1: The New Family
That was the last time I saw my family and my home, until now.
I was happy to see my home, but I wanted everything to be just how it used to be. I wanted my mum to be inside cooking me and my sister dinner, baking a cake for dessert, or outside gardening. My mum used to love gardening, she especially liked planting flowers. I guess that's why she named me and my sister after them, not that I'm complaining, I love my name. Although, I can see why my sister used to complain, not many people are called Petunia. That's why I used to call her Tuney, for short; she hated her name. It used to make me giggle when my grandmother used to come around to visit, she used to call everyone "love" or "pet". She never did get why Tuney would answer when she called my mum "pet," poor old soul. It's been years since I last saw my mother and sister, and even longer since I last saw Gran.
Straight after the accident, my mother had wanted to move. I was there when she had the conversation with Mandy, her best friend and neighbour, she had told her that there were too many painful memories here. I had tried to get their attention, Mandy once looked straight at me but it was if she had looked through me instead. After a while I gave up on Mandy and mum and went to find Tuney, I thought she'd be able to see me. When I had went to find her, she was crying into her pillow. I tried to comfort her and tell her everything was fine, that I was okay. I told her that she shouldn't blame herself but she didn't hear me. Nobody had heard me.
It wasn't until the funeral that I realised that I was dead. My dead body was in the coffin that they buried. I couldn't believe I was actually dead. I thought I was just invisible or dreaming, how wrong was I? My dad came to the funeral, at least I knew he at least cared for me. I hadn't seen him since I was 8. He and my mother had split up and divorced when I was only 3. He and my mum talked for a bit at my funeral, he had suggested that she and Petunia could go live with him. That's why there is a new family in my house.
I didn't want anybody else living in my house. I wanted to live there with my family. I doubted they felt the same though, Petunia and mum had gotten settled with my dad. It was as if they had never been divorced. Don't get me wrong, I was happy for them but I couldn't be included in the family. They couldn't even see me. That was one of the main reasons why I left and came back to my real home. It was so lonely, wandering about with nobody even seeing you and no amount of longing could change that. I used to wish I was invisible when I was younger but now, I don't know how anybody can want to wish this upon themselves.
I was suck in my past, reminiscing of events gone until something caught my eye. The new family who lived in my house had returned from…wherever it was they were, I didn't catch where they said they were going. It wasn't important anyway. However, their son was back from his boarding school. I'd only seen him in the pictures that his parents had. He looked much more mature than the young boy in the photographs. Now that I thought about it, those photos were rather strange. I'd only just realised that they were moving. Moving! How could I have missed that? My thoughts shocked me so much that I almost fell down from the tree I was floating above. Of course I wouldn't have actually hurt myself, I was already dead. I would never get used to referring to myself as dead because, to me, I still felt very much alive.
I watched the boy pull all of his luggage out of the car, which basically consisted of a suitcase that looked way to small to fit everything in. Things were starting to get really bizarre around here as the next object the boy pulled out was a cage with an owl inside it. This confused me, I was pretty sure that a boarding school wouldn't allow a student to keep a pet owl. Although, the whole family seemed really weird, in my opinion. They seemed really old fashioned yet they dressed in the weirdest clothing that I have ever set eyes on. At least they had a television and a telephone. I mused over the family for quite a while. I heard them talking animatedly in the kitchen but I didn't listen in - it didn't matter how curious I was - I wasn't going to eavesdrop on their private conversations.
I'm not sure how much time passed, as I've mentioned before, I have way too much time to myself. The boy came outside and sat on the bench that I used to sit on when I wanted some quiet time to draw or read. The tree I was in was directly under the bench and I felt a little intrusive watching the boy. He was about my age, well the age I would be now if I hadn't died; I'd just turned 11 when I drowned. I floated down from my perch on the tree to get a better look at the boy below me. To my surprise, he jumped when I walked in front of him. I then noticed the wasp buzzing around us, making me jump as well. However, I was wrong about the wasp theory when he looked into my eyes and beamed a smile at me.
"Hello," he addressed me. "Not that I mind, but what are you doing here?" This shocked me. He actually saw me? I gasped in surprise and felt my body stiffen because I had let myself be caught off guard. He seemed to notice my reaction and his friendly eyes turned inquisitive.
"Y-you can see m-me?" I trembled on my words. He cocked his head slightly to the side and scrunched up his forehead in confusion.
"Yes, I can see you?" he asked rather than answered but I got my answer from his response. I felt excitement run through me, I had to restrain myself from jumping up and down, cheering. So, was I alive again? Had this trip outside of my old house given me my life back? I mentally told myself to calm down, there was no use in getting my hopes up.