Conner's breath shook as he continued.

"Once we got you home from the hospital, you seemed fine. You were back to your normal, happy self. But there was something different about you. We couldn’t put our finger on it. Of course, you were too young to able to explain things, so when you tried to tell us, we didn’t understand.’

“We thought you created an invisible friend. We heard so much about that from other parents. You were always in a conversation with someone. You would talk, then you would listen. Your head would tilt like they were speaking to you. Then you would react. Sometimes, you would laugh and clap your hands, sometimes you would answer them."

The goosebumps broke out on her arms.

“We were at our wit’s end, McKenna,” Sarah interrupted him. “You were going to be starting school soon. We didn’t know if it would affect your developmental abilities or stop you from making friends.”

The hair on the back of her neck stood up.

“Please understand, McKenna,” she said. “We were becoming afraid of you.”

“What?” McKenna’s face went white.

“We weren’t afraid of her, Sarah,” Conner frowned. “We just didn’t understand. We took you to several doctors, but they couldn’t find anything wrong. They suggested we take you to see a psychiatrist. We thought that was foolish, but we did it anyway. All they wanted to do was an experiment on you with one medication after another. When we’d had enough of that, we stopped taking you.”

“I was afraid for you to start kindergarten,” Sarah said. “But it turned out to be somewhat of a miracle. That’s where you met Kelly. The two of you became instant friends. You seemed to stop talking to people that weren’t there. So, whenever Kelly’s mother asked if you could spend the night, I agreed.”

“Please don’t be mad, Kenna,” her father interjected. “We needed help. We accepted help where it was offered.”

McKenna’s face was a mass of confusion. Things were coming at her very fast. 

“It seems,” her mother said. “That you never stopped talking to people that weren’t there. You did it at Kelly’s house, too. If it weren't for Kelly’s mom being spiritual, I don’t know what she would have done. One day, when I went to pick you up, she asked me to come in for coffee. That’s when she explained to me she found you talking to her dead mother. She suggested we take you to a parapsychologist.

"A what? What is that?" McKenna’s heart pounded in her chest. Fear grew in her. She didn’t want to hear any more. 

"A parapsychologist is someone who studies the paranormal," Conner explained, his forehead creased.

McKenna grew more confused. "Paranormal? What does the paranormal have to do with me? And how would my falling in the lake make me see things? I don't understand."

Conner looked to Sarah for support.

She nodded at him.

"Because you died, Kenna."

"No, I didn't," she insisted. "I'm still here, alive and well. You said I was on the beach." She was starting to panic.

"I said we found you on the beach."

"What's the difference?"

"After we found you, we took you to the hospital. They pronounced you dead on arrival." Connor was crying now. "Your poor little body was so limp. Your eyes were open, staring at nothing."

"Connor," Sarah said. "Don't. Just tell her."

He nodded. "We don't know how or why, but you came back. Your mother was holding you in her arms. Your face scrunched up. You blinked your eyes, then started to cry. It was a miracle."

"But what about the rest, Dad?" McKenna was crying with him. "What about the paranormal thing?"

"We don't know. The parapsychologist believes that you see people who have passed on since you died and came back. They come to you, sometimes to ask for help, sometimes just to help you."

"That's crazy!" she cried. "I don't see any ghosts."

"McKenna," Sarah interrupted, speaking quietly. "You have never met your grandparents."

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