The Invisible Girl

Chapter Two; Sang

The door opened to a dark, wooden staircase, the temperature difference raising goosebumps on my arms. I strained to listen for movement, breathing, anything to indicate someone had gone down. Silence.

Slowly, I lowered myself onto the first stair. It groaned under my weight, but I knew that was unavoidable. I was sneaky- not weightless.

Holding my breath, I stayed frozen in place, hoping if the girl really had gone down here she would dismiss the noise as her imagination.

"Marie?" a soft, feminine voice called. "Is that you?"

There was movement somewhere nearby- a faint rustle of fabric, footsteps- and then a soft white light permeated the darkness of the basement. Moonlight. A curtain had been opened.

I began to ease my feet off of the stair, but with every movement the stair creaked and groaned, and I silently cursed. I was definitely caught.

I tensed in preparation to run at the first sign of danger, but my curiosity held me in place. The girl seemed to know the family that lived here. Why was she sneaking around if she knew them?

A startled gasp had me jolting where I stood. It sounded like it came from the bottom of the staircase, but no one was there.

"You aren't Marie," the voice accused. Was I just blind, or was this girl invisible?

Maybe she really was a ghost! That could talk and break into houses.

Right, not a ghost. Oh well. Just to be sure, though... "Are you a ghost?" I whispered.

For a moment, there was only silence, and then the same voice answered, quiet and small. "No," she whispered. "I'm not a ghost."

"Then," I started, frowning, "where are you?"

There was a whisper of movement, and then the curtain-rod screeched. The light intensified at the bottom of the staircase, and then the girl stepped into sight.

Her blonde hair reached down to her waist, shimmering oddly in the light. Her tanned skin and torn clothes seemed translucent, as if I could see through to the concrete wall behind her. Haunted green eyes trained on the floor, she smiled sadly. "Hi."

Are you sure you aren't a ghost? I wanted to ask, but I refrained. Everything about this was strange- I was standing on a stranger's basement stair, staring down a not-ghost ghost-girl, getting ready to have a pleasant conversation. Maybe this was a lucid dream. Or a daydream. "Hello."

The silence drew out to an awkward point.

~ | Sang | ~

"Well, I'm just going to go," the boy said, sounding weirded out.

My heart sped up at the thought. Go? He was going to leave? The first person I had talked to outside of my family in, well, ever, and he was already leaving?!

"Wait!" I called, feeling my cheeks heat. "Can you stay?"

I glanced up to see the boy frozen in place, his warm brown eyes confused. "What?"

"I..." I faltered, growing unsure of myself. I closed my eyes, biting my lip. "Nevermind."

The stairs creaked as he shifted his weight, and I prepared myself to forget this encounter. I wanted to pretend just for one night I was normal, but I wasn't. Who was I kidding? Even if he did stay he'd only bring trouble. If mother found out... not to mention I could only be seen by the light of the moon. He'd leave me when he realized what a freak I was.

However, the door never squeaked open. Instead, the stairs continued to creak and groan, each noise closer than the last until I could sense him in front of me. Mere feet away.

I backed up a step as I opened my eyes again to find the boy standing halfway down the stairs. "You want me to stay?"

More silence.

That was the night marking the start of my first friendship.