Six of Us

Chapter Four- Confrontations

"Star! Hey, Starley! Listen to me!"

I impatiently listen to Celine gossip about work and celebrities and those kinds of stuff. I had other matters on mind.

I would talk to her, I decide. Ask her what she wanted. Mariah would not disturb me anymore. That's when I think of something else.

"Hey, Celine, can you tell me about some of the rumors? I only know about the one with the Spanish girl. She fell off a staircase, right?"

"She intentionally threw herself off. She didn't fall," Celine says, tutting. "Well, do you know about the one about the swimming pool?"

"No, but sounds interesting. Spill," I say. Swimming pools sounded like the perfect place to drown.

"So.... two sisters booked separate rooms here. The older sister was, like, really pretty. And she inherited all her dad's property, too. The younger one was extremely jealous. So, one day, when they went to the pool, the younger one drowned her. Sounds like this girl got karma, too. She died of a heart attack the same night."

"What were the girls' names?"

"Kim and Kaylene.I don't know who's who, so don't ask me that now."

Sometimes, even Barbie dolls come of help.

I am prepared when night comes. The dark eyes staring at me with hunger. I expected them.

"Hi Mariah."

She's stunned. Just like I was when Kim started talking to me. 

You might ask, why am I not afraid? Ever since my Aunt Esme's death, nothing related to destruction bothered me. Go on ahead and laugh at the fact that I'm scared of murderers, but not dead spirits.

I wait for a response from Mariah, but none comes. A voice from behind me says, "She won't talk."

I look around and see Kim, cheerful as ever. "The suicide attempt did something to her tongue."

Mariah nodded. Even though Kim sat down, she stayed standing.

"So. You know what we are?"

"Yeah, I guess. You're ghosts, or spirits, or whatever."

Kim laughs. The sound of it is distracting. It's melodious and beautiful, like she's singing, not laughing. That's when I notice her eyes flitting to a form behind me. I wasn't consciously aware of it before, but there was a a woman, about 28, standing near the bathroom. 

Though wildly different in appearance from Kim and Mariah, she had the same cold and vindictive fire at the very end of her eyes. But, somehow, being near her relieved me of all my worries. I guessed that was her aura.

Each of them had an aura. Mariah's was malicious and vengeful, Kim's was cheerful and adorable. This newcomer's one was comforting and relaxing. As I said, she's drastically different in looks. With her long, red, frizzy hair, she reminded me of Merida. Her eyes shone green like emeralds, and she had a motherly look on her face.

"Hello, Starley," she says with a slight Irish brogue, "I'm Sierra. It's nice to finally meet you. I thought Kim was going to hog you all to herself."

Kim sticks out her tongue at Sierra. 

"Hi, Sierra. It's nice to meet you too."

"Starley, I have a question for you."

"Ask away."

"You know what we are. But do you know why we showed ourselves to you?"

"Ummm, no. In fact, I was just about to ask you that. Why are you so interested in me?"

"That question will be answered soon. But, first, you have to know our stories. Kim, go ahead."

Kim suddenly takes my hand and her little face squeezes into a cute concentrated expression. Then I am swept away from reality.