Chapter Four

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Another night, another nightmare. That is the story of my life. Or at least it seems that way to me, Ashli Bari.

Maybe it's because I'm a pessimistic fourteen-year-old.

Maybe it's because my mom makes everything in the house black or white.

Maybe it's because my dad makes me take martial arts classes every year. It's been that way since I was six.

Maybe it's because my seventeen-year-old brother Zachary is in love with our cousin's best friend.

Maybe it's because my twelve-year-old sister Julia is in love with my best friend's little brother.

Maybe it's because my nine-year-old sister Stacy speaks Spanish more often than English, though she is not adopted and has never taken a class.

Maybe it's because my best friend set me up with a guy who is a drug addict. She thought he was my type.

Honestly, I think it's a little of them all. But that's only half the reason. The other half is simply that I know every detail of all my past lives. I remember them in dreams, which are nightmares about half the time. My subconscious can also communicate with the world of the dead while I am asleep. I have grown accustomed to this, but one thing disturbs me. One spirit, an old friend of mine, has gone missing. Actually, she died in the year 1854, the year before I did in that life. In 1869 she went missing, however I did not know this until my 'powers' kicked in last year when I was thirteen.

There are not many reasons for a spirit to go missing. It has either been made into a guardian angel or it has been reborn. Very few sprits are reborn, for when they are they either have a power and purpose like me or they become a materialized version of an emotion. This happens when someone is completely enveloped with only one emotion and purpose. Most of the time, it is not a positive emotion. I fear for my friend. A reincarnated spirit must fulfill its purpose before it can be dead in peace. By communicating with the spirits of my past lives, I have learned a lot about spirits, and a whole lot about my friend.

Her name used to be Melinda, and she was a beautiful girl. She had lovely golden hair that was long and never tangled. She had deep green eyes, almost black. She was my best friend, and was very protective of my activities. All the boys in the village were in love with her. However she drowned before she could even choose one. My spirit passed on the year afterwards in a carriage accident. It will never die, only pass from one life to the next. I'm really worried. I can sense that she is in my world, but that means that she is near someone I am related to. That is not a good thing.

Melinda was always sweet and polite, but my soul from her time told me that her family had a mean streak. I am sure that Melinda got it, for I have been told of times that she tortured other spirits in fits of rage. I know that she would not be afraid of killing. She would be scared, but once she'd done it once, she'd become a killer until she got her way. Even then, she'd want more. With one murder, she has a great potential to become a demon. She probably already is one. A demon near one of my relatives is a very scary thought. However, they could not be any safer. She knows that I love them, and so she would never hurt them.

My life was pretty normal for the first two years. Then Julia was born and my mom suddenly became some raving lunatic who screamed if Zach, Dad, or I wore bright colors. By now she tolerates pastels, but it has taken time. Dad has become the paranoia king of the world. He leaves the room quickly whenever Stacy starts speaking Spanish. Of course, he doesn't know it's Spanish. Only Zach and me know because we take it at school. We don't talk to Mom or Dad much. Stacy and Julia are the talkers. But even they tend to avoid our parents more and more often. It scares me. It scares me more than Zach could ever imagine. Zach is the only one I can call for help. We share a room since it would be too crowded if I shared with Stacy and Julia. We talk at night. Zach is eighteen next year. He said that I could move in with him when he moves out. We'll stay close and Mom and Dad said it's okay and they'll keep paying for everything I need like clothes and school supplies. I can't wait.

It's too bad that they won't let Julia and Stacy come too. They might let Julia by then, but they're still trying to brainwash Stacy. Stacy knows better. I hear her talking about them in Spanish when she thinks I don't know what she's saying. She says they are too far gone, and she can't accept them as her parents anymore. But there are other things I have learned from listening to her. Stacy said once that she doesn't know how we don't see through it. How we don't see that they're not our parents. I don't get it. I remember when I was two and Mom let me feel her belly when Julia kicked. And I remember when she went to the hospital with her round stomach and came home with baby Stacy when I was five.

But what bothers me most is when Stacy talks about death. She says that she is dead. She says she has been dead for centuries. She says I am dead too. I never thought about it that way. But, yeah, I'm dead. Zach has told me numerous times that I act like I'm someone else, someone from a past life, almost. There is no almost. Yeah, I'm dead all right. I am totally, depressingly dead.

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AN: I changed the title back to what it was before. Go to http://www.gammontech.com/revengehcprofiles.html for the character profiles. I didn't realize I made Ashli so depressing… She's usually pretty cheerful, but she is a pessimist. So bear with me here, It's not easy to write about her without going farther ahead than I mean to.

Please review! You already went through all the trouble to read it, so you might as well. Yeah, I know, another short chapter. The next one is another Natalie POV, so it should be longer. Hers are more fun.