The next week went by slowly for Effie and her family. The crutches were difficult to master. At first, her armpits were sore, and her good leg was weak from pushing off and carrying her weight. Eventually, she was starting to get confident with the crutches. She was getting around faster than when she had started.
Finally, Effie was ready to go home. Her father had gone home and gotten Effie a change of clothes. When he came back, her mother helped her into them. Once she was dressed, she put the crutches underneath her arms and hopped out of the hospital room.
Dr. Cohouln was waiting for her at the large double doors that lead to the outside world. She was excited to feel the warmth of the sun on her face. She had gotten tired of looking outside the window. Dr. Cohouln wore a large, proud smile on his face. He hugged her gently and said to her, "I'm glad you're going home."
"Me too, Dr. Cohouln. Me too." Effie looked up at him and smiled.
He stepped aside and opened the doors for her. She hopped through and saw her father standing next to a small, grey van. He helped her inside and buckled her up. When everyone was in the car, they finally drove home.
"Dad?" Effie called out.
Her father looked at her through the rearview mirror before turning his attention back on the road. "Yes, dear?"
"Where did you get the car?"
"I borrowed it from your Uncle Hugh."
Effie nodded and looked out the window. She smiled as she watched the trees race by the window. She sneaked another look at her father. She noticed that his knuckles were white from his grip on the steering wheel.
He must still feel scared from the wreck, Effie thought to herself. Me too.
She turned back to the window when they stopped at a stop sign. She saw a girl around her age standing on the other side of the stop sign, close to the car. The girl had black hair that covered one side of her face and was wearing a white dress that ran to the middle of her shins. The girl looked over at the car and stared right at Effie. Effie smiled a waved at her, but the girl didn't wave back. The girl kept on staring at Effie.
"Whom are you waving to, dear?" her father asked.
"This girl by the stop sign," Effie answered slowly.
Her mother looked out the passenger side window. "What girl, Effie?"
Effie turned to her parents. "You don't see her? She's standing right there by the stop sign."
"No," her mother answered slowly. "Sorry, but we don't see her."
Effie furrowed her brows in confusion and turned back to the window. Her eyes widened when she didn't see the girl standing there anymore. She looked around and didn't see any sign that the girl was ever there.
The car lurched as they pulled away from the stop sign. Effie must have been imaging her. Why would a girl her age be out alone anyway? She wasn't allowed to go anywhere alone without one of her parents. Effie figured that she had just imagined the girl. She hadn't gotten a good night's sleep since she's been in the hospital. Her mind could have just imagined her.
With that decision, she leaned her head back and closed her eyes. Thirty minutes later, she felt the car stop and she opened her eyes. The mystery of the girl left her mind as she looked at her house. Relief flooded through her body as she stared at the familiar two-story house. One of her neighbors must have been taking care of the garden for her mother. It still looked as beautiful as it did when they had left.
Effie's mother helped her out of the car and situated her crutches under her armpits before leading her into the house. Effie stared up at the staircase. Her room was up there, but she didn't know if she could make it up and down the stairs with her crutches.
Her mother put a hand on her shoulder and smiled down at her. "We had you uncles move your room down into the guest room so you wouldn't have to climb the stairs."
Effie smiled at her mother and father. "Thank you." She hopped into a room next to the staircase and smiled at the familiarity of her belongings. Everything was sitting exactly as it would have been in her room upstairs. She hopped over to her mirror and gave herself a quick look up and down. She wore a grey flowing skirt that went down to the middle of her shins and a pink blouse tucked into the skirt. Her hair was pulled up into a loose-fitting bun.
She smiled sadly at herself as tears threatened to fall out of her eyes. She looked like a mess. Her clothes might look neat and clean, but her eyes and skin said otherwise. Her eyes no longer had the spark they used to have but were now droopy and had dark bags underneath them. Her skin looked a little grey from doing nothing by lying in a bed for several weeks.
She sighed and started to turn around when something in her mirror stopped her. She turned back to see the girl from the stop sign standing beside her bed. Effie turned around quickly but didn't see her. Confused, she looked back into the mirror to see the girl still there. Effie reached her hand out to touch the mirror when it shattered at her touch. She screamed and fell back. Sharp pain flew through her body when she hit the ground.
Effie's parents ran into her room. Her mother ran right to Effie before seeing the shattered remains of her mirror.
"Effie?" her father asked concerned while coming around to kneel by her. "What happened?"
Effie shook her head. "I don't know. I just went to touch the mirror and it shattered."
"Why did you touch the mirror?" her mother asked.
Effie hesitated before answering. "I saw the girl from the stop sign again, but she was only in the mirror. It seemed like she was inside my room right by my bed, but she wasn't."
Her mother sighed before telling her gently, "Why don't you go to bed early, honey? You've had a long couple of weeks and your brain is maybe just tired." She smiled an encouraging smile to her and helped her up.
Effie's father picked up her crutches and leaned them up against the wall beside her bed. He walked over to her and picked her up to carry her over to her bed. Her mother made down the light pink comforter and her father placed her down and tucked her in. They both planted a kiss on her forehead, told her goodnight, and walked out of the room.
Most likely they're right, Effie thought to herself. It is all going to my head. I'm tired that's the only explanation. Hopefully, a couple of nights sleep will make this all go away. Effie shrugged her shoulders before closing her eyes and falling asleep.
YOU ARE READING
Effie
Paranormal*The prequel to The Girl in the Window* This is the story about Effie Richmond. Effie's family has always believed that she was different. After she and her family were in a car wreck, strange things began to happen to her. She had developed a stran...
