Prue led her grandmother and Phoebe down a worn path in the woods. If she
remembered correctly, this path would take them straight through the center
of the trees and out to the cemetery. The climbing rock was to the left and
she was pretty sure that there was a wishing well to the right. But she
still had no idea what she was doing. She hadn't been in the woods enough
to know her way around. She only went in there to get Piper when it was
time to go home, and Piper was always in the same spot. They had checked
that spot first, but Piper hadn't been there. Prue didn't really expect her
to be, but she had figured it was worth a shot. "Grams, she could be
anywhere!" Prue exclaimed, breaking the silence that seemed to be taking
over. "She knows these woods so much better than I do, and if she's with
Melody, we'll never find her. Melody's practically an expert on these
woods."
"Just keep walking, darling," Penny said gently. "We'll find her."
Prue sighed and quickened her pace just a little bit. "Prue?" Phoebe asked, running to keep up. "Did you ever meet Melody?"
"No," she answered, slowing down once she saw how much trouble Phoebe was having. "Why?"
"Because I was going to ask you if you thought she was nice," she said as she slipped her hand into her grandmother's.
"Wait, you've never met her?" Penny asked. Prue shook her head and stopped short on the path, her brow furrowing in confusion. "That's weird."
"Piper's always alone when I tell her it's time to come home," she shrugged. "I've never seen Melody. Why?"
"No reason," Penny said. She nudged Prue forward on the path. "Keep walking, darling."
"Do you think she made Melody up?" Phoebe asked as she hurried alongside her grandmother.
"No, I think Melody's someone your sister really sees," she answered.
"You think she's like an imaginary friend or something?" Prue asked. She held a branch out of the path until her grandmother and sister passed, then let it go and ran in front of them.
"Or something," Penny mumbled thoughtfully. She and the girls wandered down the path for a little bit longer, and eventually wound up coming out of the woods at the back of the cemetery. The sun was shining through the oak trees, casting spots of sunlight on the ground. It was an eerie effect, the brightness of the sun mingling with the dark headstones, all from the mid- to late-1800s. "Okay, girls, turn around. We're going through the woods again."
"Grams, wait a second," Prue said, her voice low in amazement. She was staring at once of the small dark stones. She stepped forward and began tracing the etched letters with her forefinger. "This has to be a coincidence, right? I mean, it's probably her ancestor or something."
Penny walked up to her granddaughter and stood behind her, gazing over her shoulder at the stone. The name at the top of the stone was Melody Thomason. The date of birth was listed as March 7, 1870 and the date of death was listed as July 20, 1881. "She was eleven," she whispered.
"Just like Piper's Melody." Prue turned around and stared up at her grandmother, searching her eyes for an explanation. "It's just a coincidence, right?"
"Of course it's just a coincidence," she said quickly. She smiled at the girls, hoping that they couldn't see through it to her concern. "It's entirely possible that Piper's friend was named after this Melody, just like you were named for your ancestor, Prue. Anyway, we really need to find your sister. Come on, girls. Back into the woods."
Phoebe groaned and Prue sighed as Penny herded the girls back through the trees. Prue was more than a little uneasy. Her grandmother had said it was just a coincidence, but something was making Prue think that she believed otherwise. Perhaps it was that a heightened sense of urgency had fallen over the three of them. Prue got the feeling that her grandmother thought that Piper was in immediate danger and that there was something more to that tombstone than just a coincidence.
**********
"Melody, where are we going?" Piper asked nervously. Melody had been leading her through the woods for about fifteen minutes, taking every single twist and turn along the way. Every time Piper thought she had figured out where she was taking her, they turned another corner. It was almost like Melody was trying to confuse her and keep her guessing.
"You'll see in a second," Melody answered with a sweet smile. "We're almost there."
A couple minutes later, they emerged into a small clearing. At first, Piper was a little disoriented because they had come out on the opposite side of what she was used to, but she soon recognized the place. They were at the climbing rock. "No, Melody--" she started, turning away from the girl.
"Wait, Piper, come here," Melody called.
Piper turned around, her heart pounding. She was completely terrified of the rock, and Melody knew that. "What?" she asked as she faced Melody.
"Just come here." She held out her hand, waiting for Piper to take it. After a moment's hesitation, Piper slipped her hand into Melody's.
Melody shot her a friendly smile and gently led her to the edge of the rock. She sat down, letting her legs dangle over the ledge, and looked up at Piper, silently telling her to do the same. Piper stood there for a moment, debating what to do, then took a deep breath in and sat down next to Melody. "See?" Melody said once Piper was settled. "It's not that bad."
"Melody, why'd you bring me here?" Piper asked warily. "You know I hate it here."
"It's part of my plan," she answered with a smile. "Look at how pretty those flowers are. Remember how this place used to calm you down?"
"Yeah, but that was before Prue told me about the girl that died," she said quietly.
"Piper, how many kids do you think played on this rock over the years? Hundreds. And just one of them died." Melody looked out over the flowers and sighed. "Besides, it didn't hurt when she fell. She never felt a thing."
"Yeah, but she died!" Piper exclaimed. It was a second or two before exactly what Melody had said sunk in. "Wait, how do you know it didn't hurt?"
"I only meant to make my mother worry," she said softly. Tears were welling in her eyes as she swallowed hard. "I wanted to see if she actually would worry. She never told me she loved me or anything like that, so . . . Anyway, I ran away and I came here. That was when it hit me. If I fell and got hurt, she'd feel bad for not showing me she cared. Plus, if she thought I had almost died, maybe she would be more loving towards me."
"Melody, you're scaring me," Piper said quietly.
"So I just sort of . . . slid off the edge," she went on, ignoring Piper. "But something went wrong. Somehow, I hit my head on the way down. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, I was back home. Only, no one could see me. My mom was crying and the doctor was telling her he was sorry for something."
"Melody, stop," Piper said as tears built up in her eyes. "You're really scaring me."
"I was scared, too, at first." She turned around and gripped Piper's hands tightly. "Piper, I died in 1881. The girl your sister read about in that newspaper was me."
Piper gasped in realization. Suddenly, everything made sense. Of course she would have an old-fashioned vocabulary and a wardrobe from another time. She was from another time. Piper suddenly understood everything that had given her pause. Melody's occasional use of the past tense suddenly became clear, along with why Piper felt like the farmhouse shouldn't exist. It didn't exist, at least not anymore. By some strange supernatural loophole, Piper had been allowed to travel to Melody's time. Perhaps Melody had some sort of control over time and could bring a friend back to the 1880s. Or perhaps it had all been some sort of strange, potent illusion Melody had created in order to keep Piper from guessing her secret.
She knew she should be scared, but for some reason, she wasn't. Instead, she was overwhelmingly sad. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Melody. All the girl had ever wanted was an indication that someone had cared about her, and even in death, she hadn't found it. "B-but how? How come you can talk to me and touch me and stuff?"
"I don't know," she answered, shaking her head. Then she into Piper's eyes. "Wait a minute. You're not afraid of me?" Piper shook her head, giving Melody a small, comforting smile. "Maybe that's why, then. Maybe we were meant to be friends."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Piper. We both can give each other what we want. You quickly became my best friend, no questions asked. You were there for me in a way no one else had ever been. All I wanted was someone who cared about me, and you gave that to me. And I can give you what you want. I can get you away from your family."
"How can you get me away from my family?" she asked cautiously.
"The same way I got away from mine," Melody answered.
Piper backed away from the edge and jumped to her feet. "No. No way."
Melody stood up as well and gripped Piper's wrists tightly, trying to get her to listen. "Piper, listen to me. You wanted a life like mine, a life of absolute freedom. If you do this, you'll have exactly that. There will be no one to tell you what to do, no one to hound you about where you're going, no one to invade your privacy. It's just what you want."
"Yeah, but Melody, you don't have a life!" She cringed when she saw a hurt expression cross Melody's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"Yes, you did," Melody said, smiling gently. "But it's okay. It's hard to think about, I know. But in a way, it's what you want. You can be absolutely free to do whatever you want whenever you want, just like me."
Piper tore her eyes away from Melody's and looked out at the flowers. What Melody wanted her to do was crazy. There was no way she could do that to her family. She still remembered how upset everyone was when her mother died, and there was no way she wanted to put her family through that again. But what Melody wanted her to do also seemed like the only way she could get some freedom. "I-I don't know."
"Piper, it's not going to get any better," Melody said, making eye contact with Piper once again. "They're going to keep you under their thumbs for as long as you live. You're going to be answering to them forever. You don't want that, do you?"
"No," Piper said hesitantly.
"Then come on." Melody held her hand out and smiled. "I promise it won't hurt."
Piper glanced over at the rock's edge, then back at Melody. She was right. She was never going to be free from her sister's scrutiny. It wasn't so much her grandmother she was worried about; it was Prue. She knew in her heart that Prue was only looking out for her, but she couldn't help but feel a little put out by how much Prue tried to tell her what to do. All she wanted was to be left alone, and this was the only way for that to happen. She took a deep breath, set her shoulders, and slipped her hand into Melody's.
"Just keep walking, darling," Penny said gently. "We'll find her."
Prue sighed and quickened her pace just a little bit. "Prue?" Phoebe asked, running to keep up. "Did you ever meet Melody?"
"No," she answered, slowing down once she saw how much trouble Phoebe was having. "Why?"
"Because I was going to ask you if you thought she was nice," she said as she slipped her hand into her grandmother's.
"Wait, you've never met her?" Penny asked. Prue shook her head and stopped short on the path, her brow furrowing in confusion. "That's weird."
"Piper's always alone when I tell her it's time to come home," she shrugged. "I've never seen Melody. Why?"
"No reason," Penny said. She nudged Prue forward on the path. "Keep walking, darling."
"Do you think she made Melody up?" Phoebe asked as she hurried alongside her grandmother.
"No, I think Melody's someone your sister really sees," she answered.
"You think she's like an imaginary friend or something?" Prue asked. She held a branch out of the path until her grandmother and sister passed, then let it go and ran in front of them.
"Or something," Penny mumbled thoughtfully. She and the girls wandered down the path for a little bit longer, and eventually wound up coming out of the woods at the back of the cemetery. The sun was shining through the oak trees, casting spots of sunlight on the ground. It was an eerie effect, the brightness of the sun mingling with the dark headstones, all from the mid- to late-1800s. "Okay, girls, turn around. We're going through the woods again."
"Grams, wait a second," Prue said, her voice low in amazement. She was staring at once of the small dark stones. She stepped forward and began tracing the etched letters with her forefinger. "This has to be a coincidence, right? I mean, it's probably her ancestor or something."
Penny walked up to her granddaughter and stood behind her, gazing over her shoulder at the stone. The name at the top of the stone was Melody Thomason. The date of birth was listed as March 7, 1870 and the date of death was listed as July 20, 1881. "She was eleven," she whispered.
"Just like Piper's Melody." Prue turned around and stared up at her grandmother, searching her eyes for an explanation. "It's just a coincidence, right?"
"Of course it's just a coincidence," she said quickly. She smiled at the girls, hoping that they couldn't see through it to her concern. "It's entirely possible that Piper's friend was named after this Melody, just like you were named for your ancestor, Prue. Anyway, we really need to find your sister. Come on, girls. Back into the woods."
Phoebe groaned and Prue sighed as Penny herded the girls back through the trees. Prue was more than a little uneasy. Her grandmother had said it was just a coincidence, but something was making Prue think that she believed otherwise. Perhaps it was that a heightened sense of urgency had fallen over the three of them. Prue got the feeling that her grandmother thought that Piper was in immediate danger and that there was something more to that tombstone than just a coincidence.
**********
"Melody, where are we going?" Piper asked nervously. Melody had been leading her through the woods for about fifteen minutes, taking every single twist and turn along the way. Every time Piper thought she had figured out where she was taking her, they turned another corner. It was almost like Melody was trying to confuse her and keep her guessing.
"You'll see in a second," Melody answered with a sweet smile. "We're almost there."
A couple minutes later, they emerged into a small clearing. At first, Piper was a little disoriented because they had come out on the opposite side of what she was used to, but she soon recognized the place. They were at the climbing rock. "No, Melody--" she started, turning away from the girl.
"Wait, Piper, come here," Melody called.
Piper turned around, her heart pounding. She was completely terrified of the rock, and Melody knew that. "What?" she asked as she faced Melody.
"Just come here." She held out her hand, waiting for Piper to take it. After a moment's hesitation, Piper slipped her hand into Melody's.
Melody shot her a friendly smile and gently led her to the edge of the rock. She sat down, letting her legs dangle over the ledge, and looked up at Piper, silently telling her to do the same. Piper stood there for a moment, debating what to do, then took a deep breath in and sat down next to Melody. "See?" Melody said once Piper was settled. "It's not that bad."
"Melody, why'd you bring me here?" Piper asked warily. "You know I hate it here."
"It's part of my plan," she answered with a smile. "Look at how pretty those flowers are. Remember how this place used to calm you down?"
"Yeah, but that was before Prue told me about the girl that died," she said quietly.
"Piper, how many kids do you think played on this rock over the years? Hundreds. And just one of them died." Melody looked out over the flowers and sighed. "Besides, it didn't hurt when she fell. She never felt a thing."
"Yeah, but she died!" Piper exclaimed. It was a second or two before exactly what Melody had said sunk in. "Wait, how do you know it didn't hurt?"
"I only meant to make my mother worry," she said softly. Tears were welling in her eyes as she swallowed hard. "I wanted to see if she actually would worry. She never told me she loved me or anything like that, so . . . Anyway, I ran away and I came here. That was when it hit me. If I fell and got hurt, she'd feel bad for not showing me she cared. Plus, if she thought I had almost died, maybe she would be more loving towards me."
"Melody, you're scaring me," Piper said quietly.
"So I just sort of . . . slid off the edge," she went on, ignoring Piper. "But something went wrong. Somehow, I hit my head on the way down. Everything went black and the next thing I knew, I was back home. Only, no one could see me. My mom was crying and the doctor was telling her he was sorry for something."
"Melody, stop," Piper said as tears built up in her eyes. "You're really scaring me."
"I was scared, too, at first." She turned around and gripped Piper's hands tightly. "Piper, I died in 1881. The girl your sister read about in that newspaper was me."
Piper gasped in realization. Suddenly, everything made sense. Of course she would have an old-fashioned vocabulary and a wardrobe from another time. She was from another time. Piper suddenly understood everything that had given her pause. Melody's occasional use of the past tense suddenly became clear, along with why Piper felt like the farmhouse shouldn't exist. It didn't exist, at least not anymore. By some strange supernatural loophole, Piper had been allowed to travel to Melody's time. Perhaps Melody had some sort of control over time and could bring a friend back to the 1880s. Or perhaps it had all been some sort of strange, potent illusion Melody had created in order to keep Piper from guessing her secret.
She knew she should be scared, but for some reason, she wasn't. Instead, she was overwhelmingly sad. She couldn't help but feel sorry for Melody. All the girl had ever wanted was an indication that someone had cared about her, and even in death, she hadn't found it. "B-but how? How come you can talk to me and touch me and stuff?"
"I don't know," she answered, shaking her head. Then she into Piper's eyes. "Wait a minute. You're not afraid of me?" Piper shook her head, giving Melody a small, comforting smile. "Maybe that's why, then. Maybe we were meant to be friends."
"What do you mean?"
"Think about it, Piper. We both can give each other what we want. You quickly became my best friend, no questions asked. You were there for me in a way no one else had ever been. All I wanted was someone who cared about me, and you gave that to me. And I can give you what you want. I can get you away from your family."
"How can you get me away from my family?" she asked cautiously.
"The same way I got away from mine," Melody answered.
Piper backed away from the edge and jumped to her feet. "No. No way."
Melody stood up as well and gripped Piper's wrists tightly, trying to get her to listen. "Piper, listen to me. You wanted a life like mine, a life of absolute freedom. If you do this, you'll have exactly that. There will be no one to tell you what to do, no one to hound you about where you're going, no one to invade your privacy. It's just what you want."
"Yeah, but Melody, you don't have a life!" She cringed when she saw a hurt expression cross Melody's face. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that."
"Yes, you did," Melody said, smiling gently. "But it's okay. It's hard to think about, I know. But in a way, it's what you want. You can be absolutely free to do whatever you want whenever you want, just like me."
Piper tore her eyes away from Melody's and looked out at the flowers. What Melody wanted her to do was crazy. There was no way she could do that to her family. She still remembered how upset everyone was when her mother died, and there was no way she wanted to put her family through that again. But what Melody wanted her to do also seemed like the only way she could get some freedom. "I-I don't know."
"Piper, it's not going to get any better," Melody said, making eye contact with Piper once again. "They're going to keep you under their thumbs for as long as you live. You're going to be answering to them forever. You don't want that, do you?"
"No," Piper said hesitantly.
"Then come on." Melody held her hand out and smiled. "I promise it won't hurt."
Piper glanced over at the rock's edge, then back at Melody. She was right. She was never going to be free from her sister's scrutiny. It wasn't so much her grandmother she was worried about; it was Prue. She knew in her heart that Prue was only looking out for her, but she couldn't help but feel a little put out by how much Prue tried to tell her what to do. All she wanted was to be left alone, and this was the only way for that to happen. She took a deep breath, set her shoulders, and slipped her hand into Melody's.