As I run, the sepia photograph comes to mind. The clothes the patients wore—the white shirt and black pants—are what Will always wears. He doesn’t dress like anyone else I know. When he asked me what a phone was, I thought he was kidding. I’ve never had class with him, and I’ve never seen him interact with anyone else. He never actually told me he was Will Poynter. I just assumed so when I heard others talking about him.719Please respect copyright.PENANAPedOtUsxJy
719Please respect copyright.PENANAIoTUbc9V4p
The truth is, maybe something always felt a little off. Maybe I just ignored it because he matters too much to me.719Please respect copyright.PENANAFOkGBDdE2r
719Please respect copyright.PENANALBTt1GQYTo
I throw my weight against the heavy ash doors. The air is misty, fresh and smelling of earth. He isn’t by the ponds. I even check between the reeds, as though he could be hiding there and waiting for me. My shoes stick in the mud. Marsh water splashes onto my ankles.719Please respect copyright.PENANAIlC4uKBU4t
719Please respect copyright.PENANAZGctpJXxX6
“Will!” I cry, knowing how crazy it makes me look but not caring. “Will!”719Please respect copyright.PENANAOoIoPmFRny
719Please respect copyright.PENANAYTFHfjE5wt
Will’s a patient in a psychiatric hospital in the 1920s. This means he’s either a lunatic or a psychic. It also means I’ve been talking to my very own ghost. Is it possible, though, that he could have held my hand and touched my hair? I remember Jen’s neck with its hand-shaped bruise.719Please respect copyright.PENANA3ceUsSQbvg
719Please respect copyright.PENANAQQ1fn1zdc6
“Will!” I yell again, reaching the crabapple tree. A trio of younger students passing underneath shoots me strange glances.719Please respect copyright.PENANAOoWFB2cSWN
719Please respect copyright.PENANAAutVKoYTDs
I can’t bring myself to care if he’s a lunatic or a psychic. He’s still Will, and that’s all that matters to me right now. That’s when I remember the camellias, and I take off, trying not to notice the sun getting lower in the sky.719Please respect copyright.PENANA4icd2myDQJ