It had been exactly one year since my older sister died. Although I had been able to mostly move on, it was still hard to imagine a future without her. That was probably why I started having the dreams.
The first one came on the anniversary of my sister’s illness. It was just me and her standing in a clearing I didn’t recognize. The dreams went on like this for a few weeks. Then, she started talking to me.
At first it seemed like she didn’t know she was dead. She kept asking where we were. I didn’t know, so I didn’t answer. Eventually, she seemed more comfortable being in the clearing. One day, she told me there was something she wanted me to see, and asked if I would follow her. I was so surprised I just stared at her like a deer staring at headlights until I woke up. The next night she asked me the same thing. I said I had to think about it and I would tell her tomorrow night.
That day when I got home from school there was a package for me. Inside was a dagger with strange markings on the blade and hilt, and a letter. The letter read:
Keep this with you at all times if you want to live.
I had no idea who it came from, but I figured it would do me no harm to follow the instructions.
That night I told my sister I would go with her. We started walking out of the clearing, but before my sister turned around to lead me I saw something glint in her eyes. I stopped and said “You’re not my sister.”
She turned around. “Of course I am.” Her voice was sweet. Too sweet. I stood firm and stared harshly at her. At that moment, her features became contorted, demonic. All of a sudden, she launched herself at me. I raised the dagger that had suddenly appeared in my hand. She was moving so fast that by the time she saw the dagger it was too late for her to stop. She impaled herself on the dagger and immediately disintegrated.
I suddenly sat straight up in bed. I had so many questions about the dagger, like who sent it and how it had ended up in my dream, but I was too exhausted to thing about them. For the first time in several months, I fell into a dreamless, peaceful sleep.