Out of the Darkness

183

"There's something you need to know." "What?" she asked, giggling, as I sat her down on the foot of the bed. I looked around the room, at Christine and Sam. Neither of them said a word, so I sighed, knowing that it was on me. "I want you to try again with remembering your friend. Holly. I want you to try and remember her face. Can you do that?" She furrowed her eyebrows, and nodded. "I can try. What do I need to know?" "We'll get to that in a few minutes. This comes first. Picture the same thing as you did earlier, but this time, try and see her face. Okay?" "Okaaay," she replied, quietly, and closed her eyes. "Anna," Christine called her name, softly, sitting behind her on the bed. "Can you see it? The scene from earlier?" "I can see it," Anna replied. "I'm standing in front of a mirror, with a pink room in the background. I'm wearing the same clothes as I am now. But with no jacket. I feel like I'm going somewhere special. I'm getting ready for something." "Good," Christine replied. "Keep going." "Someone says something to me. I'm sure it's Holly, but I can't hear her. I can only see myself answering her in the mirror image, and laughing." No one said anything. We just waited for her to continue. "Now, I see a look of delight and shock on my face, before an arm shows in the mirror. She's giving me the jacket. I think maybe it's hers and she's letting me borrow it." "Can you see her face, Stac- Anna? Can you see what Holly looks like?" Christine asked, almost breathless at this point. Anna scrunched up her face, and shook her head. "No, I can't. Only her arm. Nothing else." Disappointment showed on Christine's face, but she kept pushing. "Turn around, Anna! Stop staring in the mirror and turn around and LOOK at her!" she exclaimed, loudly. Sam and I stood next to each other, quietly watching the intense scene that was playing out in front of us. Anna turned, just as Christine grabbed her arm. She gasped, and her eyes flew open, connecting with Christine's gaze. Confusion was evident on her face, but recognition started to creep through. "Hol- Holly?" she choked out. Tears welled up in Christine's eyes, as she nodded. "Hey Stacia," she replied, her voice cracking. "Oh my God!" Anna yelled, before tackling Christine on the bed, hugging her. "It's you, it's really you! I remember you!" In that moment, I saw Holly, the young girl, hugging her best friend, instead of Christine, the mature family woman that she was now. They sat up, still holding onto one another. "Stacia, I've missed you so so much. You have no idea," Christine said. They pulled back from one another, but clasped their hands together to stay connected. "I looked for you. I looked for you, for so long. I started a search party, and we combed the woods out by the old house, the beaches, and anywhere else that I could think of. I didn't know what else to do. I knew that you wouldn't run away, and definitely not with Chad, but no one would listen. Your parents didn't believe the story either. I finally found you," she cried. Anna wiped her eyes and nodded. "You did. You found me. I still don't know what happened to me. Not really. I know it has something to do with the Witch, the house, and the doll. I can't believe I forgot you, Hols. I'm so sorry!" she wailed. "My parents!" My parents must have gone bonkers. How are they? Are they still...alive? And Liv? How is she? Are they all okay? I've missed so much time with all of you!" Anna ran one question in with another without realizing one thing. "Anna," I interrupted. She looked at me, seeming annoyed that I was cutting in on her girl time. "Do you know what you just asked Chris- Holly, I mean? Did you hear yourself?" "Of course, I did, Colby. What do you mean? I asked about my parents and my little sister. What does that- OH!" Realization hit her like a bag of bricks. "I REMEMBER THEM!" she screamed, jumping up from the bed. She threw her arms around me, almost knocking me off of my feet. I wrapped my arms around her and spun her around. "You remember them!" I exclaimed, elated for her. She leaned back in my arms, put her hands on each side of my face, and laid a giant kiss on my lips. "MUAH! Now put me down so I can talk to my best friend!!," she giggled. I smiled, and set her on her feet. She bounced onto the bed, next to Christine. I wasn't sure that I could get used to calling her Holly now. "We have so much to talk about! I've missed so, so much, Hols! But first, tell me about my family. I need to know what their lives have been like. Did Liv go to school to become a marine biologist? Or did she find a new dream? She was so young when I...left." I watched her face drop with sadness, and it broke my heart. It wasn't fair that her life had been stolen from her this way. Christine laughed a little, and shook her head. "No, she didn't become a marine biologist. I was worried about her for a while. After you disappeared, it seemed like she died a little herself. She became withdrawn, and angry." Anna's face turned from sad to hurt, and anger flashed through me. "Maybe you shouldn't talk about the bad parts yet, Christine," I spoke up, my voice a little hard. Her eyes shot to mine. "Oh. Oh, yes, you're probably right. I'm so sorry, Stacia. I didn't mean-" "No," Anna replied, shaking her head. "It's okay." She turned her face to meet my gaze. "I'm okay, Colby. I need to know these things. I missed so much so I don't want anything left out. I know it had to be hard on all of them. I promise that I'm okay." Her eyes were begging me to just let it go, so I sighed, and nodded. "Are you sure?" Christine asked her. "Yes, of course. Keep going," Anna said. "Okay. Well, your disappearance is actually a huge part of what happened to her, and how her life turned out."