It's not always black and white . . .
So this entry from my mom's old diary kinda freaked me out. Won't lie. I was just learning about the creepy sisters, Mary and Meredith, who the kids all called the Black and White Sisters because one had hair as white as snow and the other had hair as black as a raven's wing. I got my chance to meet these girls - well, now they're old cronies - when they kidnapped me and tried to use my blood to restore their own youth and beauty. Scary with a capital SCARE. But thanks to my besties, Kat and Dolly, we escaped the old witches. But not before they, once again, put a spell on dad and carried him away. This time - to South America. Which is where we are now - searching for him and learning about the Council of Butterflies. It's a jungle out here . . . literally.
But as I get closer to finding the sisters, I think back about the old story - told to me by my mom, through her diary. I have kept the diary close to my heart and on the hard, cold, rainy days, when all hope is lost, I read a page or two, and think about my mother, Elise. I am NOT going to let the sisters take my father as well. I promise you that.
Read if you dare...until next time, as always,
Your Tabby (aka still Ms. Mulligan . . . for now!)
August 8th, 2003
Dear Diary,
I started work at the textile factory uptown. It is hot and loud. The noise pounds through me like a hammer every day. Meredith and Mary turned sixteen this summer. They seem happier than ever. Frank's sister Patti avoids them mostly. She stays with me a lot while Frank is taking classes at the college. Frank follows Patti up to their place sometimes. Patti says the sisters try to keep him there for hours, showing him their new dresses or reading to him from old books they keep. The “Black and White Sisters,” as Patti calls them, come by at least once a week looking for Frank. They bring me homemade candy, which is nice, I guess. Their hair is long and beautiful now. Mary’s hair glows like white snow. Meredith’s burns with the black of cooled lava. They are real stylish teens. If only they weren’t so strange, maybe they would have boyfriends.
Frank is going to the university in town next semester. I don’t know how to manage the thoughts of him leaving. He says he loves me and he will be home every weekend, but it still makes me sad. In fact, everything makes me sad these days. My visions are turning into nightmares. Yesterday, I saw Frank at the creek, where Patti got lost that one time. He was fishing, but it was him who was being caught. The fishing wire wrapped all around him and entangled him. He fell into the creek and disappeared. I know they are just dreams, but they scare me. I feel utterly alone. And to top it all off, I went to the doctor last week. I am pregnant.
As always, Dear Diary, Your Elise
