“Who are you?” Margot asks.
Aisha and Sloane look at each other. At me. At Margot again.
To me, Sloane says, “Dude, can she see us?”
“Of course I can see you, stranger on my couch,” Margot says.
A smile spreads over Sloane’s lips, and she starts to laugh, hands over her belly.
“That’s interesting,” Aisha says.
“What do you think?” Sloane asks Aisha. Aisha keeps her focus on Margot.
“Is someone going to clue me in?” Margot asks.
“They’re not sure why you can see them. I’m not really sure either.”
Margot scoffs. She folds her arms over her chest. “They’re literally right in front of me, so—”
“That’s not what she means,” Sloane says.
“And what does she mean?” Margot asks.
“It’s…weird,” I say, trying to stack the words together in a way that will make sense.
“Weird.” Margot echoes.
“Yeah. Weird,” I say. “Because they’ve been in the house since we moved in, and you couldn’t see them until now.”
The concept pushes the limits of her comprehension, but Margot hasn’t fled up the stairs to call our mom and tell her I’ve truly lost it. Instead, she sits on the beanbag chair next to the futon Aisha, Sloane, and I occupy, staring at the carpet.
“So why now? What changed?” Margot asks.
I’ve been curious as to why only I could see the ghosts in the house since the moment Finn showed up, but part of me was afraid to ask. Like the answer will hurt, and I don’t even know why.
“Take it away, smarty-pants,” Sloane says, waving to Aisha, who smiles a little sheepishly.
“We’re pretty sure Jo can see us because of her accident.”She glances at me.“You almost died that day.”
My stomach twists and lurches.
“They weren’t sure she was even alive when they found her,” Margot says. “It took three EMTs to realize she actually had a pulse.” Her voice is icy, disconnected as she speaks. It makes my chest ache.
I didn’t know that.
“We always think of death as this final thing, a literal dead end, but I think it’s more like a road. When you die, you travel all the wayto one end. But when you come back, you leave little pieces of yourself behind. Like breadcrumbs. Or I suppose road rash would be more accurate,” Aisha says.
“You can’t kiss death and not expect it to sting,” Sloane adds.
“Exactly,” says Aisha. Her eyes are bright and excited as she speaks.“And when Jo pulled you out of the water and brought you back, you took the same road she did.”
“Like we dipped our toes in limbo or something?” Margot asks.
Aisha nods, pleased.
“Are there more like you? Like, other ghosts or…” Margot doesn’t notice Aisha’s flinch and the way Sloane stiffens at theG-word. It’s what they are and they know it, but the word seems to remind them of it. As if the truth could be avoided if we didn’t speak it into existence.
“Finn. He’s here, too,” Aisha says.
