Ch 13 - Will I Be Able To Come Back?

SHAY’S POV

I bolted up with my heart rate shooting through the roof. My room was dark with the moonlight shining through the window. I was sweating again, except this time there was no Pixie in sight to hand me hot chocolate. I must’ve fallen asleep and my dad must’ve tucked me in. I looked to my bedside alarm clock to find that it was 02:36. The irony didn’t pass by me.

This is the same time I woke up the day Kay ‘disappeared’ exactly two years ago.

“Shay,” a voice called to me.

Oh great! I’m hearing her voice too now.

“Shay! Would you get up already?” her voice demanded like it did two years ago.

“This is the part where I ask what sorcery this is, right?” I asked out loud.

I’m going insane.

“Well, that is how it played out the last time,” she replied.

That response was enough to make me reach for my side lamp. When I turned it on, my eyes bulged. Standing right before me was my ‘twin sister’ Kay. She looked faded though, as if she wasn’t really there. She gave me a small smile and that was enough to assure me that I wasn’t seeing things.

“Are you a ghost?” I blurted. Her laughter floated through my room.

“Sort of. A ghost would suggest that I’m dead. I’m merely ‘here’, but not here,” she replied.

I frowned. “So like you’re visiting from another place in spirit form but you’re alive?”

She nodded. “Let’s go with that.”

“Alright, fair enough! What are you doing here? Not that I’m not happy to see you or anything. It’s just that it’s been two years and all. Why now?” I asked.

“You never did beat about the bush,” she giggled.

“With the amount of craziness in my life right now, I don’t have any time for anything but the truth,” I smiled.

“Fair enough! Well, it’s time,” she sighed.

“The last time you said that to me, you disappeared,” I reminded.

“True, but this time, you’re the one who’s leaving,” she replied.

I raised an eyebrow. “To the cliff?”

“No Shay! You’re going back home,” she smiled.

That struck a nerve.

“Home? So, I’m not human then?” I groaned.

“No, you’re not. You’re half human,” she said as though we were discussing the price of milk.

I scowled. “What does that even mean?”

“It means half of you is human, and the other half isn’t,” she cheekily replied.

I scrunched my nose as she giggled. “I always did hate that about you.”

“You have to move quickly Shay. You need to leave right now,” she suddenly changed moods.

“I can’t leave dad behind Kay. I’m all he has left,” I said sadly.

“You have to Shay. Your home needs you,” she panicked.

“Royal princess business?” I asked.

“Partly,” she nodded.

“Will you be there?” I asked her.

“Not exactly! Look Shay, I just really need you to leave right now. Everything else will come to you when you’re meant to find out,” she replied.

I scoffed. “Well that’s reassuring.”

“Must you be so stubborn?” she said frustratingly.

“Must you be so vague?” I mocked.

“Do you trust me?” she sighed.

I nodded. “Of course I do! You’re my sister!”

“I’m not your sister Shay. Remember what I told you before leaving?” she asked. I looked at her like she was mad.

“What do you mean you’re not my sister?” I asked in confusion.

“Do you remember what I said to you that night Shay?” she asked desperately.

I sat there and thought back to that night. I thought back to everything she told me about how it was time for her to leave. She told me that there were things that I didn’t understand, that I would understand later. She told me that she was blessed to have been my guardian. She told me that she was me and I was her.

I am you, and you are me...

Oh my God!

“We are one?” I asked wide-eyed.

She nodded once more. “In a sense we are.”

“Are you the other half of me?” I asked.

“Shay, please just trust me and get up. You need to leave now,” she said, not answering my question.

Sneaky bitch!

“Alright fine, but where am I going?” I asked as I got out of bed, heading to my closet. I needed to dress warmly if I was going outside.

“I’ll lead you there,” was all she said.

I sighed and gave up on asking her anything. I got dressed in sweat pants, a long sleeved top, a sweatshirt and a beanie. She told me to grab my boxes of contacts. She said I was going to hide my eyes until the right time. I asked if I needed anything else, and she said no.

According to her, I didn’t need to grab anything else, which was a bit suspicious if you ask me, but I didn’t say anything. I went to my dad’s room, much to her protests, and found him fast asleep. I walked up to him and kissed his cheek.

“I love you daddy. Never forget that,” I whispered. He seemed to sigh contently, which made me smile.

I had to leave without being seen by the security at the gate, which involved jumping over a wall into my neighbour’s yard. When I was finally on the road, Kay’s ‘spirit’ led me to wherever it is we were headed.

We walked for more than an hour, and you can bet your ass that I complained after thirty minutes, but Kay couldn’t have cared less. Instead, we just argued the whole way, like we used to back when we were kids. I was actually happy about this reunion, even if I hadn’t done or said much to show it.

“Damnit!” I said when I remembered something.

Kay stopped to look at me. “What?”

“Pixie, Cyrus and Claude,” I mumbled.

“Cyrus? You have a boyfriend?” she squealed. She already knew who the other two were.

“I have a best friend,” I corrected.

She wiggled her eyebrows. “Is he cute?”

“I’m not doing this with you,” I shook my head with a smile.

“Meanie!” she pouted.

“I can’t leave without saying anything to them,” I sighed.

“You have to Shay. They’ll be fine in your absence,” she consoled.

“Will I be able to come back?” I asked her as we started walking again.

“I’d be lying if I said I knew,” she admitted.

“You’re on the other side aren’t you?” I asked her. I suddenly knew where she was taking me.

“I am, and I was only able to come to you in this form, so I don’t know if people can actually come this side and be able to go back and vice versa,” she explained.

“I guess there’s only one way to find out,” I sighed as we passed the first ‘NO HUMANS ALLOWED’ sign.

There were about fifty more of the damn things, which makes me believe that the twenty five humans who actually risked coming here were all either blind or ignorant! I mean, with that many signs, I’m sure you should have gotten it by then.

When we were closer to the barrier, I noticed the huge hole that Edgar was talking about that the ‘minerals’ created. That thing was massive and by the looks of it, it was deep as well. I got chills when I was finally faced with a huge sign that said ‘AREA ALPHA 101’.

A big part of me was anxious about doing this. Doing this would confirm whether or not I was human, even though I basically knew the answer. Going through the barrier would mean leaving behind the four people I love in ‘this world’.

Could I really do it?

I thought about what possibly awaited me on the other side. I would finally find out what I am, and where I come from. I would finally find out what lies behind the barrier. I would finally be reunited with Kay, who I still wasn’t sure about what she was exactly. I would finally have the opportunity to find my biological parents.

Would they want me back?

Would I want them as my parents?

Would I have to be a princess to a world I don’t even know?

“Would you go through already?” Kay’s voice snapped me out of thought.

I rolled my eyes. “Excuse me for being wary.”

“You said you trust me Shay! I promise that we’ll figure whatever’s on the other side together,” she smiled.

“You mean you don’t know what’s on the other side?” I asked sceptically.

She let out a nervous laugh. “Uhm, no? I’m kind of in between states right now. All I’ve been told is that you crossing to the other side will free me from this state, whatever that means.”

It was at that moment that I realized that this was probably as nerve wrecking for me as it was for her. If we both didn’t know what was on the other side, then we were equally as eager to find out. The only difference between us was that I was home for two years, while she was wherever she was, in whatever form she was in.

I’m such a selfish bitch!

“I’m sorry Kay,” I whispered.

She looked at me in confusion. “What for?”

“It must’ve been hard to leave two years ago,” I explained. Her whole face fell.

“It was, but it was also the way it was meant to be. Now, are you ready to find out what the story with us is?” she smiled. That was enough encouragement for me.

“Let’s do this,” I smirked.

We both took a deep breath in before I reached for the barrier. My arm actually went through, and I was sure that I’m not an ordinary human then. The reported cases stated that the people touched the barrier but didn’t actually go through, and yet my hand had disappeared to the other side. I looked to my side to see Kay doing the same thing as me, and her hand also went through.

We nodded to each other once before we fully stepped through.