"Jack."
It felt as if he was looking at her through water, yet she was right in front of him. She was surrounded by an eerie blue light, her hair floated around her face, her image wavered before him.
"Help." She spoke barely above a whisper. And then she was gone. Where did she go? She was here a minute ago ...
"Get up! When ya gotta get up, ya gotta get up! Kids these days, they sleep, they sleep their life away these kids." Kloppman came into the bunk room with his usual morning greeting. "Jack. Jack! JACK! Time to get up. Gotta sell those papers," he said giving the Jack a firm shove to make sure he woke up.
"Eh, meh? Wha? Where ... where'd she go?" mumbled a disoriented Jack.
"Hah! Where'd who go Jack?" said Blink, being annoying.
"What? Uh, no one. It's nothing," said Jack, and began getting ready to go out and sell papes.
All day, Jack could think of nothing but his dream. It was not the first time the mysterious girl had appeared to him. He had had the dream at least three or four times before, but the pervious night was the first time she had ever spoken to him. Jack was not the sort to believe in superstitions. In fact he was the sort to laugh at them. But he could not shake the feeling that the dream was telling him something. He desperately wanted to tell someone about it, but he knew if he told his friends they'd never stop making fun of him. After all, if Blink told him he was seeing ghosts, or if Mush said he saw something a crystal ball, he would never believe them. He sort of wished he had some close girl friends because he figured they would be more sensitive towards this sort of thing. But he didn't. He also didn't have enough money to stay at the lodging house. He was so distracted all day that he barely sold enough papers to break even. At least the weather was getting warmer, so it wouldn't be entirely unpleasant to sleep outside. He found a space on a bench, curled up, and fell fast asleep.
"Jack."
It was her again. Her blazing green eyes stared directly into his.
"What do you want from me?" he asked.
"Help. Please."
Her voice sounded so sad, so desperate.
She held out her hand and he took it in his, and a look of relief overcame her face.