36

I dashed into Sally’s room and grabbed a chair to stand on. I positioned it under the ball of light and climbed up. “Sally,” I yelled, “grab my hand!”

But she didn’t seem to hear. The light bobbed gently away from me. It was growing dimmer and smaller, taking my sister with it.

Then I heard Sally’s voice again. “No, Bobby,” she said firmly. “This isn’t the right way. NO!”

She jerked her hand out of his grasp.

There was a loud POP! and Sally fell backward, out of the glowing bubble.

I lunged over the top of the chair to try and break her fall.

Sally’s hand reached for mine. I pulled her toward me. It was like she was falling through soft clouds, slowly and gently. She drifted into my arms and managed to get both her hands around my neck before the spell broke.

The chair tottered.

WHAM!

I lost my balance and went crashing to the floor. The whole house shook.

Sally crawled off my chest, unhurt. “Jason, we have to help Bobby,” she said urgently, her face all scrunched up with worry. She pulled at me. “Come on, get up. We have to hurry!”

It took me a couple seconds to get my wind back.

As I started to push myself off the floor, a door opened down the hall. It was Mom and Dad’s door. I was almost relieved.

“What’s going on out here?” Dad demanded. “Do you two know it’s the middle of the night?”

Before I could answer, Mom appeared, too, tying her bathrobe belt. “We know you kids are still excited about—everything—but you really have to go back to bed and forget all about ghosts and—”

Mom stopped suddenly with a sharp intake of breath.

“What the—?” breathed Dad.

They were staring wide-eyed at something behind me.

I turned.

Bobby was back. And my parents could see him.