The Sisters of Nowhere

t h i r t y : p h o t o

Marigold's chest tightened as she stepped over broken bottles, charcoal sticks, and notebooks to get there.

She picked up the photograph.

It was of a family--a father, a mother, and what looked to be a two-year-old infant. Marigold squinted at it. The father and mother looked so young. If she didn't know better, she would've said they were merely teenagers.

But they looked happy, as far as she could tell.

"Wyatt," she said, "come look at this."

Wyatt picked his way across the floor to stand over her shoulder. "Gee...that's Hal, holding the baby."

"Let me see," a voice said from the corner.

Marigold and Wyatt looked up to see Silas sulking in the shadows, his form barely visible in the blue light.

Marigold started. "You should warn a person before--"

But then Silas was beside them, reaching for the picture.

Marigold gasped audibly when he took it.

She'd never seen a ghost this powerful before. What was supplying him with this much energy?

Silas stared at the photo, unblinking.

The room stilled in silence.

And the blue light began flickering. Slowly, at first, but then erratically as if it were shorting out.

The room grew cold and damp at the same time and energy filled the room so quickly that even Wyatt could feel it on his skin.

Silas wasn't even looking at the picture anymore. His features were in another world entirely, his eyes rolling into the back of his head before turning completely black.

His body flickered from one place to another throughout the room--here one second and there the next.

The air was so congested with energy that Marigold's perfectly curled hair began to stand on end and made her eyes water.

"Silas--" Marigold started, but was cut short when the blue light bulb burst, shattering glass everywhere and leaving the room in complete and utter darkness.

Silence again.

Marigold's heart pounded so loudly that she was sure she could hear it outside of her body.

She found Wyatt's hand and held it, just to be sure he was still there.

Then, drawing in a painful breath of reeking air, she whispered, "Silas?"

No answer.

"Let's go," Wyatt said, pulling her through the ocean of debris until they were back in the hallway.

The rest of the house was dark now since the sun had gone down, so they didn't speak until they were outside.

They sucked in sweet, fresh air to catch their breath.

Wyatt looked around the yard curiously. Everything was quiet, serene even. The chickens murmured in their coop and everything seemed relatively ordinary, except for the extinguished blue light that always came through the bedroom window.

"I wonder where he went," Wyatt mused.

"That was something," Marigold breathed. "What did he see in that picture?"

"Who knows?" Wyatt rubbed the back of his neck. Maybe the next time Hal left, Wyatt would do more snooping.

He shifted on his feet uncomfortably, putting his questions on hold for a moment. "Sorry about tonight, Marigold. I--"

Marigold flung her arms around him tightly.

Wyatt took this to mean that she was either frightened or relieved or both, but then she pulled away and kissed his cheek.

"This has been a swell date, Wyatt Best," she said.

He gave her a half-smile. "Despite or because of the angry ghost, just for future reference?"

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Heyyy everyone! Sorry for not posting on Thursday, so here's a new chapter to make up for it! My posting schedule will be MONDAY and FRIDAY next week, so keep an eye out!

~Do you think Silas is beginning to remember?

~What on earth have Marigold and Wyatt walked in on? XD

~Overall, how did their date go? =P

Thank you so much for reading! Don't forget to comment, vote, and share!