Grace Amazing
Piper moved with slow steps up the stairs to the attic. The house was dead silent as she pushed open the door. She winced as it creaked loudly on the old hinges but let out a breath when nothing happened. Wordlessly she gathered five candles, placing them on the floor at the points of a pentagram. She wasn't sure why she was trying this but she felt she had to. Maybe this time she would be lucky. She walked around the circle, lighting the candles. A shiver went down her spine as she spoke the words that were becoming familiar.
"Hear these words, hear my cry, spirit from the other side. Come to me I summon thee. Cross now the great divide."
At first nothing happened, just like all the other times but slowly, very slowly, a figure began to form. It seemed to be taking forever to solidify. Finally, and to Piper's complete shock, Prue stood before her, as a ghost.
"Prue," Piper gasped. She couldn't believe it. The spell had finally worked. She'd finally been able to summon her sister.
"Piper…what did you do?" Prue asked, hands on her hips. Her expression soon turned from one of the disappointed mother to the sympathetic sister. She stepped over the candles and became solid.
Without speaking, Piper pulled her sister to her, clutching her tightly. She felt so real, like she hadn't left them. Prue returned the embrace, stroking her sibling's dark brown hair.
"I thought I'd never see you again," Piper sniffled, tears slipping from the corner of hr eye.
"Oh Piper. Come here," Prue instructed, dragging her sister over to the couch and sitting down.
"We've tried to summon you…but…it never worked…I don't understand," Piper babbled through her tears.
"You aren't over my death yet. Remember we couldn't summon Grams for the longest time after we got our powers," Prue reminded her sister.
"I…I just wish we'd never lost you," Piper murmured.
They fell into silence as Prue cradled a sobbing Piper in her arms. Piper felt safe now, like she would never have to be afraid of anything ever again. But deep down she knew it wouldn't last. She would have to let Prue go…again. Prue finally broke the silence.
"Well if we've learned anything about this family, it's that things happen for a reason," Prue murmured, running her thumb over Piper's cheeks to dry the tears.
"That doesn't mean I have to like the reason," Piper mumbled, feeling very child-like.
"Well, there has to be a reason that you could summon me," Prue commented.
"I…I don't know. I mean I tried before and it didn't work. And I know that now that it worked, I'm just going to have to lose you again," Piper muttered.
"I think I know why it worked this time," Prue whispered, tiling her sister's face so they were eye to eye.
"Why?" Piper asked, her voice barely a whisper.
"To help you let me go," her older sister murmured.
"But I don't want to let you go, Prue. I can't," Piper objected.
"You have to Piper. I know it's hard. It took me years to let go of Mom and I regret all of the pain I kept inside all those years. I don't want that to happen to you," Prue countered.
"You have to stop fighting it. You have to let me go. You have to grieve," Prue continued.
The words seemed to echo through the attic and then the entire house. In the master bedroom Piper sat up straight in bed, Leo asleep beside her. It had been a dream. A dream that had felt so real she was hard pressed ot ignore her sister's words.
"I love you, Prue. But I'm doing what you said, I'm letting you go," she whispered into the still night.