Emily Chase had been sitting in the hospital for 8 hours waiting for her parents to come out of her grandmother’s room.   Emily had been on a date with Sean when her mother had called her.  Marlee, Emily’s grandmother, had been painting and had a heart attack.  She fell and hit her head on her cement floor in her garage and passed out.   Marlee’s neighbor heard the crash and rushed into the garage where Marlee lay unconscious.. “Let her be ok,” she thought over and over in her head. “Just please let her be ok.” When her mother came out of the room, she looked devastated.   Finally, she spoke.
          “Em, it’s really bad.  The doctor said he’ll see what he can do but it doesn’t look good.”  Crying, her mother continued, “She wants to see you.”
Trying to look bright and cheerful, she entered over the room.  To Emily’s right Marlee was hooked up to a series of machines and countless bags of fluid feeding down a tube and into her arm.  Looking to the left, Emily saw her father and the doctor deep in a conversation, solemn expressions gracing their faces. 
“Emily, come here please.” Marlee cooed,  “come sit.”  Then she turned to the doctor with a mischievous glint in her eyes.  “What am I, three,” she said.  “Am I granted five minutes alone with my granddaughter?” The doctor looked at my dad, who nodded, and both silently left the room. 
“Grandma, I-” 
“Hush child, I need to tell you something.  We have no time to play about with silly words and meaningless goodbyes.” Emily was shocked.  Not only was she shocked, she was hurt.  Since when had her grandmother been this outspoken.  She was never like this, at least no time that Emily had ever heard.  “I need you to take this.  You to take this.”  Marlee took of her sea foam  pendant and put it around Emily’s neck.  “I am dying child, and I want you take this.” 
“But Grandma,” Emily said, tears in her eyes, “The doctors said-”
“Oh ba, if they can’t tell I’m dying then who will?” Marlee let out a wheezing cough and sank back into her pillows. “Emily, I love you and I always will sweetheart.  Tell your father my will is in the oak desk top right drawer in the living room.” she said. “Don’t let anyone take that necklace from you Emily, no one, you hear me?”  Emily looked away, she couldn’t stand her grandmother’s expression of pain. 
“Grandma, I think I need to get the doctor in, ok?”  Emily reached for the door handle. Another cough.   “Grandma…” 
“Emily, listen to me, that necklace isn’t mentioned in the will, and no one knows about it, nor will they.  Just promise me you’ll believe.”  Marlee choked out.  “Promise me!”  
“Grandma!” Suddenly, machines started beeping and making such a loud noise Emily couldn’t hear the sound of the doctor’s rushing in, the cries of her mother, the thump of her body hitting the ground, or her grandmother’s last words, 
“Promise me.”
Two weeks later, Emily woke up feeling groggy.  She and Chloe were up late at a party at a party at Sean’s house.  Emily couldn’t cope with Marlee’s death.  Partying seemed to be the only thing that calmed Emily, that took away the pain of her grandmother.  Emily ran to her bathroom, and took as hot a shower as she could stand.  Rummaging through her drawer Emily shoved on a pink tank top and jogging shorts. Then she  hurried and put on a quick swipe of mascara incase she saw anyone from school, forced her thick hair into a ponytail and grabbed her phone and earbuds.  Running down to the kitchen to grab something to eat before she ran, she heard her parents yelling.  It was muffled, but it was there.
   “I’m the only one running this family Brandon.” screamed Emily’s mother.  “Emily can’t be alone all the time and I don’t know what to do with her!”  Kristine started to weep.  “She’s hurt, Brandon, you’re not the one who has to stay up till 4:00 in the morning to make sure she get’s home safe.” Emily could hear her mother’s plea in her voice.  “I just want her to be ok.”  Creeping up the stairs, Emily peeked into her parents bedroom.
“We’ll what am I supposed to do about it Kristine? What can I do! She won’t tell me anything, and clearly she won’t tell you!”
Emily couldn’t believe what she was hearing this fight, it was all about her.  Emily couldn’t take this any more.  She needed air.  She needed to get out of the house.  Throwing the back door open, she sprinted as fast as she could down the train into the woods behind her house.  The branches of the trees and the only sounds she heard were those of her now pounding feet. .  The gnarled tree trunks looked like old skin, saggy and faded.  As Emily replayed the image of her parents fighting, she ran faster.  She needed to get as far as she could away from the house, away from her parents.  Taking a sharp turn, Emily misjudged the timing and tripped on an overgrown root, sending her sprawling.  As she got up, she heard the strangest thing.  Like, a whisper.  The trees were calling her, and soon she had strayed far off the path and into the woods.  Emily knew she shouldn’t be doing this, her mind knew she could easily get lost.  “Turn back!” It screamed.  “STOP!” But Emily’s body had a mind of it’s own.
Dragged deeper into the woods by this unknown force, the whispers faded and she came into a small clearing.  Suddenly, Emily’s pendant started glowing, burning, searing into her skin.  Pain overwhelmed her hands reached up to tear the necklace off.  Screaming in pain she threw it  and backed away.  The pendant started to glow, and a square light appeared.  Glowing, it looked like a candle, burning into the darkness of the early morning.  Standing, Emily picked up the ever glowing necklace not noticing the pain brought to the fingers in doing so and was drawn toward the light.  Putting her hand to it, Emily had the most overwhelming feeling of calm.  Wanting her whole body to feel this way, she completely climbed through the portal.  What she saw, she could never explain.