Over the years nightmares have been a frequent friend in the Hopper house. Chills and a scream lodged in the back of her throat is the only way that Christine Hopper knows how to wake up. Her father tries hard to believe his daughter has a handle on...
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Sara Hopper lies on the concrete floor of a roof. She's surrounded by darkness and light. Above her the stars shine meekly in the midnight sky. Below her the city of New York shines lively. The city never sleeps, and Sara Hopper never wants to either. She rolls her head to her right, smiling widely, just like her father used to do.
"Are you gonna join me?"
Christine Hopper stands near the edge of the roof, ignoring the city rolling on by. She stares blankly at her younger sister, who is the age she should be had she not passed away five years ago.
"You're..."
"Don't call me old. I still got lotta life left in me," Sara giggles.
A smile spreads across Chris's face. "Grandma used to say that." Sara peers back up at the stars as Chris sits down beside her. "How am I here?"
"You just discovered that you can walk through other dimensions through dreams, and you're questioning this?" Sara raises a pretty blond eyebrow at her sister.
"You always understood this stuff better than anyone I knew." Chris looks up at the stars. "You know, they're so much clearer out in Hawkins..."
Sara nods slightly, watching Chris play with the laces of her boots.
"You would've loved the party...Mike, Lucas, Dustin, and Will." Chris turns to Sara with a sad smile. "And El..."
"You're happy there," Sara concludes.
Chris winces at the tone of Sara's voice. She sounds so much older and wiser than she should be. Sara's only seven years-old. She will always be seven years-old to Chris. Why does this bother her so much?
"It's okay to be happy there, Chrissie."
"Are you alive?" wonders Chris, peering at Sara closely. "Or is this a dream? Another dimension like you said."
Sara shakes her head. "I didn't say that."
Chris huffs to herself. "Already in the annoying phase, I see." Chris folds her arms. "Okay. So why here? Why now? Why this age? I have never...I will never be able to see you grow up. So what is this, then, a sick dream?"
Sara shrugs. "You're the one that came here. You're the Shadow Walker."
"So this is another dimension?" If Chris expects an answer out of Sara, she isn't going to get one. Chris sighs heavily. "We miss you, you know?"
Sara nods. "I know."
"You didn't deserve that."
"Hmm. The cancer."
Chris stares at Sara, a little confused as to why she worded it that way. She ignores it, soaking in the time with her. "You're the science guru. So tell me, how do you explain Shadow Walking?"
Sara smirks a little. "Some people are born with these kinds of connections without their parents taking drugs. Edgar Cacey was a clairvoyant, but his method of connecting to his visions and spirits was done through sleep."
"I'm not the reincarnation of Edgar Cacey, if that's what you're suggesting."
Sara laughs, propping herself up on her skinny elbows. "Chris. You're thinking about this too much. This isn't something spiritual. This doesn't have to do with God or Gods. This is all scientific. You're connected to the Upside Down, just like Eleven is. Just like the other numbers are. They were created with these powers through experiments. You were born with them because sometimes science is weird. Sometimes people have a higher intellect or their brains open up new doorways to things we can only begin to comprehend."
"That's why Dr. Brenner wanted me at the lab."
"Duh." Sara lies down again, staring up at the stars.
"But if El killed the Demogorgon then...my connection to the Upside Down is gone, isn't?" Chris frowns. "Okay. That was a stupid question. I'm not connected to the Demogorgon. I'm connected to the Upside Down."
"You're connected to other dimensions and dreams, Chrissie."
"Dreams?"
Sara makes a face. "What do you think this is, silly?"
Chris's frown deepens. Her heart falls. Even if it's obvious that this is just a dream and that Sara, her Sara, is dead, she wants to believe that this all can be real. This Sara lying by her side can be out there somewhere. Maybe in a place where the stars shine brighter, where cancer doesn't exist. A place that Chris can Walk to.
"Think of how many stars there are in the sky, Chrissie." Sara waves a hand in front of them, reaching for the inky landscape. "One of them is your place. One of them is the Upside Down. One of them is where you Walk. One of them is Eleven's void. All the others...all the others are endless possibilities for you." Sara turns to Chris. "And there are so many more in Hawkins."
Chris's heart thumps loudly in her chest.
"So wake up and push yourself. Reach for those stars. If anything do it for your Sara."
Chris opens her mouth, frowning as numb pain slowly works its way across her body. A dull beeping sound rises and her head bounds dully.
"I'll be here when you need me," Sara offers, looking back at the sky.
Chris rolls her eyes. "If I need you."
Sara grins. Her smile fades a little as she thinks of something. "Tell Dad..."
