Three days have passed since Gabriela last saw Catherine's spirit in the schoolyard.
During those three days, Gabriela has been haunted by questions: Has Catherine found her peace? Or is there something else that made her disappear? Even so, she didn't know what to do. Every time she walked past the place where Catherine first appeared, she felt something invisible watching her, but there was no sign of the spirit's presence.
On the third day, Gabriela decided to visit the backyard of the music building after class. It was empty and quiet as usual, but an unfamiliar feeling nagged at her heart. She stood there for a long time, waiting for something that probably wouldn't come. 'Catherine,' he whispered softly, hoping the spirit would appear like before. But only silence answered her.
Just as Gabriela was about to leave, the wind suddenly picked up, sending leaves flying. As if guided by intuition, Gabriela turned her head towards the large tree in the front yard of the school, where she first met Catherine. In an instant, she felt the presence she had once felt there return. With hurried steps, Gabriela headed towards the tree.
However, when she arrived, she did not find Catherine. Instead, there was something strange on the ground beneath the tree - a small circular mark like the trace of something burning. Gabriela crouched down, examining the circle. 'What is this...?' she murmured, her heart beating erratically. The marks looked new, as if something had happened there not long ago.
Later that night, at home, Gabriela couldn't get the image of the circle out of her mind. She tried to focus her mind on recalling every conversation with Catherine.
Catherine's confused words came back to haunt her. 'I don't know who killed me...' However, how could Catherine say she was murdered without knowing who it was?
As she pondered, she heard a small knock on her bedroom window. Gabriela gasped, her body freezing for a moment. The sound came again, this time quieter but clearer. Cautiously, Gabriela approached the window and pulled back the curtains.
Outside, the figure of Catherine stood, her face looking calmer but still bearing the same wounds as before. Gabriela opened the window quickly.
'Catherine?' she whispered, almost in disbelief. 'You... where have you been for the past three days?'
Catherine looked at her with a flat expression. 'I don't know. I felt... lost. Like something was pulling me away, but I came back here.'
Gabriela looked at the spirit curiously. 'Why did you come back? What brought you back here?'
Catherine seemed to hesitate for a moment before finally saying, 'I still don't know what happened to me. But something is... unfinished.'
The next day, Gabriela returned to school with the intention of helping Catherine. That morning, Catherine appeared again under the big tree. This time, the spirit seemed more agitated than before.
'There's something I want to show you,' Catherine said in an urgent tone.
Gabriela followed her to the back of the music hall, where Catherine had promised to meet. However, this time Catherine stopped at a spot Gabriela had never noticed before on the side of a wall covered in shrubs.
Catherine pointed to the ground there. 'I don't know why, but I feel something is here.'
Gabriela crouched down and examined the ground. As she shifted some dry leaves and dirt with her hands, she found something cold and hard - a silver pendant.
Gabriela picked it up, noticing the letter C engraved on the surface of the pendant.
'Is this yours, Catherine?'
The spirit nodded, her eyes seemingly full of emotion. 'It's mine. I don't know why it's here. As I recall, I always wore it.'
Gabriela held the pendant tightly, trying to sense the energy that might be within it. 'Maybe this is a clue, Catherine. I'll find out more. But you must stay close to me. If there's anything else you remember, let me know immediately.'
In the days that followed, Gabriela tried to find out more about the pendant. She realised that the pendant could be the key to uncovering what really happened to Catherine.
However, fear also began to plague her. If Catherine was indeed murdered, then the culprit might still be around the school, or even closer than she imagined.
Every step Gabriela takes brings more questions than answers. However, one thing she knew for sure was that she could not ignore Catherine and the other spirits who might need her help. This was her path, whether she wanted to or not, she had to walk it.
The fifth day after the discovery of the pendant, Gabriela again saw Catherine's spirit standing under a large tree in the schoolyard.
As usual, Gabriela tried to pretend she didn't see her. She continued walking towards her classroom, hoping that Catherine would not catch her attention. However, a few steps before she entered the classroom door, a heavy and loud voice suddenly rang out, piercing her ears and heart.
'DON'T YOU IGNORE ME!!!'
Catherine's spirit appeared right in front of him. Her face was full of anger, blood flowing from her temples like before. Gabriela was shocked, unable to contain herself, and screamed. The scream echoed down the hallway, silencing the entire class.
The students who were busy talking and joking suddenly stopped, turning to Gabriela who stood at the door with a pale face. Lisa, her classmate, immediately got up and approached Gabriela.
'Gaby, what's wrong with you, are you sick?' Lisa asked, voice full of worry.
Gabriela tried to control her ragged breathing. She tried to find a reasonable excuse. 'There was... something... a rat, yes, a big rat! It ran this way!' she stammered, pointing carelessly at the floor.
'A rat?' Lisa frowned, checking the floor around them. 'I didn't see anything. You must be exhausted. Your face is so pale.'
Gabriela just nodded, trying to calm herself down. However, in the corner of her eye, she could still see Catherine standing in the hallway, staring at her intently. The spirit said nothing more, but her presence was so oppressive that Gabriela found it difficult to breathe.
When break came, Gabriela sat at a table in the canteen with Lisa, but her thoughts drifted. She knew Catherine wouldn't stop bothering her until she did something. But what does Catherine really want? Gabriela thought.
Lisa looked at Gabriela in surprise. 'Gaby, you're not usually like this. What's wrong?'
Gabriela smiled a little, trying to hide her anxiety. 'Nothing really, Lis. Just tired. Maybe I didn't get enough sleep.'
However, before Lisa could ask further, Gabriela's gaze was drawn to a corner of the canteen. Catherine was there. This time she didn't look as angry as before, but her eyes were demanding.
Gabriela decided to act. She turned to Lisa and said, 'Lis, I'm going to the library for a while. I have an assignment to look up. You go first.'
Lisa nodded. 'Okay. If you need help, just say so.'
Gabriela stood up, picked up her bag, and walked towards a quiet corner of the canteen. Catherine followed her, her shadow barely visible to the other students who were busy talking and eating. Gabriela stopped near the canteen exit and whispered softly, making sure no one was listening.
'What do you want, Catherine? I told you, I need more clues to help you. Don't bother me in front of others like that!'
Catherine stepped closer, her face remaining level but her voice sounding colder. 'I don't have time, Gabriela. I feel more and more distant from reality. If you don't act now, I'll be lost forever.'
'Lost?' Gabriela repeated the word in confusion. 'What do you mean lost? You're a spirit. Shouldn't you... well, still be here?'
Catherine shook her head, her eyes looking sad. 'I don't know what happened to me. But the more I try to remember, the more I feel myself disappearing. Like I'm fading away.'
Gabriela swallowed. She felt a growing weight on her shoulders. 'Okay, Catherine. I'll try to help. But please, don't show up out of the blue again. I need time to think and figure out what's really going on.'
After school, Gabriela decided to check the locket found behind the music building. She sat in her room with the pendant in her hand, twirling the small silver object while trying to feel something strange.
'What are you really hiding?' she murmured.
However, no additional clues emerged. She even considered asking Catherine directly about the pendant, but she knew that the spirit herself did not fully understand the situation.
Later that night, Gabriela had a strange dream. In her dream, she saw Catherine standing in the hallway of the school, crying silently. Behind her, a large shadowy figure stood, as if watching Catherine. The shadow looked menacing, but Gabriela could not see its face. When she tried to approach Catherine, the shadow turned to her, and the dream was instantly interrupted.
Gabriela woke up with a gasp. She knew there was something bigger going on, something that might involve not just Catherine, but the school itself.
And now, she had to find out before Catherine really disappeared.