Secondhand Life

Chapter 9

No ones P.O.V.
Christopher and Ash got home about twenty minutes later and checked the house for any signs of their parents or siblings being home. Chris checked the garage while Ash checked the kitchen and main places that the members of her family usually hang out. The car was gone and the house seemed deserted, no one was home, they were okay. Christopher and Ash sighed then got ice cream from the freezer along with hot fudge and nuts. Ash got two bowls down from the cabinet and placed them on the counter. They each took one, filled it up with ice cream and toppings, then sat down in the living room. Ash couldn't even turn on the tv. She just stared in silence at her melting ice cream that lay in her lap and thought about her dream. "C-Chris..." She said with hesitation. "What if that wasn't a dream?" Ash asked him. The blonde brushed his hair out of his face and sighed deeply. "Honestly Ash I don't know... If that was real, if what you saw was real then you might be living the same fate as Gretchen Poliper..." He said fiddling with his fingers. "And what if I disappear?" She said curling her wavy black and red tinted hair around her finger. "You won't." The younger blonde boy said with determination. "I won't let you disappear. We gotta break the system Ash, we just gotta do it." He took out his labtop from under the wicker living room table, sat his ice cream on the table and placed the labtop in his lap. Once he opened it he started typing frantically without telling Ash what he was doing. Seconds later he screeched. "I got it!" He said pointing at the screen. Ash walked over to him and saw that there were multiple scenarios similar to Gretchen's. Over thirty four thousand but yet it wasn't popular in news and such. "Christopher why do you think more people don't know about this? Why don't the friends or parents of the people who disappeared remember this?" She asked. He stumbled for a moment then came up with an answer. "All the people that have disappeared, their parents, friends, or family members couldn't remember them as if the person who was disappearing also disappeared from other's memories. That's why no one talks about it Ash, no one remembers!" He said at the end of his conclusion. They stared at each other in shock. "The only reason they talked about Gretchen's is because she was famous!" He said taking a breath. "We gotta be the ones to change this. What's happening to these disappearing people is not right Ash, we can change it. I'll record your dreams in a journal along with a summary of the original you. What you look like now, and what you look like in your dreams. If you disappear, I'll remember everything about you by reading the journal. Also we will make a video everyday for as long as this continues or until you possibly disappear. Understood?" He said. "Understood." Ash replied.

Ash's P.O.V.

Later that night Christopher and I were in our rooms talking to each other over Skype at 11:39pm. We would've gone to the living room but our mom told us to go to sleep and not to leave our rooms so we did that except for the sleeping part.

Skype message from Christopher

Ash, have you had any dreams yet?

Of course I haven't. I replied. If I would've had any dreams I would've been sleeping. I haven't gone to sleep yet.

Well go to sleep then and tell me what happens in your dreams. Goodnight.

Night. I replied back setting my phone down on my nightstand. I took Gretchen's necklace off of my neck and examined it. The sapphire blue necklace had a tough thin chain and the gem was brightly beautiful in the moonlight shining from her window. I set it on the nightstand by my phone wondering what that lady at the garage sale meant when she said she'd never take it back. Was it cursed before Gretchen disappeared? Or was it nearly all in the old lady's head?

***

Waking up to the sound of plates smashing against the floor I jolted upright and almost screamed. I hadn't had any dreams that night but yet there was Christopher standing over me with his phone in one hand and video camera in the other. "W-what's going on... Why did I hear plates breaking or something? Lastly why do you have a video camera?" I muttered still half asleep. Christopher smiled and explained. "The sound of stuff crashing into the floor was from my phone. I played it to wake you up. Second of all the video camera is for recording a video diary from now on until the time you possibly disappear? Don't you remember what we agreed on yesterday?" He asked sitting on the side of my bed. "Sorta... Not really. Yesterday feels like a blur now." I said rubbing the side of my head trying to smooth out my black and red hair. "But you're seriously going to do this everyday from now on?" I asked getting up to find my hair brush. "Yes." He said. "And I'm gonna start right now, ready." Christopher said holding up the old video camera. "Stop Chris! I'm not ready I just got up! I still look like crap!" I said to him taking the camera out of his range. "That doesn't matter ask, you always look like crap." He replied jumping up to my level taking the video camera back and pushed play. "Say something stupid Ash." He said the camera pointing at me. "Christopher." I said bounding up ready to run incase he chased me. "How is Christopher something stupid..." He said not being able to understand the joke. Seconds later he whipped his head around. "Really Ash really!" Christopher jumped off my bed and chased me partly down the hallway until we were in front of the kitchen. "What are you kids up to?" My Mom said. Christopher froze and stared at me. "W-we were just making a random video about our family. For instance I'm Ash, my height is 5'3, I'm twelve years old and my favorite color is red." My mom and dad laughed while Lilly looked excited. "I wanna be in it!" She cried out reaching for the camera in Christopher's arms. While Lilly and Christopher are twins, Christopher is much more mature in height and in the way he acts. Christopher was only seven but he was 5'2. Almost as tall as me. "Sorry Lilly we are going one member of the family at a time, you'll have to wait until I'm done with Ash, then I'll move onto you, okay?" He asked her. "Okay." She said and walked back towards the kitchen table to eat her oat meal. "Bree, don't you wanna be in it?" Lilly asked her. Bree looked up from her phone and pushed her hair back. "Of course not, if I had to describe everything amazing about me we would be here for hours." She said then went back to eating her toast. Christopher and I sighed and ran back to my room and closed the door. "That was really close..." I said taking a deep breath. "Not really..." Christopher said. "Do you really think they would've guessed that we are making these because you might fade from existence?" I looked down at the floor and sighed. "No..." I said. "Probably not..."