Secrets in the Shallows

Chapter Two- Traces

CHAPTER TWO
Traces

"What is that on your shoulder?" Hanna asks. I look over at my striped shoulder sleeve. There is a little dirt on it that I don't remember getting there.

I try to shrug it off, "I don't know. I guess it's from outside." I am trying to clean up all this water. The towel I'm using is getting too soaked. My mind is still trying to comprehend everything. Hanna, on the other hand, is trying to distract herself.

"No, look! Get up and look in the mirror to see what I am talking about." She nudges my arm, trying to force me to stand up.

I reach up from the sink and examine the stain in the mirror. I watch the reflection of my face drop in disbelief, "Is that the shape of a hand?"

"Did she touch you?"

"When she approached me, she touched my shoulder..." My voice trails off as I start to remember the memory.

Hanna has this look on her face that I've never seen before. It is a mix between fear, confusion, and a little anxiety.

"What are we going to tell Zack?" She asks.

"Tell him what? A homeless girl flooded our bathroom? Then, she did a magic trick and disappeared? We tell him nothing. We're not going to tell anyone. Not until we figure out where she went."

"Where did she go? There's no way she could've gone anywhere."

"Then what happened? She left dirt on my shirt! She's real...right?" My voice is starting to rise by the minute.

"There's no other logical explanation." Hanna stares deep into my eyes, searching for the right word.

"Other than..." I don't know if I should even finish my sentence. I have a fear of sounding like a lunatic.

"A ghost." Hanna swallows.

"No, she's not a ghost," I shake my head, "Ghosts aren't real, and she probably ran off because you were talking about how much a weirdo she was."

"Now it's my fault?" Hanna says, her voice rising.

"I'm just saying that we don't know who she is, and until we find out, we are going to act normal," I tell, trying to calm my shaky breaths.

"Ok," Hanna nods, searching through her mind, "OK, so how can I act normal when she might be on the loose? She could be a convicted felon or something. All I know is she left a mess in our bathroom."

The tension in my chest starts to rise again, "I don't have time for this. Let's just clean up this water, get her bag, and deal with this later. We need to start setting up for the kids."

I hang up the wet towels to dry on the towel rack. I walk out to the living space to grab the dirty duffle bag. Only to find out that the bag had disappeared without a trace. No dirt or water on the floor is left behind.

"Hanna....The bag is gone." I yell to her from the living room. Immediately, I hear her shoes squeak to see what I'm talking about.

"Maybe she grabbed it and we didn't notice," I say. I want to tell myself I am insane, Obviously, there was something else going on, but nothing makes sense anymore.

She ignores it, "I believe it's time to go. We need to have a clearer head. A sound mind. We can't make assumptions now. Get back to this later." She starts gesturing at the floor in a wild motion, her mind starting to go in directions it hasn't before.

"Let's just go." I agree, trying to get her back down to Earth. Leaving this cabin has never sounded so good.

We meet up with Heidi at the fire pit. Zack and three more new counselors are already waiting for us. A man with jet-black hair was standing with them. I assume that is Lawrence. His demeanor is stern and serious. I want to apologize for being late, but I can't even think straight. My mind is spinning too fast.