Chapter Twenty-Two

We begin this chapter a few days after tragedy struck the house.

Lexi Cooper, Mia Cooper and Alvin Diehl were killed in a tragic house fire late one afternoon as Alvin was making dinner. Our matriach Nora Diehl was heartbroken to have lost her sister, niece and husband in one cruel blow.

The Grim Reaper had taken away half the household and Nora wasn't sure she could carry on. Every minute of every day Nora was struck by the memory of the day that she stood by the mailbox waiting to see her loved ones emerge from the house slowly filling with deadly smoke.

Niki was too young to have lost her mother and her twin sister in one day. She felt frozen in her grief. Although she still had her aunt Nora and her cousin Petra, Niki felt more alone than ever.

Speaking of alone, Petra, who had grown up the day her father died, was about to meet the best friend anyone could ask for.

Petra's weird little toy Ziggy was more than odd in his appearance.

Luckily for Ziggy Petra wasn't one to judge, considering her own unsual appearance. And the two formed an instant and long lasting bond of friendship.

The days began to slowly move by again. As much as Nora wanted to stay close to the last days she knew her loved ones were alive, time moved on relentlessly. And ever so slowly Nora knew she had to carry on her life without her loving husband.

Regardless of the time moving on the kitchen remained in the state it was after the fire. No one could actually bring themselves to remove the last reminder of the day they lost everything. Niki was still frozen from that day, her young emotions seemed too big to deal with and so she locked them away with all the hurt she felt and retreated quietly into herself.

Nora's birthday went past without a fuss. She was very aware that her own twin sister would never celebrate a birthday by her side again.

A few extra lines were added to Nora's face and she decided that wallowing in her own grief would not do. Yes she had lost Lexi, Mia and Alvin, but they would not want her to forever grieve. Instead she would carry their love with her and raise her niece Niki and her own daughter Petra with all the care she could.

Ziggy and Petra were inseperable. He helped the young ghostly child through the worst of her grief and while she missed her family terribly, Ziggy somehow got her through the worst.

While Petra went to school, her imaginary friend followed right along side. After school the pair played together for hours and hours.

Nora soon got used to sleeping alone. Alvin was the only man she had ever loved and she had wanted to spend her life with him. Never did she think that she would lose him, but now she had to get used to it.

No one else could see Petra's friend, and they just thought that the Ziggy she was talking about was that odd looking toy she had got from her dad's weird aunty when she was born. Little did they know just how much Ziggy would come to mean to this ghostly girl.

Not wanting to sleep upstairs in the cold, lonely bedroom she had shared with her twin sister, Niki moved into her mum's bedroom. With Lexi's old prom picture on the wall and her late grandmother Emerald's sketches adorning the room, Niki was surrounded by her family every night. Niki also returned to the local public school, not wanting to face her old boarding school without her sister by her side.

 The lives of the remaning family carried on. Petra was always followed by her trusting friend Ziggy, Niki was as quiet as ever and Nora vowed to carry on life as her loved ones would want.

It would have only been about 2 weeks after the fire, but the household felt like they had come a long way since that tragic fire. Nora soon decided it was time to stop eating out of pizza boxes and clean up the site of so much grief.

With tears in her eyes and a determination in her spirit, Nora swept away the remanents of the day that changed her life.

And she didn't stop there. The house was renovated to mark the beginning of their new life.

The layout stayed the same, just new floor boards, carpets and furniture. Again, the second floor wasn't touched. Niki officially took over Lexi's bedroom and Petra took over the nursery at the front of the house.

Nora was adament that no stove be present in her new kitchen. The kitchen was even moved around so Nora was sure that no clinging memories would invade her cooking time.

Regardless of her quiet manner, Niki was still grieving. Unlike her aunt and cousin, Niki had kept her loss inside, and hadn't had a chance to let it out.

While her family would look on with quizzical expressions, Petra would spend her days playing with Ziggy.

What they didn't see they couldn't explain, and so they let Petra play with what they believed to be air. Thinking it was a coping mechanism from the losses she had lived through.

Soon it was Lexi's birthday.

As soon as she aged up, Niki was overcome with emotion. Her twin sister Mia would never be anything more than a child.

A quick make over for Niki meant that she felt more like herself.

Niki was given the choice to go to the public high school or a private boarding school. It was a surprise to her aunt that Niki chose to go to the public school. Enrolling in after school activities was the one condition that Nora had, so Niki decided to enrol music class.

Nora was pretty dubious of Ziggy's existance. As Petra got older she tried to keep her interactions with Ziggy behind her mother's back.

It did look odd to her family when she hugged her friend goodbye as she headed off to school. Ziggy was having to stay at home more and more as Petra thought about her image at school. She was already a social outcast as a ghost, and so she tried to salvage some part of her reputation by keeping her imaginary friend away from situations where she would be seen as talking to herself.

Despite their age difference, the cousins were close. Niki still kept her grief buried deep, but she was always there to help out her little cousin.

Niki was a gifted musician and this was how her grief was kept at bay. Her music was a testament to the family she had lost, and the pain she felt through her childhood was displayed with every note. At school she was getting quite a name for herself.

Although they were different in years, Niki and Petra continued to get along. Petra idolised her older cousin, and loved spending time with her. For Niki, Petra was a reminder of how important family were.

While Petra loved her cousin dearly, she loved playing with Ziggy equally. Many lazy weekend afternoons were spent around the pool, splashing around in the cool water. As each day went past, young Petra grew more and more grateful for her friend.

Not only was Niki a skills guitarist, but she was also quite adept with the piano. In fact any musical instrument that she laid her hands on, she was instantly a pro at. Her music had a deep soulfulness that portrayed her buried emotions over losing her family.

As Petra and Niki got older, Nora decided it was time she join the work force. She had never had a job before, but now that she didn't have Alvin to provide for her, she needed to keep the household funds up somehow.

Niki was not too cool to sit next to her cousin on the bus. She found that this shy little spetre was safer from the bullies if Niki was around. Petra was glad that Niki stayed close, Ziggy had stopped coming to school with her, and she always felt alone.

Nora continued with her promise to her husband's memory. She knew she would never love again, and so keeping herself and her family happy and healthy was her priority. Never again would Nora let herself get to that low point in her misery that all she wanted to do was join her husband. She made sure to live the life that Alvin would have wanted for her.

Nora managed to find a job at the local bookstore a few afternoons a week. It wasn't much, but it kept her busy, and added a little to the funds. She actually enjoyed rushing off to the car pool in the afternoons.

Niki thought often about the family she had lost. Her twin sister and her mother in that fire, and her father months before when he walked out. But as she was when she was younger, Niki kept her own grief to herself.

And she was good at it. She was well liked and popular at school. Her music made sure the other kids knew her name and respected her for it.

As Petra neared her next birthday, she worried about Ziggy. What would that mean for him when she grew up? Would he be destined to follow her around as a doll-child forever?

Petra didn't know what Ziggy was thinking. Truth was he didn't know either; what would happen when she grew up into a teenager.

The day came when Petra was celebrating her birthday. She missed her father a lot that day, but it was still a happy day surrounded by her cousin, her mother and her secret friend.

Petra was a beautiful young teenager. Besides her ghostly glow, Petra was just like her grandmother, the late Emerald Reed.

Petra found her friend a little different after her birthday. As when she was a child, Ziggy had grown up alongside her.

Petra was a little worried. She loved having Ziggy around, but was he just going to keep growing up right beside her? Would he always be out of sight of the rest of the world, while Petra continued to always be on the social outskirts?

Nora worked at the bookstore till the sun went down and was returning later and later.

Nora took her role as guardian seriously. When Niki came home with failing grades, Nora made sure her niece knew she wasn't happy. And although Niki was annoyed at her aunt for coming down on her so hard for one F grade, she was secretly glad that she still had someone watching out for her.

The school dance was soon upon the girls. Petra hadn't been at school long enough to get to know many people, and so she was dateless. Niki didn't have an official date either, however Shelby Beltran was eagerly awaiting her arrival.

The limo collected the girls and Nora watched on, remembering with tears in her eyes the wonderful night when she and Alvin went to their school dance.

Petra was pretty nervous about the dance. She was shy around new people, and she barely knew the kids from her class. But her big cousin Niki promised her in the limo that she'd keep an eye out for her.

Niki and Shelby spent the night burning up the dance floor, and getting it on in the stair well.

Petra spent the night floating around the outskirts; happy to be there and happier still that people didn't seem to be judging her ghostly appearance. In all it was a great night for both girls. Even if Petra did spend the night missing her friend Ziggy, wishing he was with her.

Now that the school dance was over Niki buckled down to get her grades up. After all, as Nora pointed out to her Lexi would not want her daughter to be failing high school.

Thanks for reading chapter twenty-two! The next chapter is coming soon. For now here's a little taster.

 Petra and Ziggy continue to be the best of friends. But what will happen to Ziggy, the older Petra grows?

With the years passing since the tragic fire, will Niki ever be able to get over the loss of her family? Or will those dark emotions forever plague her heart?

And will one rogue potion from Nora's old stash change Petra's life forever?