Chapter 1
Emily hummed as she brushed her curly blonde hair in front of her bathroom mirror, fresh out of the shower. She could hear her mom cooking breakfast downstairs, the loud snoring of her father just in the next room, and the thumping of little feet across wooden floors followed by the clicking of nails on wood. Her little brother, Daniel, was special and so the family had adopted a dog to help him stay on earth a bit. Daniel was special, but not in a medical way. He claimed to see other children, ones that would fly through walls. Her parents dismissed it as the imagination of a little boy, but as he got older, he would yell and scream, sometimes even throwing things at just thin air. Four therapists in three years, a neighbor almost filing charges against them after Daniel broke a window during one of his fits, and an incident that left Emily with a broken arm, their parents finally took Daniel to the local dog shelter, letting him pick out a dog all his own.
Emily was the only one who ever believed Daniel, the only one to take him seriously. Their parents were worried about him, other children were terrified of him, and anyone who didn't know him, thought he was insane. However, Emily only believed Daniel because she went through the same thing, though not as severe. She used to play with a little girl named Hannah when she was younger, but her parents claimed to have never seen her. As Emily got older, she kept quiet about Hannah, and over time, Hannah left Emily alone. Daniel was the only one to know that Hannah was real, and Emily was all too happy to accept her little brother for who he was.
"Emily, get down here now or you will be late for the bus again!"
Emily sighed, finishing up her hair and grabbing her favorite black high-tops, bouncing down the stairs as her mother stuffed some pancakes in a bag, before handing them to Emily. Emily grabbed Daniel's hand, her backpack, his backpack and their lunches, kissed their mom's cheek and nearly ran out the door.
