You Don't See Her?

Day 2

The smell of her breakfast woke her up from sleep. It was only about nine but she'd gotten up multiple times over the night. Half her pillows were on the floor now. Last time she checked the clock, it had been around four in the morning so at least it was a reasonable time now.

With her running clothes on, she got her shoes from the drawer where she kept them with poperie to leave them smelling good. As she stood up, she wondered if she should move the curtain, see if Shelly or whoever was on the lawn. She slowly lifted her handto the curtain. There would be nothing on the other side. She was just tired yesyerday, she told herself. Her phone rang causing her to jump back from the window.

"What were you being murdered by a ghost or something?" Bennie asked, noticing the way that Gaelle was panting.

"No, what's up?"

"Are we still hanging out today?" Gaelle sighed, at least now her thoughts wouldn't have silence to dominate in.

"Yeah," She said before hanging up to eat. She had to run today even if her body buzzed from exhaustion. At the table, she pushed the thought of Shelly pressed against the window out of her mind. She just ate and slid her shoes on.

Outside, she jogged in place as she set her bracelet. She didn't look up in the direction of the house across the street, not allowing her eyes to play tricks on her again. Her neighbors were outside, smiling and waving at her. She waved back and disappeared into the different streets. She kept by the main roads where there were plenty of people. The run wasn't ass challenging or the normal one but her mother did always tell her not to run in quiet neighborhoods. Her time was awful she could tell as she took different steps. It was much harder.

Her street was dead as usual as she came into it. Even from the other side of the house, she could see her mom was still there. Hopefully she'd stay so Gaelle wouldn't have to wait to shower like last night. The lawns on this street were usually empty with no kids really running around unless they were from the street over. The house of college boys next to her usually only had very late night guests. Maybe they had some yesterday and that's why she barely slept.

As she approached her house, her eyes glanced at Shelley's house which was a huge mistake. Shelley was sitting there in her sand box. Shelley. Not a sister, it was her. No. not possible. Her stomach twisted but she couldn't stop running. She leaned away from Shelley's house as the girl continued to pack sand into her bucket.

Gaelle's male neighbor was taking the trash out as she approached a little faster to pass Shelley's house. He looked up startled at her arrival. She was basically on his lawn when she finally asked "Hey, did new people move into the house across from mine?" He looked at her for a second blankly then shook his head with furrowed brows, like she had just asked something stupid. She got it, that house was a pariah. Shelly's parents were...odd but...some one was there. Part of her knew it was Shelley but the other half wished it was someone else.

"Mark, are you sure because,"

"Listen, I don't know anything about those people." He spat out. "That house is not our neighbor." He said and stopped pulling the trash. Gaelle nodded and turned back to her house, feeling sicker as she did. Shelley was still there, packing sand into a bucket. It couldn't have been. Maybe she could just ask the girl. If she knew her name then her mind would stop filling in the blanks.

She took a careful step toward her house though, feeling sicker with just the thought of walking over there. Her mother was wiping the windows when she answered. Shelley was still out there unfortunately she got a sneak peak of her. Did her mom not notice the resemblance?

"Did we get new neighbors across the street?" Gaelle asked.

"I don't believe so."

"There's a girl who looks like Shelley over there." Her mother stopped and looked out the window like she hadn't been there before.

"I don't know what you're talking about." She said. "Do you need a snack love?" Gaelle walked over, opening the curtain and Shelley or her twin was still sitting right there. Had she not seen her? Maybe Gaelle did see dead people.

Bennie was not the person to tell about it so Gaelle kept her mouth shut. She didn't sit nearest to the window either. If she had, she'd have looked to see if Shelley was still playing outside. She couldn't have been though. It wasn't Shelly, she repeated to herself.

"What's your deal?" Bennie asked.

Gaelle smiled and shook her head but Bennie just leaned closer to her. She wiggled an eye brow until Gaelle rolled her eyes.

"Someone new moved in across the street." Bennie laughed.

"No way. No one moved in." Bennie said.

"But someone did. I saw a little girl on their lawn."

"Maybe she was just using it."

"With her own sand pale and everything?" Gaelle asked. She shook her head. "Mom acted like she wasn't even there either."

"Are we re-enacting the sixth sense or something?" Bennie asked.

"I'm serious. I can't sleep right either. Something is going on." Gaelle groaned.

"Okay, well maybe your mom really didn't see the girl and maybe they are that new. Some people are private." Gaelle nodded, laying her head against Bennie. "They're probably just shut ins." Bennie said.

"Then what am I?" Gaelle asked.

"You go outside at least once a day." Bennie replied before moving on to another topic that didn't make Gaelle's heart race.

At one in the morning, Gaelle opened her eyes. It was scorching in her room despite it being so late or early whatever. She pushed her blankets of, doing what she could to alleviate the heat without opening her eyes. She trashed in her bed, her stomach feeling better but still wrong. When she opened her eyes, she could see that the AC was no longer on. She stood up, using the light of the lamp to guide her safely to it. She pressed tit on enjoying how the cold immediately watched over her. Without thinking, she opened the curtains. Shelly's house was still dark as usual. There was a humming outside that vibrated through her a bit. Leaving the window with the air conditioner, she opened another window. At first the sound of piano being played was soft, gentle then it sounded more aggressive like the keys were being smashed into submission. The keys made her stomach flip. Gaelle felt herself throw up before she could think to close the window. Her body felt weak when her mom burst into the room. She shut the window then picked Gaelle up of the ground.

"Are you okay?" She asked. Gaelle shook her head, feeling the taste of vomit but not seeing it on the ground. That was the worst bout of gagging she had ever felt. Her eyes were watering from it still as she looked at her mother.

"That noise, it's keeping me up," Gaelle said.

"What noise? Didn't I tell you never to open the window at night? A bat could have gotten in or a criminal. You know some of this town is dangerous." She reminded Gaelle for the millionth time. Before the summer had started, Gaelle had said it'd be better for her just to keep a window open at night and her mother went into hysterics. Regardless, Gaelle now had two ACs in her room every summer to keep her mom from losing it.

"Someone's playing..." Gaelle thought but her mind felt warped and her stomach felt pain. Her heart was racing as her mother put her back into her bed.

"Honey, I think you're just having a bad dream." With a kiss on the cheek, her mother left her. The song played over and over in Gaelle's head. Something felt so wrong about it like she was choking listening to it. She knew it wasn't Mark. Maybe it was her other neighbor...or it was coming from Shelly's house. She hoped to god it wasn't coming from that house.