The Shadow Sisters

Patricia

They call us the Shadow Sisters, Melanie and me. They think that my sister and I somehow cause inexplicable things to happen to us. Like the time I tripped on the concrete pathway in our school and I had gotten off with a small scratch due to Deyanira's help. Dey is the meaning behind our nickname. Ever since I could remember Dey, or should I say her shadow, was there and saving us from harm. We didn't believe it was more than a coincidence until Mel got her dream. You see, Mel and I get visions, but in different forms. Mel sees things in dreams while I see riddles in my head.

On this particular day, Mel was picking me up from soccer practice. She had gotten her licence that year and she's been driving us around ever since. As I got into the car, our Squirrel Hunting dog, Brook, and Germanian Husky, Juno, greeted me. As Mel started driving, Brook placed her paws on the console and took her place as our co-pilot and Juno watched the windows from the back seat. Mel and I started towards the house as the evening sky got darker by the minute. As we were nearing the house, both dogs' attention focused on the forest on the opposite side of the house. Juno started to growled and bare his teeth as Brook barked madly.

"What was that?" I asked once the dogs had calmed down.

"A deer," Mel replied simply, pulling into the house.

"Of course," I smiled at the dogs. "They're our guard dogs."

The following day, after Mel pulled into the school, I heard some people talking about the new girl. We went to a small school, so you would know when a new student came. The new girl, Isi, was a grade above me, but I still saw her in the hallways and math, a class I skipped a grade in. Isi was a black haired, green eyed girl with a shy and secretive personality. Because her personality contrasted most of the students' outgoing and friendly ones, Isi, Mel and I ended up becoming good friends and hung out often. She seemed to prefer the forest better than anything else, as if she belonged there. Even though we hadn't gone over her to house, we brushed it off and never pressed her about the matter.

On that day, Mel and I had decided to walk the trail we made in the forest. I had zoned out and wandered off the trail. By the time I snapped out of it, I was in a place I didn't recognize and was trying to pin down the direction Mel's voice was coming from. Hearing leaves crunching, I turned around once more. A scream made its way up my throat as I laid my eye upon the whitetail deer. Falling on the forest floor, I heard Mel calling my name desperately.

Lying on my bed in the house, I saw Dey come into my room and call my name as she neared me. I wanted to respond but couldn't, I felt very relaxed until the picture was quickly replaced by the forest sky and two concerned faces looking at me. My dark haired, brown eyed sister sighed in relief when I sat up and pulled me into a hug.

"What happened?" I asked. Then it all came back to me and I realized that I had blacked out for a minute. "What happened to the thing?"

"What thing?" Mel asked, confused.

"It looked like a whitetail deer, but it had green eyes and black fur where there was supposed to be white fur. It was bigger than any deer I had ever seen. I don't know what to call the thing," I explained.

When I saw Isi wince when I said 'thing' and slightly turn her head away from me, it clicked. "Isi, any thoughts?" I questioned.

She knew I knew. I didn't know how it was possible, but a riddle formed in my head, confirming I was, indeed, right. Isi took a deep breath before explaining. Isi is one of the last two Variels, a name meaning changeable. The Variels can change from human to a deer resembling their human form. As if that wasn't enough to process in five seconds, she added more.