"Seven, seven, SEVEN!" Aimee growled in frustration. She threw over the table letting incense, aromatherapy oil, and holy water soak into the carpet. She had been trying to contact Alan's spirit ever since the funeral. She wanted to make sure he was okay, wherever he was. But she couldn't reach him. The number seven had her blocked. He was only seven years old. She couldn't shake the feeling that this was all her fault. She had brought the curse of sevens into her best friend's life. She had caused this.
Aimee had not seen Dwight since the funeral. He sat in the front of the church, between his parents. Aimee had her sister drop her off at the church and she sat alone in the back. When the family was walking out, she caught eyes with Dwight and mouthed a silent 'I'm sorry" Dwight nodded in response as he got into the limousine.
Aimee sat alone in her bedroom, picking up her supplies to try to contact Alan again. Tears started falling and she hugged her knees to her chest and wept. The phone rang. She knew instinctively, without looking at the caller id, who it was. "Dwight..." She whispered.
"Aimee! It's for you! It's your boyfriend!" Her sister yelled from down the hall.
Aimee picked up the phone. "Dwight...I'm so sorry." She started.
"Aimee, I-I need you to...come with me...to the cemetery. Please." His voice was broken and he sounded as if he had been crying.
"Of course, I will." Aimee said. "Hold on." Aimee walked down the hall to her sisters room. "I need you to take me to the cemetery, or to Dwight's house now."
"Oh, you want to go to the cemetery and make out with your boy-friend." Ashley said mockingly.
Aimee quickly put her hand over the speaker so that Dwight couldn't hear her. "Stop it right now! Dwight is my best friend in the whole world, and his brother just died. He needs me! I have to go to the cemetery, are you going to take me, or will I have to walk?"
"Geez, Aimes, I was just kidding. Quit crying. I'll take you."
Aimee came back on the phone with Dwight, her voice ragged, "I'll be there in ten minutes."
Dwight met Aimee at the cemetery gates. Aimee ran to him and pulled him into a tight hug. She didn't care that her sister saw, or that she would be mocked relentlessly because of it. "I'm so sorry, Dwight. I'm so, so sorry." She blinked back tears. She needed to be strong for Dwight.
Dwight hugged her back, "It's not your fault."
"Where are your parents? Why aren't they here with you?" Aimee asked.
"They are at a charity event. People are donating money to charity in Alan's name." He said bitterly. They walked slowly through the cemetery, finally reaching the fresh mounded dirt not yet marked by a tombstone. Aimee's breath caught, a sob escaped from her chest and tears began falling from her eyes.
Dwight cried out in pure anguish. He slumped to the ground and cried out. "I'm so sorry. I'm so, so sorry, Alan."
Aimee sat next to him and put her arms around him. "It's not your fault, Dwight. It's not your fault." She assured him. What she didn't say, what she couldn't say was, 'It's mine.'
"I can't, Aimee. I just don't know. I don't know what to do." He looked at Aimee expecting answers that Aimee didn't have. Aimee reached over and took Dwight's hand into hers, cupping both her hands around his.
She thought about everything she knew about ghosts and spirits. What to do upon a loved one's death from a supernatural viewpoint. But none of those seemed right, so she spoke from her heart. "Think about all of the best memories you have of Alan. Tell him about those. Tell him how much you love him."
"Aimee, do you think he will hear me?" Dwight asked. Aimee knew that no matter where Alan was, if Dwight was talking, then Alan would be listening. Aimee nodded.
Dwight took a deep breath and started talking.
Dwight talked to his brother for five hours. Aimee sat silently beside him, holding onto his hand. Dwight told story after story, lapsing into silence for seconds before picking up again. Aimee waited and listened. When Dwight had finished speaking, his voice was barely audible above a whisper. Aimee stood and helped him up. He was so weary that it took effort for him to stand upright.
Aimee handed him a flask of holy water. Dwight sprinkled it on the dirt, under which his brother lay buried, to bless him as he moved on from this life to the next. Dwight began weeping, and Aimee moved to stand face-to-face with him. She pulled him into a hug, letting him rest his head on her shoulder as he cried. Aimee made a vow to herself never to let Dwight suffer this kind of heartache again.
When they left the cemetery, Aimee called her sister's cell to tell her that she would be staying at Dwight's, and not to come and pick her up.
"Well, it doesn't surprise me that you are going to spend the night with your boyfriend." Ashley started, but Aimee had already hung up.
Aimee took a shower in Dwight's bathroom, changing into pajamas that she kept at Dwight's house. Knowing that Dwight hadn't showered since the funeral, Aimee insisted that Dwight shower. In fact, she insisted so vehemently that she was threatened with exorcism.
While Dwight was showering, Aimee got out supplies. She did a quick purification ritual on herself. She also did one to give her positive contact with the spiritual world. Then, for the first time, she did a ritual of protection on Dwight. It was a three part ritual. One, to protect Dwight's body from harm. Two, was to protect his spirit from being broken. And three, was to protect his heart from suffering.
When Dwight was out of the shower, Aimee made him lay down in bed. When she thought he was asleep, she went to leave his room to go to the guest room she normally slept in. Her hand was on the doorknob when she heard a muffled sob escape from the bed behind her. Aimee turned and crawled into bed beside her best friend. She put her arms around him and sang softly to him as he went to sleep.
Aimee awoke before Dwight and she repeated the rituals of the night before. She stayed by Dwight's side for three weeks. She made sure he got out of bed, and ate, and showered. She only left his side twice a day, so that she could do her rituals to protect him.
Later, Dwight would go on to try to save everyone else. Aimee would go on only to try to protect Dwight.