A Guide to the Other Side (27 page)

“I truly don't know that much more than you, but I promise we'll both find out more as we walk through this life together,” she said, smiling widely, like she was looking forward to it or something. “We're a duo, Baylor. The undead duo! And this really is just the beginning. We have so,
so
much more to learn.”

In the end the sketch artist and I had finally come up with a pretty accurate depiction of Kristina. The long hair, the skinny face that matched my mother's, the kind eyes that so resembled Ella's, Jack's funny nose, the flat mouth of my father, and my round chin.

“This . . . this can't be . . . ,” my mom said, shaking her head, tears streaming freely down her face. It's a good thing we weren't outside, or else they'd have turned into icicles. “Kristina?”

I nodded. The cold weather must have really dried my eyes out, because they were suddenly flooded with water too.

My dad studied the portrait in silence, his eyes moving rapidly, his head nodding to a fast beat only he could hear.

Kristina stood off to the side, staring happily. She had been embarrassed at first about the idea, but the more she thought about it, the more she wanted them to have it. In fact, it was supposed to be their Christmas present, but she was so pleased with how it turned out and so eager for them to finally see her, she said she'd help me find something even better. Watching my parents' reactions, I realized I'd been duped.

“She's beautiful,” my mom whispered.

We stared at the picture for a few more minutes, until my mom shook her head fast and said, “It's time to go, Baylor! You're going to be late for pictures!” She sounded giddy and ran to clean up her mascara so she could look nice for all the other parents. “We still have to pick up the corsage, too!”

At the florist's shop my mom and I watched as the woman behind the counter bounced with excitement.

“I just love all these dances the school puts on!” she said as she wrapped up the corsage. “It's so cute to see the kids get all dressed up and pick up flowers and act all nervous.”

“I'm not nervous!” I said, and my voice picked that exact moment to crack. She winked me, and I blushed.

Just as we were leaving, a nice grandma ghost tapped my shoulder.

“I'm sorry, young man, I know you're busy,” she said, smiling in a sheepish way. “But I was hoping you might tell my daughter how proud I am of her for chasing her dreams and owning her own flower shop.” She looked down at some lush yellow roses and smiled sadly. “I so wish I could smell these. They've always been my favorite.”

I looked at my watch, and Kristina smiled and said, “It'll only take a minute.”

“Hold on, Mom,” I said. “Duty calls.”

I turned back to the counter and smiled at the florist. “One more thing, ma'am,” I said. “My name is Baylor Bosco, and I can communicate with people who have crossed over.”

TO MY WONDERFUL PARENTS—
I already dedicated this book to you. What more do you want?! I'm kidding. Thanks for your endless love and support. I'm not sure how I got so lucky to deserve such a great mom and dad, but I'm not going to question it. Ben and Jenny, my dear siblings, thank you for the many years of fighting and yelling and emotional scarring from when we were growing up. You've provided
plenty
of material for future books. (Just kidding again! I'm on a roll. Love ya.)

All my thanks and gratitude to my agent, Dan Lazar—the best in the biz—for being generally awesome, relentlessly tenacious, and totally game to answer my e-mails at all times of day. Thanks to everyone else at Writers House, especially Torie Doherty-Munro, Cecilia de la Campa, and Angharad Kowal.

To my editor, Michael Strother—thanks so much for all your hard work. Where would I be without your fantastic, insightful notes? Well, we're about to find out, since your talents have taken you elsewhere! However, I'm thrilled Amy Cloud has taken over editorial duties and I look forward to working with someone so delightfully warmhearted and smart. Thanks to everyone else at S&S/Aladdin, especially Mara Anastas, Audrey Gibbons, Jodie Hockensmith, Mary Marotta, and Carolyn Swerdloff. Oh, and of course, thanks to Hugh D'Andrade, for creating a cover that perfectly captures the spirit of the book.

Thanks to my family, friends, teachers, coworkers, and countless other people for all your support and kind words of encouragement. Huge thanks to Sue Davis, Seema Mahanian, and Lauren Vallario for your invaluable input and guidance.

I'd be remiss not to acknowledge anything and everything that's helped me along from, well, the other side. My long-lost twin, wherever you are, thanks for the inspiration. Theresa Caputo, my other vital source of inspiration—you are a gem. And, finally, a special shout-out to Grandpa Erv, Uncle Moose, and Mr. Senior—thanks for keeping watch over me.

This book is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real places are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and events are products of the author's imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or places or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

ALADDIN

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First Aladdin hardcover edition October 2016

Text copyright © 2016 by Robert Imfeld

Jacket illustration copyright © 2016 by Hugh D'Andrade

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Jacket designed by Karin Paprocki

Interior designed by Mike Rosamilia

The text of this book was set in Centaur MT Std.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Imfeld, Robert, author.

Title: A guide to the other side / Robert Imfeld.

Description: First Aladdin hardcover edition. | New York : Aladdin, 2016. | Series: A Beyond Baylor novel | Summary: Thirteen-year-old Baylor Bosco does not like ghosts, but as a medium he sees them—including his twin sister, Kristina—everywhere, but Kristina disappears after a strange ghost shows up and Baylor must try to find her on his own.

Identifiers: LCCN 2015050806 (print) | LCCN 2016024871 (eBook) | ISBN 9781481466363 (hc) | ISBN 9781481466370 (pbk) | ISBN 9781481466387 (eBook) | Subjects: | CYAC: Mediums—Fiction. | Ghosts—Fiction. | Brothers and sisters—Fiction. | Twins—Fiction. | Mystery and detective stories. | BISAC: JUVENILE FICTION / Mysteries & Detective Stories. | JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Siblings. | JUVENILE FICTION / Horror & Ghost Stories. Classification: LCC PZ7.1.I4 Gui 2016 (print) | LCC PZ7.1.I4 (eBook) | DDC [Fic]—dc23 | LC record available at
https://lccn.loc.gov/2015050806