Chapter 5

Leigh had never biked so fast in her life.

"I'll be right back!" She shouted over her shoulder before her father could say anything.

She took out her beautiful bike and was out of the driveway within thirty seconds. Not bothering to check out if there were any cars coming down the road, Leigh made a hard left, seeing Ash's bright red head on the horizon. With her was an elderly woman, hunched over from years of bad posture, gripping on to a little cane. She was your sterotypical fairytale grandma, with a long dress and shawl wrapped around her head. Leigh stopped her bike, hopping off. Her red face probably matched Ash's hair at that very moment.

The old woman turned to Leigh. She was white and gaunt and looked like she would blow away into dust if you jostled her. Her green eyes widened at Leigh, and she immdiatly surged forward. Leigh instinctivley backed up a step.

"Leigh? Leigh Harper? Leigh Jean Harper?" She asked in a wild tone. Leigh flinched at the sound of her middle name. It was her grandmother's name, and she hadn't talked to the family in years.

"She's been saying that the whole time," Ash said, looking a little uncomfortable. "Do you know her? I tried to ask, but she only says your name."

Leigh shook her head, dumbfounded by the woman. She wasn't anybody Leigh could remember.

"Celene." The feeble lady said, an iron tone hidden in her voice. Leigh froze, unsure of what to think at the mention of her mother's name.

"Wha -?" She meant to ask what the lady wanted, but she interrupted her.

"The sky is alive, yeah?" Then she wandered off.

"Wait!" Leigh called after her. "What do you mean?!" Ash pulled her back sharply by the shoulder.

"Leigh, don't. She's probably just senile, ok? It wouldn't be a good idea." Leigh turned around in annoynce, glaring up at Ash's pale face.

"...Leigh? Are you ok?" She asked in a gentle tone.

"Celene... she said Celene, didn't she?" Leigh asked. Ash nodded.

"Is that someone you know? Maybe we can find them. They might know the lady!" Ash replied in a hopeful tone. Leigh shook her head slowly.

"No."

"No?"

"No, Celene... Celene is gone. She - she was my mother."

Ash's whole face crumpled. "I'm so sorry, Leigh."

She pulled the shorter girl into an embrace, as Leigh's silent tears slowly fell to the ground, and the sad string was plucked again, for the millionth time in her life.

A while later, Leigh returned home, pink from the cold. Her dad opened the door, clearly a little miffed that she ran out of the house like that. But upon seeing her happy mood, he relented, leading her into the kitchen where he had some bite size browines on a plate.

They talked for a while, and Leigh felt settled in, happy. Someone was pluckng her yellow string. After a game of Clue, and many brownies later, the doorbell rang. Leigh jumped up, knocking her chair over and running so fast she almost tripped on the hall carpet. She yanked open the door, and there stood her two best friends in the whole world.

Madelaine shrieked, throwing her short arms around Leigh. Oliver jumped up and down like a giddy little kid on Christmas, until Maddy let go, so he could hug Leigh next. She led them inside, all talking over each other in their excitment. Leigh introduced her friends to her father, then led them up to the attic.

"So cool! You get a whole attic to yourself?" Asked Oliver excitedly, his head just popping out of the trapdoor, making him look bodiless.

"Well, it's not exaclty giant like at your house, but yeah, this is my room now." Seeing Oliver's excitment and Madelaine's wonder, Leigh suddenly stood up taller, feeling pride in the cramped space.

"So cool..." Madelaine said, her wide green eyes wandering all over the room.

After taking all thier stuff up the ladder, and setting up their sleeping bags on the floor, they talked about all the things they had missed. It had been only two weeks, but it felt like they had been apart years. Leigh felt a little left out as they told her all about Miss Grady's class, and the trouble they had gotten into. Soon, the freinds started to tire out. Leigh was laying down on her bed, staring up at the ceiling and thinking about the old woman from earlier today.

"The sky's alive, yeah?"

Leigh shook her head. Oliver sat on the floor, tinkering away at the ancient Walkman they had found in some of the storage. Madelaine lay on her sleeping bag, her breaths already deep and even. Leigh had always thought Madelaine was pretty. Madeleine wasn't particularly thin, but she made it look good. It made her jeans look filled out, her pretty fair face round. Madelaine had freckles, green eyes, and black-brown curls, all of which made Leigh super jealous.

Oliver somehow made Leigh want to stand up straighter so she could stare at his eyes. His eyes were nothing more than black holes in his head, which Leigh found fascinating.

"Side effect of being Asian." He had joked.

He was tall, too. And had the squarest jaw she had ever seen. His hair was always floppy and fell into his eyes all the time. Leigh herself was short and pale. Her eyes were squinty and small, and her long brown hair hung down her back in a flat shiny mess, usually pulled back by a hairclip.

"Guys?" Leigh asked a little tentatively.

"Yeah?" Said Oliver, glancing up from his project in concern.

"Mmhm?" Came the muffled response from Madelaine.

"Remember - remember when I told you about Skylar?" She asked, pressing her eyes shut.

"Yeah?" Oliver responded, clearly confused. "It happened here, didn't it?"

"Yeah..." Leigh didn't truly know how to word this. "I may have found something that is linked to her." She blurted out. Leigh had never seen Madelaine react so fast. In an instant, she leapt out of her makeshift bed like it was electric, staring at Leigh with wild eyes.

"What do you mean?" She demanded, scaring Leigh a little.

"The morning she disappeared. She and I had a fight." She paused a moment, watching her friend's reactions. She had never gone into detail, all they knew was that Skylar had gone missing without a trace five years ago, and that's why her parents divorced.

"It was a stupid fight, but it was about this little radio. I loved it. It was cherry red - and." Leigh had to stop, her breaths already hitching. She cleared her throat.

"Skylar, she was - is, I don't know - ADHD and hyper. She knocked it off the shelf and it broke into little pieces. I tried to fix it. She offered to help, but I pushed her away. I watched her run into the woods..." Leigh had to stop again. She had never told anyone about the woods thing.

"Leigh?" Asked Oliver gently. "You don't have to tell us." Madelaine nodded in agreement. Leigh shook her head.

"I was out walking the other day, and I came upon a stream. It had... it had this buried in the mud." Leigh pulled out the little piece of plastic. Madelaine and Oliver each took turns inspecting it. They glanced at each other.

"Leigh..." Madelaine started, sitting down next to her and wrapping her arms around Leigh's shoulders.

"We can't be totally sure that this is a piece from your raidio. Anyway, how would it have ended up there? It's been four years. Someone could have just dropped this plastic thing. I'm sorry." Madelaine said gently. Leigh pushed her arm off and glared.

"This is probably just a coincidence. Let it go, Leigh." Oliver said as softly as he could. But Leigh had no time for it. She hopped off her little bed, yanking open the trapdoor with such force it hit the wall behind it.

"Leigh! Where are you going!?" Asked Madelaine frantically behind her.

Leigh slid down the ladder, her friends following her with rapid succession. Before either of them could catch her, Leigh had already opened the door to Sky's old room. Pushing away the boxes, she found the item she was looking for. Carefully, she picked it up and walked back out the door to the hallway, where Madelaine and Oliver were waiting in worried silence. She showed them the item. A cherry red radio, glued together like a puzzle, with one piece missing.

"Still think it's a coincidence?"