I shivered as the painting returned back to the portrait of the woman. "Well," I said. "That's certainly an interesting story." "It's not just a story!" Death stood. "It is true! I swear on my- well, not on my life, I don't exactly have that- but I swear it's true!" "He's not lying," Julia said. "So wait- Helen and Elizabeth are inside of us. But they are separate from us. Like, right now, this is me, Julia, speaking, not Helen or Elizabeth." "No." Death said. "When they fell into the babies, something happened to make Helen and Elizabeth the spirits of those bodies. So it is either Helen or elizabeth speaking, you just don't remember who you are." "So what happens when you figure it out?" I asked. "Do the legit spirits, or whatever, reinhabit our, well, their bodies?" Death sighed. "I don't know! It's not an exact science, believe me. Never before in history has this happened." Julia bit her lip. "Maybe we should, um, go to see our rooms, and give you some time alone." I nodded. "Yeah." Death gestured up the stairs which I hadn't noticed before. "Up those stairs, down to the end of the hallway. Last doors on the left and right." We followed the instructions and went upstairs. "I don't like this." I whispered. "Staying with the thing that killed our moms?" Julia frowned. "It's either that or hell, Samantha. Did we really have a choice?" I stopped at the door on the left. "I bet you're Helen. You seem to like it here better than I do." Then I went inside. The first thing I saw was the bed. It was big, and had the same dark red color pillows and blankets as the carpet downstairs. I saw a dresser in the corner, with a jewelry box on top. I yawned. "Better get some sleep." I collapsed onto the bed and was out before my head hit the pillow. DEATH'S POV I went to my room after Samantha and Julia left. I picked up one of my books, sat down, and began to read. But I couldn't. I was lost in my thoughts, remembering back a hundred years, to the time when I found out about Helen. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ She smiled. The trees swayed gently in the breeze. "Stop it," she laughed. I smiled back and tossed her the basket. "It's all empty, the picnic's gone." Helen shrugged. "Oh well," she laid back on the blanket. "It's nice out here." "Yeah," I said, watching a leaf float lazily down the river. "Nice." I wasn't used to that word. Death lurks in the bad places- graveyards, crime scenes, hospitals- "I don't think you're that bad," Helens sweet voice interrupted my thoughts. I turned to her. "Why?" She sat up and played with a flower that she had picked earlier. "You said it yourself- you just collect people." "No," I grabbed her hand. "You must never think that, that I'm, you must never think that I'm a good thing. Trust me, I'm not. I could kill, I can, I have, I will." Helen smiled. "If you were so bad, how come I remember when you brought us here? It was so damp and dark, and now look at this place." She gestured around. "It's beautiful." I blushed. "I wanted you two to be happy here." Helen smiled. "Well thank you." She leaned forward and then, she kissed me. I was so surprised at her doing so, I pulled away. "I'm so sorry," Helen blushed furiously. "No it's- it's fine." I smiled. "Okay," Helen said, and she kissed me again. This time, I kissed her back. \/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ I woke up from my thoughts with a start. I have to stop doing that, I told myself. I shook my head, and went back to my book. SAMANTHA'S POV I woke up the next morning and saw that my room had a closet. "Might as well see what's in here," I said. I opened the door and saw lots of dresses. They looked like they were from all sorts of different time periods. Like, the 1800's, and some modern clothes too. "No way am I changing," I said. Then I remembered the jewelry box, and opened that. There was only one necklace inside. A small silver chain, with a pendant that, when I got a closer look, was writing. In careful script, the silver pendant spelled out one word: Helen. I gasped. No, Julia is Helen. I'm Elizabeth. But if that is true, how come we choose the opposite's rooms as our own?
I fixed my ponytail and went over to Julia's room, but I couldn't find her. "Julia?" I said. "Where are you?" Then I heard a noise coming from downstairs. I went down the stairs and followed the sound. It was Julia's voice. "So you completely changed this place around for her?" "Yes," Deaths voice came from the kitchen. "Helen changed me in a lot of ways." I stepped into the kitchen and found Julia sitting at the table, eating cereal, and Death leaning against the counter. "Hi Sam!" Julia said. "Did you know Death just added this kitchen last night?" "Hi," I replied. "No I didn't. What's for breakfast?" "Anything you can find," Death said. "I have to admit, no living people have ever occupied this house, so I really don't have much food." He smiled. "The dead don't need to eat. But I did add this kitchen yesterday, so you two wouldn't starve." I opened the refrigerator and took out a carton of orange juice. "Okay." Julia put her now empty bowl of cereal in the sink. "Death was just telling me a bit about Helen." "Really?" I asked. Death frowned. "Yes, and I am quite sad at her being gone from this place." "You mean, you miss her." I said. "No, I said I'm sad at her being gone." "So you loved her?" I asked. "NO! Death can never love!" Then he stormed out of the room. I looked over at Julia. "He loved her." We said in unison. Julia went to the doorway of the kitchen. "I wonder what will happen when he figures out who is who." I shivered. "Well, Helen will get a warm welcome, Elizabeth, I'm not so sure." Then we both left the kitchen.