Shadows of the Past by Katie Brethorst (book recommendations website txt) 📖

nowhere and sat down by me. I should of heard him, but I didn't. Hmmm.
The boy looked surprised I had answered him. He looked me up and down. His eyes widened significantly, but then just looked excited.
"My name's Danny. What is yours?" He had a very strange way of talking. He had a southern drawl, but also kind of what you would hear you're great grandparents talk like. Interesting.
"Name's Sienna. Good to meet you. Are you a reenactor here?" He looked puzzled, but still there was that excited glint in his deep blue eyes. They were so blue they looked like sapphires.
"What's a reenactor?" What. The. Freak. He's dressed in a Confederate soldier get up and he doesn't know what a reenactor is.
"A person who acts out the past. Quick question. What year is it?" He looked knowingly.
"1861." he answered proudly. Okaaay.
"Who's president." I asked with a little less authority in my voice.
"Of which country?" What country. What country were we in that I didn't know about?
"Specify, Danny, what countries are there?" He looked slightly aggrivated by this question.
"Sienna, are you a foreigner? Because you should know we're in Virginia, United States of the Confederacy." Ho. Ly.Crap.
"Danny, the year is 2012. We live in The United States of America, and the president is President Barack Obama. I'm Sienna, the daughter of an Iowa senator, and I think, you're a ghost.
Shock

Who was this girl to say I was dead? She said her name was Sienna, also that she was a senator's daughter. But did that leave her any right to change his life, or in this case death. Now that she mentioned it, it kind of added up. It had seemed like a long time since he started to wait for the Union soldiers. But it could just have seemed like it was a long time.
"Danny?" Sienna asked cautiously. "Are you... are you alright?" Of course I wasn't alright. This girl had totally turned my world upside down.
"Sienna." I asked in a harsh whisper. If what I'd heard right about spirits was true, I shouldn't be able to do this.
"Yes?" She looked a little nervous.
"Try to touch my hand." She looked taken aback. I looked deep into her deep hazel eyes. They were so pretty. Wait... why was I thinking of the prettiness of some strangers eyes when I might be dead?
She reached her hand out to touch my already outstretched hand. She hesitated when they were about a centimeter apart. I didn't have time for this. I pushed my hand the rest of the way to meet hers. My hand went straight through hers. We gasped simultaneously. I was dead. How did this happen? I jumped up and started to pace.
"I am so sorry Danny. It's just that your uniform, your way of talking, and your everything tipped me off. You think it's still 1861, but it's 2012." Oh my God. 151 years had passed since I was alive.
"Sienna, my life is falling to pieces in front of me. Could you be quiet for just a moment?" I didn't mean to be harsh, but God that girl could talk. She shut up and looked a little hurt.
"I'm sorry," I said sitting down next to her on that God forsaken hill. "You're a lovely girl, and remind me of my girl, but I' m kind of going crazy. I mean, I thought I was alive." I ran my fingers through my hair. She was staring at some sort of bracelet on her arm. I leaned closer to her wrist and saw something very peculiar staring up at me.
"What is that?" I asked staring at her arm. It was a pretty arm, tan and with a little muscle under it. She was wearing strange clothes though. She wore some kind of shirt with words on it. Since when are there words like that on a shirt? And she was wearing trousers. I've only heard of girls doing that. They always wear dresses. But considering a century and a half have passed, who knows what other things have happened.
"You mean my watch?" That's what that bracelet was? Couldn't be. I pulled my pocket watch out and opened it.
"No Sienna, this is a watch. That is a..." I stared down at it. It did have the two moving arms. And a fast ticking third arm. Whoa.
"This is a different kind of watch. There are so many things you don't know about. Like cars, phones, computers, refridgerators. Oh God, the time!" She jumped up and started to run towards the gate I hadn't noticed before.
"Where are you going?" I yelled across the field.
"I have to go, but I'll be back tomorrow. I promise." she was running as fast as she could over a hill. She stopped at the top, turned, and waved. Then she sprinted down the other side. I sat back in front of that giant stone on the hill, and thought about the days events.
If I hadn't seen her, I would still be happily in my inbetween. But I had to walk towards that hill. I was coming through the forest when I saw her sad face on that hill. I was mesmerized. She looked so like my girl Sienna, it was unbelievable. At first I did think that was her, and I wanted to surprise her. When I saw her turn towards me, I ducked behind a tree. When I walked up to her, she didn't even hear me. I saw her fiddling with a necklace that was under her shirt. I didn't get to see it because she dropped as soon as I started to talk. When she turned towards me, I realized that wasn't my Sienna. My Sienna had dark brown hair, not hair as black as night. My Sienna also had blue eyes, where this one had hazel. I thought it was eerie that they looked so similar and had the same name, but there were happy coincidences all the time.
Why did I have to come over there? She had to tell me that news. It did make sense. Why had the Union troops not come? Why had so many days and nights pass? I never really realized this until now, but why was I alone? I had no one anymore. I saw a few people every once in a while, but they were in citizen clothes. I do remember a battle here. Actually I remember two, but I never left. I never followed my army, or any army as a matter of fact. I reached for my cap and looked into it. There inside it, was a picture of my Sienna. She was so pretty. She had on that necklace I had given to her as a proposal present. I never got to wedding though, and I never would.
I always had wondered what had happened. She was going to tell me something after I got back from war. She had told me so in a letter I received the day of the big battle. I was due home in two months, and she was so excited about it. Me being an only child, loved surprises. But now I couldn't get the new Sienna out of my head. Her image haunted me. Well now that I think about it, it was probably me doing the haunting.

Capitol

"Wasn't that just a lovely dinner, Sienna?" I think the cooks really got the chicken down this time. Remember how it was so dry last time?" My dad was babbling. Again. I just nodded, and agreed. The chicken was really good. I could at least give him that. I was sitting in this stupid cocktail dress, waiting for all the other senators to finish their food. My dress was a deep blue with white dots on the under fabric. It looked as though you could see stars on the other side of foggy clouds. It was pretty, but I could barely move in it. I took a sip of my Mountain Dew.
"So, how are you and Rick?" my dad asked curiously. I about spit my soda all over the table. Luckily, I'd been trained not to do that. I just started to have a coughing fit. Dad started to hit me on the back.
"I don't think Rick and I are going to work out." I told dad while still choking on my beverage. He looked a little disappointed with my answer.
"I thought you really liked that boy. He was always so nice to me. What's the problem? Are you just not used to boys yet?" I almost spit out my soda again. I had to lie about this ordeal. What could I answer with? Hmmmm.
"There's no spark when I'm with him," I'd like to use two electrical wires to spark him but... "I think he's nice too," Yeah, right. "I'm just not that into him, Dad." That was the understatement of the year. God, I hope I was believable. Dad just nodded at me like he understood completely.
"I see. Well if you don't like him anymore," Oh my God, was he going to finally let me break up with Rick! "You still need to stay with him." WHAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!! Why? Why must he do this to me? Did he love me at all.
"But Dad, I hate him." Whoops, that slipped from my mouth quicker than a snake at Manassas striking you in the back. Speaking of Manassas... I wonder what Danny was doing?
"I need the publicity Sienna. Tell you what, I'll make you a deal. You date him for one more month, do a