“Jordan!” Anika yelled from the top of the steps, “Where is my pink blouse?”

“How would I know? I don’t wear your clothes.”

Of course she didn’t. Jordan and Anika were the complete opposite. Anika was a prim, preppy girl, who was well educated and the uppermost in her class. She spent most days babysitting, earning money, and reading. Jordan on the other hand, she was an informal, messy girl, that didn’t much care for her grades because she wanted to be a tattoo artist when she was old enough. Her days varied, some days she would sit in her room listening to heavy metal music while drawing beautifully designed craniums, others she would go out with friends and have a “good time”. Most people didn’t feel the need to be intoxicated while having fun, but Jordan believed that it was essential. 

“Oh wait . . . was that what I used to clean the windows Friday? I thought that was a rag.” Jordan teased Anika. Jordan always thought that Anika’s clothes were way to thin and didn’t have much design. When her shirts were thrown in the dirty clothes hamper, sometimes Jordan had mistaken them for underwear.

“Jordan, stop! I’m serious, I need that top for school.”
“I don’t have it, I swear.”
“Ughh.” Anika walked back to her room and dug through her drawers. She slid aside the jade tank top, the violet blouse, and the pink sparkly crop top, before she found what she was looking for. She unfolded a beautiful white blouse with ruffles going down the mid-section of the front and cautiously pulled it down over her head. She was very careful not to ruin her bouncy curls going down through her long ginger hair.

Finally ready, both the girls met down stairs, Anika grabbed her sweltering hot coffee and they headed out the door. Sliding into the drivers set Jordan turned on the heat. The girls shared a car so they had to switch off driving every other day. As the passenger door slammed shut the radio boomed from the speakers.

“Why do we have to listen to this screaming nonsense?” Anika yelled over the blaring music.

“Look, it’s my day to drive so if you don’t like it then find another way to school.
Anika rolled her eyes. It took fifteen minutes to get to school, she used those few minutes to finish up her extra credit assignment. She turned around and reached for her bag that was sitting in the back seat of the Toyota Prius to grab her notebook. She spun around and –

“Jordan watch out!” She screamed. Jordan clenched the steering wheel, you could hear the rubber shrieking as they spiraled out of control. The SUV hit there left side. They flipped and the roof caved in. The air bags made it hard to breath and the glass cut through their skin. Jordan cried for help, but Anika sat in her seat hanging limply. Jordan heard the sirens screeching in the distance and a few minutes later there were people gathered around the window trying to help her out of the vehicle. She crawled out of the broken glass and quickly spun around. Anika. They were already over to the other window lifting her out. There she lay on the stretcher, not able to move. She wanted to go see her, talk to her, make sure she was okay, but they forced her back onto the thin bed when she tried to get up.

“Is she going to be okay? What’s wrong with her?” Jordan asked the EMT. She was in tears, not only from the pain, but the fact that her sister was hurt and she didn’t know what was wrong. She didn’t get a reply. They were loading her into the ambulance. The white doors closed behind her and they took off, rushing her sister to the Emergency Room. Suddenly, Jordan was lifted from the ground and carried into the second ambulance. Once the doors closed the sirens started again and an air mask appeared on her face.

“This is going to help you breathe, sweetie.” She hear a soft voice say as the straps were placed behind her ears. She tried to ask a question but it was muffled underneath the mask. “Shhhh, don’t talk.” She heard the voice say. Everything was a blur after that.

When they got to the hospital Anika was placed in a room and lifted from the stretcher into a warm but not so cozy bed. After being cleaned and stitched up she sat there staring at the ceiling for what seemed like forever. Finally she noticed a figure standing in the door way. It was a tall handsome man. He had dark hair that was gelled back on the top of his head and was wearing a black suit, complimented by the lovely white button up beneath it.

Anika wasn’t able to talk. She wanted to talk to her father, tell him what was wrong. She wanted him to know what had happened.

“Honey, what happened to you?” He was sitting know.

  “Your sister broke her leg, and she will need surgery from the impact. If all goes well she will be fine and back to normal soon. As for you…” He trailed off, trying hard to hold back the tears, but it was of no use. Once he opened his mouth to start talking again there rolled down his face.

“Honey, it don’t looking good. You’re not well.” He picked himself up slowly and made his way to the bed. He held her hand tight and kissed her on the forehead, “I love you”, he whispered.

Seconds later a nurse walked in. He hooked Anika up to a few more tubs and then pulled her father out into the hall.
“We have talked with your wife about her conditions. She’s not well.” Dr. Rogers, went on explaining about her conditions and how they were to sever. “We say this with our best interest, that there is no way she will survive.”
  Tears rolled down his face in patterns.  “What time?” He asked, seeing how much time he had left.
“Now, if you’re ready.” Dr. Rogers said empathetically.
“Okay” He sobbed, “We’re ready.” Her father spoke for both his wife and himself, trying to make his voice clear through the scratching. He knew his wife couldn’t speck through her hyperventilating tears.

They made their way back to Jordan’s room where she lay there asleep. They sat there for a few hours waiting for her to wake up, but she was in a dead sleep. They went out to eat for dinner at an Old Italian restraint. While they were gone she finally came too. 
“Hey, how you feeling?” She heard a acquainted voice ask from the corner of the room.
“Little shook up, but I’ll be fine.” She replied putting a smile on her face that showed that she was happy nothing worse had happened.
“Good” the voice spoke again. “Oh, guess what? I found that blouse I was looking for. Moms wearing it.” The feminine voice chuckled.
“See I told you I didn’t take it” Jordan joked.
“Ahaha yeah, I see that know” sighing, trying to think of a way to keep the conversation going the voice came again, “That was a pretty bad accident, don’t you think?”
“I feel so bad. I’m just glad that you’re okay.” Just then Jordan’s mother waked in.
“Who in the wide world are talking to, honey?”
“Anika, why?” She asked as she glanced over at her mother and then back to the corner where the voice of her dead sister was coming from.

“Jordan, we need to talk” her mother suggested as she sat down at the foot of the bed. “You sister had gotten seriously hurt in the car accident” she began “Anika wasn’t doing good she couldn’t breathe well.” Her mother started to tear up.

“What are you trying to tell me?” Jordan asked. She didn’t want to think of the worst that could have happened, but it was true. “Your sister passed away this morning due to the bad conditions she was after the accident.” Her mother barely got the worlds out before her head was in her lap. Tears trickling down her face, Jordan blamed herself. “Why couldn’t I have just payed better attention? Why did we hit that car?” She wept “It should have been me, I was my fault after all that that accident even happened.”
“I was NOT your fault!” Her mother assured her. “Don’t ever blame yourself for this.”

Later that night Jordan was laying in the hospital bed watching TV. Her parents had gone home for the night. She had suggested it herself reassuring them over and over again that she would be fine to stay there at the hospital for one night alone.

  “Hey, hang in there. Everything is going to be alright.” Said Anika as she appeared from the hall.
  “You’re dead” Jordan said, not sure if she believed what she was seeing.
  “Yes, I am. You can see me though. You can see me because you can see ghosts.”
  “What? No. This is just a dream.”

  “I assure you it’s not a dream. The accident messed with your head and know you can see me, but only when you want to.”

Jordan was a little frightened by the whole idea. “It’s okay. Know you won’t have to say goodbye.” Anika said putting a big smile on her face, like she always used to.

Anika was dead. Jordan could see ghosts. Her parents were completely oblivious to that. They lived in morn, all except for Jordan who could still see, hear, and talk to the sister/ daughter they had lost.