Three months had gone by and Enid hadn’t so much as said three words to her sister. She had tried but Mariana had always found ways to avoid her. It had been frustrating. She hadn’t counted on her being so anti-social. She had been dragged into the social circle of her new friends Heather, Julie and Kerri. They weren’t bad sorts, but she had lived two mortal lifetimes and she wasn’t used to being around teenagers and their concerns were so shallow. It wasn’t their fault; They just were so emotional over everything. She’d been asked out on several dates but having lived two full human lives already it seemed like she was doing something morally wrong if she were to do anything with any of them. She was in religion class, tuning out the gibberish as she believed it to be. Kerri nudged her elbow.

“Enid do you mind if I work with Daniel for the group project?”

Enid gave her a confused look.

“The group project the teacher just announced.”

Enid nodded.

“I don’t care, do what you want.”

“Oh.”

So easy to be rude without meaning to be.

“No, I meant, it’s okay go for it. I’m not upset, maybe he’ll ask you out.”

Kerri smiled, she walked up and talked to Daniel and the pair spoke to the teacher. She was a nun. Not the kind Enid was used to, she wasn’t a cranky old spinster with a holier than though attitude. She was like someone packed a love bomb into a person and dropped it in the school. Enid liked her despite what she perceived as a flawed belief system. Sister Tammy nodded and entered some information into her tablet. She glanced at the list and then to the class, giving Mariana a glance and a small frown. Another reason Enid liked Sister Tammy was she seemed to care a great deal about her sister.

“Maria doesn’t have a partner yet, any takers?”

Enid raised her hand without hesitation. She’d told Mariana when they lay beside each other in her bed staring at the ceiling when they were twelve that she would always be there for her. They’d cut their palms and made an oath by the gods that they were sisters to till the end. Enid’s reaction was instant. She hadn’t even thought it through.

“Thank you, Enid.”

Enid’s friends all looked at her then the whispers started.

“Why’d you volunteer?”

Enid showed a small scar on her palm and said nothing else. Heather, Julie and Kerri shrugged. They had long since given up and understanding Enid’s motivations. She had earned their respect and friendship by now having been there for them through a few trials and tribulations. She was allowed to be a bit strange sometimes. Mariana for her part was looking very intently at the floor. Enid knew her posture and that look. Mariana was intensely embarrassed and there was something else Enid couldn’t place. Mariana’s fingers found her silver crucifix and she started to stroke it. Enid had noticed that nervous tick as well. Her sister seemed to take comfort in the strangest things these days.

“Please gather in your groups. Pick one of the gospels on the list, first come first serve. Prepare a presentation on how it speaks to you as a group.”

“See you after class.”

Enid’s girlfriends nodded, she grabbed her bag and moved to sit beside Mariana.

“Hi, I’m Enid.”

Mariana nodded as her fingers kept tracing their way over her small silver crucifix. She refused to look up. Enid spoke quietly in Atlantean.

“You know if we’re going to be partners, you’re going to have to talk to me eventually.”

Mariana looked up at Enid her eyes wide again. She had understood the words but didn’t know the language. Without meaning to she responded using the same language, like it was natural.

“What language was that?”

Enid switched to English.

“That wasn’t so hard, was it?”

Mariana met Enid’s gaze for the first time then looked down quickly. Sister Tammy peeked at the pair over her folder and smiled. Mariana asked again, still sounding polite, but more insistent this time.

“What language was that?”

“If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. But it’s the same language that’s on this tablet.”

Enid pulled out her Atlantean tablet and the tapped it the turquoise symbols started scrolling along its surface at a rapid pace. Mariana’s eyes followed them growing wider with each line. She mouthed the words. The pair had garnered some attention from the rest of the class, so Enid pushed the tablet back in her bag. Mariana looked at Enid again, meeting her gaze.

“What is that?”

“A tablet.”

Mariana frowned, her fingers still slowly caressing her crucifix.

“I will tell you this much, you taught me how to read it, and speak it.”

Mariana’s brow furrowed.

“You are not making any sense, Enid.”

“Well, I thought we were here to work on a religion project.”

Mariana’s frown deepened but then she nodded, she released her crucifix and opened her bible. The pair picked their gospel and wrote silently for the rest of the class. Mariana kept glancing at Enid when she thought Enid wasn’t paying attention. When class was over Enid stood up without a word and picked up her bag and tablet and bible and hurried to catch up to her girlfriends. Mariana watched her go.

That will get her curiosity going. She’ll seek me out now. Mariana never could let a mystery go.

“Oh my god, he asked me out!”

“Excellent.”

Heather looked at Enid

“You’re a good friend, getting stuck in a group with zombie girl so Kerri could partner with Daniel. She looked like she was talking to you, she never talks to anyone or looks up from the ground. What did she say?”

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“We were just discussing project.”

“Did you get a new tablet? I saw you showing her.”

“Oh, no, it’s an old one its broken, just has gibberish on the screen.”

Enid pulled it out and showed the scrolling blue text that would look like anything but a recognizable language to someone from the twenty first century, well at least teenagers.

“Eew. It’s weird too, no back on it.”

“My dad bought it from china, paid a fortune because it was a see-through screen. Now it’s broken.”

Enid shrugged and put it away.

“Oh no, your dad bought it for you?”

Heather hugged Enid tightly, Kerri and Julie piled on.

“Its alright, it was made in china it wasn’t going to last forever, right?”

Enid caught a glimpse of Mariana floating about in her peripheral vision. She could see the look on her face the insatiable curiosity and slight frustration. She kept seeming like she was going to say something even raised her hand once. Enid hooked her arms into Heather and Julie’s.

Don’t run to her yet. Let her stew. The more curious she gets the more reckless she’ll be.

“Kerri owes me a hot chocolate.”

“Okay, okay.”

******

The next day Mariana couldn’t take her eyes off Enid. She was so distracted in Latin she mistranslated a passage. Enid had to force herself not to laugh. Latin was Mariana’s first language after all. Enid slid into the chair beside Mariana in the library. Sister Tammy had given them some time to go to the library to research writings on their chosen gospel.

“Please tell me what that language was.”

“I thought we were here to research the word of the lord.”

Mariana’s fingers reached for her crucifix, and she frowned.

My sister is still in there. Under all that brainwashing and religious bullshit.

“Please tell me what language it is, and I will do all the project work myself.”

“That would hardly be ethical, would it? We both need to do our fair share.”

“I did not think that girls like you did any actual work.”

Enid gasped, touching her chest. Giving her best offended look.

“Girls like me?”

“You are too busy chasing boys and worrying about what to wear to pay attention to school, or anything but yourselves. Not like zombie girl’s like me who work hard for everything.”

“Well, aren’t you being a little bit judgmental? Maybe you need to take a closer read of our gospel passage.”

Mariana’s hand went to her mouth, the other still stroking her crucifix. She crossed herself quickly and rushed off. Enid laughed softly when she was out of sight and shook her head. She never had to work hard to get a rise out of her sister. Family was good at that.

Yes, Mariana’s still in there somewhere.

Enid sighed a little and started working on the research for their project. With another small chuckle she went to look for the writings of Saint Sarah of Savia, surely, she had something say on this gospel. And to her surprise she did, she barely recalled writing it down, but apparently the church had saved it. She laughed again, this time loudly. Bringing Sister Tammy out of the woodwork.

“Enid, you need to be quiet, the others are trying to do their research. You and Mariana are making such noise.”

“Sorry Sister Tammy, I just read something funny.”

Enid showed the sister her book of Saint Sarah’s writings.

“Ah yes, Saint Sarah, she always had a jovial way of putting things down.”

Sister Tammy sat down beside Enid.

“Have you read much of her works?”

“I know them so well it’s like I wrote them myself.”

“I did not get the feeling you were deeply religious and were going through the motions in class. I’m glad to see I was wrong.”

“Oh, Jesus is like family to me Sister Tammy. He’s in my heart. Sometimes I feel like I walked beside him while he taught the apostles his gospels.”

“Now I know you have read Saint Sarah’s writings. She has a unique take on the Gospels, not all of her opinions were popular with the church.”

“Well, it’s a good thing her daughter preserved them so well, isn’t it?”

“Oh, you do know a lot about her.”

“I’ve visited her spring, and her church, and her crypt in Narford.”

“Bless you for your faith. I’m guessing she’s your patron saint.”

“No, I’m all in for Saint George. Slaying one tiny demon, vs slaying a dragon, I always say go big or go home.”

Sister Tammy laughed softly.

“I am sorry we have not talked more Enid; You have depth of knowledge and faith I couldn’t have imagined. I knew you had a good heart, even before you took pity on Maria, she always has such trouble interacting with people. She always seems to be more concerned with things no one else can see.”

“Well seeing ghosts since the day you were born will do that to you.”

Enid blinked when she realized what she just said.

Shit.

Sister Tammy’s head quirked to the side.

“What do you mean?”

“Oh, I just mean, umm that, she must be haunted by the explosion that killed her uncle.”

Sister Tammy nodded.

“Well at any rate, thank you for being strong enough to rise above all this zombie girl nonsense.”

“She’s my sister I’d do anything for her.”

“You do listen in class and church. You do a good job of looking like you don’t. Don’t let girls like Heather pull you away from the right path. We all need to be strong enough to be our own person.”

Enid smiled and gave a small nod. Sister Tammy patted Enid’s shoulder gently then looked around.

“Where’s Maria?”

“She got upset and yelled at me, I think she’s looking for a priest to give a confession too.”

“Enid.”

“No, she got mad, said some things she probably regrets then ran off.”

“Were you making fun of her?”

“No, but you know family we can get under each other’s skin like no one else on this earth.”

“Very funny.”

Enid’s jovial smile vanished, and she looked the nun in the eyes.

“I promise you Sister Tammy, I would do anything to keep Maria- safe. And would never do anything to hurt her.”

Sister Tammy blinked at how serious Enid suddenly seemed. She looked around the library.

“Sister Tammy, should I go look for her, I bet she’s outside getting some fresh air. Somewhere with lots of sun.”

“Yes, please Enid, if you could find her. It is not like her to run off or show anger.”

Enid nodded and packed up her bag and Mariana’s bag and headed outside. She found Mariana standing outside shivering. It was minus thirty in the sun. And neither would be warm without a coat. Mariana was having a conversation with something Enid couldn’t see. Tears frozen to her face.

“Mariana are you going to stand out here and freeze to death?”

Enid tugged Mariana into the school and hugged her tightly sharing her body heat. Enid tugged her into one of the girl’s washrooms. No sun streamed into those windows and immediately Enid felt better and Mariana stopped shivering. Enid used some toilet paper to clean up the newly flowing blood tears from Mariana’s eyes. She flushed it down the toilet without saying a word.

“I am so sorry Enid, I should not have said those things to you.”

“I kind of pushed you into it.”

Enid wiped up more blood from Mariana’s cheeks.

“Wait you aren’t scared of me bleeding from my eyes.”

Enid reached down with her left hand and pulled Mariana’s hand palm up a small scar was still on her palm. Enid showed her right hand that had a marching scar and put on Mariana’s palm.

“I am not interested in you like that. I belong to God.”

Enid quirked her head to the side. Then started laughing, if she was in the sun, she’d be having trouble breathing she was laughing so hard.

“You think I…”

Enid fell into more peals of laughter. It echoed in the room. She held her hands over mouth trying to stop. She was sure if she didn’t someone would hear.

“Why are you laughing this is serious, you should talk to a priest. This is not right.”

Enid held up her free hand then kicked the wall a few times gently and then took a few deep breaths. The last sentence had started off another round of heavy laughter from her, when she could finally speak, she couldn’t keep the mirth from her voice. Mariana grabbed her coat and bag and rushed out. Enid sighed her hands falling to her side defeated. She went back to the library. Sister Tammy came up to her.

“Where is Maria?”

“She wasn’t feeling well, I found her outside without a coat on. I pulled her inside, but she said she wanted to go home.”

“Hmm, I’ll call the convent and get someone to pick her up.”

Enid nodded and sat back down leafing through the book she had pulled off the shelf earlier. Leaning on her hand. She kicked the table leg with a deep sigh.

Could have gone better. Shouldn’t have rushed it. Such an idiot.