Chapter 2
Chapter Two
KENNEDY
I’m uncertain how much time has passed. Time seems to slip on this side of the veil. The next time I open my eyes, either months or seconds later, I find myself in a familiar cafe in my mother’s hometown.
I have vague memories of this place from the times spent here as a little girl.
We moved from Shadow Hills when I was about twelve years old, so the details have blurred over time, but I do have one specific memory that stands out.
The day before we packed up and hit the road, my sister had a dance recital.
She won second place in her age group for Best Solo Performance, so to celebrate, we all came here to Kiki’s Cafe, and ordered milkshakes with grilled cheese.
I remember feeling both excited for my sister and her sparkling trophy, and gloomy that it was the last time I would ever have a milkshake from Kiki’s.
The owner made them special, giving my sister and I extra whipped cream and funny straws.
She said she saved them just for us, but I knew she gave them to all the kids.
It didn’t make it feel any less special.
An overwhelming wave of nostalgia crashes into me as I try to gather my bearings.
I steady myself by reaching reflexively for the back of a wooden chair, knuckles turning pale from how hard I’m holding on.
I don’t want to slip back into the nothingness again, but I don’t know how to stop it from happening.
My brain races a mile a minute as I try to make a plan, but I’m startled by an ear-piercing screech. I look up and see a fellow redhead who looks as if they’ve just seen a ghost.
Can she see me?
To my knowledge, I’ve only been spotted once in the infinite gap between appearing in my childhood bedroom and now.
It was at a bar I didn’t recognize, but I was able to briefly speak with a couple sitting in a booth.
The interaction lasted less than two minutes, and then I was sucked back into the void, unable to know whether I’d gotten through to them just how dire my situation was.
It feels like decades have passed since then, and my hope of being seen again had almost diminished completely.
Now here I am, finally back on familiar ground with someone who looks very much like the Kiki I knew as a child.
She gawks at me, and I spin my head around to make sure no one else is standing behind me, but there’s nothing there but empty tables.
I wave shyly, but this only spooks her more. The woman clutches her chest as if trying to keep her heart from escaping and dashes to the phone on the wall behind the counter. She dials frantically, messing up twice before the call finally goes through.
“Keeks,” she starts, exasperated, “we’ve got a situation. A young woman just popped out of thin air and is staring at me.”
So, this isn’t Kiki. I vaguely remember the cafe owner having a sister, but we never met.
She pauses momentarily, listening to who I assume is Kiki giving her response over the line.
“I don’t care what position you’re in,” she interrupts.
“Stop downward dogging and get your Lycra-clad ass down ‘ere now.” The last few words come out rushed and in a low, poorly enunciated grumble as she dramatically hangs up the phone.
She doesn’t seem to understand how I got here, but surely I'm not the only ghost in Shadow Hills. That can’t be right—I distinctly remember the mayor being…transparent. I suppose, of all the places my spirit could appear, this is probably the best-case scenario.
I find my courage and address the woman properly, hoping to set her at ease. “Hi.” I wave again, this time with confidence. “I’m Kennedy. Are you Kiki’s sister?”
She slowly turns to face me once more, and nods, eyes on the verge of popping out of their sockets. “Kendra.”
“Well, Kendra, it’s really nice to meet you, but I’m kinda on the clock here.” I glance around the cafe, making sure everything’s still in its place and I haven’t begun to fade. “I don’t know how long I have before I disappear again, so I would really appreciate your help.”
She nods again, and I’m unsure if she’s actually listening to me or just nodding along to appease the spirit that appeared in her cafe. For all she knows, I’m the ghost of Christmas past, come to take her on a tour of all her sins.
“I need a witch,” I blurt out getting straight to the point.
“Someone who can summon me to a single spot and help me stay there.” Rolling my eyes playfully, a smile plastered on my face, I go on.
“Honestly, I’m getting really tired of this afterlife Whac-A-Mole game the universe has been playing with me.
” I laugh dryly and shrug my shoulders. Maybe humor will butter this woman up.
But the joke’s on me, because Kendra only continues to stare, now even more wide-eyed than before.
Just as I’m about to try another tactic, Kiki bursts into the cafe from a back door I hadn’t noticed.
She’s dressed in a matching yoga ensemble that clashes gloriously with her bright red hair.
It’s pink with stylishly arranged doodles around the calves of her pants and the band of her sports bra.
She’s thinner than I remember her, and her face and neck now have wrinkles that weren’t there before.
Other than that, she looks almost the same.
Her face is flushed, either from the previously mentioned downward dog or the rush to get here, and she’s got the same stunned-to-silence expression as her sister.
I wave for the third time, and this time I get a wave back. Kiki shyly twitches her fingers at me as she inches closer to Kendra, who’s now maneuvering away from me and behind the counter. She makes it to the little swinging door and slowly backs through it while Kiki stands guard.
“What’s your name, dear?” Kiki asks in a cautious tone.
Kendra answers with a loud whisper. “It’s Kennedy!”
If the situation weren’t so dire, I’d laugh. The two of them feed off one another like a pair of sitcom characters.
“Yes, I’m Kennedy. It’s nice to meet you.” I approach carefully, like I would a stray cat, hand extended and waiting for either a warm greeting or the less pleasant experience of slipping right through her fingers.
Kiki surprises me by taking my proffered hand and we’re both equally astonished by the fact that my hand doesn’t fall through hers. I feel the grip of her fingers around mine, her palm sweaty and warm, and the sensation is enough to bring tears to my eyes.
I yank my hand away quickly, before my emotions can run away with me, and take a step back.
“So, as I was telling your sister,” I say, plowing right on past my moment of weakness, “I am in need of a witch. Somehow, I’ve managed to hang around longer than usual, but I can’t say for certain it’ll last.”
Kiki nods agreeably. “Of course, of course. If you don’t mind my asking, has anyone else in town seen you yet?”
The question shouldn’t strike me as it does, as if I’m an anomaly to lay claim over, but I can’t help but bristle. “I was able to speak to a young couple about my age in a bar. But I have no way of knowing how long ago that was.”
Kendra appears behind her sister’s shoulder, inserting herself into the conversation now that it’s interesting. “Can you describe them?”
“The woman was taller than me, with sort of blondish-brown hair, and the man had shoulder-length white hair. And he was super pale.”
The sisters exchange a knowing look, their mirrored expressions making them look almost identical.
“You call Raegan,” Kiki instructs her sister, “I’ll call Aidan.”
Kendra nods and starts dialing.
Then Kiki turns back to me with a smile. “We know just the people to help.”