She was only too eager to oblige. I said the words.

And said the words.

And said the words.

I was just starting to be worried nothing was going to happen when the candle flames flickered. And it wasn’t because there was any wind.

‘Nothing’s happening,’ Heather complained, but I shushed her.

The candle flames flickered again. And then, above Heather’s head, where the roof of the breezeway should have been, appeared a hole filled with red, swirling gasses. I stared at the hole.

‘Uh, Heather,’ I said. ‘You might want to close your eyes.’

She did so happily enough. ‘Why? Is it working?’

‘Oh,’ I said. ‘It’s working, all right.’

Heather said something that might have been ‘goodie’, but I wasn’t sure. I couldn’t hear her too well since the swirling red gas – it was more like smoke really – had started spiralling down from the hole, making a low sort of thundering noise as it did so. Soon long tendrils of the stuff were wrapping round Heather, lightly as fog. Only she didn’t know it since her eyes were closed.

‘I hear something,’ she said. ‘Is this it?’

Above her head, the hole had widened. I could see lightning flashing in it. It didn’t look like the most pleasant place to go. I’m not saying I’d opened a gate to hell, or anything – at least I hope not – but it was definitely a dimension other than our own, and frankly, it didn’t look like a nice place to visit, let alone live in for all eternity.

‘Just one more minute,’ I said, as more and more snaky red limbs wrapped round her slender cheerleader’s body. ‘And you’ll be there.’

Heather tossed her long hair. ‘Oh, God,’ she said. ‘I can’t wait. First thing I’m going to do, I’m going to go down to the hospital and apologize to Bryce. Don’t you think that’s a good idea, Suzie?’

I said, ‘Sure.’ The thunder was getting louder, the lightning more frequent. ‘That’s a great idea.’

‘I hope my mom hasn’t gotten rid of my clothes,’ Heather said. ‘Just because I was dead. You don’t think my mom would have gotten rid of my clothes, do you, Suzie?’ She opened her eyes. ‘Do you?’

I shouted, ‘Keep your eyes closed!’

But it was too late. She had seen. Oh, boy, had she seen. She took one look at the red wisps wrapped round her and started shrieking.

And not with fear, either. Oh, no. Heather wasn’t scared. She was mad. Really mad.

‘You bitch!’ she shrieked. ‘You aren’t sending me back! You aren’t sending me back at all! You’re sending me away!’

And then, just when the thunder was getting loudest, Heather stepped out of the circle.

Just like that. She just stepped out of it. Like it was no big deal. Like it was a hopscotch square. Those red wisps of smoke that had been wrapped all round her just fell away. Fell away like nothing. And the hole above Heather’s head closed up.