Fiona and Lula lay curled up under a pile of blankets and over a patchwork of pillows Uncle Jack had spread out on her bedroom floor. Anna was propped up on her side in bed. The lights were off, but the moonlight streaming in from her bedroom window was bright enough to outline their faces in blue. They spoke in hushed voices.
Scout had left minutes after the final echo faded away. No smart comments. Barely a goodbye before he pedaled away as fast as he could. He was shaken up. They were all shaken up. The three girls had planned to camp outside under the stars and watch for the lights, but now they were more than glad to be inside.
As hard as she tried, Anna couldn’t stop shaking. It wasn’t fear. It was a sense she had touched the unknown. Something not of this world. She wanted to tell her friends of the woman she saw floating by the lakeside, but the whole thing felt like a fragment of a dream now, and she couldn’t find the words. She laid her head back against her pillow and let her arm hang over the side.
Lula reached out with her small, warm hand and held Anna’s arm. Anna quit shaking and smiled at her friend. Lula reached out with her free hand and locked fingers with Fiona. The three smiled at each other, their eyes lit by moonlight.