" Mom, I'm home! Sorry I took so long to come back. I was out visiting the Sinclair's. Sue says hi, by the way, and... I.." Melissa, shocked being a subtlety statement to say the least, feels her mouth become ajar placing down her grey Prada purse on the single-person sofa. Joyce had suspended store bought lights, in disarray, on each corner to her house.

" Oh. S-Sweetie. Come here. I know just how this looks, to you, I am sorry you had come home to see this. But you won't believe what I have seen. These .. the lights, Milly honey. Will is attempting to talk to us. Again." Joyce takes Melissa by her hand bringing her to a spot un-der one set of Christmas lights.

" Will. Melissa, your Milly, she is here. Can you turn the lights on for her? Baby? Will if you can hear us, can you do that for mommy, please?"

Maintaining a breath of air, from escaping out of her lungs, Milly little by little takes in the flicker of those lights her mother hung. 'That's not possible. I have seen these before. Those spores. I've seen them before. Does mom not see what I do?'.

Similar looking to ash dots dance in her vision, and Melissa blinks it away causing those dust-like particles to go away. " See. He..he's here. I just don't know where. Say something, Milly, go on." Uncertain on how she should speak to her little brother, she says the first thing that came to mind. His nickname.

" Willy-Wonka? I bought you your favourite chocolate from New York. It's real Rich and it'll make you sick."

For the first time since his disappearance, giggles were heard out of Joyce.

" There is that silly lil' name you gave him, again. He hates that film."

'Are we expecting guests?' Milly goes to answer the door, as Joyce follows behind her girl to see who is visiting, and reveals Karen wheeler. She, and her family, live two streets from the Byers residence in a cal-de-sac. Youthful in her features, as she appears, it's hard to believe her age is in the forties. Ted wheeler is a Monotone man— doesn't really pay attention to his family unless there is trouble. Reading his daily news paper. Melissa sees a flash of surprise spread on Karen's features.

" Melissa Byers? Oh my gracious me. You have... grown. Look at you. I can't believe Hawkins very own is back home. I bought a casserole. To keep you from starving. I can't have that now." Milly, honoured Karen had thought of her family, takes the casserole responding using a gracious smile. 'How nice.'

" Karen. H..hey! Oh, thank you, uh come in?"

Joyce, hand spread out in a 'enter' move, close the front entrance of her home to not disturb any of the lights. Melissa felt pressure on her left leg in the form of a hand. A much smaller girl, three years old, Milly had failed to see had her thumb in her mouth. " ah! I'm sorry, this is my youngest. Holly. She not too long ago now had her third birthday. She can be shy around strangers. But, seemingly has taken a liking to you." Karen explains, a tender grin on her face watching holly be lifted off the ground by Milly with Joyce taking Karen's casserole dish bake.

" Hi, I'm Melissa. I know that is quite a big word and name for you to pronounce. Aren't you just the most adorable girl I've ever seen! Can you say Mill Lee. Mill Lee." Melissa cooe's, scanning over Holly's pink denim dungaree to which goes with a banded stripe shirt. Karen's eyes water, consciously touching her chest, at Melissa's kindness from her place at Joyce's table. Holly little voice could be heard saying 'Mil. Mil.' Not quite there with her intonations.

" Will always loved Christmas. So I thought if I.. I put the lights up.. I don't know he.. that I'd feel like he was home somehow. It's silly... I.. I know." Joyce explains, twisting her finger to all of the strung up decorative light pieces she planted inside of her kitchen.

Holly, on the place of Milly's legs where she sat doodling on paper, points her crayon stained finger at her 'Sun'. Melissa 'wows' giggling.

" No it's not silly at all. How is Jonathan holding up? and How.. how are you feeling, Melissa? It must have been quite the shock hearing about will missing. Needing to come home, from New York. What I hear you around town you've became quite a big deal name there." Karen, divulging in words of gossip she has heard, pets Milly's hand.

'She's not the little girl I use to babysit, anymore. Oh how do they grow so fast.'

If Karen could choose a girl to be Holly's role model, and what she wanted in life for her daughter, Melissa is her choice.

" Jonathan, you know, he's good at taking care of himself. He always has been. He thinks I am losing my mind, but ..I.." Milly frowns, her face contorting in a concern glare which settles on her features. " What's wrong.. is something the matter?" Ask Karen showing concern for her old friend. She did inevitably question why she had hung lights on each corner of her house. It just didn't cross her mind why. Those are the questions she wanted to ask. " We're having... electrical problems." Joyce mumbles, not sure how to tell Karen the truth. No one believes in her theory and how Will was communicating.

Holly swivels her head around, at Melissa, and Milly followed Holly's finger. Wanting to know if she was seeing correctly, Milly stood quietly carrying holly on her right hip. One individual light bulb shine bright with each step, moving down to Will's bedroom. Taking steady breaths Melissa, perplexed, held holly tight as her eyes curiously widen. At the infrequent bursts of power and light filled wills room from Joyce's lamps.

" is that you will?"

Then came a voice. Wills. It belong to will.

" Milly! Milly! Yes it's me. I'm here. I'm here! I am here! Oh no. It's.. it's back. Stay away." Suddenly a stifled, eerie low growl came from the back of her body. Hairs raising on Milly's neck, and arms, she maintains a steadied heart rate calmly moving holly on wills bed.

" Stay. I am just going to check .. something. Don't be afraid."

Melissa is now face to face, standing in front of wills plain mustard yellow room wall paper. Trapped in a trance-like space of mind, eyes establishing an opaque and translucent Vapor barrier covering her corneas, Her breath starts to dissolve in a laborious rhythm. Claws stretch through Will's bed room wall. Tik. Tok.

" Melissa? Melissa! Melissa! Baby."

Joyce snaps her fingers, trepidation in her movement and Karen takes holly off of the bed. Worried, for her child, when Joyce manages to break Milly out of her hypnotic-state. " What did you see?! Did you see something, baby girl, talk to me, Tell me, talk to m..mommy. Honey. Please you are scaring me."

Karen, noting how Milly is slowly beginning to grow more upset, terrified, puts a consoling hand on her arm. " I think it's best if you leave. Karen. It's not safe, here, for holly. Hey. Shoo shoo. It's okay to cry. Go on." Joyce comforts her daughter, bringing her in for an embrace. It left a question that bubbled in her mind and that is. What made Melissa react this way? Is it to do with her missing will? Or... there is more sinister pretensions she didn't know, or could see, taunting her girl? She wanted her answers.

Milly hears a guttural, distorted, voice say in a snarl. ' You will be mine, soon enough, Melissa Byers. Your time is counted, each second that goes by, Every minute you count. Is one more close to where you belong. At my side, where I can have you in my reach.' Hauntingly a clock chimes on four discrete times.

' Count your days. My Melissa.'

Joyce yells " Melissa!" Softening her fall, as Milly faints.

" Hey. Baby! Milly! Baby. Baby! M..mill wake up."

'What in the actual world is happening with her. She's starting to scare me. I can't lose another one of my babies.' Relief filters in her eyes feeling a strong pulse in her girls neck. She's alive. 'It must be exhaustion. I should get her in bed. Yeah, it has to be that, definitely nothing else. I should call a doctor.'

Joyce kisses Milly on her dark brown locks.

" Rest. Honey. Please just rest. Don't over exert yourself."

Each letter of the alphabet is strategically place, to spell out crooked painted letters on one of the living room wall for Will to use to communicate. Joyce replaces the empty black paint canister, finishing writing out the letters. 'I need this to work. I need my baby boy back. I need... it. Please, Will honey. Answer mommy.' Joyce lays her paint brush, which was found in the shed, in the dried plastic can. " Okay. Talk to me. Where are you?" R. Blue lights up above the letter. It's a start. " That's good. Good. Go on, baby. Come on, come on." I. Another. " G H. T. H. E. R. E." Right here. Will is there.

" Will never left the house, Mom. He's been here all this time." Joyce is startled by her girl walking, soundless, with no noise. Foreboden by her statement, arms tightly covering her frail body, Joyce moves remaining hair out of her daughter's face. " Will is in grave danger. I can feel him. I can feel will's fear, Mom." This alarms Joyce. Cautiously she settles Melissa on the floor. Cupping Milly's head.

" I don't .. I don't understand what you are implying, baby. In danger? You can feel him? You.. you need to tell me what I need to do. How do I get to him? Find him? Is there anything I should do?" In distress, Joyce's sobs fluctuate trying and failing to not cry. Turning her neck facing the letter covered wall, both Milly and Joyce stare; terrorised.

R U N.

'Run.'

Melissa covers her ears, screaming out in pure fright hearing an unearthly screeching coming out of a wall. " We gotta go now! It's here!" She grabs her mom's wrist. Joyce, scared, follows her daughter upon witnessing a mutilated red fleshy creature break through her living room.

' We will meet again. Melissa. This is only the beginning.'

JASMINE SPEAKS;

Oh no.

We all know what it means when the clock strikes four times.

Why do you think this is happening to Melissa..? Who is talking to her? And how are they able to speak to her? Her with little holly?

I want to hear your theories. I think we all know who is trying to communicate with Milly. This is an important detail, and point, in my story I am going to touch on as well. Tell me what you are thinking. I want to hear them all.

®️ Written By Jasmine. 2024