New allies and the sea star surprise

Bethany is the first to reach the stairs. She rockets upward two steps at a time. She feels panicked but more curious than anything. Lisa is never ruffled. Therefore it must be something major to cause her to scream like that. As Bethany reaches the landing she can hear the sound of Lisa moving around in the hallway above.

Two seconds later, Bethany reaches the upstairs hallway. Where Lisa is fine. Bethany stops as soon as she sees Lisa. In fact, Lisa is piling the last few items of clothing in a laundry basket. She appears to be fine. Then she spots Bethany standing there. At that moment Edward arrives at the top of the stairs. Then their Mom and Dad. For a brief moment no one says anything. Then Lisa raises her eyebrows, and in a matter of fact tone of voice says, “What?”

The Sea Star Surprise

Edward arrives at the top of the stairs just behind Bethany. He isn’t more than a second behind her. It just so happened he was thinking about being chased in that other place. Then Lisa screamed. And it wasn’t just any scream. It was a shriek of terror. Edward could hear the fear, and he immediately thinks of the mirror in his room.

Has something come through? That is his first panicked thought. Of course it is ridiculous. Bethany pulled him out before anything could get through. Furthermore, the mirror closed immediately after he returned to his room. He would have known if something came through. Unless. And the thought is too worrisome to entertain. Besides, he is running up the stairs as fast as he can.

New Allies

And he nearly collides with a stationary Bethany. Likewise, he is nearly squished by the arrival of their parents. Now everyone is gathered at the top of the stairs. All looking at Lisa, who is holding a basket of laundry. There is an obvious feeling of relief as the questions fly. However Lisa appears to be more annoyed than anything. And she scolds away the unwanted attention.

She dropped her basket was all. Screamed in frustration was her irritable explanation. However, it began to take an unexpected turn. She looks at Edward, and calmly says it was one of his model cars, that caused her to trip. As Edward’s mouth drops open in disbelief, he gets another unexpected surprise.

“I think it would do Edward some good to help put away my laundry. Before he has his dinner. Besides the help would be nice.” Then she smiles at their parents, who agree completely while on the way back downstairs. Bethany follows, leaving Edward standing there, mouth hanging open and staring in disbelief at Lisa. How? What the…? He can’t even believe how unfair this is.

New allies and the sea star surprise

When everyone has left the hallway, Lisa’s expression changes. Edward can see her shaking just a little, and now there is a look of concern and fear on her face. In that split second Edward knows that Lisa knows. However, that isn’t what surprises him beyond any words. It’s what his older sister does next that changes almost every opinion he’s ever had of her.

She sets the basket of clothes down on the floor. Then she reaches under the top layer, and pulls out a small box. She looks at Edward and says, “Come here and get your pet. And you should know better, after what happened with the snake.” She holds the small box out to Edward, who is more confused than ever. Did she say his pet?

Sea Star

“What are you thinking bringing that thing in the house? What if Mom and Dad found it instead of me?” She looks intently at Edward. However, he can sense there’s more. “Take it outside and set it free. Preferably back where you found it.” She gives the box to Edward. As he gets his first look at the sea star surprise, a cold dread falls over him.

This came from outside all right, just not their outside. Now a set of eyes opens. They lock onto Edward’s. In a cold flat stare, that chills him to his core.

---

• Previous Chapters:
• One: The World Lost Behind the Mirror
• Two: An Old Mirror and the Secrets It Keeps
• Three: The Beautiful Plan In the Mirror

Thank you for reading! Like, follow and share The Frog Journal on X @1finja1 – and on The Frog Journal Facebook page click here. Subscribe to the free newsletter to stay up to date on new content and updates.

---