Pippa shuffled through the cold forest, her eyes watching her feet. Snow blanketed the ground and covered the trees, and she was shivering uncontrollably. She wore her black boots and a plain, patched brown dress, and her shawl was wrapped tightly around her. It was a full moon that hung high in the thick black sky. She felt comforted with it there. It was like having a friend, and she'd talked to it often, imagining what it would say back. Of course, it never spoke, but that was expected. It was not capable of speaking. It was, after all, the moon. Still, it made her feel encouraged and less afraid when it was there. At last she came upon Melody Pond. It was a gorgeous place, surrounded by trees, and looked beautiful in all seasons. In the winter, the ice that covered it was pleasant and decorated in frosty pictures, while in the summer it was the perfect place for a swim. The name, Melody Pond, used to remind her of fairy tales of mermaids, with their magnificent blue-green tails, their silky hair, and their enchanting voices. But Pippa no longer saw its beauty and splendor. Not for four years, a month, and seventeen days.

Exactly four years, one month, and seventeen days ago, her older brother had drowned in Melody Pond. Jack had been teaching her to ice-skate when the ice began to crack. He had just tossed her to safety when he fell in, and she never saw the place as "gorgeous" ever again.

The loss of Jack had taken Mother's life, due to a severe and deadly depression that led to a horrible fever. When she died, Father had turned to alcohol for comfort. The family disgraced and torn, Pippa was left to deal with the weight of the world on her thin shoulders.

This was why she had come to Melody Pond for the first time in four years, a month, and sixteen days. To give up, to see her brother again, even if it meant drowning herself. She took off her shawl and slipped her bare toes out of her boots, preparing to dive in the icy water that had removed Jack from her family.

"There's no need for that."

Pippa whipped around.

An old woman, with long, wild, silver curls, was leaning against the trunk of a tree a couple of feet behind Pippa. Her scrawny, pale arms were folded across her chest. She had a hooked nose, mossy teeth, thin, tight lips, and skin that seemed too big for her. She wore a floor length black cloak, a dark green velvet dress, and striking neon-purple pointed shoes. She had a wart between her nose and right cheek, and a ruby pendant on her long, fragile neck.

"Who are you?" Pippa demanded.

"My name is Hattie," the old woman said in a surprisingly strong voice. She straightened and gestured to the pond. "Killing yourself won't help you in this situation."

"Mind your own business," Pippa spat venomously, then turned back to the pond.

"Jack's not dead, sweetie."

Pippa froze.

Hattie pointed a bony, pale finger up to the moon. "He stole your brother."

She stared. Then she burst out laughing. "That's ridiculous!"

"Is it?" Quicker than a bolt of lightning, Hattie snatched Pippa's wrist in an unexpectedly tight grip.

"Hey! What're you-"

Suddenly, flashes popped up in Pippa's head. She saw Jack, and she saw once more how he died. She saw herself running back to the village to get help. She saw three men, one being her own father, search the pond with large sticks to find Jack's body. She saw them all leave, empty-handed and mournful. She saw her mother break down in tears in her father's arms. All of these things she had seen before.

Then she saw things she hadn't seen.

In the night, under the full moon, the ice on Melody Pond began to crack and shift as Jack rose from underneath. He was different. He had hair as white as snow, when it was once a deep, rich brown, like dark chocolate. His eyes were blue, not brown. But he was definitely Jack, and he held in his hand the same stick he had used to push her to safety when the ice was cracking. He floated in the air, breathing heavily, basking in the pale moonlight. An instant thought occurred to her at that moment: the moon really had taken her brother.

Pippa blinked away the last of the blinding flashes. She turned cautiously to the old woman. "Where is he now?" she whispered, for she felt that to speak any louder would result with her bursting into tears.

"If I knew that, I would've told you by now," Hattie said. She pulled an ancient, yellowing scroll and a quill out of her cloak pocket. She unrolled the scroll to reveal neat, fancy writing. "This, sweetie, is a contract," she told her. "If you sign on this dotted line, you will find your brother. By signing it, you will have the ability to see every invisible thing, and to track down anything. It will help you find him."

Pippa looked at her suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't just tricking me?"

"Because, for one, you have nothing to lose. You can drown yourself if you want, but if you sign this, you have to promise that you'll wait a year before you do. Besides, the moon stole someone I loved too. I want to stop it from taking any more innocent lives. Why would I lie to you?"

Pippa pursed her lips, as she always did when she was deep in thought. Then she took the quill before she could change her mind, and signed on the dotted line.