THE WATER BABY CHAPTER SEVEN

Mum was still screaming when Sophie came running down the stairs.
"Mum! What is it? Have you hurt yourself?"
Mum turned to look at her, her eyes wide. She pointed to where I was standing with Sara 'Twin'.
"C-Can't you see her?" Asked Mum.
Sophie looked at us. Her eyes flickered so I knew she could see us, but she said: "See who, Mum?"
"Your sister."
"No, Mum. I can't see Sara. I won't be able to. Sara's dead, remember."
"Yes. I mean no. Sara's standing right there, why can't you see her?"
"I can't see her because she's dead. Stone cold. Buried in the ground. You are probably seeing her in your mind because you still want her alive."
"Stop it! Why are you saying that! I can see her! Honest!"
Sara 'Twin' sighed and reached over to pick up the front door key.
"Look! Look, she's picking up the front door key and opening the door with it..."
Sara 'Twin' and I walked down the street, leaving Mum and Sophie behind.
"Okay. Whatever happens, don't forget we can't be seperated. We must stay together at all times." Said Sara 'Twin. "And we need to think of what to call each other as well. I keep calling you Sara 'Twin' in my mind."
I looked at her , shocked. "Snap! So do I," I said. "Look, you're the one who had been found in Suspended Animation, plus you're the one who Mum could see. So I really think you are the real Sara."
Sara looked at me. "Okay," She said. "I'm Sara, but what about you?"
"Well, I've always like the name Jackie..."
"Okay, your new name's Jackie."
We walked on for a few minutes. Suddenly Sara yelled. "Look, Jackie! Look at this!" She bent down and picked up something off the ground. It was a silver necklace, attached to it was a golden frog, with bright green eyes which caught the sunlight when Sara picked it up.
"It's just a necklace," I said. "What's so special about it?"
"It's very, very identical to one I had when I was younger," said Sara. "But I lost it."
"Hey, Girlie, you do realize you're talking to yourself."
We looked over. Two ten-year-old boys were walking towards us. They were looking at Sara with laughter in their eyes.
"I'm not talking to myself. I'm talking to my twin sister, Jackie." She pointed at me.
The boys looked at me. Then they started splutterinbg and screwed their fingers into their heads.
"There's no-one there," they giggled.
Sara looked at me, a look of confusion etched on her face.
"But she's right there..." She insisted.
"Yeah, right, and here comes the white men to take you away." They carried on past, laughing manically.
Sara looked at me.
"Do you think they were winding us up. Or did they really not see you?" She asked.
I bit my lip. It really stung. "Well, just now, back at home, Mum was pointing and looking at you. She couldn't see me."
"Did you notice if Sophie could see?"
"Well, she was lying to Mum, saying she didn't. But I could tell she saw you as well, I couldn't tell if she could see me."
"Why would she lie about seeing me? Mum could. And those boys."
"Yeah, well, she's probably acting on behalf of some bitchy scheme she's got tucked up her sleeve."
"Oh."
Silence fell. Sara looked down at the necklace she'd picked up. I looked too. It was actually a pretty necklace, even though I'm not really a necklace person. The frog was really beautiful, I had noticed that it caughht the sunlight whenever Sara moved the frog, but now I noticed something else. The sun had gone behind a cloud a few seconds ago, and Sara was still waving the frog around; as she was doing this, the frog's eyes still glintered.
"Sara. The frog's eyes are still glintering. But the sun's gone in."
"So?"
"Nothing. I,er, thought that the eyes caught the sunlight whenever you moved it."
"Oh. Well, I never really thought about it. Maybe the eyes are a torch of some sort?"
Then suddenly Sara screamed, and dropped the necklace, which clattered to the ground, and shattered in so many pieces.
Sara was clutching her hand as if she'd burnt it.
"Sara? What is it? What's wrong?" I asked her.
"I just sudenly got this feeling. Like I was being burned. Like the necklace had just suddenly became hot." She started massaging her hand, where a red mark had now appeared. Then she stopped and noticed something. I noticed it too.
The necklace had disappeared. No trace left. Where it was, a piece of paper now lay. I picked it up and read what was written there.

"Hello, Sara and Jackie.
Yes I know who you are, but you do not know me yet. To know me, you must come to the graveyard near where you live and meet me. Trust me, it'll be the most important thing you've ever done."

I read it in a hurry, then I gaver it to Sara to read.
She read it slowly, then she lookwd at me, confused.
"Do you think we should?" She asked.
I bit my lip again. I was surprised it hadn't bled yet.
"Well... I don't know. I mean, we don't even know who this person could be."
"But he seems to know us! How could he - or she - possibly know that you've been renamed Jackie?"
My lip was now starting to turn into a lipsticked mouth.
"Well, OK, but if we get killed, don't come running to me?"
"How can we be killed? We're already dead? Unless, you don't mean exorcism, do you?"
I shrugged my shoulders. "There's only one way to find out. Come on!"

The graveyard was situated dead bang in the middle of the village. Few visited it. Even people who had friends or relatives buried there. There were stories surrounding that graveyard. Stories that all begin with someone entering the gates. Stories that all end with no-one exiting the gates...
Sara and I ignored the stories and entered the gates. We wandered all over the graveyard, on the lookout for anyone sitting on a bench. We found two people, but both of them were drunks, singing at the tops of their voices. We stayed away from them, scared in case they suddenly turned violent.
"How are we supposed to them?" Sara asked. "I mean, we don't even know who it is we are looking for. They could be anybody!"
"That's what I said," I answered.
We both jumped as a moaning sort of noise sounded from behind us. We turned around. And stared. Crumpled in front of a grave was a little old man wearing a cloak. At least, I think he was old. He had silvery-white hair.
He looked up as we crouched over him. "Could you give me hand?" He asked.
Both Sara and I stuck out a hand each and pulled him up.
He tried to straighten and gave a little whimper as his back popped.
"Oh, thank you, thank you," he said. "I've been down there for hours. Someone pushed me, and I was unable to get back up. Oh, my back!"
"Who pushed you?" Asked Sara.
"Oh, you know, the usual louts who get a kick out of tormenting old people like me."
"Can you see me?" I asked.
He looked at me, wearing a creased frown.
"Why would you ask a silly question like that? I'm not blind! Of course I can see you." He tutted.
I blushed. "Oh, nothing. It's just that not very many people can see me, that's all."
He looked at me. Then he looked at Sara.
"So you're Sara and Jackie!" He exclaimed.
We looked at each other, flabbergasted.
"It's you!" We both yelled out at the same time.
"Yes. It was I who gave you the necklace and the note attached to it. Sorry for not recognising you. I didn't know it was you when you pulled me up just now."
He pulled out a walking stick from nowhere. At least, I thought it was a walking stick. It was long and twiggy, except it was purple coloured, and there were two dragons at the top of it, facing each other, snarling at each other.
"Now, then," he said. "Introductions first. My name is Arbon. Arbon Blackwood!"

Find out what happens next in Chapter Eight...