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"Even your death can’t stop me I have a friend who cuts up souls" I didn’t knohere these words were co from, what piece of oing to feed you to the cold things in the river And those little girls in your front yard are going to watch"

He didn’t answer, so I hung up on hihts flickered inside their plastic colu around me I’d just wanted to scare hi he’d done At least the badfor hie of

Mindy met me in my front yard, arms crossed "You snuck away! That’s not very nice"

"I’ to do I didn’t want her thinking about the badimportant"

"Really?" Her expression softened "You look sad"

"Just tired" I hadn’t slept in almost teeks now Sleep wasn’t a part of me anymore When I lay onshadows, my brain full of undreamt dreams

Mindy snorted "Pomps don’t sleep You should play with me! I’m super bored"

I smiled down at her At times when the fear lifted from her, you could see how happy a child she’d been before the bad o to New York Like you said"

I stared at her "You want to go see the Chrysler Building? I thought you were afraid of the river"

"Well, you want to And it’s been really nice since you startedseeingaround here"

I couldn’t believe it Maybe ghosts could change Maybe Mindy had just needed to escape froain Maybe she’d just needed a friend

"I won’t be scared with you there," she added "My own personal psycho-bodyguard Just don’t leave me alone"

"Of course not" I smiled as her cold little hand closed aroundyou home"

The River Vaitarna was kind to Mindy on her first voyage Only a few cold, wet scraps of ainst us, and the trip to New York ift and cal better at this, or

Or so I thought, until we left the river

We were in New York City, but the neighborhood was all wrong Instead of skyscrapers, ere surrounded by apart department store Only one tall, curvaceous tower stood before us, wrapped in reflective glass It took

"Whoa," Mindy said "You were right It’s huge!"

"That isn’t the Chrysler I think I "

"The Chrysler Building’s, like, five tiave a disbelieving laugh She’d never been to New York before, or much of anywhere, I supposed She’d spent most of the last thirty-five years within a stone’s throw of myaround There were piles of gray snow everywhere The winter up here was ten tio, but the flipside air was its usual indifferent cool

"They don’t have houses here New Yorkers live in apartments" I took her hand "Come on, I’ll show you one"

She pulled ’s full of people? And they live there?"

"Yeah So?"

"That means they die there" She planted her feet "Thereif we should just walk up to the Chrysler But I was curious about why the river had brought us here Did I have that strong a connection tothere

"Don’t worry, Mindy They built this place a few years ago My father only likes new and shiny things" She still didn’t o, but nothing like the bad hosts?"

She peered into theout the door the streets around us It was three hours later here in New York, not long before dawn, but there were still a few people strolling past

"Just livers" Mindy’s fingers tightened around rab thehed "My dad said he likes New York because he doesn’t have to talk to his neighbors So ghosts probably fade, right? Or maybe they head back to their hometohere someone remembers them"

"Maybe But stay close, okay, Lizzie?"

"Of course" I drew her gently across the street

Here on the flipside I couldn’t even press an elevator button, so we took the stairs My dad lived on the fifteenth floor, but I wasn’t breathless e arrived Walking around on the flipside didn’t burn any calories, it seele as we stood before my father’s door I’d been a lot of places on the flipside, but this was the first time I’d used my invisibility to spy on someone I knew It took a h the solid wood

Inside, the aparto--chro s full offroant and cold

My father’s giant TV was on, but I kept aze averted from the screen From experie fro eyes, are staring at TVs in abject horror Or maybe cats are just weird

"Who’s that?" Mindy asked

"Rachel, ether on the couch, focused on the screen