The Silent Falls Twins: Contact

I tried to make up with Skye, and I really thought that we would be talking again after a few hours apart. But nope, all I got were one word answers and sighs should I even walk in the same direction as her. I heard Mum having a go at her, finally. Nagging about homework and her attitude in general. Apparently a teacher phoned. I'm glad Mum finally got annoyed with her. But it didn't change anything. No one even bothers trying with her in school any more, and I feel like everyone's annoyed with me for being her sister.

Skye didn't go to school today or yesterday. She told Mum she was ill. She didn't look ill to me, just tired because I know she sits up all night, talking to whatever it is that she's suddenly so fascinated by.

I told my friend Chloe at school, but no one else. They think Skye's gone mad as it is, but Chloe's a bit more understanding. She did wonder if I had lost it too, but when I told her about the brush moving, and the baby blankets she seemed to believe me... a little bit anyway. Of all my friends, Chloe is the only one who believes in ghosts. She reads Stephen King and watches all sorts of horror films. And her advice? Contact this ghost.

It sounds bizarre, doesn't it? But then this whole thing was pretty bizarre already. So we did a Google search... and it told us that the best way to contact a ghost was through a ouija board. Among these sites there were plenty of horror stories about the boards too. But we didn't read them.

So last night, while Skye was in the shower, I cleared the dressing table. It seemed like the best place to try it. I arranged the little pieces of paper with the alphabet, yes, no, hello and goodbye in a circle, and placed the glass in the centre. I wished that Chloe could come and do this with me, already my heart was fluttering. But of course, Chloe wasn't allowed to come to Silent Falls. Mum was at work, and Rose was out meeting a friend for dinner. I knew they'd go mad if they found out. With my hand steadily on top of the glass, looking at myself in the mirror, I asked the empty room: “Is there anyone here with me?”

Nothing happened, not right away. I sat looking down at the glass and the little letters, and I asked again. There was nothing. I was about to take my hand off the glass, when I felt something. I don't know what it was, but there was something in the room with me. The glass under my hand felt like ice. I looked up at the mirror. There on Skye's bed, I saw the girl. She had her back to me, facing the wall. All I could see was her long blonde hair, combed perfectly straight. She wore a pale pink nightdress. I could hear her breathing. I turned around to look at her, and the bed was empty. When I turned back to look at the mirror, her reflection was gone. As if there had been a gust of wind, my letters flew to the carpet.

I heard the shower turn off. I had to get rid of the letters quickly, I thought, scooping them all up as quickly as I could. When I looked back up at the dressing table, the glass had been placed over the word “Goodbye.”