The Sleepover

During a sleepover when they were thirteen, now seventeen year old Lana and then her best friend Maddie vanished from Lana’s room and was found shivering by Silver Lake the morning after, what happened remains a mystery. The two have since grown apart and barely talk to each other, that is… until one summer night and ended up back at that lake. Forcing them to relive memories of that night and face the deadly truth behind the sleepover they had at thirteen.

I haven’t seen Maddie since that sleepover when we were thirteen. The paramedics, police, and our parents separated us, and once things cooled down, we, or rather I, chose to stay away from her. That night felt like an eternity. I still remember the sirens blaring as we held each other in the dark and damp lakeshore, waiting for anyone to find us, two helpless deers in headlights. I remember shivering. Chattering my teeth so hard I felt like I’ve bitten off my tongue.

Pajamas drenched head to toe, I stared into Maddie’s sunken eyes. They were bloodshot, and unforgiving, with embossed the little veins creeping in her eyeballs. “She’d been scared to death,” I thought then. And for all I’ve known since, she might as well have been.

When we went to bed that night, Maddie and I were safely tucked in together, inseparable as we had been since grade school, a friends forever type of bond. But something bad happened that night. Other than my parents arguing the night away. Something else happened that I couldn’t recall no matter how hard I tried. I do know one thing, a gut feeling I couldn’t shake off. That from then on, I had to stay away from Maddie.

Being a thirteen year old, I immediately followed my impulses and refused to see her, refused to go to school with her, refused to talk to her. Everyone thought this was some sort of trauma response. My parents allowed me to switch schools, and they never asked me anything about Maddie ever again. I made new friends and moved on, and eventually, everyone, moved on. Everyone forgot all about the night we had a sleepover and turned up at Silver Lake the following morning. The strange tragedy, became nothing than a distant memory… that is until I saw her again. Across the bonfire, Maddie stood in front of me. An unwelcome yet anticipated specter that night at the town’s get together. The summer bonfire by Silver Woods.

It had been four years since I’ve seen her. Puberty certainly did a number on her, yet I still would have recognized her anywhere, it’s those blood shot eyes, forever etched in my head.

“Maddie!” I called out, albeit a bit hesitantly.

But she was laser focused on arguing with a guy in front of her. He looked like the football team type, they had to be together. I watched the fight escalated, and flinched when he raised his hand as if I was her. Maddie stood up to him though. She caught his hand by the wrist and challenged him to hit her. This took me by surprise, Maddie was always the braver one between the two of us, but I wouldn’t have expected her to do something like stand up to a guy twice her size with ease.

The guy stared daggers at first but chose to storm off after a few seconds, a wise decision given how she looked like she was ready to roundhouse kick him into the bonfire.

Confident that she’d won, Maddie sat down and made herself comfortable. She watched the flames and they danced in her eyes, and then suddenly, she was watching me. It took me a few seconds to register this. Across the bonfire, Maddie was staring right at me.

“Umm.. hi?” I managed to let out.

She raised an eyebrow and immediately made her way over.

“Lana?” She asked as if she’d seen a ghost. That was mutual.

“Uh-hm,” I managed to utter before she rushed over to give me a bear hug. I melted into her arms immediately. I missed her…I had to stay away from her for… some reason, but at the end of the day, she was still my best friend. The only person who knew how to help me get out of my head back then, and I’m clinging to the hope that maybe she could do that to me now.

We ended up walking through Silver Woods. Sharing stories from the past four years. She talked all about that annoying guy on the football team she was dating and how they were probably done for good. I talked about my parents and how the family dog passed away two weeks ago. And we cried together. Somehow, unconsciously finding our way back to Silver Lake.

The water lapped at our feet and I saw how distressed Maddie looked.

“What happened that night?” I asked her, barely a whisper.

“But you already know,” she replied all innocent as she stepped further into the water.

“No Maddie, I don’t know. I don’t remember anything about the sleepover. Nothing at all… nothing except… the fact that I should be scared of you.”

“Well Lana,” she said turning around, her voice different, deeper.

“You were sleeping, and I was sleeping over, that’s what you remembered right? But what else do you remember about me?”

“You’ve been my best friend for a while now, what else do you know about me?”

“I know we met at elementary school.”

“And? What else? You should know more than that.” She asked, stepping further into the lake, the water by her waist.

“I…” I stuttered, because I didn’t know. I knew what emotions she made me feel, but nothing else about her. She was right…who were her parents, where did she live?”

She was swimming in the lake now.

“Because I’m not real Lana.”

“What?” I said, trying to make sense of what she’d said as I waded my way over to her.

I reached her in the middle of the lake and looked right into those beautiful bloodshot eyes of hers. Trying my best to keep myself afloat. I was never a good swimmer. Maddie caressed my face and whispered, “I’m death Lana. You turned to me when you were thirteen, and you’re turning to me again now. Such a sad child, you should really learn how to not let other people’s problems define you… well maybe in your next life.”

That’s it. That’s the answer I’ve been looking for. I guess everyone experienced death different. And she was right. I saw my parents fight that night and decided to climb out the window. Walking all the way to the lake to look for some peace and quiet. As I’ve done now. It wasn’t Maddie that fought her boyfriend. I did. I fought with my boyfriend and I walked all by myself to Silver Lake to drown again. But Maddie, death, she’s right. I have to stop letting other people define who I am.

So I fought her to the bone, and found myself drenched by the lakeside again, hoping I’ll never have to see Maddie ever again until it was actually my time.