“UGH!!” Tresha groaned, slamming her laptop shut. She hadn’t been able to write anything for the last two hours. Even worse, the writing contest would end in just a week.

“How am I gonna be able to do this?” Tresha complained into the darkness.
Suddenly, she started hearing a song playing. It felt familiar, but she couldn’t tell which one it was….

Then a chill overcame her, and she shivered despite the warm September weather. “W-what’s going on?”

“Hi, Tresha,” a voice answered, and her twin Brian appeared out of the darkness.

She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak, couldn’t think. She could only stare at the ghost in front of her. Even the song, Malcolm Grio’s “Healing the Heart,” felt distant to her.

Finally, she said, “Are you real?”

“Yep,” Brian replied, a toothy grin taking up his face. “You wanna go on an adventure?”

“Where?” Tresha asked. The song was winding down now, but she wanted to keep it going.

“Anywhere you want, sis.”

Tresha answered immediately, “Ogygia.”

Suddenly, she was flying through the air, the wind rushing over her hair and eyes. “How did we end up here?” she shouted over the wind and snow.

“Canada.”

“We’re on an eagle!!” Brian shouted back.

Tresha looked down, and realized he was right.

They were sitting on the back of the largest bald eagle she’d ever seen, and “Canada” was reaching its crescendo.

Her eyes widened, and the landscape soon came into view. It was a vivid mixture of plains and valleys and forests, in shades of catching greens and browns, dotted with villages and structures of every shape and color. 

“How did you bring this to life?” Tresha asked over the wind.

“It wasn’t just me,” Brian responded. “This is our world.”

The eagle chose that moment to start descending towards a large, rectangular building, just as the song started winding down. 

“Why are we going there?” Tresha asked, not recognizing the place.

“You’ll see!” Brian responded.

The eagle’s descent turned vertical, and it landed a minute later. Tresha got off its back, her legs trembling, and took Brian’s hand in hers.

That was when “Canada”s last notes played, and a new song started up.

They stepped inside the building, and Tresha gasped. It was their local library, with their table and chairs right in front of them. And on the former….

“Our books!” Tresha cried, running over and picking up the top one. She traced her finger over the title: Children of Europe.

“I got it just for you,” Brian smiled.

Then he took his twin sister’s hand, and they started twirling around to Cora Shakur’s “La-Dee-Love.”

“Oh, this is wonderful!” Tresha shouted. “We could do this forever!”

Suddenly, Brian stopped dancing, and let Tresha’s hands go.

His smile vanished, and the music stopped.

Then Brian looked at her and whispered, “I’m sorry for leaving you.”

Tears welled up in Tresha’s eyes. She took her twin’s hand in hers, and answered, “It wasn’t your fault.”

“I should have stayed with you….”

“I’m grateful for our years together,” Tresha continued. “I’m glad we got to write so many stories, and make so many good memories together.”

Brian looked at her, wide-eyed, for a moment, then said, “Thank you.” And then he disappeared.

Tresha continued sitting, staring at the now-empty table. Then she stood up, and was back in her own apartment, dawn breaking outside the window.

But she wasn’t angry anymore. Her mind happily whirling, she went to her laptop and started typing a tale of ghosts and werewolves.

---

FEATURED IMAGE GRAPHICS BY EMILY STEPHENS