know when you were born.â
Callum shook his head. âPeople remember the day you were born, not the exact timeâor if there was a full moon.â
Melissa paused. âWhat about your mumâs family?â
âTheyâre all in Cornwall. I havenât seen them since she died three years ago â¦â Callum trailed off. He didnât need a vision of the future to know what Melissa would want to know next%âhow she had died. But he realized he didnât mind telling her. Telling her about the ghosts had been harder.
âI havenât seen them since my mumâs funeral,â Callum said. âThey never liked Dad and they shut Mum out after she married. When Dad left she stayed up north, because she had a good job. She was like me, I guess, a bit of a lonerâan outdoor type. I suppose thatâs where I get it. She was into mountaineering and that sort of thing. She was killed on a rock-climbing trip in the Pennines along with three other people. I was supposed to go too, but that morning I decided to go and play cricket instead.â
âMust be the worst thing ever, losing your mum.â
âWell, you learn to live with it. But I still miss her.â
Melissa hesitated. âWhen you see ghosts, do youââ
âNo.â
âI wondered if maybe you could ask when you were born.â
Callum shook his head. âIâve never seen her. Besides, I canât talk to ghosts. Most of the time they donât even know Iâm there.â
Most of the time, he thought.
The conversation came to an awkward halt.
âI know,â said Melissa suddenly. âThe time when you were born must be on your birth certificate.â
âMaybe,â admitted Callum. âBut Iâve no idea where it is. Besides, we donât need a piece of paper to say Iâm a chime child. I think youâve already proved that. And I donât think Gran would be convinced anyway. She doesnât believe in magic or anything like that.â
âAll the kids at school say sheâs a witch!â Melissa blurted, her big eyes very wide again.
âWell, they say that about you too,â Callum retorted. It was true, and Melissa must have known it. âAnd they say sheâs a gypsy, which is rubbish, and they say Mr. Gower has an artificial leg, which I bet is also rubbish.â
âYou can sort of see why people might think your granâs a witch,â argued Melissa. âI mean, living out here in the middle of nowhere with only you and the cat.â
âHaving a cat doesnât make her a witch, any more than wearing crystals makes you one!â Callum snapped. âShe doesnât know a thing about the supernaturalâafter I saw the Grim I asked her if there were any local legends about Marlock and she told me to look at a book of old photos of Stockport!â
âSounds like sheâs in denial,â said Melissa. âA bit like you. Or else sheâs hiding something.â
Callum squirmed uncomfortably. He hadnât forgotten how strangely interested Gran had been when he told her about being followed by the Churchyard Grim, even though sheâd tried to explain it away. And then there was the crumbling black and silver book hidden on the ledge above the windowâ¦.
âDonât go in for a career as a spy,â Melissa said. âBecause your poker face is rubbish. What are you thinking about?â
âBooks,â said Callum, tracing his fingertips over the Dictionary of the Supernatural .
Melissa looked around the room. âYou said your gran was only into gardening books and novels. Does she have other books here?â
âIâve only seen one,â Callum admitted. âBut yes. She was looking at it last night. She keeps it hidden. I saw her taking it down to have a look at it.â
âWere you asking her about the Grim last night? Maybe thatâs what she was looking
Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley