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between the trees.  After a while I could tell that it was some sort of bird.  Finally, it landed on the branch of the nearest eucalyptus tree, then turned its head and looked right at me with dark red eyes.  I was so surprised that I nicked my hand with the potato peeler.  I said some sort of kid-friendly curse, and then looked down to find a stream of blood dripping along my finger and into the dirty water.
    I quickly glanced up again, only to discover that the bird was still watching me.  It was the raven, the same one I saw that morning, it had to be.  But I didn’t remember it having red eyes . . .
    Meghan . . .
    No way.  I couldn’t be hearing voices again.
    Meghan, you must come . . . it’s been too long, we’ve missed you . . .
    I closed my eyes and gritted my teeth.  My hands clenched the edge of the sink.  No, no, no!
    Meghan . . .
    No!
    Meghan!
    “Meghan?”
    “Mom!” I said, looking around the kitchen as if I had just woken up from a bad dream.
    “Honey, are you okay?”
    There was a look of concern in her eyes.  She got the twins settled in their high chairs and walked over to me.  Her eyes widened when she saw my bleeding hand.
    “Did you do that with the potato peeler?”
    I nodded, then looked down and grimaced.  The cut was pretty bad.
    “I’ll get you a bandage.  Logan!  Bradley!  Turn those games off and come finish the potatoes for your sister!”
    The boys groaned, but obeyed.  I rinsed my blood down the sink as they made their way over.  Mom returned with a box of bandages and some hydrogen peroxide.
    “How did this happen?” she asked.
    I wasn’t about to tell her about the bird or the voices.  Instead I shrugged.  “I was daydreaming I guess.”
    She shook her head and clucked her tongue.  After getting patched up, I got demoted to setting the table.
    “Be careful with the butter knives,” she said seriously.
    I rolled my eyes but was careful to take her advice.
    Dad got home ten minutes before dinner was ready and we all sat down and tried to eat like a normal family, but my father insisted on watching his favorite trivia game show and the twins proceeded to make a mess while Bradley and Logan argued over who was the better basketball player.  Aiden and I remained relatively quiet while my mom shook her head in disapproval over all of it.  And so, there it was, a typical evening in with the Elam family.
    When the dishes were done, I escaped back to my room in the basement and tried to complete my homework in peace.  The only problem was, now that I didn’t have the distraction of my noisy family, I was thinking about the raven and the voices that whispered in my mind.
    I shook my arms out as if they had fallen asleep and turned my classical music back on, setting the volume louder than before.  Perhaps I could keep the voices at bay with a piano concerto.  For some reason, I felt the need to stand in the middle of my room and stare at the sliding glass door, as if some invisible force was beckoning me to look outside.  It was getting dark out, and all I could see was my tall, gangly reflection staring back at me.  Fearing that the raven would return, I drew the blinds and plopped back down at my desk.  I needed to focus and forget about that stupid bird.
    It was ten o’clock by the time I finished my homework.  I quickly brushed my teeth and washed my face, then made sure my alarm was set to wake me in the morning.  I left my music on a loop, hoping that the soothing violins would not only lull me to sleep, but keep the disturbing events of the day at bay.
     
    -Four-
    Illusion
     
    To my great relief, the next several days passed by with very little drama.  Adam Peders and his gang only sneered at us twice more that week, the creepy homeless man seemed to have moved on, and best of all, I hadn’t seen the raven or heard any strange voices whispering to me in the night.  All in all, a great week.  I was actually surprised I hadn’t seen or heard