Nothing.
Not even aflickerof candlelight.
I want to laugh. But I don’t.
Claudia opens one eye, checks her surroundings, then opens the other.
“Oh, fuck!” She looks defeated. “I spoke with my mum, and she said this was a surefire way to get the spirit to come out.”
“Maybe he is really gone…”
She shoves the pizza box toward me and plops an upside-down empty glass on top.
“Let’s see if he still can communicate.”
I sigh. “This is ridiculous.”
She shrugs. “So was dating a cursed Bin-Spirit. Try.”
We sit together, our fingers barely grazing the mug, and ask questions.
“Eddy, are you here?” I tentatively ask.
Nothing.
“Do you have a message for Oscar?” Claudia continues.
Silence.
“Are you… still tethered to this realm?” I ask.
The mug jerks to the left.
I gasp. Claudia narrowed her eyes. “That wasn’t me.”
It slides again. Just a nudge. A twitch. Then, nothing.
We wait.
Eventually, Claudia leans back, removing her hand.
“Well,” she says. “That’s… not nothing.”
I stare at the board. At the unmoving mug. “What does that mean?”
She looks at me, the bravado gone from her voice. “It means he might still be here. Or something of his. Tethered, maybe. Or just… not ready to pass.”
I swallow hard. “Could he come back?”
“I don’t know,” she says softly. “Magic isn’t a recycling policy.”
“But it’s hope?”
She looks at me long. Slow. Then, nods. “Yeah. It’s hope.”
That is all I need.
“Don’t get any funny ideas, Oscar. Spirits need to be respected.”
