him in their classroom, already talking to Julia. The girl was serious, something they didn't see often.
        "Is something wrong?" Lise asked her.
        "Why? No, nothing's wrong." Julia answered with a smile.
        "She's just trying to convince me to tell you the truth." Ryan cut in with a reprimanding glance at Julia.
        Lise looked from one to the other. "Truth? About what?"
        "About what happened when we were mugged. She doesn't believe that you really picked a fight with those two boys."
        "Are you lying?" Lise asked with a spec of hope that he would say yes.
        "No!" He said without a second thought. "Of course not. You guys know me. I'd never play with something like this." Ryan affirmed seriously.
        "Still, this is Lise we're talking about." Julia shot at him. "The same girl who couldn't even open a soda can, for crying out loud."
        "That was only once." Lise threw in with a tinge of embarassment.
        "Whatever..." Julia said with a wave, dismissing her comment. "I really think you should clear this thing up, Ryan."
        "I know what I saw." He said, almost letting through a tone of hurt in his voice.
        Julia decided to back off, at least from that line of questioning. "Lise, help me out here, please?"
        Lise looked at them with no words. Then she saw the hurt in Ryan's face and she shrugged. "If Ryan said he saw it, he saw it... I just don't remember it."
        "Are you guys nuts?" Julia finally asked.
        "Maybe..." Ryan replied with a smile. "But that has nothing to do with it."
        He suddenly turned to Lise. "You know I'm telling the truth, Lise. Even if you don't remember; your legs hurt, don't they? Your arms were bruised, weren't they? If what I said happened, didn't happen, how do you explain it?"
        Lise didn't even try to conjure up an explanation, she had none. A thousand ideas seemed to wash over her mind, but none of them felt right. They just stared at each other in silence.
        "Julia Sonneborn, Lise Statler and Ryan Summers. Turn around and pay attention!" The teacher shouted, bringing their minds back to focus on where their bodies were.
        With a silent agreement, the conversation was postponed for another time.
        Lise continued to wander, in her thoughts, if only there, through all the unknown terrain that laid there among the possibilities. She searched her mind for a memory she knew had to be there, but she felt wouldn't be. No matter what, she saw the same scene over and over again. The gun pointed at her, darkness, Ryan shouting at her... It never changed, nothing new was ever added. Random thoughts started to surface without her control. They just flourished and changed to a point she wouldn't recognize any truth in what they showed her, only imagination. She tried to control their path, without success, making them go into a desperate frenzy, almost like a bubble before it bursts.
        The school bell finally rang, causing her mixture of thoughts to explode as thirty or so students stood and stormed out of the classroom. Lise wasn't fully aware of how much time had gone by, but she stood up and joined them. She accompanied Ryan and Julia to one of the few still vacant tables in the court yard and sat down beside them without a word.
        "You know, if you keep this up, I'm going to talk to your mother." Julia threatened.
        That was enough to get Lise's attention. She looked up and saw that Julia was addressing her. "Talk to her about what?"
        "About you being on orbit all of the time, like you were just now..."
        "I was not." Lise tried.
        "Oh, c'mon... Something's going on with you. Why won't you tell us?"
        They just stared at each other while Ryan stared at them. He wouldn't dare step into it, not while Julia was still so worked up about whatever it was that she was worked up about. It was his way of trying to avoid even the small conflicts of personality they eventually had. So he just watched and waited as Julia waited for Lise to say something, and Lise waited for Julia to finish the discussion. It stayed that way for a while, and the silence was only extinguished when two of Ryan's friends joined their table.
        "Hey, Ryan. Did you ever find out what coach was screaming at us for, last week?" Todd asked with a genuine smile.
        Ryan shook his head. "No, Charlie wouldn't tell me."
        "Hi." Matt waved at the girls as he sat down, getting a small nod back from Julia and nothing but a look from Lise.
         "You know Matt and Todd, right?" Ryan asked the girls with a side glance, not really checking for recognition in their faces.
        Julia felt obligated to nod, even though she didn't recall ever having seen Todd before. Lise didn't answer, she just stared at Matt for a few seconds, making the boy frown and try to forge a smile. "I'm Lyta's brother. We've seen each other a couple of times before when I went to pick her up at your house."
        Lise's memory finally made a connection between the familiar face that always knocked on her door for Lyta and the boy that sometimes passed by Ryan at school and asked something about homework. He wasn't in their class, but he was in the same year, and had almost all the same teachers, consequently getting almost all the same assignments. "Yeah, I wasn't recognizing you without the car keys and the finger on the door bell."
        She hadn't meant it as malice, but Matt understood it as such. "Sorry about that." He said sheepishly. "By the way, how was your birthday?"
        She shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
        "Are you in Ryan's class?" Todd asked, getting a nod from everyone in the group. "Eighteenth, then. Right?"
        "You're eighteen?" Matt asked surprised. "I thought you were seventeen, like Lyta."
        "No, I'm eighteen." Lise reinforced.
        "Sure? Maybe someone messed up your birth certificate." He joked.
        He got glances from the other three in the group which suggested it was an insane idea. "Hey," he said defensively, "it could happen..."
        Ryan shook his head.
        "Hey, it happened to my grandmother."
        The others just laughed.
        "I'm sure my birth certificate is correct." Lise interrupted. "I'm eighteen."
        "Can you two finish this exciting discussion later?" Julia finally threw in.
        "Touchy today, aren't we?" Ryan teased her. 
        Julia brushed the comment aside with a smile and got up, as if she had predicted the bell would sound at that exact moment.
        "Allons-y?" Todd said with a grin, knowing he had French class next.
        "What?" Lise questioned with a look.
        "Something like: let's go, in French." He explained.
        "I can see you're not getting much out of your French classes." Matt joked.
        Lise grinned silently and they all returned to their respective classrooms. They went through another two hours or so until the bell finally made itself heard again.
        "So, what about these weird dreams you're having?" Ryan started the conversation while they left the classroom.
        "What about them?" Lise asked.
        "Did Julia manage to find an explanation for them yet?" He asked mockingly.
        "Don't make fun of what you don't understand."  Julia shot back with a serious voice.
        Ryan just smiled.
        "Are we still on for tomorrow?"  Julia asked, changing the subject.
        "Sure. You're coming, right, Lise?"  Ryan asked her.
        She looked at them as if she had no idea what they were talking about. "Where?"
        "To my house?"  He replied with a grin.
        "To study math?"  Julia added with a smile.
        "Oh, right. I forgot all about it."
        "But you're still going?" Julia asked.
        She shrugged. "Yeah. I think I am."
        "Did you find out what we have to study, Jul?"
        "Yeah. Everything from page 34 of chapter 3 to the end of chapter 5. Sally said it was a good idea to check out the intro to chapter 6, but I don't have that much faith in her opinion. Last time I di--" She stopped herself short all of a sudden, staring at Lise. "What song is that?"
        Lise frowned.  "What song? I don't hear any music."
        Ryan started to laugh, being joined by Julia.
        "What?!? I don't hear anything."  Lise insisted, now confused by their attitude.
        "I asked what song was it that you were humming..."  Julia explained, rolling her eyes.
        Lise gave her a half-smile and frowned. "I wasn't humming."
        "Yes, you were."  Ryan confrmed.
        "Really?"  Lise asked, trying to remember if she had been humming or not.
        Ryan nodded.
        "What song was it?" She asked. Maybe it was something that constantly played on the radio, or some of those annoying little tunes that no one actually likes, but that they can't seem to get out of their heads. But both Ryan and Julia shrugged.
        "That's what I was asking you."  Julia said.
        Ryan laughed, leaving it at that, but Julia was curious. She hummed clumsily, trying to imitate what she thought she had heard. Lise just shook her head, she didn't think she had ever heard it before, not the melody itself. It was as if she had felt that song before. As if she knew what it represented, what it meant to her, or someone else. It brought out sadness, sorrow... It had only a faint happiness, the one that comes with acceptance, not with joy.
        "Do you recognize it?"  Julia finally asked.
        Lise shook her head. "No, never heard it before."
        "Strange." Julia let out, staring at her. Ryan gave her a look, and the girl didn't add a thing.
        "Maybe it'll come to me." Lise said with a shrug.
        "Well, your memory hasn't been that good lately." Ryan couldn't help but point out.
        "Don't start." Julia said, putting Lise's thoughts into words.
        Lise let them walk ahead of her, their conversation being of no interest to her. Her thoughts reflecting nothing and everything at once, being anything but sane and clear. She barely noticed when Julia said good-bye or when she and Ryan arrived at their homes. And that's how she spent her afternoon, lost in thoughts that made no sense, trapped in her own view of the world, alien to all else. She felt it was no use looking out there, among the streets, beyond the skies... It was no use, for the answer to the question she didn't even know she asked was within her. And she would search for it, even if she didn't know how.
 

***

        Daniel Statler watched the evening news with little more than passing interest when his daughter walked into the house. Her steps were slow, tired. Her eyes seemed to be open, yet closed. If there were a bed beneath her, she'd be already dreaming.
        "Did the three of you study much?" He asked.
        "Yeah. Julia spent about one hour trying to explain one simple concept to us. Turns out she was reading two separate subjects and putting them into one formula..." Lise said with obvious tire emanating from her words.
        Daniel laughed. "Come here. Sit down a bit."
        Lise left her notebook on the table and sat down on the couch. Daniel turned off the sound on the television and Lise found herself waiting for her father to speak. She heard as his words began to form, the sound slowly taking substance. But her attention was on something else, the way he ran his fingers through his hair, the way he frowned from time to time. All the gestures she recognized, all of them repeated again and again in her mind, until they were all she saw. His words were lost somewhere in between, and it was only when he had stopped talking that she realized she hadn't heard a single word.
        "So, what do you think?" Her father asked.
        "About what?" She forced herself to ask, trying to pay attention to his reply.
        "Were you listening just now?" He asked with a frown.
        She let out a yawn and tried to focus. "Sorry, I think I... I drowsed off."
        "Didn't you get enough sleep last night?"
        "I've had some very weird dreams these last few nights, but that's all... What were you saying?"
        "I was saying that since your aunt Phyllis couldn't come for you birthday, and she can't come now, why don't we go there and visit her this weekend?"
        Lise thought about the idea for almost a full second before she said yes. Visiting her home town was just what she needed to take her mind off all these strange dreams she was having. It was a perfect chance to see her old home and maybe put all that had happened lately behind her, even if just for a weekend. She was definitely excited about the idea, but not even that excitement helped force herself to hold back a yawn.
        Her father smiled at her. "You should go to sleep."
        Lise tried to produce an objection, but another yawn took its place and she decided she would have plenty of time to review the subjects for her math test in the morning. Lise went to her room, turned on the stereo and lied down on her bed, just letting her mind wander wherever it pleased. She didn't notice she closed her eyes until she realized that everything surrounding her was black. And the only indication that she had truly fallen asleep was the soft pattern of images that started to take form. And soon the only thing that was true to her was a mist that isolated her from whatever hid in the darkness of her mind.
        "Be careful..." A soft whisper announced from beyond the mist. "He's everywhere..." 
        "Help me!!" A desperate scream came from behind.
        Lise started to twirl, seeing nothing but mist and darkness.
        A little blond boy appeared out of nowhere and frowned, his eyes filled with concern. "You look pale... Are you alright?" Then he simply faded away.
        "Focus on my voice." A faraway shout demanded. The voice was fuller, as if it were real, as if it were there.
        Another boy appeared, a grin on his face. "Still hurts? Aw... Anything I can do to make it better?"
        "Push them away!" A confident voice commanded.
        Lise started walking into the mist, words getting clearer, a gust of wind threatening to hold her back.
        "Don't ever underestimate your opponent." A young girl shouted.
        "You can't live... You can't die..." Someone whispered.
        "I can only exist..." Another girl accepted.
        "Come back here!" A boy screamed in anger.
        "Death is completely overrated." The malice in the voice froze her where she stood. But she took a deep breath and continued, each step getting more and more difficult.
        "You're late, young man. And what's she doing here?" A young woman asked with a scowl in her voice.
        "Push them away!" The voice commanded once more.
        A cry echoed throughout the darkness. "I think he's watching me... I think he knows..." 
        The voices got louder and louder, forming a single blur that left Lise unable to make out the phrases or even the voices that spoke them. One murmur, or more like a whisper, started to become clear. Through all the noise, she heard it as clearly as she would hear her own thoughts. "I'll find you, Statler... Wherever you go, I'll find you, no matter how long it takes... You know I can wait forever..."
        There was a note of promise in the voice that made her blood chill. Before everything around her haulted, Lise started to slip away even as a faraway voice still screamed: "Focus!!"
        And then it was gone, all gone... All that remained was the vague memory of a dream and the sweet melody that seemed to have been awakened by it. She opened her eyes, staring at the clock, squinting her eyes to try and see it straight. It was still midnight. She climbed out of her bed and walked around the empty house in silence. She went to kitchen and got herself a glass of water, but all it seemed to do was wake her up. Finally she decided she wanted to look at the sky. It always had a way of calming her down, making her forget all her troubles and just relaxing with the cold night air. She carefully opened one of the doors and stepped outside, feeling immediately the cool breeze on her skin. She walked until she had a clear view of the sky, then just stared at it, losing herself in its infinite tranquility, being unaware of the minutes that passed.
        When she finally decided she should go back to bed and try to regain her sleep, almost half an hour had passed. She silently closed the door and locked it, going back into her room and lying down with a yawn. She fell asleep as soon as her head rested on the pillow. All her thoughts began to fade and blur. Nothing made sense anymore, nothing was supposed to. She let the last of her awareness of reality slip away and found herself dreaming. And in that dream, she found herself looking down through the remains of a mist. What she saw was a young girl, no older than herself, her body lying there, motionless, her blond hair delicately covering part of her face. Her hands were closed into a fist, something clutched tightly in one of them. Lise looked at the girl's face; so peaceful, as if she were asleep, but she was dead. Lise was certain the girl was dead.
        The blonde opened her eyes and stared at Lise. "I've been waiting for you." She said with a familiar voice.
        Lise took a step back, startled, and fell... and she kept on falling, past thin clouds of mist that still surrounded her, past the ground which was no longer there; until she was standing in the middle of a deserted street, tall buildings circling the skies above. She turned around and saw another girl lying on the ground, her body splattered, her arms and legs bent in unnatural ways. And yet her face looked peaceful, her eyes closed as if she were sleeping. Lise started walking towards her in a sort of trance. She noticed the girl seemed to be breathing, moving a bit. Lise froze, her heart pounding faster than ever. What seemed broken and out of place seemed now natural, and the girl sat up and opened her eyes, staring at Lise in confusion.
        After countless seconds of just staring at each other, the redhead finally asked. "Where am I?"
        Lise didn't know what to answer, but someone answered for her. "You're in a dream, her dream." The blond girl said, pointing at Lise.
     She had just come out of nowhere and was standing next to them. She turned to Lise, a serious expression mixed with a soothing smil. "You are dreaming. But this is all real. We are very real."
        Lise and the other girl just stared at her in awe. Lise had much to ask, and she knew the other had too, but she felt herself start to drift, reality summoning her back to its domain. The blonde grabbed Lise's arm forcefully: "We're here, all you need do is find us."
        Lise woke up startled, her heart still racing. She rubbed her eyes, trying to get all the sleep out of her mind. It had been a strange dream, but at the same time, it had felt real, as real as anything else. She remembered every second of it, every voice, every glance. It was like no dream she had ever had before. And she couldn't help but hear the girl's voice over and over in her mind: 'We're here, all you need do is find us.'
        "Lise, honey, get up." Vanessa's voice came through the half closed door. "You'll be late for school." 
        "I'm going..."
        Her mother stepped into the room and looked down on her. "Now, young lady."
        Lise pushed her thoughts away with a sigh and got up. She got ready for school as she always did. Everything was the same, but to her, it was slightly different. Her mind kept taking her back to her last dream, or had it been a nightmare? It had affected her more than she wanted to admit to herself. It had touched something inside of her, something she herself hadn't known existed. She went through breakfast absentmindedly, her actions nothing more than mechanical. Her body seemed detached from her mind; it was there, sitting at the table, drinking milk and eating toast, but her thoughts were a thousand miles away. It seemed as if they were somewhere close by and far away at the same time. They desperately raced through the depths of her consciousness for answers, clues, anything. The events taken place in her dream puzzled her. She tried to tell herself that it had been only that, a mere dream developed by some deep-seated fear of death. But another part of her claimed to know the truth, it claimed to know that the dream had a special meaning and demanded Lise search for it. A voice broke her string of thoughts and made her aware of where she truly was.
        "If you stir that any more, you'll make a hole in your cup." Her mother said, laughing.
        Lise put the spoon on the side and drank her milk quietly. Vanessa took a glance at her watch and quickly finished the last of her coffee. "Sorry, honey. I promised this new client I'd get there a little earlier."
        "That's okay. Don't worry, I won't be late." Lise reassured her mother.
  
        Ryan stared at his watch as he sat down on the sidewalk to wait for Lise. Only a few seconds went by before he heard footsteps and the gate opened. He got up, but it wasn't Lise who came out.
        "Good morning." Vanessa greeted him with a smile as she saw him.
        "Hi, is Lise ready yet?"
        "She's finishing her breakfast. Why don't you wait inside? I'm in a bit of a hurry."
        Ryan went in and Vanessa just continued to walk down the sidewalk.
        "Lise?" He called as soon as he got to the door.
        "Coming..." She shouted back.
        "We're late." Ryan shouted back, his voice showing his lack of interest.
        "Let me just lock up. Everybody left early today."
        "Everybody, as in your mother and father?" Ryan laughed.
        "Let's just go." Lise closed the door and they went on their way, not bothering to hurry, despite the fact that they were already ten minutes late. Lise thought about what her father had said the night before. It would be great to go back home, to the place where she grew up. She was glad to be able to get back to familiar territory, escaping, at least temporarily, from her nightmares and the somewhat strange occurrences that had haunted her lately. She dared not even consider that they might decide to tag along...
 
        A few days seemed like a year, but the long-awaited weekend finally came. Gladly, the nightmares had settled to being mere whirlwinds of intelligible voices and shadows; and Lise's mind was left to focus solely on the trip. Lise had barely managed to hold back her excitement for the last two days, but as she found herself packed and ready, a strange feeling took over her. She couldn't understand it, but as the car pulled out of the driveway, she was far more concentrated on the time than on whatever was troubling her.
        From across the street, a young man sat on the sidewalk beneath the shadow of a tree, observing as the car slowly gained its distance. He carelessly got up and crossed the street, not bothering to check if any cars were coming. He walked over to the wooden gate and easily climbed over it. He was sure there was no one in the house, he could sense it. He found a large window in one of the bedrooms which had one of its glass squares missing. Putting his arm through the open space, he easily opened the window. With a smile more associated with disdain, he climbed into the house, closing the window behind him. He found a room with pink-colored walls, stuffed animals on a shelf and high school books on another and went in. Nothing appeared to be old, or out of place. No centuries-old book, no amulets or ornaments. He searched that room thoroughly, as he searched all others, and in a small back room, full of cardboard boxes, he finally found what he was looking for: a single paper, a birth certificate, for Lise Allen Statler. The date having been eighteen years and approximately a week ago. He was only slightly surprised. The information only confirmed what he had suspected for many years.
        "They did it..." He laughed. "She did find something." He kept on laughing, even though anger started to rise. They had fooled him. Somehow they had managed to keep the secret from him. Perhaps he had underestimated the old woman. Perhaps she had been able to hide more than details from his reach... but that would mean she knew. That would mean she knew he was looking, and she had hidden more than he thought she could. And now it was done, and the first born of the twenty-third generation had lived past her eighteenth birthday. That meant that Sophia and Helena had found exactly what they needed... And that meant that, maybe, somewhere, somehow, Helena was still around... Still a hope... And above all else, still a threat...
   

***

        Eileen Fallow looked down at the large photo album and the many pictures spread across the floor and sighed with frustration. She sat down on the floor in front of them and tried to find the courage to start putting the photographs back in their respective places. With her attention focused on the pictures, she didn't even notice her cousin had entered the room and was standing there, watching her.
        "Hi, what are you doing?" Lise finally asked.
        "Hi!" Eileen shouted as she saw Lise. "How long have you been here?"
        "Just got in." Lise answered with a smile.
        Eileen got up and gave Lise an enthusiastic hug. "So, did you miss me?" She asked with a laugh.
        "Yes, I did." The other replied in the same tone.
        "Good." Eileen said with a sort of mischievious smile. "Hey, I heard you were mugged."
        "It already got all the way here?" Lise asked with a note of discontentment in her voice.
        Eileen nodded vigorously. "Yeah. When mom called to wish you a happy birthday, aunt Vanessa told her what happened."
        "Oh..." Lise nodded, looking down at the album on the floor. She pointed at it. "What are you doing?"
        Eileen sighed and let herself drop on the floor in front of it. "I was looking for an old photograph of mom so I could have it framed for her birthday, but a slight accident happened... And mom said I had to put it all back in the right order."
        "Want some help?" Lise volunteered.
        "Sure. Have a seat. I'll give you the photos in the right order and you can just place them back in the album."
        Lise sat down and pulled the old album towards her as she looked at the pictures. One in particular seemed to catch her attention. It was an old, black-and-white photo of a woman in her late thirties or early forties. "Who's this?" She asked, turning the photo back to her cousin.
        Eileen looked at the photo for a moment, then shrugged. "I'm not sure, but I think it's grandma. Most of them have a name written on the back, see if that one  does."
        Lise flipped the picture and read the name out loud: "Claire."
        Eileen took the photo and turned it again to get a better look. "Wow, grandma was beautiful when she was young. I wouldn't have recognized her."
        Lise looked again at the woman in the photograph, her light-colored hair, probably blond, her eyes focusing steadily, as if she were staring at Lise from the past. Lise didn't remember her grandmother, all she had were lose memories too distorted by the passing years. But Lise thought she wouldn't forget that photo anytime soon. She nodded in agreement and put it back where it belonged. Eileen grabbed another photograph and held it next to her face with a smile. "Hey, do I look like her?"
        Lise looked at the girl in the picture and compared her mentally with her cousin. The black-and-white image showed a young girl, maybe a year or two older than Eileen. Light colored eyes and hair matching Eileen's green eyes and dark blond hair. The same expression sketched in their faces.
        "So, do I?" Eileen insisted.
        Lise nodded. "Is that your mother?"
        Eileen nodded with a smile and flipped the back of the photo for Lise to see. The name was written carefully on the corner: Phyllis.
        "Mom says I look like she did when she was my age, except I have dad's eyes."
        "Who do you think I look like?" Lise asked as she placed another old picture in the album.
        "Definitely your mom. You and uncle look nothing alike. It's like Carl and mom, they haven't got one single thing in common."
        "Speaking of Carl, aren't you afraid you'll get sick too?"
        "Nah, I already had it once when I was little."
        "Oh, I remember... you were the one who gave it to me..." Lise said.
        "Just flip the page and put in the next pic, will ya?" Eileen said hurriedly, before Lise could blame her for the period of discomfort that came with measles.
        Lise smiled and did as her cousin asked. She got the small stack of photographs that was being handed to her and started placing each one in an empty space of the album. Faces she seemed to faintly recognize despite the passage of time stared back at her. She suddenly froze as her eyes locked on an old picture and a young girl with a distinct sadness in her eyes. Lise stared at the hair she knew was blond and the eyes she knew were blue and found herself getting a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. She took a long breath and let it out slowly, looking up at Eileen. "Who's this?" she asked with a slightly trembling voice.
        Eileen gave her a weird look and shrugged. "I don't know, isn't there a name on the back?"
        Despite the small amount of paralyzing apprehension that had taken her over, Lise turned the old photo and read the name to herself, not finding the courage to say it aloud.
        "So, who is she?" Eileen asked, starting to get curious.
        Lise couldn't answer. She just flipped back the photo and stared at the girl staring back at her from nowhere. Lise started feeling her own heartbeat louder than any other sound there was.
        "Hello-o!" Eileen shouted, dragging Lise back to reality. "Who is that? Now you've got me wanting to know."
        Eileen snatched the photograph from her cousin's hand and read the name out loud. "Helena... I think I heard someone mention her name before, but I'm not entirely sure who she is..."
        She handed the photograph back over to Lise, who continued to stare at it with a face suddenly pale as if she had seen a ghost... which wasn't that far from the truth in her mind. "Can I keep this picture?" Lise finally asked.
        Eileen shrugged, turning her attention back to the album. "I don't know..."
        "How about borrow?" Lise insisted. "I'll bring it back next time I come by."
        "Oh, won't that be nice. I'll have a chance to see it again in my golden years..." Eileen said sarcastically.
        Lise managed to smile, but her fingers were still tightly pressed against the photograph, as if afraid to let it slip away. "C'mon, please?"
        Eileen shrugged again, looking up at her and taking the photograph back to look it over again. "I guess it's okay. Why do you want it?"
        Lise forced herself to look back at the pile of photographs on the ground and shrug slightly. "I just... I want to show it to a friend of mine."
        "I'll ask mom, but I don't think there's any problem."
        Eileen handed the photograph over to Lise, who carefully placed it in her larger pocket so she could avoid its stare. They continued to rearrange the photographs, and every time another picture of Helena's appeared, Lise would take a deep breath, and try to pretend that the girl wasn't staring at her in her thoughts.
        Later that day, Lise's restlessness finally caused her to call Julia. As she dialed, she unconsciously removed the old picture from her pocket and set it down on the table in front of her. She was aware that the phone was ringing, and she tried to remain focused on that. The ringing sounded a few times before someone finally answered.
        "Hello." A woman's voice said slowly.
        Lise looked away from the past and stared at the telephone cord as she spoke. "Hi, is Julia there? It's Lise."
        "Yes, she is. Wait a minute, please."
        Lise found her gaze drifting to the spot where the old photograph lay on the table. She momentarily drifted away in her own thoughts, hearing nothing but the girl's voice whisper in her mind: We're here, all you need do is find us...
        "Hello?!?" Julia's voice came crushing down though the receiver. "Lise? Are you still there?"
        "Yeah... sorry." Lise replied, looking away from the photo with some effort.
       "Hey, where are you?" Julia asked.
       "I'm at my aunt's..."
       "What's the matter You sound kindda... well, weirder than usual..." Julia said with a touch of laughter.
       Lise ignored the comment. "Remember that last dream I told you about? The one where there were these two girls who I thought were dead, but then weren't?"         Julia's voice was serious this time. "What about it? You had it again?"
        "No," Lise shook her head, even though she knew Julia wouldn't see it. "But I saw the blond one today... in an old photo... here in my aunt's family album."
        "Really? That's great!" Julia shouted with excitement.
        Lise stared down at the phone with a frown. She didn't see how finding out that the figures, or at least one of those figures, in her nightmares were real. "Why?"
        "Because now you know who she is." Julia shouted back. Lise could almost imagine the girl's face. Ryan called it Julia's 'yes, I am a lunatic and darn proud of it' look.
        "Well, I kindda only sort of know who she is. I only know her name..."
        Julia seemed to hit the receiver against something. Lise hoped it hadn't been her head. When there was only silence, Julia's voice came. "What are you waiting for? Spit it out, then."
        As she was about to say it, she hesitated, not knowing why. Instead, she spelled it out. "H-e-l-e-n-a."
        "Helena... Statler?"
        "I think so. Maybe she was a distant relative or something. Although the name sounded familiar to me for some reason."
        "That shouldn't be too hard to find out. Doesn't your father know who she might be? Or your aunt?"
        Lise looked down at the photograph again. "I well... I haven't asked them."
        "You have got to be kidding me!" Julia shouted even before Lise had finished the sentence. "This is one of the most exciting things ever since... I don't know what! You had a dream about someone you never saw before, and that person actually exists. And now you have the chance to find out all you can about this person, and you don't even seem to care! You could at least ask them if she's related to you in any way..."
        After hearing Julia's arguments shouted through the phone, Lise agreed she would give it a try... later. "I'll ask them." She said simply.
        "Don't forget to tell me everything later, okay?" Julia pressed.
        Again, Lise nodded absentmindedly. Then, as if she had just remembered her friend couldn't hear her, she spoke. "Okay..."
        "Bye then. See you Monday." Julia said.
        "Bye." Lise hung up and stared back at the picture still on the table. She was curious, but she was also afraid, of what, she had no idea, but she was absolutely sure she was terrified.
 
 

***

  
        The slightly orange shade of vanishing light made its ways through the shadows of the woods. Above the constant sound of its creatures, the forest heard a new sound. Footsteps made their way calmly through the leaves as the shadows rose into darkness. In a small clearing a boy sat on the ground, looking upwards toward the skies. He heard the footsteps and turned around with a smile to see the only familiar face he could still recognize.
        The woman walked out of the darkness towards him in silence, her face stern as she listened to the many voices in her mind. They tried to come alive, and she lost herself, for they were the only voices she heard. Voices of what had gone, of what would come. She became aware of the feeling of control and followed it, draining from it even through the distance. She tried to walk past him, but he stood in her way, the smile always present. "Shai ri ter, Rayen..."
        "Shai ri ter..." She greeted him back, her voice somber, there was no smile on her lips. "How did you find me?"
        "Solvi ar kel. Nen, iwn kel tha..." He paused, seeing the way the corner of her mouth twitched. "I thought you found me." He finished, partially annoyed that she seemed to prefer that language.
        Her eyes drifted from him to the shadows beyond them both, following the sense of control. Willing it to come to her. "I await..."
        "For what?" He asked, the same smile plastered across his face as if it were frozen. As if he were truly smiling.
        "For what is here... and not..." She tried to pass him again, and again, he blocked her path. Away from the voices, her eyes seemed to find him for a brief moment.
        "Do not worry, you will see things clearly soon enough." With a broadened smile, he stepped aside to reveal a woman a few steps behind him, supporting herself on a tree.
        Without further hesitation, Rayen went towards her and touched the woman's face, looking deep into her blue eyes. "Where is the one that is mine?" She asked, the feeling of disorientation still prevailing over the newfound control.
        "Can you not find her?" He asked almost maliciously.
        She didn't even look at him, she was still observing the woman's eyes. "This one has no control, not enough. I cannot see all... in place no. It is always so lost. You never brought me the one. She lies amidst dreams... You never found her..."
        "We've been apart too long, haven't we?" He asked, forcing her to focus on the passage of time.
        Rayen held the woman's face with greater strength, their eyes still locked. "Ever since--"
        "Yes, well." He cut her off sharply. "Let's not discuss past events. What is done is done."
        "You always believe that." She whispered, not concerned with whether or not he had heard her. "Have you found the Book of Fire?"
        "You mean you don't know?" He sounded surprised.
        She didn't answer.
        "What do you see in the path that lies ahead?" His eyes narrowed, as if that would allow him to see anything hiding in her features.
        "Which one?" She asked with nothing more than passing interest, her gaze burrowing into the other woman's eyes.
        He circled them, as a predator would his prey. The smile was now long gone from his face. "The one I desire."
        "I cannot say." Was her answer.
        "You cannot lie to me." He grabbed her arm, momentarily losing his calm.
        "An eternity never bettered your temper..." She growled, a strange light threatening to emerge from behind her cold stare as she turned to face him.
        He let her arm go, but continued to meet her gaze. "I know you can tell me. I want to know."
        Her gaze drifted back to the strange woman's, going deeper, feeding off the control, organizing the countless voices, grasping at them. "The paths are still too intertwined, they mix with what has left us and what will come. I cannot say anything without predetermining what events will follow, altering the path... and the other path. And even then, I am not certain of the consequences... Something has obscured the pathways, twisted the roads so that no path follows a straight line. Each path links and divides and bends upon itself repeatedly... It is out of my control. Knowledge has been shared..." She traced the shades of blue in the woman's eyes carefully, trying to make sense of everything that came to her, but she couldn't really. This was not her chosen one, it was a poor replacement.
        He listened to her carefully, doubt threatening to show itself when he finally spoke. "If someone already knows what will happen, why am I not in title to the same knowledge?"
        "Anything I say eliminates paths, but I cannot say which. I can only with the one I need. By speaking, I predetermine your course of action."
        "Maybe that's what I want." He insisted despite her obvious reluctance.
        Rayen said nothing.
        "It's been centuries since we've last met, and centuries more since together, we controlled the fate of those around us," he spoke excitedly. "We can have those times back, if you help me..."
        "That does not happen."
        His smile ceased as soon as she finished her sentence. "Make it happen, then. Give me the Dessra Netu..." He said, trying to sound persuasive instead of threatening.
        "I cannot help you." She whispered, trying to hold on to the feeling, trying to see where this path would lead her, where it would lead them all. "I cannot understand all the paths. There are so many now."
        "Please." He asked, his voice harsher than it should have been.
        Rayen held the woman's face steady, her almost lifeless eyes staring mesmerized at the figure holding her. Rayen's eyes bore into her, draining through the contact all she could, all the other had, and didn't even know. "This isn't happening," she whispered, all the events unfolding clearly for her in one single instant. The moment began to slip away and she could feel every consequence her words had fade into each other once more, but among it, she saw another moment of clarity, further down her path, and she knew how to get there. She knew what she must do. She formed her words quickly, before it all vanished in her mind. She spoke slowly, knowing she would seal their fates. As soon as the words were formed and uttered, a path would vanish. "You will follow the girl, you will find the Book of Fire... and you will get your translation."
        A pleasant smile came over his face, and with a bow, he prepared to leave. "In sety med, Rayen."
        She watched him go with a sigh as the woman he had brought followed him absentmindedly, no will of her own. Rayen still tried to cling to the feeling of time that she had stolen for that brief moment. "We will see each other again, but you will not like it." Then, with a sudden smile, she added: "No, you will not like it at all. In sety med, Aecteri..."
        When they were long gone, she looked at the woods again, trying to figure out when she was. As always, she decided it didn't matter. She would feel it when it came. She merely had to wait. It would come... As it had... As it did... Everything melted into eachother, collapsing, losing as the distant feeling grew even farther. But it didn't matter. It never does...

***

        Sunday night, back at her home, Lise leaned her head against her pillow and closed her eyes, finding it hard to go to sleep. After what seemed to her an eternity of staring at her closed eyelids, she opened her eyes and ventured a look at her watch. It was still fairly early, but she had somehow convinced herself, with more than a little help from her mother, that the trip home had worn her out and it would be better if she got a good night's sleep. She shifted position on her bed again, kicking at the blanket when it trapped her feet. Then she moved again, and again. Turned one way, then back... And still she couldn't sleep. After almost half an hour, she turned on her stereo, turned the volume down to a barely audible level, and with a bit more than mere apprehension, Lise closed her eyes, already anticipating  the images that might form. After a long time of lying still, she finally managed to fall asleep.
        She didn't notice, however, as she never did, the moment when dreams began to enter her sleep. She saw the dense mist she had ventured through in her other dream. This time, she chose to remain still until she could wake up. Glancing around her to make sure she was alone - and as far as she could determine, she was - she slowly kneeled down on the ground. Lise was immediately amazed that she could see every grain of sand as clearly as she would have seen it during the day. As if she were awake. For a moment, she wondered if she was still asleep.
        "Where are you?" A voice startled her.
        She heard her own heart race, and if she weren't virtually panicking, she would have found that fact also amazing. The voice was gone, the silence returned.  Beyond her, only mist and darkness. She could feel her own breathing increase rapidly, and she'd swear her palms had begun to sweat. She didn't want to be found. She was afraid, terrified. Another sound interrupted the silence, but it carried nothing but a scream. Lise closed her eyes, wishing it would all go away like the nightmare it was. But somehow, she knew it would all still be there when she opened her eyes. She didn't even hear the footsteps approaching, but she definetly felt the hand grasping her shoulder tightly. In a startle, she opened her eyes, and woke up.
        With a sigh, she sat up. She found the details of what had just occured remained still vivid in her mind. Too vivid, almost. Lise got the old photograph from her nightstand drawer and stared at it again. The girl staring back at her seemed so alive, the look in her eyes seemed so familiar. Lise's hand reached for the phone and quickly dialed Julia's phone number. The phone insisted again and again, but no one answered. She gave up and flipped the photo once more to see the name. She was sure she had heard it before, maybe a long time ago. Her mind searched her memories for that one small detail she might not have paid much attention to. She didn't notice the door opening.
        "I thought you were already asleep..." Her father said, coming in. "Have you seen your mother's cell phone?"
        Lise pointed at one of her shelves, and her father turned on the light. He saw the photograph in her hands and stopped on his way out. "What's that?" Her father asked.
        "Just a ... an old photo..." She whispered.
        He came closer, his eyes locked on it. "Where'd you get it?"
        "Eileen was rearranging a photo album and I... I saw this picture and I..." She just handed him the photo and saw as a smile came to his lips.
        "Just like I remember her." He whispered almost to himself.
        "You know who that is?" Lise asked with surprise.
        "Well, I ought to..." He started with a smile. "She's my sister. Or was, anyway."
        "Was?" She repeated, hoping he'd say more without a direct question having to be asked.
        "She disappeared when I was a kid. I think Phyllis barely remembers her. Why'd you bring this photo with you?"
        "I... it must have... well, gotten mixed up with my things when I was helping Eileen... I just noticed it had come back with me." She tried to lie.
        Her father would have picked up on the lack of truth if he had been fully listening to her and not losing himself in old memories.
        "So, do you remember much about her?" Lise tried.
        "Just some pieces of memories." He smiled again. "Was she at your grandfather's funeral?" He wondered out loud, answering his own question. "No... no, she went missing right after... uh... what was his name?" He frowned, his free hand lifting to his forehead and pressing against it, as if the action would help his memory clear up.
        Lise stared at him for a while, then couldn't stop herself from being curious. "Whose name?"
        "Her boyfriend's... I think it was Jack... or Eric... Yes, that's it: Peter."
        Lise just nodded as he went on.
        "She disappeared right after he was listed as missing in action."
        "As in... war?"
        He nodded, his eyes still lost in the past. "She was devastated after he died. I don't remember much about him, but he was always nice to me. I think I still have a letter of his among my old things... I kept some of Helena's stuff, brought it with us when we moved."
        "Can I see it?" Lise asked, trying to disguise her interest.
        He looked at her. "Why?"
        "I'm just curious about who she was..." Lise said, knowing it wasn't exactly a lie.
        "Well... I guess you could try looking for the letter. Must be packed along my old school records or something like that, if it wasn't thrown away. They're all stashed in those boxes in the back room somewhere."
        "Can I go look?" Lise asked with a sudden light in her eyes, any vestige of sleep fully erased.
        "You mean right now?" He eyed her strangely, the frown lines showing in his forehead again. "Why the rush?"
        Lise tried to shake it off, shrugging with a smile. "I'm just not tired... Maybe it'll make me sleepy... I'll go look for it now." She got up before her father could say anything else, turned off her stereo, and walked out of the room.
  

***

        The door opened with a slight complaint and the light washed over the small room, revealing the layers of the dust that were otherwise concealed by shadows. Lise grimaced at the sight of the piled up boxes and old cobwebs. It looked like they hadn't been cleaned ever since they moved, it probably hadn't. Lise tried to guess where the older stuff would be, but found she couldn't. She randomly chose a large cardboard box and started with it. She found old magazines and yellowed books, but none dating more than twenty years back. She went on to open other boxes, finding nothing she would be interested in. The rising dust made her sneeze repeatedly.
        "Lise?" She heard her mother call.
        "I'm in here..." She answered, rubbing the back of her hand against her cheek to remove an imaginary nuisance.
        Her mother opened the door and peeked inside. "It's getting late. You can finish whatever you're doing tomorrow."
        "I'll be right there." She said with a smile.
        "Good night, then." Her mother said, sounding as if she had truly believed her.
        "Night..."
        After her mother left, Lise sat down again and stared at the unopened boxes. Could the answer to her nightmares truly be hiding among them? That thought alone pushed aside her desire to give up and encouraged her to continue, using her father's words to increase her curiosity. She couldn't tear herself away from the idea of finding something that could tell her who that girl was. All she had at that moment was a name and a face. No personality, no feelings... At least she was starting to feel like a real person and not just some apparition that haunted her dreamscape. Lise sighed and opened another box, not expecting to actually find anything. To her surprise, she found herself staring at a high school diploma, her father's. She smiled to herself as she went through the old papers. She found an old photograph of her father's class; she quickly identified him in a corner. His face had remained virtually the same, despite the passing of time.
        In a corner of the large box, there was a small shoebox marked: HELENA. With her heart pounding fast, Lise gently grabbed it, laying it on the floor in front of her. She carefully raised the lid, her eyes being faced with the sight of a yellowed envelope, something that resembled a small book, and a plastic bag with various newspaper clippings. Her hands went straight for the envelope, hoping to find an old letter of some sort. To her disappointment, all she found was an old photograph. She held her breath as she examined the picture. The girl's blond hair falling smoothly over her shoulders; her light blue eyes contrasting with her dark blouse. There was a note of sorrow in them that was visible even through the paper. Lise blinked a few times to make sure that the colors she saw on the photograph were real and not just her imagination. She couldn't be sure. She slowly set it aside and moved to focus on the plastic bag. She opened it carefully, spreading out the numerous newspaper clippings on the floor in front of her. They seemed to be arranged by date, the first one being from May 4 ^th 1968, going through October 13 ^th 1970, and ending in October 13 ^th 1980. She scanned the first one, searching for any mention of Helena's name. Her eyes quickly halted as they located the name easily. Lise leaned closer and read the article silently to herself, letting not even a whisper be heard.
        After 48 hours of uninterrupted searching, the police and numerous volunteers finally let of a sigh of relief as they saw little Stephanie Packard, age 6, being carried out of a dense section of Hollow Hills Woods by Helena Statler, 15. Helena claimed to have found Stephanie fallen between some rock formations in the woods. When asked by the local authorities and newspapers how she had thought of finding the missing child there, Helena replied, "I remembered getting lost there where I was a kid. I just knew she'd be there." Stephanie Packard could say she was lucky as she was taken to the hospital just in time...
        Lise stopped reading. The rest of the article just described the girl's condition and the doctor's opinion. She skimmed it, not paying much attention to what was written. She picked up the next clipping, dated October 13^th 1970. She skipped to the first appearance of Helena's name:
... Ironically, the missing person this time is Helena Statler, 18. She was last seen yesterday afternoon by her brother Daniel, 10. According to him, Helena was leaving home to visit a friend, heading through the woods as she always did. Witnesses corroborated the boy's statement, adding that she seemed to have been ill, walking with some difficulty. Volunteers have joined the search, but so far no clues have been found. The police informed the local newspapers that the possibility of kidnapping has not yet been discarded.
        Lise scanned the other articles for any further information, but found little to add to that first report. She found mention of the search stopping, the years going by, no proof of anything ever being found.
    She rubbed her tired eyes and grabbed the last item of the shoebox. The small book made her tire vanish and her eyes widden as she realized that it wasn't a book after all, it was a diary. Helena's diary. For a lingering moment she held it closed in her hands, unsure of what to do. She wondered if it contained any of the answers she sought. With her heart racing, her palms sweating, she gently turned the yellowed pages. She found the last page and stared at the date on the top right corner: October 12 ^th 1970. As if she feared her mind were deceiving her, she quickly searched the second news clipping for its date. Once it was found, she set them both side by side, still doubting what she saw. The last page of Helena's diary had been written on the exact same day she had disappeared. Lise slowly released the article and sat back against a wall, mesmerized by the object in her hands. Despite all the rush she felt, her eyes carefully examined every word, every phrase, as if their meaning would somehow explain itself. The delicate handwriting carried its message throughout the years for only Lise to see.         I read all my entries again, from the beginning. Two years... There were times it seemed so much, and times it seemed so insignificant. Now it seems as if time flew by, not bothering to wait for me to catch up.
        I wish only that I had done this sooner; recorded with the innocence of a child the past I now see through the bitter eyes of the present.
        I thought I had so much time to spare. I thought I would someday look back at this and think I was foolish. But time is something we can never rely on. At this point, the uncertainty of the future would comfort me more than the unwavering knowledge of what is to come.
        Memories always matter so much. After a while, it seems to be all that's left. It stays even when most are gone. It needs only one mind to harbor it, so it is still alive. All I'll leave behind are memories; distorted, fragile, ephemeral.
        I can feel the pain, it strikes repeatedly. I know it will only get worse. It's started. No one can stop this; not him, not Hagia, not me.
         A part of me still hopes, despite all I know and fear, that this won't be my last entry. Last entry, last day, last chance...
   
        Lise sat there, her eyes almost welling up with tears. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was a certain note of acceptance in the words. As if the girl knew something would happen. As if she knew she was going to die... Lise stopped herself as soon as the thought had formed itself. She hadn't arrived at that conclusion by mere reasoning; she was utterly sure the girl was dead. Helena was dead. Losing herself in the silence that surrounded her, she slowly turned the pages to the beginning, finding the first entry and bracing herself for what she thought she would find. She believed the pages would be filled with pain and sadness, but was surprised by the subtle happiness that seemed to escape the hollow words written down in haste years before. Dear Diary,
        The party last night was wonderful. Everyone seemed to be having a great time. Most of the people I invited were here and there were even a few of mom's guests. It was nice seeing the Lockharts again, I barely recognized their children: Anne and Peter. Anne was a step away from rude, but Peter was very nice. I'll get back to that later.
        Michele was the one who gave me this diary. I told her I'd write in it until the pages ran out... She said it wouldn't last me a year.
 
        Lise paused in her reading to check how many pages had actually been written in. With a sigh, she noticed that not even one third of the diary had actually been used. She continued to read from where she had left off:
        Gladys and Tom stopped by later on in the evening, but they had to leave in a hurry. I didn't mind it much, I guess. The only person I really wish were here is dad. I miss him terribly... I try not to let it show much, but it really hurts.
        Anyway, getting back to Peter. Danny had hidden in the backyard so mom wouldn't make him go to sleep. Ever since dad went away, he doesn't leave my side. I had just spent the last ten minutes or so looking for Danny when Peter came along and asked me if I had lost something. I said I had, my little brother. We just started talking. We didn't talk about anything sad, which as nice. We just talked about normal things, what school we went to, what we liked to do... I don't remember for how long we talked, but we all but forgot about looking for Danny. I was actually enjoying it, until Anne came up and said she wanted to go home. I don't think she likes me much. I gave Peter my phone number. I do hope he calls.
        Oh, and Danny had fallen asleep under the kitchen table. We found him there when Lucy R. dropped her fork under there and bent down to pick it up. But he got his way, no one made him go to bed until the party was nearly over...

        Lise quickly turned to the second page with a question nagging in the back of her head: What could have changed Helena's attitude so drastically in two years? She paused for a moment, before she started reading the next page, and, with the diary still at hand, silently got up and went to the living room, getting the phone and hurrying back. She closed the door and dialed Julia's number from memory. She heard it ring a couple of times before an answer came in the form of a forced whisper. "Yeah?"
        Lise suddenly remembered it was probably late. "Julia? Hey, it's Lise."
        "Lise?" Julia seemed to process it for a moment, then her voice continued slowly, dragging itself out. "It's the middle of the night. Can't it wai--"
        "I know who she was... I found her diary..." Lise said quickly, cutting through.
        A few seconds of silence took over. "Helena's?" Julia seemed suddenly awake. "I'm listening. Go on..."
        Lise took a deep breath. "It was in with my father's old things. Anyway, I read the last page and the first... You can barely tell it's the same person writing it. I didn't read everything in between, but I thought about something... There are a few names she mentions. I thought we could try and find them. So far I haven't found many, but there's one name worth checking out: Anne Lockhart. According to my dad, her brother was M.I.A in Vietnam, he was Helena's boyfriend."
        "And you want me to try and find his sister? I guess it could be done, if she hasn't married or changed her name."
        "How long do you think it would take?"
        "Well, my computer's currently under attack by some new virus... but don't worry. I'll handle it."
        "Okay. Oh, and sorry I called you so late. I lost track of time..."
        "That's okay. Do me a favor; read the rest of the diary and tell me if you find anything else. Oh, what's her relation to you? Did you ever find out?"
        Lise realized she'd completely forgotten to mention it. "Yes. She's my father's sister... Which I guess makes her my aunt. She's been missing for almost thirty years. Anyway, if you think of anything, call me. It's not like I'm going to bed any time soon. I feel like the sleep was just knocked out of me." She rubbed her forehead, then brushed back a fallen strand of hair with the least dirty part of her hand.
        "Your aunt? Wow... Well, I'll see if I come up with any ideas... Bye." Julia hung up the phone and sat up in her bed. She couldn't use the internet, but she knew of someone else who might be able to help. She dialed the number without a second thought. It rang until the line went dead. She rolled her eyes and pressed the redial button, hearing the clicks and the irritating ring of the telephone once again through the silence.
        A sleepy voice came on the other side of the line, mumbling instead of speaking. "Hello..." She recognized Adriane Summers' voice.
        "Could you call Ryan, please? I need to talk to him, it's urgent." Julia spoke slowly, giving the woman time to comprehend each word.
        "Who is this?" She asked in a little more than a whisper. "Do you know what time it is?"
        "Sure I do." She lied, suddenly having the urge to look down at her nightstand. The bright numbers shone on the clock 3:54am. Julia bit her lower lip and suppressed a smile. Only Lise would set off a string of awakenings in such an hour. "Could you please call Ryan?" She asked again.
        "Might as well. You already woke me up..." Adriane gave in with surprising humor.
        A few moments later, Julia heard a slightly less aware voice come on the other end. A groan replaced a 'hello,' then she heard a louder "Wha...?"
        "Hey, Ryan, guess what? Lise found Helena's diary; there's a name there..."
        "Julia, do you have any idea what time it is?"  He complained with a grunt.
        She traced the highlighted numbers on the clock with her index finger and smiled. "Yes, I do. I just thought you'd like to know what Lise found." She tried to give her voice an edge of mystery, as if inciting his curiosity.
        "Wha?" He asked, not really caring one way or the other. Half of him was still in bed, sleeping comfortably, and that was the half that mattered. He closed his eyes, leaning his head forward against the cold wall and leaving it there while he waited for her answer. He heard her respond to his tone with a loud sigh.
        "Lise found Helena's diary, and it has many names there, but there's only one we can use... I mean, there's only one name we can try to locate, because there's a first and last name. We can use the net to try and find her, if the name is still the same... you get it, right?"
        "It's a little late for these confusing conversations, or maybe it's too early... whatever..." He mumbled as he rubbed his eyes, moving his head to the side as the wall adjusted to his temperature.
        "Ryan!" Julia shouted, making him pull back the receiver. It was like someone had screamed in his ear. Almost as an afterthought, he realized someone had.
        He carefully leaned the device closer to his ear, and noticing his friend was silent, ventured. "Okay, let me try to grasp this despite my sleep." He was silent for an awfully long time.
        "Ryan?" Julia asked, thinking he might have fallen asleep. Her tone was softer this time, but it would still do the trick.
        "Wha?" Was his reply. He forced his eyes open, trying to fixate on anything that might help him from drifting into sleep again.
        "Go wash your face with cold water and then come back." She ordered.
        He put the phone down and came back a few moments later. "Wait a minute, so you're saying that you think you can find this person..."
        "Anne Lockhart." Julia supplied.
        His voice still seemed covered by sleep, but the drag in his words had all but vanished. "And she might know something about Helena?"
        "Yeah." She nodded, even though he couldn't see it.
        "And Helena would be?" He asked, his voice trailing off, lower than a whisper.
        "Don't you pay attention to anything?" Julia said with laughter. After all, there was no way he could have known. "She's Lise's aunt! Lise found her picture in an old album."
        "Julia? I'm tired... I just came back from one very long weekend with my father... Already had a round with my mother a couple of hours ago... It's the middle of the night... Don't even dare to pretend there's a logical pattern hiding in there somewhere. Why is it so strange for Lise to find her aunt's diary? And why is it strange that Lise found a photo of her in a photo album? That is where one finds photographs last time I checked..."
        Julia rolled her eyes impatiently. She was beginning to hate the conversation. It was a waist of time. "Helena is the blond girl that popped up in Lise's dream... Lise discovered that Helena is her aunt... Helena has been missing for over 30 years... Got it?"
        "So you wanna find this Anne person because she might know what happened to Helena? And that's why you called? Is there anything else?"
        "Yes. I need you to look up Anne Lockhart with one of those people finders on the net."
        Cold. Something cold was in contact with him. But that couldn't be, could it? He was lying in his bed, asleep... No, no he wasn't... The floor was cold beneath his feet and the wall seemed to be holding him up, as if it was horizontal and he was lying down... But he was lying down... wasn't he?
        Ryan's knees folded suddenly and he hit the back of his head against the wall. "Ow..." He sighed, trying to open his eyes again, but this time they seemed to put on much more of a fight. He just gave up. He remembered he had been talking with someone... Julia... what had she just said?
        "What did you just say?" He asked in a yawn. He was surprised she had actually understood him. Even he hadn't understood himself.
        "I want you to look up Anne Lockhart on a people finder on the internet." She said slowly, knowing he was probably half-asleep again.
        "Why can't you do it?" He asked, the yawn this time coming before and after his question, not to mention during.
        "I've got this virus that messes with my e-mail every time I use the net."
        He yawned again. "Tough. Look, you can give me the details tomorrow, and then I'll look it up for you. Can I please go back to sleep now?"
        "Ryan, I need it tonight..."
        "It's... 4:10am. It's not 'tonight' anymore... Just wait a few hours."
        "Argh, you're no use." She hung up the phone with frustration and the busy signal took over the connection.
        "Good night to you too, Jules." Ryan mumbled as he put the phone back into its rightful place - or what he sincerely hoped was its rightful place - and crawled back into bed, his eyes already closed.
        On the other end, Julia sat quietly on her bed, staring at the telephone still in her lap. Her eyes turned to the computer resting in its usual place on her desk. With a jolt, she got up and turned it on, hearing the usual noises as the machine started to connect to the internet. As she opened the page of one of the most common search engines, she ignored the havoc her pet virus might be inflicting behind her back. She quickly typed in Anne Lockhart's name and specified the region. She waited for the next page to upload, then read with an obvious disgust: 0 matches found for Lockhart, Anne. She tried again, using the entire country as reference. Again, zero matches found. With a sigh, she turned away from the computer screen, its bright light reflecting off her face. She closed her eyes for a second, just before the headache emerged. The sudden throbbing made her hands clasp around her head, holding it still as she swallowed a scream. Tears formed in her eyes as the pain went as unexpectedly as it had come. She stared at the screen again, her blurred vision seeing nothing but shadows streaking the lighted screen. She stood up, a hand still anticipating the pain's return, and walked over to where she had left the telephone. She sat down and dialed a number, not paying attention which.
        The phone rang only once before a boy picked up, no indication of sleep following his voice: "Hello, who is this?"
        "Uh... Julia. I was looking for... Anne. Anne Lockhart."
        "What's your number?" The boy asked in a monotone.
        "12 / 23 1 14 20 19 / 8 5 18" she said, forgetting immediately after what number she had spoken. She frowned, confused. "Wait, I don't think that's--"
        "You've dialed the wrong number." The boy interrupted her in mid-sentence, hanging up as soon as he finished speaking.
        Julia listened as the busy signal took over in its usual tone. She waited for a moment, then finally put it down, turned off her computer and laid back on her bed. She tried to focus on what had happened, but each time she tried, the harsh throbbing in her head stopped her. Julia had no notion of how long she had laid there, she hadn't bothered stealing a glance at her clock. She was about to sleep when the phone sounded. She quickly grabbed the receiver: "Hello?"
        "Julia? This is Dr. Charleston. I understand you're looking for Ms. Anne Lockhart. You've just found her."
        Julia rubbed her forehead with a confused air still hanging over her thoughts. Then as the doctor spoke, it all just faded away, and she was content that her internet research had worked out so well. And it hadn't even taken that much of her time.
  

***

        Lise finished putting all the boxes back into place, leaving only the small shoebox with Helena's things in her hands. She silently made her way back to her bedroom, careful not to wake her parents up. She closed the door and turned on the light, shielding her eyes before they adjusted to the change in brightness. Sitting on her bed, she opened Helena's diary and stared at its pages, not necessarily reading any of its secrets. Inadvertently, the thought of what true right she had to read these words made its way into her head. They had been written solely for one person, and that person was now gone. In what seemed like a misplaced demonstration of guilt, she closed the small book, placing it on her nightstand. She sank into the silence that filled her room and tried to think of something, anything, else. But whatever she did, she couldn't find the strength to tear her eyes away from the diary's cover. She eventually surrendered to her curiosity and opened it again, picking up from where she had left off; the second page of the girl's diary. She read it quickly, skipping words, phrases, paragraphs. She tried to scan for something specific, anything that denoted the extreme sadness present in the last page. All she found were the words of a girl worried about her family, her father, and excited about a new person that had entered her life. Lise skipped the following four pages, then suddenly stopped as she found a somewhat strange paragraph:         For some reason, when I was coming home from school, I felt as if I was being watched. I can't really explain it. It was as if I could feel the eyes falling on me, following me wherever I went. It's not the first time. For the past week now I've been getting that sensation. Maybe it's nothing. Maybe I'm just being paranoid because of what happened to Emily, but tomorrow I'm determined to find out for sure...

        With a frown, Lise quickly turned to the next page, checking the date. It had been written one day after Helena had described the feeling of being observed, but it didn't contain any direct reference to that fact. A single paragraph occupied the entire page:
    I met someone today. Sophia. I'm not sure I should write anything else... She told me a story, a mixture of fairytale and horror, and I believed her. The strangest thing is: I believed her.

        Like a book she couldn't put down, she turned to the next page, curiously awaiting to find the next piece of the puzzle, another clue to the mystery. But all she found were secrets and sadness beginning to appear. She knew that no matter how many times she read those words, the only person who could tell her the entire truth - if there was such a thing - would be Helena herself.         She told me the entire story today. I can't stop crying. It's less than two years before my eighteenth birthday. Two years... I was so upset I couldn't even stop myself from crying long enough to explain to mom why I was crying. Peter came over, but all I could do was cry on his shoulder, and I couldn't even tell him why. But I shouldn't tell him. I can't tell him. I can't tell anyone...

        Lise just kept on reading, turning the pages and reading every word as if she could hear Helena whisper them to her, as if she could feel the girl's despair slowly start to show itself. The following page shocked her, it seemed so much like the last one:

        I feel this diary has lost its purpose; store my thoughts and feelings for the future... Why should I write down my thoughts for later if there will be no later? But I'll keep writing. This will be my private conversation, my dialogue with myself. I trust no one else with such words. This dialogue will be stored, as confusing and as real as it can. Not for the future, for there will be none; but for the present, which I fear is all I have...

        Had she been ill? Had she thought she would die? Had she been threatened? The questions danced between Lise's thoughts, and the more she read, the stronger they got. They mixed and mutated until they remained solely in the form of one nagging thought: Had Helena known she would die? The next pages answered none of the questions, they only raised more as they talked in riddles and metaphors, or so Lise believed. She would never have suspected that the truth had been staring at her all along, from beneath those old pages...         Is it dreaming too high? Is it turning the horror into the fairytale? She says it will work. She says that nightfall will bring darkness, but that I shouldn't fear it. She said she'll help me. There's a strange glimmer in her eyes when she says that...
 
        The following page had no date:

Peter was drafted. He sat me down and just said it. I thought it was a sick joke, but I'm learning how much pain is real, even if you can't accept it. There had been many times I found myself just staring at him, not saying a word. That was one of them. I don't think his eyes ever seemed so intense as they seemed at that moment. They seemed to mirror the ocean in them as he said mine mirrored the sky. I tried to be strong, I tried to stay in control; but I couldn't. And once again I cried... but this time, there was no one here to hold me...
   
        He's watching me. He seems to know my every move, my every fear. He plays on them, trying to make me give in. I know I'm strong, but how long can I endure alone?
          Anne came by today. It's the first time she's talked to me since Peter went away. She asked to talk to me in private, Danny was a little upset, but soon forgot all about it. Peter is missing. It's been three weeks now, they're almost sure he's dead. I could feel her pain as she told me, each word being formed with anger and frustration. He was her little brother, she was used to looking after him, and now there was nothing she could do. I just sat there as she told me that he was being presumed dead. I didn't move. I didn't speak. I didn't even cry. I just closed my eyes and focused on the melody that had been occupying my mind. I burned it into my memory, playing it over and over again as the music came to an end. Anne started screaming. She cursed and screamed, not holding anything back. She was angry because I wasn't crying... She misunderstood me. I wanted to cry. I wanted it so badly. But not there, not then, not in front of her. My tears should be private. They should be mine. And so I sat there, the song emerging from my mind and sounding on my lips as she stormed out of the house, tears streaming down her face. I can feel my emotions bursting out, but they would have no place to go. I haven't gone to see Sophia in a while. We still haven't found anything. I'm giving up, maybe it's for the best. Hope is for fools and happy endings for the naive...
 
          They still have no sign of Peter. Danny locked himself in his room when I told him. He likes to pretend there is no death, no loss. He likes to pretend everything always turns out fine... I wish I could do that, I really do. In his mind, Peter is still coming back... In his mind, I'll be there to welcome our father when he comes home.
  
              We found it... maybe. Dare I hope now that this is the right one? Dare I go on living with the choices I have made? When the time comes to pay, I'll be ready... If it ever goes that far... If I ever live that long...
 
          Time is up... Whatever is meant to happen will. That sounds stupid, but that's all I have to cling to. Hagia thinks we have it, but she doesn't know half of it. No one knows anything. No one says anything. Everyone just goes about their things and hopes it will all work out. Perhaps. Should I lock myself in my room? Should I tempt fate and try to get myself killed today? Would it change anything? Would I succeed? I don't even dare to try. Time is up... and there's nothing anyone can truly do about it.
 
        Lise reread the last page again, and when she closed the diary, she realized tears were rolling down her face and falling on her bed, quickly losing themselves in the cloth. After a few moments of reflection, Lise finally stared at her watch, confirming her suspicions that the sun would soon be rising. For the first time since all the madness had began, she didn't feel the least bit inclined to go to sleep. But she knew that her normal duties would not bend to suit whatever discoveries she had made or whatever she thought she had learned. With a last gaze at the small book, Lise sat it down on her nightstand, not wanting it to be too far away. As she began to fall asleep, she still stared at it, as if the dream would wash it away. To her surprise, it followed her in her dreams, laying on a small wooden table. She saw Helena, walk over to it and picked it up, her hand feeling out the surface as a smile came to her lips. As if her thoughts regrouped, she turned again to Lise. "You must have read it. I wish I could have explained everything..." She paused, her face becoming almost somber, but her fingers still gently caressed the old diary. "Do you know why I'm here?"
        Lise held in a deep breath and tried to push away her urge to flee. She found her voice was lacking, not even a whisper coming out. She shook her head slowly. Then, as if her voice had suddenly been returned to her, she asked the question that had become stuck in her mind. "Did you know you were going to die?"
        Helena nodded. She watched as the diary disappeared into thin air and turned around, as if anticipating the other girl would appear. The redhead glared at them, anger disguising what was obviously confusion. "Wanna try telling me this is a freekin' dream again?"
        "It is." Helena said, before Lise had the chance to even utter a word.
        "We're all dead, aren't we?" Jadia asked suddenly.
        "No." Lise said calmly.
        "Yes. We are." Helena corrected immediately after, turning briefly to Lise. "I need to explain everything..."
        "You can say that again! One minute I'm getting myself thrown off a building, literally..." The girl let out a small laugh, as if the situation were somehow amusing.  "And then I'm on the street, with some idiot threatening to blow my head off with some old gun. Then I'm here... Wherever here is... Yeah, I'd say you have one hell of a lot of explaning to do, blondie..."
        Helena gave her a cold stare. "First of all, the name is Helena, I expect that isn't too much for you to remember... And second of all, you're not..." Helena suddenly fell silent, she turned to Lise, a quiet question in her gaze.
        Lise felt her thoughts begin to blur. "No..." She whispered, as if it would stop the inevitable.
        "We're always with you." Helena's words rung in her head as she snapped back from her dream world.
        The first thing she found in her line of sight was the diary. She sat up, staring at her watch. She was early. Her mind instantly reminded her of the task Julia had undertaken. She got up and got ready in a hurry, leaving her house before Ryan was even on the sidewalk. She scribbled a simple note and tossed it over her neighbor's gate telling him she had gone ahead.
 

***

        Ryan recognized the look on Julia's face immediately after he set eyes on her. That look of excitement, the way her eyes seemed to shine when she had solved a new mystery. He sat beside her with a grin. "What now?"
        "Oh, nothing... I just proved I was born to be a detective." She gloated, smiling at Lise.
        "She found Anne Lockhart." Lise provided, seeing Julia was going to take her time indefinitely.
        "So I wasn't dreaming? You are really crazy enough to call me at 4 o'clock in the morning..." Ryan eyed the first girl, expecting her smile to dissolve into a series of gloats. When he found Julia just silently staring back at him, he prompted her. "You found her... where?"
        "In a clinic... Mental health clinic; psychiatric facility; call it whatever you wish. She's there and I found her, that's all that matters." Julia explained. "It really wasn't that hard." She frowned, marveled at how easily she'd found Anne Lockhart in such a limited time frame. With a shaking of the head, she erased that thought and smiled confidently.
        Ryan let out a long whistle. "She's a mental health patient? That can't be good, can it?" He asked, not expecting an answer.
        Julia leaned closer to Lise, excitement still present in her eyes. "So, when are we going to visit her?"
        "Who said anything about visiting her?" Ryan questioned. He looked at Julia, then at Lise, then back to the latter.
        "Why do you think we were looking for her?" Lise asked with a half-smile.
        Ryan shrugged. "I don't know... Just to make sure she was real?"
        "Well, she's real all right." Julia mocked. "She was committed to the institute 10 years after her brother, Peter Lockhart, was declared missing in action, over at  Vietnam."
        "And we've got to talk to her because maybe she remembers something important about her brother's girlfriend." Lise joined in. Who, by the way, came to my dreams last night and told me I was dead... Lise thought to herself.
        "So we're back to the original question," Julia said with satisfaction in her voice as she said the final word: "When?"
        "As soon as possible..." Lise answered. Her eyes rested on the ground for a moment, then rose to meet her friend's. "The dreams are getting weirder and weirder by the night. It's really freaking me out." She stressed the last words, trying to make sure her friends understood just how much the strange situations bothered her.
        Ryan waited a few seconds before the silence could be broken. "Can you just waltz in there and ask to see an old woman who doesn't even know you?"
        "You are so determined to stop us!" Julia shouted, shoving him aside with a still humorous tone. "Stop bringing up obstacles!"
        The boy took it as it was meant, not anger, just slight annoyance. So he laughed as he straightened himself again in his seat. "I'm not! I just think we should anticipate any problems."
        Julia sent him a questioning look through her smile. "We?"
        He shrugged again, this time laughing. "Can't let you two go alone, now can I?"
        "And miss all the fun?" She teased. "Nah..."
        "We could go tomorrow." Lise volunteered. "Is that alright with the two of you?"
        Julia nodded, shrugging slightly. "Yeah. But I was thinking we could go today."
        Lise frowned. "Don't you have to talk to someone there and ask if we can go first?"
        Julia's smile returned to its rightful place in an instant. "I already have the name of the place, and I called a friend of my father's who works there. He said we could go this afternoon..."
        "When did you talk to him?" Lise asked.
        Ryan held back a burst of laughter. "Don't tell me you called him after we talked last night... this morning...whatever."
        "Okay, I won't tell you." Julia replied, her smile turning into a definite grin. Her two friends stared at her with open mouths, but their reactions were cut short by the sound of the school bell. They went to their class, making arrangements to head over to the clinic right after school.
 

***

        The three walked out the school gates and paused, turning to each other, as if each was unsure of the next move. "We can take my car." Julia volunteered, already pulling out her keys from her bag.
        "Okay, but I'll drive" With a quick move, Ryan snatched the set of keys from her hand.
        "Why?" She protested, trying to get it back. She stood against the car's door, blocking him, with her hand stretched out.
        He laughed, gently pushing her aside and opening the door. "Because I'd very much like to get there in one piece."
        Lise got into the back seat, barely managing to hold back a smile. Julia glared at both of them as she reluctantly got into the passenger's seat. "I do have a driver's license, you know."
        Ryan started the car. "Yeah, and how many near hits have you had since you started driving?" He waited for her answer, while Lise merely laughed.
        "Just drive." Julia shot back with a mean glance.
        It took them about half an hour to get to the clinic. They didn't have any trouble getting in, and when they reached the front desk, they found a doctor already waiting for them. He smiled at the three visitors, and Lise thought there was a sort of condescending look in his eyes, it didn't take her long to decide she didn't like him.
        "Good afternoon. I'm Dr. Fletcher," he introduced himself. "I believe you're here to see Anne Lockhart."
        "Yes, that's right." Julia replied simply, her attitude and manners adjusting to the situation.
        The man simply nodded, not adding anything. Julia turned to Ryan, Ryan looked at Lise, and Lise glanced at the paintings on the farthest wall. She was almost sure she could hear her own breathing sounding as loud as a drill. "Is this a bad time?" Lise inquired as soon as the silence began to bother her.
        "Not at all." The man replied kindly. "This way." He started walking up a flight of stairs, followed closely by Julia, while Ryan and Lise walked farther behind. As soon as they reached the top of the stairs, the doctor stopped and turned to them. "Dr. Charleston informed me that you would be coming. He said you wanted to see if Ms Lockhart still remembers an old friend?"
        Julia nodded. "Pretty much. We just want to ask her a few questions about someone she once knew."
        "Well, I have to warn you; I doubt you'll be able to get any straight answers from her. I doubt she even remembers anyone except her brother. She'd been making good progress, but something recently seems to have worsened her condition. She's become increasingly delusional."
        "What's wrong with her?" Ryan asked.
        "Among other things, she insists her brother comes by every once in a while for a visit, when the angel of death doesn't require his company." He seemed to be quoting the last part as one would quote something they did not agree with or believe in. "Her answers may be slightly confusing, she likes to talk in riddles and switch names." Dr. Fletcher explained.
        Lise stopped walking, feeling like she should give up and just go home, but Julia soon noticed and dragged her discretely along the rest of the corridors. The doctor stopped in front of a door, number 47. He unlocked it and signaled for the others to follow him in. When they entered, they saw a small room with a rocking chair, a bed and a few old photographs. The old woman lying on the bed was apparently asleep, but she opened her eyes and stared at the doctor. "Is it time for my poison?"
        "No, it's not. Someone is here to see you." He replied, indicating the three youths and stepping back.
        Anne Lockhart sat up and her eyes widened at the sight of Lise and Julia. "I know you..." She whispered. She got up with some effort and sat down on the chair, facing the girls. She seemed to address Lise. "Angel of death... have you brought me a message?"
         Lise froze, her mind searching for the right thing to say, but Julia already had it. "No, she's not the angel of death."
        The woman smiled, "Of course she's not. But death's shadow hovers over you... lurking for what it knows belongs on the other side. It doesn't like to be kept waiting..."
        Lise stared into the dark blue eyes of the older woman and tried to imagine what she had looked like in her youth. Julia picked one of the photographs from Ryan's hand as he examined it, and showed it to Lise before addressing the woman. "Is this your brother?"
        The woman nodded with a smile. "He left just a while ago, didn't he?" She turned to Fletcher for confirmation. The man gave her a smile that Lise also labeled instantly as condescending, but otherwise ignored it. The woman either didn't notice, or didn't seem to care.
        "Do you know him?" Anne asked Lise.
        The girl tried to smile. "No, I didn't."
        "I'm sure you'd like him. He's very nice, my Peter."
        "Did you know a girl by the name of Helena? Helena Statler?" Julia asked kindly.
        The woman's eyes seemed to dance for a moment, then decided to settle on Lise. "Who are you?"
        "Lise... Statler. Her niece."
        "Do you talk to the angel of death? Can you ask her to stop?" The woman's voice trembled, her eyes threatened to shed tears.
        Lise swallowed her own uncertainty. "Stop what?" She asked with a frown.
        "Stop haunting me. Day in and day out. I must have gone mad. Seeing shadows, hearing voices in my head, songs in my sleep. Why won't she let me be? I told Peter... I told him to stay away from her..."
        "Why?" Julia suddenly asked. But she was unable to divert the woman's attention away from Lise.
        Anne continued as if she hadn't been interrupted. "Please tell her to stop... tell her to stop singing in my dreams."
        Lise turned to Julia and her friend returned the same troubled look.
        Dr. Fletcher approached the girls. "This is upsetting her. We'd better leave."
        Julia put down the photograph and smiled at the woman. "Thanks for talking to us."
        Anne Lockhart didn't seem to hear her, she had already regressed back to her world, rocking back and forth in her chair. Ryan was already outside, waiting, as Julia and Lise started to leave, but Lise halted on the doorway as she heard the old woman's voice rise to a hum, then clearly form into the words of a song: "Memories are all that matter... Memories are all we hold dear... Memories are all we carry... Memories of you and me..."
        Lise's heart stopped for a full second and her skin went cold. Anne looked up at Lise, still singing the soft melody. When she let her voice fade away, she asked: "Does she sing for you, too?"
        Lise felt her breathing increase, she knew her mouth was wide open, but there was no sound coming out. Anne Lockhart resumed singing the little tune with a faraway look on her face. Julia grabbed Lise's arm and led her out of the room.
        "If you need anything else..." Fletcher offered.
        "No thanks." Julia answered quickly.
        They were led back to the entrance. Lise merely allowed Julia's hand to guide her out of the building and to the car, her mind too absorbed in thoughts of its own to pay any attention to what she was doing, much less what her friend was saying. Lise got into the backseat automatically. Julia walked up to the driver's seat and poked Ryan on the shoulder.
        "What?" He mumbled as he started the car.
        Julia just poked again until he finally looked at her. "What?" he repeated.
        "Out." she signaled with her head.
        Ryan still stared at her for a few seconds, then sighed and got up. "I'm warning you; first time you climb up the sidewalk, I'm taking the wheel."
        Julia shrugged an okay and took her seat. They started out on the road in silence. Ryan paying attention to the view, Julia to the road, and Lise to nothing in particular. Julia glanced at Lise through the rearview mirror and gave out a sudden laugh. "Hey, Lise, when are you scheduled for re-entering the atmosphere?"
        Lise's eyes regained focus and looked from Julia to Ryan, waiting for an explanation. "What?" She finally asked when she was volunteered none.
        "Nevermind..." Julia shook it off as they stopped at a red light. "So, what'd you think of her?"
        Lise frowned. "Who?"
        "The Queen of England, who else?" Julia rolled her eyes.
        "It's green." Ryan said as soon as the lights changed. Julia just tossed him a glance.
        Ryan turned to Lise. "She means Anne Lockhart," he whispered.
        "She's... weird." Lise commented.
        "Nah, really? Why do you think she's in there?" Julia tossed. Then, with a sigh, she added "Too bad she couldn't help us much."
        "I still don't know what you thought you'd find there... Watch the bike!" Ryan shouted.
        Julia shot him a glance. "I see it. Geez."
        "Did any of you recognize that tune she was singing?" Lise asked, leaning her head back against the seat.
        Ryan turned to look at her "No."
        Julia just shook her head, not looking away from the road.
        "Strange," Lise let out. "I thought it sounded a bit familiar..."
        "It's probably some old song you heard on the radio, maybe." Ryan suggested.
        "Or maybe...." Julia began with an eerie voice, "maybe Helena's been singing in your dreams." She smiled, glancing at Lise through the mirror. Lise just looked up and stared at her.
        "Oh c'mon, Jules." Ryan rolled his eyes. "This is going too far."
        "I mean it." Julia shouted, hitting one of her hands on the wheel. "Now we have proof that Helena is haunting Lise."
        "I don't really remember her singing anything to me..." Lise whispered.
        "You're as crazy as that old woman." Ryan joked, staring at Julia.
        "Ah-ha!" Again, Julia hit the wheel, stronger this time. "Now we're getting somewhere."
        "Could you not do that?" Ryan asked.
        She continued as if he hadn't said a word. "Who says Anne is crazy?"
        "What?" Was the reaction she got.
        She shook her head. "I know... I know she's crazy. But is she crazy because of what she sees and hears or is what she sees and hears there because she is crazy? 'Cause if it's the first one, then she's not really crazy... she's just... crazy."
        Ryan stared at her with an amused look on his face, his mouth half open. "What?!?" He choked. "Julia, do all of us a favor and think about what you're saying before you actually say it."
        Julia was silent for a few seconds, then she banged her hand on the wheel. "But I am making sense! After all, you don't really think Helena is still alive, do you?"
        "No." Ryan admitted, still amused at Julia's reasoning.
        "Do you?" She asked Lise, their eyes meeting in the mirror again. Lise shook her head. "Then what's so out of the ordinary about believing that Helena's spirit is still hanging around the place and is trying to contact Lise for some reason? Either that or Lise is her reincarnation."
        "I don't feel like her reincarnation." Lise said.
        Ryan laughed at the childlike tone in Lise's voice. Julia ignored him "It's not really something you feel like."
        Ryan just sank into quiet laughter. Julia tossed him a poisonous glance, but his amusement went on undisturbed as a grin.
        "I really think she's just haunting you, Lise. Otherwise, Anne's connection would be unexplained... I think."
        "You sure?" Ryan asked.
        "About what?"
        "About you thinking?"
        Julia laughed. "You really set the day aside to take cheap shots at me, didn't you?" She asked.
        Ryan just shrugged.
        "Hey, just because you don't believe it, doesn't mean it's not real." Julia added.
        "And just because you believe it, doesn't mean it is. Just slow down before this conversation ends up with Lise going to a fortune teller or buying a Ouija Board."
        "Oh, that reminds me. Lise, I brought you--"
        "Don't say Ouija board." Ryan interrupted with a pleading tone.
        Julia laughed. "Some books from the store. They're in that plastic bag over there in the corner." She turned to point at it.
        "Julia, the road." Ryan remarked.
        She turned just in time to step on the breaks as the car in front of them stopped at a red light. "I see it. I see it."
        "Doesn't seem that way to me."
        "Look, do you wanna drive?"
        "As a matter of fact, yes."
        "Well, you can't. Live with it."
        "I plan to. Just try getting us home in one piece."
        "Chill, we're almost there."
        He stared at her "Chill?!?"
        Ignoring their usual bickering, Lise opened up the plastic bag and took out three books. Her mind filtered out any and all sounds as she carefully looked the books over one by one. The first one was a rather large book entitled: Past Imperfect - How to get over past lives traumas. She raised her eyebrows and put that book aside. The next one was a small paperback, its title drawn in smoke-like letters: Living from Beyond. She frowned and looked at the last book: "Afterlife: A Guide to Contacting Spirits." She held the last book tightly, her eyes locked on it as if it somehow drained her. She felt her fingertips begin to sweat and the plastic cover slip. But it wasn't the title itself that got her attention, it was the drawing below it, an outstretched hand. Fragments of one of her dreams started to gnall at her. A lifeless hand stretched out against the ground... coming alive. "Lise?"
        She realized the car had come to a stop. She looked up and opened the door. She was home. "You coming in, Julia?"
        "Nah, gotta go. My stomach started complaining about half an hour ago." She turned to Ryan, who was already outside and shouted. "Next time, you're only coming with us if you put a sock in it. You're a lowsy backseat driver."
        He laughed. "And you're a lowsy front seat driver, Jules."
        "Lise, you can keep the books 'til the end of the week." She waved them goodbye, and drove off.
        "Let me take a look at those." Ryan said, taking the bag from Lise's hand, and opening it. He read the titles out loud, laughing harder after each one. He put them back into the bag and gave them back to her.
        She just stared at him and smiled.
        "What bothered you more? Julia's theories, or Anne's words?" He asked.
        "All that talk about death and being haunted. It gave me the creeps. And Julia's not helping much."
        He laughed again. "She just got carried away. Don't listen to her."
        "Well, if she is right about everything, it would make perfect sense to try and ask Lena wh--"
        "Lena?"
        "Oh, it's what my father called her... Well, if she were still around, like a ghost or something, it would make perfect sense to try and ask her what she wants or why she's haunting me."
        "Assuming Anne Lockhart was making a slight bit of sense, and assuming that Julia hasn't completely lost her mind, and dragged you down with her... Yeah, it would make sense..."
         "C'mon, try to be serious..." She gave him a look, trying to search for the keys.
       "I'm not the one basing my observations on a crazy person..."
       "I'm not basing everything on what Anne said." Lise said defensively.
        "I wasn't talking about Anne Lockhart." He said with a grin. "Wait, didn't you say there was a second girl in your dream?"
        Lise nodded. "Yeah... "
        "So, who is she? Did you find out?"
        "I have no idea."
        "Did she look familiar? Maybe someone else from your aunt's old photo album?"
        "No... At least I don't think so..." She tried to summon up all the strange faces she had seen and compare them to the unknown presence in her dreams, but the effort was in vain, and the face remained unidentified. She pointed to a cat's tail sticking out of the trash. "Hey, isn't that your cat?"
        "Hey, Cat!" Ryan shouted. The cat heard him, and popped its head out of a plastic bag to stare at them.
        "Come here. Here Cat." Ryan called him, but Cat didn't budge. He merely stood there, unwavering, just staring at Ryan with only mild interest.
        "No wonder he doesn't answer. With a unimaginative name like that, I wouldn't either." Lise smiled and kneeled down on the floor, reaching out her hand. "Here kitty. Come on, kitty... Come here."
        The cat still hesitated a while, then lazily strolled to their encounter. Lise gave Ryan the plastic bag and picked Cat up. "Such a cute little kitty." She said, hugging him tightly.
        Ryan rolled his eyes. "You've gotta stop treating him like that."
        "Why? He likes it. Don't you kitty?" A purr was the only response she got.
       "Here, trade weights." He took Cat and gave her the bag with the books. Cat still struggled a bit, his eyes locked on something moving across the street, then he gave up and let himself be carried inside. "Let me know how the talking to ghosts deal turns out." Ryan shouted back as he closed the gate.
        Lise just shrugged and went in. As soon as she got through the door, her mother came rushing towards her. "Where were you?"
        "I was with Ryan and Julia." Lise said almost defensively, trying to avoid having to tell them where she had gone, and with what purpose in mind.
        "I didn't ask who you were with." Her mother said, standing in her way. "I asked where you were."
        "We went to visit a friend... of a friend... who's in a... the... hospital...with... uh... Why?"
        "Do you know what time it is?" Vanessa asked.
        "No..." She tossed a glance at her wristwatch.
        "It's almost 5 o'clock." Vanessa pointed out. "You could at least have called home to say you weren't going to come straight here after school. You got me worrying here for almost two hours. I tried reaching Ryan, but he wasn't answering his cell phone, and there was no one at the house. Julia had told her parents she was going to do some research for a report, but didn't say where she was going. I finally called Adriane, but she doesn't really know where Ryan is most of the time. Their parents don't worry. I do."
        Lise lowered her head, just hoping that her mother wouldn't ask her for more details on their little excursion. "I'm sorry... I really did loose track of time. I thought we wouldn't take long."
        Her mother let out a long sigh. "Well, all right. Are you hungry?"
        Lise shook her head, still unsure if she should dare to move. "No, not really."
        "Did you eat something on the street?"
        Reluctantly, she nodded. If she said she hadn't, the conversation would end with her in kitchen, eating something. "Well, yeah, I did." 
        Her mother assented. "Alright, then."
        Lise took the pause and started towards her room, the plastic bag tightly in her hand. She was at the door when she heard her mother call. "Is your friend feeling well?"
       She stopped and turned, mouth wide open. "What? Oh, yes... She's... she's doing much better." She lied, and went into her room, closing the door behind her. She waited for a few seconds to see if her mother would come after her, then seeming satisfied Vanessa had probably something better to do, she calmed down and made herself stop staring at the door.
        She sat down on her bed and took out the books from the bag again. She looked them over with a sigh, and chose to start with the smaller paperback. Setting the others aside on her nightstand, she thumbed through the book, not really knowing why she was about to read it. Because Julia would never let me hear the end of it, she thought with a smile. And because I do want to know what's going on , she added.
        She noticed some of the pages were folded in at the corners, almost as if it had been on purpose. She shook her head in reprimand. Some people just didn't know how to take good care of books. She opened it and started smoothing out the folded pages, realizing that there was a pencil marking, an arrow and an astherix drawn on one of them. She figured it must have been Julia's doing, and when she finished straightenning out the pages, she read the title that had been marked. She skimmed through the text, which seemed to be the instructions for a small ritual. It apparently fit what she was looking for, and that plus the fact that she didn't really feel like reading through the other books, made her decide it was worth a shot. She read the list of things she would need, it seemed simple enough; the only real problem was the blue candle. With a snap, it came to her. She did have a blue candle. Julia had given her one, and she still hadn't used it.
        With a heavy sigh, she decided she would give it a try. After all, what's the worst that can happen? She thought. Then, with a sudden seriousness and a touch of fear, she added: It might work.

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