It happened every time she closed her eyes.

She found standing on an expanse of clouds, as far as her eyes could see. Clouds under her feet and clouds above her head, making it hard to determine which end was up. The first time Abby found herself in the dream, she had walked for what felt like miles and nothing changed. There were just clouds and a breeze that kept blowing her fire red hair into her face.

Then the ghost would appear, and all thoughts of waking vanished with the wind. The ghost was small, ten or eleven years old. Wearing a white lace dress that fell to her feet. Her long raven black hair reached her waist, the front pieces tied back in braids. The girl never smiled, never spoke. Simply appeared out of the clouds and watch Abby wander.

It wasn't the girl's staring that made Abby's heart beat faster, she had grown used to ghosts staring at her over the last few weeks. It was that this ghost was different than the rest.

The eyes that looked out from behind dark bangs weren't black, but a white so void of color that they shined like miniature suns.

It never mattered what Abby did - whether she ignored the girl or if she stopped to talk to her. The ghost stood there. Never seeming to move a muscle and yet always being a few feet away from her. But then one night in particular, everything changed.

Abby found herself surrounded by gray clouds from every angle, and a creepy little girl staring at her off her left shoulder. After a long day at school, the last thing Abby wanted to deal with was another ghost. With annoyance running through her veins, she put her hands on her hips and glared at the ghost. She leaned closer, ignoring the goosebumps rising all over her skin and the chill running down her spine.

"Alright, listen you little brat. I'm tired and I am sick of being stared at. So..." She brought her face even closer, "Either say something or get lost."

"Buern. Faye. Mate."

Abby jumped back a couple of feet. The girl stayed where she was, mouth shut again, staring as if nothing had occurred. With a deep breath, squeezing her hands tightly into fists, Abby whispered, "What did you say?"

Black hair shifted as the girl tipped her head to the side, the tip of her ear peeked out of her hair. "Buern. Faye. Mate."

Alright, it was time to wake up.

Thunder clapped over head, making her jump. That had never happened before. The clouds always stayed quiet and calm. Another clap and a flash of lightning drew her attention up, away from the girl. Darkness hovered above her, threatening black clouds began to close in. Her heart pounded inside her chest. A coldness crept up her arms from her fingertips.

"Buern. Faye. Mate."

Abby glanced back down to find the girl in front of her, inches separating them. She moved to take a step back, but couldn't. Her feet were glued to the misty ground beneath them. Panic rose in her chest, her breath coming out quicker and colder by the second. She could see it as it left her mouth.

"Buern. Faye. Mate."

Blackness started to creep in from the edges of the girl's eyes, overtaking the white irises.

"Buern. Faye. Mate."

Her voice shaking, Abby asked, "What does that mean? Why are you saying that?"

"Buern. Faye. Mate."

Thunder, lightning striking the clouds behind the girl's head. Abby could see the girl's mouth moving, but thunder muffled the words. All she heard was the beating of thunder like it was happening inside her head, pounding her thoughts to mush. Her knees threatened to collapse. The girl kept speaking. Her eyes darkened and her eyebrows pulled together.

Another bang of thunder and Abby covered her ears, tears starting to trail down her cheeks. "Stop it! Stop saying that!"

Buern. Faye. Mate. Buern. Faye. Mate.

It didn't matter that Abby couldn't hear the girl's voice anymore, the words repeated in her head by themselves. With tears streaming down her face, her hands still covering her ears, Abby squeezed her eyes shut and screamed, "Stop!"

And everything did.

Abby slowly opened her eyes, her hands falling to her sides. The lightning stopped flashing, the thunder quieted down to a low rumble, and the girl's mouth froze open. She leaned away, her mouth transforming into a small smile that looked wrong on her stone-like face.

The clouds under Abby's feet vanished. She was falling. She hadn't even had time to scream.