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talking and watched his face for some sort
of expression. He ran his hands through his hair and said, “That’s
some crazy stuff.”
    “Why yes it is,” Clarissa agreed with him.
    Isabelle nodded her head with agreement to his
statement.
    ……………………………………………..
    The four of us walked with a quick pace down to our
house. We really didn’t have much time. We got to our house and all
stood on the sidewalk in front of it.
    “You guys live here,” Jeremy asked in what seemed
like amazement. “My family’s apartment could fit in like a corner
of that. Your house is awesome.”
    “Just awesome by appearance only,” I murmured.
    We had him wait on the side of the house while we
were buzzed in.
    What happened next was Clarissa distracted Ms.
Dunderfeltz while Isabelle and I searched for the key ring that had
all the household keys on it. I honestly didn’t know which one was
the house key, so when I found the key ring in a kitchen drawer I
took the whole thing. I couldn’t go out any of the doors or the
windows on the first floor because the chime for the house alarm
would go off, but I knew the window in Elizabeth’s room never had a
motion detector on it. I guess our father thought we would never go
out one of the second floor windows and he was right we never did,
until then. I grabbed the key ring and held all the keys together
in my hand so they wouldn’t make any kind of jangling sound.
    I ran across the house up the stairs and into
Elizabeth’s room where I opened up the window and called for
Jeremy. He quickly appeared and I threw the key ring at him. I
watched the key ring fly over the roof below and over the green
grass and over the tall black wrought iron fence, where Jeremy
threw his hand up in the air and caught it. He smiled up at me, I
flashed him a thumbs up and he was on the way.
    We sent him to copy all the keys because as I said
earlier we didn’t know which one was the house key. Luckily there
was only about five on the key ring. I stood looking out the window
eagerly anticipating his arrival because it was going to be dinner
time soon and at dinner we were expected to be properly on time and
clean.
    I knew it shouldn’t have take too long because the
hardware store was pretty much right down the block. I paced back
and forth in Elizabeth’s room, noting that nothing had changed
since she had died. Everything was as she left it, being in there
almost made me feel a little better because I was in there trying
to do as she wanted. I felt connected to her spirit, even thought
Elizabeth always said we had no souls or spirits, other people
perhaps, but not us. I used to believe that, but I wasn’t sure if
she was correct or not. I really did feel like she was there
talking to me in my room while I was sleeping. I didn’t want to
believe it was just my subconscious.
    After about thirty-five minutes Jeremy was back.
    I opened the window and popped my head out. The brisk
fall wind slapping me in the face.
    “There was a long line,” he said trying not to be too
loud.
    “Thank you so much,” I piped wanting to give him a
hug again.
    “The copies are all on the key ring and have little
pieces of cardboard wrapped around them.”
    “Okay, just toss them up to me.”
    “Ready.”
    “Yes.”
    The keys flew through the air making their way back
up to me. They were approaching the window and I reached out and
missed. They fell, hit the roof and slid into the gutter. I could
see Jeremy swear under his breath. I instantly stuck one leg out
the window, held onto the frame and pulled out my upper body and
other leg.
    “Jesus, be careful,” I heard Jeremy say.
    I didn’t want to look down. I envisioned Elizabeth
laying down there as a five year old still breathing and then a
seventeen year old not breathing. I squatted down, then got on my
hands and knees and very gingerly crawled backwards to the edge,
feeling the sand paper like texture of the roof shingles. I