Her spirit people visited Pearl the entire summer, but in trying to keep the peace in her home, she didn’t mention them. Occupying herself with friends, playing volleyball, having sleepovers and long bike rides, Pearl cleared her mind of their constant appearances. Mrs. Eberstark materialized the most and warned her not to talk to her people. Some days, Pearl ran past the spirits without looking, and some days she’d stop and hear what they had to say, but didn’t answer them. Pearl loved recess, particularly if it ran over the allotted time and they got to play in the sun and fresh air longer. An energetic girl, with boundless energy, she needed to run and jump to get the squiggles out, as her mother told her. She hated, however, when the old man in the fancy black suit waved her over. He stood in the same spot, always by the backstop of the baseball diamond, always bringing his palm face up to his shoulder, beckoning…beckoning. She’d hoped he would be gone when school started, but no such luck.
