Chapter 1
“Are you coming over later?”
“Yeah,” I put my girlfriend on speakerphone and place it on the bed, “I’m going to shower first but we can stay on the phone.”
“Okay. What are you wearing?”
“Um…I think I’ll wear that leather jacket with all the zippers on it. The one you got me. And skinny jeans. No shirt?” I grab some clothes and my phone and go to the bathroom.
“No shirt.”
I’ve been dating McKayla for two years now. She’s beautiful, with long blonde hair and beautiful green eyes, like emeralds. She’s tall and lean and has a bit of muscle. She laughs a lot and loves the holidays.
“Okay. Are Marco and Nikki there?” I ask her.
“Marco is but Nikki isn’t. He’s running late and so are you. Hurry. I’m hanging up so you can hurry. I love you!” She says.
“I love you too. Later.” I hang up and get in the shower. I shower quickly and brush my teeth. I grab my motorcycle helmet and gloves and head over to McKayla’s house.
“Hey, hon. Everyone is in the basement.” Her mom tells me when I get there.
“Thank you, Ms. Monroe.” I say and head to the basement. McKayla and Marco sit on the couch watching Full House. I know they’re best friends but when I see his arm around her, I cringe. I plop down next to her and she hugs me.
“That was quick,” She says. I nod and hand her the present I got her for her birthday. It’s the black watch that she has always wanted… and it was very expensive.
“Oh my god! Thank you!” She kisses me. While we watch the show I get up to go to the bathroom. On the floor in the hallway is a picture out of its frame. I pick it up and turn it over. It’s a picture of McKayla when she was sixteen, holding a black box with designs on it. On the back is the words ’Let me live again. I love you, Jonas’. I took the picture back to McKayla.
“Kay, who is Jonas?” I ask. Marco answers.
“Jonas is her ex. He died two years ago.” He tells me. McKayla gets up and walks away. I’ve never heard of Jonas but I don’t care. I suddenly feel funny. My head hurts and my chest feels weird.
“Marco… I can’t-” My throat is tightening up, “I can’t breathe.” Marco grabs me and lays me on the couch. He starts calling for someone but I’m out before anyone gets to me.
I wake up in the dark. Surrounding me are clothes and I’m sitting criss-cross the floor. It seems like I’m in the middle of a closet. I stand up slowly and open the door. I step into McKayla’s room. She sits on her bed but she looks different. Younger. A lot younger than she did earlier.
“Why was I in your closet?” I ask her. She continues reading the magazine she has placed on her lap. She doesn’t even flinch when I go over and sit on the bed.
“Kay?” I poke and she doesn’t move. She doesn’t react. I don’t think she knows I’m there. “Kay?!” I push her but she doesn’t budge. I get up, wave at her, throw stuffed animals at her but when the stuffed animals hit her, they disappear and reappear right where I got them from, like I never touched them. I stomp out of her room and downstairs where I know I’ll find her mom in the kitchen. The clock on the wall say s that it is ten and it’s dark outside. I find McKayla’s mom washing dishes at the sink. I go over and tap her but she ignores me.
“Ms. Monroe?” I say. I repeated her name a few times before giving up and going to look for McKyla’s brother, John. I knock on his door but he doesn’t open it. I open the door and lay on his bed with a girl beside him that I don’t recognize.
“Johnny?” I say, “What’s wrong with Kay and your mom?” No answer. I poke him, smack him, punch him, but I get nothing. What is going on? Why does everyone look five years younger than earlier today? Am I dead? Suddenly, I realized something. The picture I found earlier is in my pocket. I pull it out and find that it has dust all over it. I brush it off and read the back. Now there is more writing than before. ‘Meet me at the park. I can see you. You can see me. I can hear you. And you can hear me. No one else can hear you. No one else can see you.’ I shove the picture back in my pocket and head to the nearest park. I don’t know who i’m going to meet but hopefully they can give me information. I sit on a bench and wait. It’s freezing outside but I don’t care. Suddenly, a human appears next to me, out of thin air. He’s taller than me but looks about sixteen. His hair is shoulder length and black and his eyes are grey and clouded.
“Hi.” He says, “My name is Jonas. You are Khalil, correct?”
“Yes. What’s going on? Where am I? Why does everyone look younger?” I ask, “And who are you?”
“I’m McKayla’s ex. I died two years before your time. This is the year I died. See?” He points to a person in the distance that looks exactly like him. It is him.
“Oh. So I went back in time? But it was Kay’s birthday. I wanted to be with her.” I say.
“Well, I need your help. I’m about to get hit by a car,” He points to himself in the distance, walking on the sidewalk, “Follow me but do not try to intervene or save me. After I get hit, grab the photo that falls out of my pocket. Then follow the directions on the back of the photo, when you wake up.”
“When will I wake up?” I ask, but he disappears. I shake off the shock that takes over me and catch up with the living Jonas, who’s about to die. He starts to cross the street, staring at his phone. And that’s when I witnessed the worst thing I’ve ever seen. A big pickup truck slams into him and doesn’t stop. I can’t think of anything. I rush over and snatch the photo that lies next to his dead body. It’s a picture of Jonas and McKayla when they were little, at a carnival. I flip it over and read the back. ‘Go back to her home and get the black box off of her dresser. Bring it back to the park and find me on the bench.’ I run back to McKayla’s house and find her asleep in her bed. I kiss her softly on the cheek. I find the black box on her dresser and grab it quickly. I sprint back to the park and Jonas on the bench.
“This is insane. Stop sending me on this-”
“I need your help! I need you to give her something for me or I’ll have to haunt her photos forever. And I can’t send you back to your time until you do what I need. Do you understand?!” He snaps. I nod slowly.
“I’m sorry but I need to go home. Where am I in my time anyway?” I ask.
“On the couch where Marco placed you.” He explains, “Now open the box and take out the ring. I’m going to make you appear in her room and I need you to put the ring on her finger. If the ring glows red then you can go home. If it glows green that means that there is one more picture left. Then I would need you to go to her album, find it, and follow those directions. Understand?”
“Yes.” I say. I turn away from him and run back to McKayla’s house. I go to her room but she’s not there. I find her in the bathroom, drinking water. I wait outside and when she falls back to sleep I slip the ring on her finger. It starts to glow green.
“Ugh.” I groan and go get her photo album. I flip through and look on the back of every picture until I find the one with writing on the back. ‘Kiss her hand and tell her that I love her. Then you will go back.’ I roll my eyes, go over to McKayla and kiss her hand.
“Jonas loves you, McKayla.” I whisper. Suddenly I feel sick again and I pass out.
I wake up on McKayla’s couch surrounded by Marco, McKayla, and Nikki. I sit up and McKayla hugs me.
“Are you okay? Did you pass out? What happened?” She asks.
“I don’t know,” I lie, “I had a weird dream about a picture and going back in time. I’m exhausted. I ran a lot last night.”
“Last night? You were with me last night.” Marco says. I look around. It’s still McKayla’s birthday. It’s still noon time. I must have only been out for a few minutes but it felt like hours.
