You Don't See Her?

Day 23

The girl's eyes went directly to the pale in Gaelle's hand. It still smelled like the store where she got it from. Despite ignoring Gaelle when she called her name, now she was looking up with wide eyes. For a second, her pale looked dark and broken then it went back to the way it looked seconds before. Sure, everyone else told her this wasn't real, that this girl did not exist but her stomach was telling her she did.

"Your name is Shelley?" she asked. The girl nodded. Gaelle walked closer and put the pale on the grass near her. She got ready to walk away, allowing the girl to take whatever she had left. Whenever she got inside the girl was either smiling or frowning.

"Will you play with me?" Gaelle nodded slowly walking up the hill with her tired legs. The girl was silent as Gaelle watched her. The feeling in her stomach had turned into a hurricane and a small voice was telling her to run. Mark was outside that day, wheeling his trash out. Even though he was the shitty neighbor, he gave Gaelle a look of disdain. Gaelle smirked, so he did see her. One more question answered.

From here, Gaelle could see someone inside, just for a second a figure passed by the window. It gave her a little start but she calmed herself remembering that she was safe. If she had to run, her house was right across the street.

"Do you live in this house?" The girl tried to smile but it looked crooked and dark.

"Yes," she said.

"Do you live with your mommy and daddy?" The girl looked up then to the sun that was blaring.

"Father says I shouldn't answer questions all the time."

"I just want to be your friend," Gaelle said feeling creepy once the words started coming out.

"I don't need friends." The girl said, packing the dirt harder.

"Are you sure? Don't you get lonely?" The door flew open with no person in sight. The girl's face went pale as she rushed to put her things together. Once she did that, she ordered Gaelle off the sand and used her palm to smooth it back into place. She stumbled into the house, looking back not at Gaelle but at the sand. It was perfectly even. The rush of panic made Gaelle rush back to her own house. This was the kind of moment where the wind should have broken out and the sky should have turned gray. The fear in Shelley's eyes was something scary and familiar. From inside the safety of her house, Gaelle watched as shadows rushed past windows and a car started to pull into the house.

The car was as black as night and looked brand new. Gaelle barely saw the profile of the driver. Not enough to know which parent was driving. When the garage door went down, Gaelle panicked. Her first instinct was to tell her parents but she knew what they'd say and they'd probably put a tracking chip in her to stop her from going there again.

Even though she knew her parents were asleep, Gaelle was wary about opening the window. She slipped her fingers into position, telling herself she'd be okay. For a few seconds, the sound was bearable. Sharp but her stomach didn't try to auto eject all her food. It was less a noise and more of a vibration. After a while, her stomach and skin felt it. Like something was pushing against them, a pressure or something. It just felt wrong. She pushed the window back down, feeling a relief at the silence.

In the night, she felt the heaviness again. Her heart was burning in her chest. The song was getting louder, sliding past her windows and down into her bone. Part of Gaelle expected Shelley to be on the other side of the window even though she was on the second floor. Instead, she say the house, completely dark as usual.