The wind was picking up outside. But Sally seemed pretty determined to spend another day outdoors, despite the cold. So, Riley had gritted her teeth and agreed. Now she was having second thoughts. Sally was happily making little pebble towers in the corner of the garden while Riley kept her eyes on the darkening sky. The clouds had been so vibrant and full of sunlight that morning. But now they were grim and dark. A shiver ran down Riley’s spine. They looked so ominous, rising up above the city and blocking out the sun.
Sally came sprinting over, her arms filled with pebbles. She seemed perfectly at home and unbothered by the state the sky was in. Riley examined each pebble one by one. But she couldn’t figure out for the life of her what was so special about them. She would never understand her sister’s obsession with rocks or sand. The flower thing she could understand, but this one just didn’t make sense to her. Sally just giggled and squealed as Riley shrugged and set the rocks down.
“You have been a sillyhead all week,” Riley laughed. “What’s up with you and all your silliness?” But she couldn’t help smiling at the cheerful Sally. She looked so full of life and excitement. Riley had been worried that her sister would have to spend the rest of her life lying in bed and staring at the ceiling. A low growl of thunder came echoing across the sky. Sally didn’t seem to notice. Riley got to her feet and took her sister by the hand. Sally pulled away and turned her attention back to the rocks.
“Alright, we should go in now. Can’t you see it’s about to rain?” Riley said gently. Sally ignored her. Well, it wasn’t raining yet. They could stay out for a tiny bit longer. Miss Lisa was always telling Riley how important fresh air was. The outside time was probably doing wonders for Sally’s health. Besides, she was having fun. How could Riley take that away from her? And best of all, she actually ate all her food when Riley brought it out here.
Riley tried to ignore the thunder as it grew louder. Just a little bit longer, she told herself as she sat down next to Sally. She peered over her sister’s shoulder. Maybe this would help her understand what was so wonderful about sand and pebbles. Sally was sitting next to a small pile of sand, carefully arranging the rocks around the edge. Riley frowned. Was she making a sandbox?
A look of deep focus was spreading across Sally’s face. It reminded Riley of an expression that she had often seen on Miss Lisa’s face. It was a calm, determined look of pure focus. She wasn’t used to seeing that look on Sally’s face. Slowly, ever so slowly, Sally reached out. Her eyes were closed now. She held her good hand out. It rested on the sand. What happened next was something Riley certainly wasn’t prepared for. At first, she couldn’t even understand what she was looking at. The sand began to move. Not because of the wind, not because Sally was pushing it. It simply moved. One grain at a time, it rose up and hovered above the ground. Riley’s jaw dropped as the look of focus on Sally’s small face grew more intense
Riley had no idea what was happening. How was Sally doing that? Was Sally doing that? Was she dreaming? Was she seeing things? As Riley watched, the sand began to spin and shape itself into several different patterns and shapes. But the floating sand shapes never left the pebble ring that Sally had set up. They stayed firmly within its bounds.
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The shapes grew larger, more detailed, and more distinct. Riley could now see that they resembled objects. There was a plate and a hat and a cup. What was happening? Riley had no clue how to feel. Should she be excited, or simply confused? Riley tried and failed to tear her eyes away from the amazing sight. Suddenly, the sky exploded with lightning. Then thunder shot through the air. Sally flinched. Just like that, the bizarre sight was gone. The sand lay on the ground once more.
Large, cold raindrops were falling from the sky now. The girls got to their feet and began heading back towards the house. Sally gently took hold of Riley’s hand. Riley looked down at her little sister with a feeling of pure awe. Once safely inside the house, Riley got to work building a warm fire. She had to tell Miss Lisa what had happened. Maybe she could understand or explain it. Miss Lisa would be back soon. Once the fire had been lit, Riley and Sally sat down close to it. They spent a few minutes just staring at each other. There were so many things that Riley wanted to ask her. But Sally wouldn’t be able to answer any of them. Sally had made it clear that she wanted to show Riley the sand. Was it important? The storm was picking up outside. It was so loud that Riley didn’t hear Miss Lisa open the door.
“Mh!” Sally exclaimed happily. She was the first to notice Lisa. Riley turned eagerly to greet her. But she froze when she saw the look on Lisa’s face.
“I-is something wrong, Miss Lisa?” Riley asked.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Riley?” said Miss Lisa. Riley frowned.
“Tell you what?”
Lisa replied by pulling out a piece of paper. It was a wanted poster. Their wanted poster. Riley’s heart sank down to her toes. She leaped to her feet and stepped in front of Sally. A soft whimper rose up from Sally. No, Riley wasn’t going back. The girls shrank back as Lisa stepped towards them. Then Lisa leaned over and gently set the poster in the fireplace.
“I have a lot of questions for you. But there’s no time to answer them now,” Lisa said. “We can’t stay here. It isn’t safe for you two. Get your things together. We’ll leave in the morning.”
“So… you aren’t going to hand us over?” Riley asked. This sounded too good to be true. Was Miss Lisa the kind person that Riley needed her to be? Or was she like the other Formas?
“Of course not! How could I? I would never do that to you. I have no clue what is going on! But it doesn’t matter. I’m going to take you somewhere safe,” said Miss Lisa. Riley felt her body relax. Her secret was out. The secret that she had worked so hard to protect was known. But it was known by Lisa. Now Riley knew she could trust Lisa. That was the most freeing feeling Riley had ever felt. Tears filled Riley’s eyes as Lisa pulled her into a tight hug. She was safe with Lisa. She could trust her.
“Sally, it’s okay. You don’t need to be afraid,” Riley sobbed. She took her sister’s hand and pulled her into the group hug. For a moment, the three of them just held each other. At last, Riley caught her breath. “Where can we go?” she whispered. Lisa smiled.
“I have a friend who will take care of you. You don’t have to be afraid, Riley.” Such wonderful words. Riley felt as if she might die of joy.