Well, the first thing I did was scream.

And then I threw my pillow at her. It went straight through her body as if she were made up of mist. A smirk curled up her lips, scaring the daylights out of me. I instantly stooped down to throw my slipper at her when she clucked her tongue and said, "Ugh, you fool. I'm a ghost, your pillows won't work against me.”

I froze.

It took me a while to realize I was gawking at her. She was a…ghost?

A ghost?!

A louder scream escaped my throat. It wasn't until my sister came storming into my room that I stopped. "What? What's wrong??" Lisa asked, her eyes darting around my room frantically.

I immediately pointed my finger at the ghost. She followed my gaze and frowned. "What?”

I turned to look at the window. That girl sat languidly on the sill, a smile spread across her lips. Disbelief washed over me. No way! Lisa couldn't see her?

"Do you believe me now?" the ghost said. “It’s the season of the dead, girl. I exist. Now, move. You've lost three minutes already.”

My brows knit together. Nearly eight decades had passed and not once had I heard of these unusual ghost sightings. Was it a nightmare? "Lisa," I looked up at her. "Did we have a fight?”

She frowned with incredulity. "Uh, yes?”

"And did you meet two men in beige and navy suits?”

She narrowed her eyes into a fierce glare. "Duh! What's wrong with you? Why were you screaming?”

Dread washed over me. So, it was all real? 

I tried to recall what had happened in…in my dream? Reality? Wait, had I gone back in time? Is that even possible??

I shook my head vigorously. No, no, no, now wasn't the time to think! If the ghost is real, they'd be here any minute!

Quickly, I hopped down the bed and bolted downstairs to my mother's room. "MUMMA!" I screamed, pushing the door open with a loud bang. She jolted up from her reverie, a sewing needle in one hand and a woollen cap in the other. "Mumma," I grabbed her hands, breaking into cold sweat again. Before I knew it, I had begun rambling about those Redcliff people being a bunch of criminals. Against my better judgment, I narrated everything, down to the last detail.

As I spoke the words, however, a wave of dizziness hit me. My temples began to throb. I clenched my jaws and fought it off until I had narrated the whole incident. The minute my mouth closed, the pain eased to a dull ache.

For a few seconds, my mother could only stare at me in disbelief. Fortunately, she was a cautious woman, so she decided to question my sanity later and call the police first.

Help arrived soon. I sat with Lisa on the couch, arms around my knees as the police kept talking with my mother. They said they'd investigate on the matter and, for our protection, deploy a few policemen to keep a lookout.

I couldn’t be more relieved. If you could ignore my headache, the rest of the night passed by rather smoothly. Father returned late, as usual, claiming how he was oblivious because he'd been busy cleaning our junkyard right after work, and then we had dinner, freshened up and retired to bed. The ghost was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't believe a thing. What had just happened? Had I seen the future? Gone back? Altered my destiny? And who was that girl??

I tried to dismiss my thoughts and closed my eyes. My headache was beginning to grow worse.

When morning came, I wasn't feeling refreshed in the slightest. I turned around at the sudden thud on my window and realized it was just a branch scraping the pane. There was no sign of her.

The next few moments passed by rather hazily. I didn't know how I could manage to get dressed and get out of the house. Didn't know how school went by. Didn't know what I was rambling on about with Lisa or whoever. The only thing that bothered me was my growing headache. By the time we were walking back from school, I was clinging on to Lisa as she practically dragged me down the street. "You'll be fine, we're just a minute away," she said, rolling her eyes at my antics. I didn't even know when she had picked me up.

We were approaching the crossroads again. The avenue was deserted, as usual, the woods on both sides silent like the dead. I breathed out a sigh of relief and shut my eyes, letting the soft winds lull me to sleep…

Suddenly, a hand grabbed my elbow and yanked me off of Lisa. I stumbled back, my eyes snapping open. I caught the horror on Lisa's face, her hair whipping in the air as she whirled around to face me. Before I could do anything, something cold and rod-like collided with my head and knocked me unconscious.