Free A Curious Tale of the In-Between by Lauren DeStefano Page B

speak a word.
    But while Pram and her mother had both been strange, Pram had never seemed sad. She was gentle and kind and bright, and so the aunts had hope that she would turn into a lovely sort of woman one day. But that night’s actions had the aunts thoroughly afraid. They pinched her cheeks and left her to sleep, and they spent the night whispering at the kitchen table and compiling a list of rules:
    No more school—it was clearly too overwhelming.
    No more adult books—they gave her too many ideas.
    No more imaginary friends—she had a fine friend in the Blue boy now.
    No more pond—this was where Pram spent most of her time talking to herself.
    And most importantly:
No more talk of ghosts.

CHAPTER
    14
    P ram awoke with sunlight in her eyes and a feeling like she needed to be someplace important.
    The flowers in the wallpaper were rustling on a breeze. “Felix?” she said.
    One of the flowers spiraled away from the wall and landed on her shoulder. By the time she reached for it, it was gone. How strange, she thought. Felix was the only one who did such things, and she could swear she felt him nearby, but she couldn’t see him. She crawled under the bed to be certain he wasn’t playing a hiding game. “Felix?” She opened her window and called out into the cool morning air, “Felix? I don’t like this game.”
    The door opened, but it wasn’t Felix. “Close the window,” Aunt Nan said. “You’ll catch cold.”
    Pram did as she was told, and her worried frown was reflected in the glass.
    “Who were you talking to just now?” Aunt Nan asked.
    “No one,” she said, distressed to know this was the truth. She watched the tree from her window but saw no trace of her best friend.
    “I thought we might have a talk, then, you and me,” Aunt Nan said, sitting on Pram’s bed.
    Pram pulled the chair away from her desk and sat. “Am I in trouble?” she asked. She couldn’t think why she would be but felt inexplicably that she was.
    “No,” Aunt Nan said. “But I think we should talk about last night.” She looked at Pram and could see in her eyes that she didn’t understand. “Do you remember last night?”
    Pram didn’t remember, though she could taste the crisp night air on her tongue. She wasn’t sure how to answer, so she didn’t.
    “Do you remember having unusual dreams?” Aunt Nan said.
    Pram always had unusual dreams, so she said, “Not especially.” She moved her shoulders uncomfortably. Many things weren’t right about this morning; she wasn’t used to being questioned, and her feet ached, and she wanted to look for Felix.
    “ There won’t be any school from now on,” Aunt Nan said, forcing a smile. “That ought to cheer you up, right?”
    “No school? Why?”
    “Your aunt Dee and I are worried that it’s too much for you,” Aunt Nan said. “We’ll be speaking with Ms. Appleworth and letting her know that you’ll resume home schooling.”
    “It isn’t too much for me.” Pram was thinking of Clarence. “Honestly.”
    “It’s just that we’re concerned for you,” Aunt Nan said.
    “Don’t scare the girl,” Aunt Dee said. She was standing in the doorway with a tray of oatmeal and toast. The aunts had also decided that Pram should no longer have desserts for breakfast and lunch, no matter how guilty they might have felt. “There’s nothing to be concerned about at all. Only growing pains.”
    “Growing pains?” Pram asked.
    “I had imaginary friends when I was about your age,” Aunt Dee said, setting the tray in Pram’s lap. “It was difficult for me to let them go. But I was much better for it.”
    “I don’t have any imaginary friends,” Pram said, feeling wounded.
    “Felix, wasn’t it?” Aunt Nan said.
    Pram had told her aunts about Felix when she was five years old, too young to realize that certain things should remain a secret. She hadn’t mentioned him in years, but sometimes, when she and Felix were talking, she would hear a floorboard creak