The Sisters of Nowhere

t h i r t y - t w o : t r u t h

There were two coincidences happening in Nowhere that night.

The first had to do with a girl whose soul was tethered to ghosts.

The second had to do with a boy who did not know who he really was.

Perhaps if they had not been in the same place at the same time, they would not have entered Gwydyr. Perhaps they wouldn't have changed their lives forever.

But, as fate would have it, that was not what happened.

The first coincidence had to do with Birdie, who was searching for answers.

And, after much thought, she concluded that those answers could only be found in a dormant magical forest.

So, she snuck out of the house.

It wasn't a fantastic feat by any means. Marigold had done it several times and was becoming quite the expert.

Birdie hated that her conscience kept nagging at her.

But this was more than climbing through the window to meet friends or go to a late picture show. This was dangerous. Dark. And Birdie didn't much like being alone.

Nonetheless, she was already more than halfway to the clearing before she regretted her decision.

She didn't know how to drive, so she had to walk through the inky blackness of the night, folding her arms against the uncharacteristic August chill, wondering what exactly she was hoping to accomplish.

Because the truth was that she was scared of the forest.

Something had happened the night they'd summoned it. Something that connected it to her somehow.

Birdie didn't care for the forest trying to contact her while she was underwater. So she thought she'd go to it instead.

She passed by the Best's farmhouse. All the lights were off except for that blue light in Hal's bedroom.

Birdie shivered. How did Wyatt stand it, being in that greenhouse with someone like Hal just lurking outside?

She'd seen him several times in town, selling his tomatoes, but she couldn't recall ever talking to him.

She climbed over the wooden fence that used to lace around the clearing, but was now only about ten yards away from the edge of the forest.

The energy seeped out of it like a paper bag filled with too much air. Birdie felt it inside and out--the electricity...and the clarity.

Her mind sharpened, her senses heightened. Like this was the first breath of fresh air she'd ever taken.

Her eyelids fluttered closed as she stood on the edge of the forest, fingertips tingling with the sensation of it.

"Birdie?"

Birdie let out a yelp and spun around, her heart pounding in her ears.

Wyatt.

He was leaning against the fence, his head tilted curiously to the side.

"What is wrong with you?" she sighed. "Do you ever sleep? Are you ever not looking at this forest?"

"Considering that every wall is made up of windows, it's hard not to notice things," he replied. "And I'm still on Gwydyr watch, remember? I wake up every few hours to see what's going on."