Stepping into the Sky: Jump When Ready, Book 3 (7 page)

“Yeah, just that,” Henry said.

“It was dancing,” Nikki said. “But you knew that, right?”

Henry nodded. “Sure. That’s what I thought. But what did
it feel like? What made you love it so much?”

Nikki sighed. After a moment, she leaned in and rested
her head against his shoulder. She watched flames leap in the fireplace and
Henry breathed in the scent of her hair while her ribs expanded with each
breath.

“Weightless,” Nikki said. “When I got it right, I felt weightless.
Like I was flying through the air. In those moments, when all that training and
all those rehearsals came together, it felt like I was outside my own body. The
entire world seemed to just disappear. I know that probably doesn’t seem to
make sense but that’s how it felt. Every so often—just now and then—I knew I’d
reached the next level. It wasn’t like I even had to try, not in those moments.
I just flew. Nothing else mattered. Nothing on earth.”

“That sounds amazing,” Henry said.

Nikki rubbed her eyes. “It was.”

“You’ll do it again.”

Nikki took a deep breath. She rubbed her eyes. “Do you
think so?”

“I know so.”

Neither of them spoke for a moment and Henry imagined
Nikki must have been thinking about those long-ago times in her last life. He
wondered if he shouldn’t have asked, if maybe doing so had made her feel sad.
But when he looked over at her, she smiled back at him.

“What about you?” she said. “What was the thing you loved
most?”

Henry thought about how he’d once drawn with colored
pencils, how he’d created comics in notebooks he’d kept under his bed. Old
discarded notebooks from the previous year at school. That had been a long time
ago and he’d forgotten about them as time had passed, even then, when he’d been
in that realm. Where were those notebooks now? Had his parents found them after
he left? Henry hoped they’d smiled, maybe even laughed at those crazy drawings
created by the kid he used to be. He really hoped they hadn’t cried but
suspected they must have. Still, thinking of those moments when he’d been
immersed in that world of his childish imagination brought a feeling of
remembered contentment now. Long ago, a little boy had drawn the world inside
his imagination and had been felt completely at peace.

“This might sound weird but I think it was the idea of
the future,” Henry said. “Ironic, I know, all things considered.”

Nikki spoke softly. “What do you mean?”

“Well, first of all, I don’t mean that in a sad way. My
life was pretty awesome. I was basically just a happy kid. But I really liked
to paint and draw back then. I was thinking I might go into design. But there
was another part of me that also thought I might even take it farther and
become an architect when I grew up. I really loved that idea, that maybe
someday down the road I might contribute in some way that made the world a
better place.”

“That’s really cool,” Nikki said. “You never told me that
before.”

Henry kept his eyes on the fire, his voice soft now too.
“I never told anyone. Looking back, I realize it was just the seed of an idea.
I think I was just barely aware of it myself. At least, consciously. It seems
funny to think that you could get to know your old self better after ending
that life, but I think that’s kind of what’s happened. Like, there were these
dreams I wasn’t even aware of. I mean, actual dreams I had when I was sleeping.
In them, I used to see tall, gleaming buildings made of glass, with trees
growing on these huge balconies to provide oxygen and shade, the buildings
themselves powered by the sun. Stuff like that I didn’t remember when I woke
up.”

“Damn, River Rat, that’s really cool.”

Henry smiled, remembering. Somehow, it didn’t seem long
ago even though so much had changed.

“Yeah, it was,” he said. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s not
like I feel bad about it now or anything. But I had these cool things I
imagined back then.”

“I bet you become an awesome architect someday,”  Nikki
said. “Someone who makes the world better for everyone.”

Henry settled back more against the sofa and Nikki did
too. Outside, it had grown quiet, at least for now, which Henry had somehow
suspected it would. That was the hunch he’d gone with. The fire had died down a
bit, flickering steadily now. Henry guessed it would offer them a few more
hours of warmth and comfort.

“What do we do now?” Nikki said, her voice fading and her
head still resting against his shoulder.

Henry glanced over at her to see that she’d closed her
eyes. He closed his eyes too, hoping she’d dream of dancing, flying weightless
as the entire world disappeared
.

In the Garden

Michelle’s eyes shot open in the dark. She’d just heard it
again. The footsteps clicking on the stairs, the sound of someone taking deep
mournful breaths. As if weeping, she thought, as she had so many nights before.
This was the sound of someone grieving, gasping for air as her lungs convulsed.

“Mommy!” Michelle’s daughter called out from down the
hall.

Each night, they left the bathroom light on in the
hallway. The left closet lights on in bedrooms. But lights only chased away
things you imagined.

“Mom, I hear her again too!”

Her son this time.

Michelle heard their small feet slapping against the
hardwood floors, racing in her direction. She threw off her blankets and sat
up. Next to her, Caleb stirred, once again fighting for sleep, hoping this
thing that kept happening would somehow just stop.

Part of Michelle agreed with his continued attempts at
denial. It wasn’t possible, not in real life. This wasn’t a movie and houses
didn’t have ghosts. Those were just stories.

Footsteps couldn’t sound on stairs when no one placed
their feet upon them.

Crying couldn’t be heard without a person nearby crying.

“Mom, she’s in the hall!”

“I heard her on the stairs too. I really did!”

Small bodies launched themselves into Michelle’s bed and
she wrapped her arms around her children. “It’s okay,” she whispered. She
stroked hair and smoothed brows. “It’s okay. It’s just the wind. And that old
furnace. Mom and Dad will have that looked at.”

But what she told them wasn’t true. It wasn’t the wind.
It wasn’t the house either. It was something that had happened here. Something
that kept happening, over and over. Michelle pulled her children close and they
nestled into her. She ran her hands down their backs, whispering that
everything was fine, that there was nothing to be afraid of, that it was just
their imagination.

She knew she was lying.

~~~

The doorbell rang and her eyes sprang open to daylight.
Nikki shook her head briskly, trying to wake up. She’d been dreaming about a
woman comforting her children. Michelle. In the dream, her name had been
Michelle. Nikki had felt her fear and her children’s fear as well.

The doorbell rang again, echoing in the hall. Nikki saw
the foyer inside her mind, that large space full of polished mahogany. Henry
rustled into wakefulness beside her. He opened his eyes, his arm still around her
shoulders.

In his gaze, Nikki saw the same question she was asking
herself. Who was at the door? How could
anyone
be at the door?

We’re in the dream, Nikki told herself, but that didn’t
make her feel any better. She’d just been dreaming of someone else’s life. And
she and Henry had just shared their old dreams. Dreams surrounded her now.

A knock sounded on the door now. Not the same knocking as
last night. A light rapping that sounded somehow friendly rather than the
insistent pounding of someone trying to frighten them.

“I think someone’s really there,” Nikki said.

Henry nodded, blinking as he continued to wake up.
Neither of them said anything more as they got to their feet and left the room.

From the hallway, Nikki saw half of a girl’s silhouette
in the windows framing the front door, windows she hadn’t noticed last night in
the darkness. In fact, light streamed through those widows now suggesting a
beautiful day outside. Nikki felt pretty sure she knew who was at the door.

A moment later, the knocking sounded again. “Is anyone
home? It’s Rose, your neighbor!”

“This should be interesting,” Henry said.

As they approached the door, Nikki happened to glance
into a mirror hanging on the wall. She took a sudden breath and stopped.
“Henry, look.”

He stopped and turned toward the mirror.

“Do you see it too?” Nikki asked.

“Okay, that’s strange.”

So, he did see it. Nikki took another moment to stare at
the two of them reflected in the glass, no longer teenagers. Not here,
evidently, in Rose’s dream. Nikki somehow understood what she was seeing. She
saw herself and Henry as Rose imagined them—suddenly in their early twenties.
Maybe mid-twenties, Nikki couldn’t be sure. Henry stood dressed in jeans and a
light green golf shirt, his hair now short with just a bit of length where it
touched the top of his ears. Nikki herself wore a crisp sundress with a light
floral pattern, her own hair tied back in a ponytail.

Henry started walking toward the door again. “Martha did
say everything would be different.”

“She wasn’t kidding. Do we look like that when Rose isn’t
around?”

“No idea,” Henry said. “I didn’t even notice that mirror
last night with all the weird stuff going on. Kind of over the top, if you ask
me. Hope they didn’t mind us not being scared.” He placed his hand on the
doorknob and raised his eyebrows questioningly.

Nikki understood his meaning and she nodded. “Here we go
again.”

Henry opened the door and Rose smiled at them. “Hi, I
hope I’m not intruding.”

Nikki had noticed yesterday how Rose spoke more formally
than she would have expected for someone her age. She wasn’t sure if that was
due to the era in which Rose imagined herself still living or because she’d
been wealthy. Probably both was Nikki’s guess.

Nikki smiled. “Not at all. Please come in.” The words
sounded stiff to her own ears, falsely mature. But she wondered if, at least
for now, it might be a good idea to try speaking in a similar way.

Rose looked back and forth between them “Are you sure? I
can come back some other time if it’s more convenient.”

“It’s absolutely fine,” Henry said, apparently also
deciding to keep things a little formal. “We weren’t busy at all.”

He opened the door wider and Rose stepped into the foyer.
She looked around but Nikki couldn’t tell from her expression what she was thinking.
Or, for that matter, what she saw, although she assumed Rose saw the same space
with its old, dark wood and the ornately carved staircase.

“Sorry, I meant to ask for your phone number yesterday,”
Rose said. “Anyway, it’s not like you were hard to find since this house has
been on the market. How do you like it so far?”

“We love it,” Nikki said, trying not to think about the
sounds they’d heard the night before trying to warn them off.

“I was wondering who might buy it. I’m so glad it was the
two of you. Originally, Joseph and I were going to find a new home of our own
but we decided to stay here for the time being. Anyway, it will be refreshing
to have another young couple in the neighborhood.”

“We’re so glad to be here too.” Nikki started walking down
the hall toward the kitchen and Rose followed. “It seems like such a nice place
to live.”

They entered the kitchen, its counters now cluttered with
boxes. More boxes stood stacked against the wall in corners. For a moment,
Nikki was confused. The boxes hadn’t been there last night, she felt sure of
it. But they were in Rose’s dream, she reminded  herself. Things could shift at
any moment.

“When are people arriving to unpack for you?” Rose said.

Henry shrugged. “We thought we’d just do it ourselves.”

Rose placed her hands on her hips and scanned the room.
“Wow. That’s a lot of work. But I guess that way you make this house your own,
right?”

“Exactly,” Nikki said. She made eye contact with Henry
and willed herself not to smirk. “Henry and I want things to be perfect. The
best way to guarantee that is by doing it together. Right, honey?”

Nikki achieved her desired result. Henry’s face burned
red. He shoved his hands into his pockets and stared at the boxes, apparently
speechless.

“That’s really neat,” Rose said. “I think it’s…cool.”

Rose’s hesitation wasn’t lost on Nikki. It seemed like Rose
wanted to be someone other than who she was. Or, at least, she’d once wanted
that when she’d still been living her last life. Nikki knew so little about her
but she knew enough to guess that Rose’s life had been mostly a lonely one. Had
she ever been allowed to be truly young?

“We think it’s
totally
cool,” Nikki said.

Rose giggled uncertainly. “Totally cool,” she repeated.
“I like that. Do you two enjoy pop music?”

Nikki refused to meet Henry’s eyes this time, afraid she
might snort. “Do you mean, like, rock?” Even as she said it, Nikki wondered
about her phrasing.

Rose cocked her head and studied Nikki, then smiled
again. “Yes, rock and roll. Do you like it? It’s really popular right now but—”
Rose rolled her eyes and gestured with her head to indicate the world outside
these walls “—people around here can be a little slow to catch on, if you know
what I mean.”

“We love music,” Henry said. “Is there a good…record
store around here?”

Rose shrugged. “Not so much around here but there’s one
not too far away. I’d love to show you sometime.” She glanced at the floor. “I
mean, if you’d like.”

In that moment, Nikki wanted to hug her. Whoever Rose
was—whoever she’d been—Nikki would never entirely know. But it seemed clear
that in her dream, which must be a reflection of Rose’s last life, Nikki stood
facing a girl who felt unsure of herself. Despite her advantages, Rose appeared
to lack the thing that Nikki and those around her experienced every day. True
friendship.

“That sounds nice,” Nikki said. “We’d like that.”

Rose smiled again, more naturally this time as she
started to relax. “So, I was wondering if you’d like to join me and Joseph
later today. I thought we might have lunch together and get to know each other
a little. I mean, if you’re not too busy getting settled.”

Nikki and Henry made eye contact, pretending to check if
either had any objections.

“That sounds like a great idea,” Nikki said, although she
wondered if Joseph knew. Something told her Rose hadn’t included him in the
plan yet.

“Perfect!” Rose checked her watch. “Does twelve sound
about right?”

“Twelve works for us,” Henry said.

They saw Rose out and part of Nikki wondered if the house
around them might evaporate, leaving them in the wasteland they’d wandered
through the night before. But apparently this place really had been provided as
a sanctuary of some sort. Still, a shiver ran up her spine as she recalled the
continued pounding on the door last night, along with the threatening messages
blending with the wind. Something told her whoever that had been hadn’t just
given up and gone away. Just the opposite. Nikki felt sure they were keeping
watch.

She and Henry walked back down the hall, both stopping
before the mirror. Nikki breathed a sigh of relief, seeing the glass now
reflecting their images as they usually appeared. In that moment, though, she
couldn’t help wonder if that wasn’t just another type of dream. In a way,
wasn’t that also the case? When would they choose to surrender the dream they
both lived in?

Henry remained quiet for a moment and Nikki wondered if
he might be thinking the same thing. Finally, he said, “I guess we’re starting
to see how some of this works.”

“Some of it, ” Nikki said.

So far, only one thing seemed clear. What Rose believed
dictated their “reality,” but only when she thought of them. This was her dream
and she controlled at least enough of it to suggest that the dream could take
on a new form. That it might even shatter. But only if they could get her to
see things differently. First, they had to keep gaining Rose’s trust, then they
had to puncture the illusion.

Henry veered off into the massive living room they’d
avoided last night. Even now, the room remained dark, its thick curtains left
closed. Nikki scanned the gloom and saw lush couches and cushioned chairs, an
old console television and a cabinet holding a turntable and speakers—dated
items like those she remembered from the house she’d grown up in. The pieces of
furniture were spaced at such large distances from each other that Nikki
wondered if anyone had ever actually used the room. The coffee table sat so far
from either of the sofas that it would be impossible to reach without getting
up.

“Look,” Henry said, pointing to frames lining the walls.

They seemed meant to hold portraits but the gilded
rectangles displayed blank canvases. “That’s really weird,” Nikki said. “Do you
supposed they’d have pictures in them if Rose was here?”

“Yeah, that’s my guess too. Pictures of whoever lived
here when she was alive.” Henry crossed the room and reached for one of the
curtains. He looked at Nikki and widened his eyes. “Should I dare?”

Nikki hesitated. Without Rose here, would the window
offer only darkness? Would they find faces staring in at them?

Henry threw the curtain open and jolted back. Nikki
gasped, her heart suddenly pounding.

Henry grinned. “Oh, look. It’s the lawn.”

“You bastard!” Nikki grabbed a pillow from one of the
sofas and whipped it at his head.

Henry ducked and laughed. He crossed the room and plucked
a book from a shelf holding many more.

Nikki watched as he opened it. “Blank?”

Henry shook his head. “Actually, no. It’s called Tropic
of Capricorn. Weird title.”

“I remember my parents talking about that book. I think it
was pretty scandalous in its day.”

“
Really
.” Henry lifted his eyebrows. “I think I
better check this out.” He took the book to one of the chairs and plopped down
into it. “Let me know when it’s time for lunch.”

Nikki looked around the room again. “How will we know?”

Henry gestured to the window. “Well, there’s daylight out
there, so I’m guessing we’re on Rose Time. Any clocks around here? I thought I
saw one in the kitchen.”

“We should check.”

Henry opened the book again and thumbed through the
opening pages. “I’ll be right here. Let me know what you find.”