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EMBER
This place always made me feel at peace, but I could still feel Rose all around. Not that I minded; Rose was an incredible woman and she’d taken the place of my mother rather quickly. There was never any judgment from her when it came to my powers. In fact, she encouraged me to explore the depths of them.
Most of the time, I could just tell that she was genuinely relieved that she had someone to talk to. I think I avoided this place because I missed her. My real mother left because she hated me, and I lost the closest person I’d had to a mother shortly after.
Emily snored softly next to me, and I held onto a giggle that begged to escape. After the very short icy swim, we finished another bottle of champagne and joked around as we played board games. It felt remarkably normal, like we were just two girls on a mini vacation in the middle of nowhere, with no cares. We even gossiped about the guys, playing childish games about who we would marry and where we would live. It was silly but filled the void we’d both been denied growing up.
After Emily tried to drink the champagne like a shot straight from the bottle and ended up with bubbles running from her nose, she bathed. While she relaxed in the warm bath water, I watched the moon’s reflection over the lake. We climbed into the ridiculously soft bed and, before I knew it, she was fast asleep.
I was surprised at how Emily was more like a sister than a friend, and I couldn’t help but wonder what it would have been like if we had grown up together.
I pulled the covers off of me and gently climbed out of the bed. Emily grumbled and turned on her side but continued sleeping. Sleep had never been my friend; I always dreamed of the dead. I could feel everyone’s emotions all the time, but the dead bothered me the most.
When I slept, I wasn’t able to block out the images of how they died so they would play repeatedly like a video in my mind. The only time it ever stopped was if I was too tired to think or dream. Or if I got drunk, but that was a destructive path to walk on. Addiction would be too easy for me.
The floor was cold against my bare feet, and I paused every time the floorboard creaked. I tiptoed out of the bedroom and closed the door behind me. Winter had long passed, but these woods always carried a chill at night. I pulled Emily’s oversized sweater over my fingertips and padded over to the fridge. One more drink wouldn’t hurt.
There was no signal so I couldn’t scroll through social media, and I didn’t want to switch a light on to read in case it woke Emily. So I sat on the couch and watched the stars twinkle through the sliding door.
There was nothing quite like the silence out here, even the crickets had given up on their chirping and gone to sleep. The only sound that kept me company was the occasional wind through the branches.
If only my mind could be this silent.
Even as I sat alone, I could feel Rose’s presence. I could hear the spirits of those who had died in the surrounding woods. Usually, I would reach out and try to offer some sort of comfort or listen to what they needed to pass on, but I didn’t want to—not tonight, anyway. All I wanted was to sit in silence, drink my beer, and imagine a life other than my own.
Trying to remember my childhood was useless, it was nonexistent in my memories. A big black spot in the corner of my mind. My earliest memories started around the age of 10, absolutely nothing before that time.
Flashes littered my mind of my mother tying my once-blonde hair into tight pigtails and forcing me to wear dresses that I didn’t like so I could go to church every other day. My parents were quite religious, and I was sure that they could sense that I wasn’t normal. Along with being considered abnormal, and much to mother’s dismay, I also wasn’t a girly-girl. I preferred to play with the boys more than the girls, and I always came home with a dirty dress and scraped knees.
The loneliness of being an only child sucked, and I remember wishing that I’d had a sister or brother. Really, I think that I just wanted someone that I could talk to. Now, years later, the universe finally gave me what I wanted—a sister and a friend.
I grinned at the thought and finished off my beer with one more swig, pulling the sliding door open, the breeze snaking around my body. It was cold but pleasant. I loved the quiet and sitting here in it made the war on the horizon seem impossible. The moon sat high in the sky, a promise of peace, but perhaps only after the coming storm.
The air around me sharpened, and I released my mental shields slightly to feel who wanted to communicate. I had to focus to keep the rest of the voices at bay and only allow the one in that I sensed.
At first it felt calm, like just another lost soul wanting help passing on. But then the presence grew more insistent. I reached out with my mind, but no one grabbed on.
Hello? I asked into the void.
A few more minutes ticked by, and I was about to pull my shields back up when the presence burst forward. The feeling of claws sinking into my mind caused me to wince. Goosebumps covered my flesh, and I tried to force them out as a dark chuckle filled my thoughts.
Sweet Ember, it’s been so long since I last felt your mind open to the spirit plain. The voice was neither male nor female.
Who are you? I asked, trying to stay calm. I put the beer onto the coffee table and lay back against the sofa. Closing my eyes eased the pain slightly, but I still had to breathe slowly to keep control.
You don’t know me, but I know you. . When I felt your mind the first time, I was just too curious, and I had to follow you. I’ve been around for a while now, watching you and your friend closely from the shadows.
I frowned and tried to figure out who this was. Emily? Why have you been watching her?
Just doing my job. I’ve met a few of your friends, but none of them have been quite as interesting as you. The powers you hold…
I snorted, What powers? Speaking to dead people, seeing their horrific deaths, and occasionally helping them to the other side? Those aren’t all that impressive.
The voice scoffed at my comment. You don’t only speak with the dead, Ember. I’m not dead.
Who are you, then? I asked, not quite believing that they weren’t dead.
Another chuckle filled my mind, and the hairs on my neck started to rise. Too soon for introductions, my dear.
