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“C-could you?”Michellelooked up and swiped at her eyes again. “Ohplease—if you could show me how to get toMama,I’dbe so happy!”
“IthinkIcan,”Samtold her. “Butyou have to come with me.I’lllead you out of this room.Doyou want to come?”Sheheld out her hand.
Tentatively,Michellereached out and put her ghostly hand inSam’s.Ofcourse,Samcould only feel it as a swirl of chilly air, but she could tell that the ghost girl had placed her trust in her.
“Good,” she said encouragingly. “Nowcome with me, we’re going to leave this room and try to find the way to your mother.”
Shestarted walking towards the open doorway andMichellefollowed along.Butshe stopped when they came to the table in the center of the room.
“That’swhere they did it,” she whispered. “That’swhere they killed me.Theykept turning the dials, giving me more and more shocks.Icould tell it was too much but the doctor kept saying, ‘More—more!’AndIhad that nasty-tasting rubber bite piece in my mouth, soIcouldn’tsayanything.”
Samwaited patiently until she finished speaking, but she knew it was important not to let the girl get fixated on her point of death.Ifshe did, she would never get out of the room where she had died.
“That’svery sad and the doctor was wrong to do that,” she toldMichelle. “Butit’s time to go now.Wehave to find yourMom—remember?”
“Ohyes—we’re going to findMama!”Michelletore her gaze from the rusted metal table and started walking again, followingSamout of the room.
“Good, that’s good!Comeon—let’s go,”Samcoaxed her.Finallythey made it past the threshold of the room and out into the darkened hallway.
“Whereare we?”Michellelooked around. “Thisplace is so dark and scary!Whatare we doing here?Where’smy room?Iwant my room!”
“No, no!”Sammoved hastily to block the open doorway.Ofcourse the ghost could pass right through her if she was really determined to go back, butSamhoped she wouldn’t.Shewas afraid ifMichellewent back to her death room, she’d never leave it again.
“Butmy room!” the ghost girl begged.
“Iknow it’s dark and scary here,Michelle,”Samsaid patiently. “Butit’s brighter outside.There’sa full moon overhead tonight!”
Sometimesa troubled spirit found their way to the afterlife as soon as they left the immediate vicinity of their death, but sometimes they had to be brought out and away from the place where they had died.Samwas betting this was one of the latter cases.Sheknew that she had to getMichelleout of the abandoned hospital and into the grounds outside.Thatwas the only way to help her into the afterlife.
“Comewith me,” she said to the ghost girl. “Comeon—Iknow the way out.Youcan trust me, just keep your hand in mine and follow me.”
Sheknew that her audience watching at home couldn’t see the spirit she was helping, but they could see her actions and watch as she ledMichelleout of the dark and awful building where she had been killed.
“Keepgoing,” she urged, making sure she could still feel the cool, ghostly fingers in hers as she walked down the hallways, herDocscrunching on the glass and debris. “Keepgoing—almost there.”
Atlast they reached the side door of the hospital, whichSamhad found unlocked and used to get in.Justoutside it was a barren, overgrown parking lot filled with weeds and beyond that, a bunch of trees nearly covered by the tangle of underbrush and vines that grew around them.CentralFlorida’ssub-tropical climate ensured that any piece of property that went neglected eventually turned into a mini jungle.
Butit wasn’t the parking lot or the overgrown forestMichellewas looking at.WhenSamturned to look at her ghostly companion, she saw that the ghost girl was staring up into the sky.Itseemed like she was looking at the full moon, floating overhead, butSamdidn’t think that was what drew her attention.
“Oh, look,” she said in her pale whisper of a voice. “Lookup there—Isee a light shining.It’sshining in a kind of tunnel and it’s all golden and warm.”
“That’syour path,”Samtold her, though she couldn’t see the path herself.Noone but a soul on the edge of death could. “That’sthe way to yourMom.Goon,Michelle—you can do it—move towards the light.”
“That’sthe way?”Michelleasked, half turning to her. “Areyou sure?”
“I’msure,”Samsaid firmly.Shesqueezed the ghostly fingers, even though she couldn’t feel anything but coldness. “Goon now—I’msure she’s waiting for you.”
“Oh, she is!Sheis!”Michelle’svoice got a little stronger. “Ican see her now—she’s waving to me!”
“Goto her then!”Samurged her. “Goon—be free!”
“Iwill!”Michelleturned to her once more. “Thankyou…thank you so much!”
“You’rewelcome.”Samsmiled.Italways made her feel so good when she was able to help a spirit who was stuck move on to the next plane of existence!
Shefelt the cold fingers leave her hand and watched asMichelle’sspirit drifted upwards, over the parking lot with its crumbling asphalt and weeds and up into the moonlit sky.
“Thereshe goes,” she said quietly into her phone. “She’sfinally going home at last.Whoknows how long she was stuck in that awful place?Maybefifty years or more!Butnow she’s going to be with her mom in the afterlife.”
