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Then, I would wake up in a cold sweat, with my breathing heavy and my heart racing. And most of the time, I had no chance of falling back to sleep.
Now, it was Thursday again, and I wasn’t sure if I could bring myself to drive back to that place. I didn’t want to put myself in a position of vulnerability when I was already so vulnerable. The loss of my uncle still had a sting that wasn’t ready to heal, and I didn’t want to add a fresh fear to the mix.
But when I thought about Uncle Russ and who he was as a person, that’s when thingsreallystarted to get confusing.
Why did he choose to rest there? What were his reasons?
How did he even find out about it?
And why didn’t I see his ghost that night?
Maybe it was the fact that I hauled ass out of there faster than I could look at the faces of the ghosts.
In my car, I sat in the parking lot of the coffee shop. My shift ended twenty minutes ago, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave. I didn’t want to go home, but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to go back to the…
This isn’t a cemetery.
Pressing the heels of my palms to my eyes, I rubbed them until I saw stars. I needed to get his fucking voice out of my fucking head before I started screaming.
Despite my internal dismay telling me to not go back, the grief for my uncle outweighed my fear. I wanted to visit him, I wanted to see him every Thursday like he did for me.
And if I go during the day, avoiding nightfall at all costs, I’ll be fine.
Pulling out of the parking lot, I made my way toward the unknowns of my state. It was about a forty-minute drive fromthe coffee shop, putting me at my uncle’s mausoleum right at three o’clock.
Taking the back roads, heavy forestry and thick woods lined both sides of the pavement, guiding me in a drive that was quiet and peaceful. There were hardly any cars on the road with me. I turned up my radio and put on my playlist, letting the music calm any nerves that were trying to bubble their way up to the surface.
Then, with about five minutes left of the drive, my music cut out. While carefully keeping my eyes on the road, I picked up my phone and brought it to eye level. All service was gone, and a bright “SOS” signal appeared in the corner.
Great.At least I know I’m close.
I turned into the hidden driveway, the one I’ve turned into a handful of times already. There was a deep fog coating the roads as raindrops began to cover my windshield. I turned on my wipers, but it didn’t seem to help much as I made my way up the hill.
After familiar twists and turns, my car found the iron gates. I cracked my window down an inch as the same older man came out of his booth.
“Good afternoon, Miss Castell. It’s good to see you again,” he smiled cheerfully. “Can I get you anything?”
I could feel my face return the happy expression. His joy was contagious, and it momentarily erased my anxiety.
“No, I think I’m okay, thank you.”
“Well, you let me know if there’s anything you need.”
With a nod, he went back into his booth and opened the gates. My car slowly rolled through the remainder of the fog, and I parked off to the side. Thankfully, I remembered my umbrella this time. I grabbed it from the backseat and opened it as soon as I stepped out. Heavy rain pelted the fabric, the drops turning to liquid beads and rolling off.
I wanted to see my uncle and avoid Caius at all costs, despite the comfort he brings to me when I’m here.
Maybe it was the fact that he had all the answers to any question I might have. He held a sense of security in his information. Knowledge is power, yes, but knowledge also forms peace of mind.
Without moving my head, I quickly glanced around the area. There was no one else here. Everything seemed peaceful and serene, and it was hard for me to imagine all the ghosts that wandered the paths the last time I was here.
But when I blinked, a flash of memory sparked through me, and the image of that night sent a quick shiver through my body.
They were here, they wereall here,but it was daytime.
Were they hiding, waiting, or resting?
Did they know I was here?
