Melinda Gordon was walking up to her antique shop on a brisk fall morning. The leaves had already begun to change color, and she enjoyed a break from the heat. She stopped for a moment before entering the store, just taking in the square. It was a normal Thursday in Grandview, with lots of people wandering from store to store, along with other people who were at the stores to greet them and help them with their purchases. She turned to the shop and looked through the window. Her good friend Delia was already there sorting through a box at the front counter. She was truly thankful for her friend. Even if Delia was still a bit skeptical about Melinda's gift, she was still willing to support her in anything she did. Melinda entered the store, and the bell rang, signaling to Delia that her friend had arrived.
"Hey! Good morning!" Delia said, as she greeted her friend with a smile.
"Hey yourself! It is a good morning, isn't it!" Melinda said. She was in a great mood, and it seemed to be rubbing off on her friend.
"Well you're awfully chipper this morning." Delia said, mocking her friend with a smile.
"Can't a girl be happy?" Melinda asked, with a cheesy smile.
"Yes, but you are almost deliriously happy." Delia said, as she continued to sort through the box. She was only teasing of course. "Are your hormones out of whack?"
"Ha ha, very funny." Melinda said, putting her things down, laughing. She grabbed another box from the back room and put it next to Delia's to sort through as well. "Everything is just going well right now. I mean yeah, I'm sad that Rick is gone, but the business is doing well, Jim and I are doing great, and now I have Eli to help with some of the ghost stuff, so It's not all on me anymore. I think it's almost a stress relief to have him around."
"Yeah, I could definitely see how working out ghosts problems could get stressful. Especially if you have to do it all yourself." Delia said, looking over a china jewelry box.
"Exactly! And Eli seems so willing to help, so I can send him off to take care of a few things every once in a while." She said. Then suddenly Melinda felt a little queasy, and put her hand on her stomach until the sensation passed. She thought it was odd, but since it passed quickly, she brushed it off. Melinda then saw the jewelry box Delia was pricing. "Hey, could I see that for a minute? It's beautiful!" Melinda reached over.
Delia willingly handed over the box. "It is, isn't it?" A moment after Melinda took the box, she was suddenly pulled into a vision.
Melinda was in a car driving down a road. She could see the road and all around her, but she was in the body of the man driving, and could not see him. He was feeling extremely happy, and anxious at the same time. He was turning with the bend of the road, and suddenly, Melinda could see a ghost wearing a dark hoodie, standing in the middle of the road. The man driving the truck obviously didn't see the ghost. The next thing Melinda knew, the ghost was in the back of the truck, with an evil smile on his face. Then he disappeared. All of a sudden, for what seemed like no reason, the car started swerving. The man was losing control of his vehicle. He was trying to slam on the breaks, but nothing was happening. He went flying over the side of the hill, and crashed his car into a tree at the bottom. He was still conscious, but a limb had crashed through the front window and impaled the man. He grabbed at the wound, and could feel himself letting go. The last thing he said was, "No. I can't die. This was supposed to be the happiest day for her. If I die, it will be the worst." And with that, he started to slump down. He lay unconscious on the steering wheel.
Melinda took a huge gasp, and immediately grabbed her side where the man had been impaled. She had felt the whole thing. His thoughts, his emotions, his pain.
"Are you alright, Melinda?" Delia asked, with a look of concern. By now, she had known Melinda was having some sort of vision, but she felt so helpless just watching and not being able to do anything.
Melinda was still breathing fast, and had to take a minute to compose herself before she could respond. "yeah, I think so. I just had a vision. But what does it have to do with this jewelry box?" she wondered.
Melinda went on to explain the vision to Delia.
Delia listened, and tried to throw her two cents in, "Maybe the box belongs to the man. Or the ghost that apparently caused him to crash."
"That's a definite possibility."Melinda said. "I'm just not even sure which ghost I am dealing with. The one that caused the wreck or the one in the wreck. And why would the ghost be trying to kill the man in the first place? It was so weird Delia. I couldn't even see the man. It was like I was the man. I experienced everything he experienced. Only I could see the ghost."
"Were there any clues in the vision about who either man was?" Delia asked.
"Not really. I couldn't see the driver, and the ghost had on a dark blue hoodie so I couldn't see his face. Just his creepy smile. I suppose I will just have to figure out where this jewelry box came from." Melinda inspected the box closer for any sort of clue it could give her.
"I wish I could help there, but it was just a box of donations. Someone just dropped them off on the back porch. No name, no nothing. How are you going to find where it came from?"
"I'm not sure. The internet maybe? It looks hand painted, so maybe I can track down the store that sold it, and maybe they will have some kind of record of who purchased it. It's a stretch, but it's all I have to go on right now."
Melinda arrived home to a wonderful smell coming from her kitchen. She had been moving boxes all day, and was extremely tired, so it was nice to have a meal already cooking when she got home. She walked into the kitchen and saw Jim standing at the stove, stirring what looked to be spaghetti sauce.
She put her arm around his side, and gave him a kiss.
"Welcome home, beautiful." Jim said, returning the kiss.
"Thank you, handsome." Melinda said, with a smile. She truly loved her husband. He was the most supportive person she had ever met, besides her grandmother. "What are you cooking?" She asked, seeing the food, and now realizing how hungry she actually was.
"Your favorite! Spaghetti with meat sauce, a side salad, and garlic bread." Jim said with a smile. Melinda's face lit up, as she reached for a piece of garlic bread, and took a small bite. She licked her lips in approval. Jim loved cooking for his wife. She enjoyed it so much, and it was a great way for him to show how much he loves and appreciates her. "How was your day?" He asked, genuinely interested.
"Oh,the usual. We had a few customers, did some inventory, I had a vision, sorted through some boxes…You know, the usual." Melinda said, trying to squeeze her ghostly vision in without him really noticing. She loved the support she got from Jim, but she knew he worried any time a ghost got involved. And everything was going so well right now, she really didn't want him worrying about her.
"Wait a minute. A vision? What kind of vision? Did you see a ghost?" He asked, knowing full well that she was trying to slide it in unnoticed.
Melinda explained about the vision, and Jim watched his wife, looking for any sign of fear or anxiety. He knew that sometimes she would try to hide how serious a ghost problem was, and he knew he would be able to tell the real severity of it all by how she explained it.
As Melinda wrapped up the story, Jim relaxed a little bit. He didn't see much change in his wife's demeanor, so he knew he didn't need to be too worried.
"Hmm…So you're sure you got the vision off of the box? Were you touching anything else at the time?" Jim asked, trying to understand how exactly everything happened.
Melinda thought back for a moment. "I had my right hand on the box, and my left hand…Was on my stomach." She had forgotten about the nauseous feeling she had earlier.
"Why was it there?" Jim asked, out of curiosity.
"I just felt a little queasy. The feeling passed quickly though. I hadn't eaten breakfast." Melinda said.
"Alright so if you weren't really touching anything else, then we need to figure out where the jewelry box came from." Jim said, looking for solutions to this ghostly puzzle.
"Those were my thoughts exactly. I already looked online, and tracked the serial number back to the store that sold it. I will go tomorrow morning and see if they have any record of who may have purchased it." Melinda said, slightly proud of herself that she had thought of the whole idea.
"Alright, well good. I guess we are one step closer to figuring out what the vision was about." Jim said. He went back to stirring the sauce before it burned.
The couple shared a nice dinner together, talking about the rest of their day, and their baby plans. Melinda was now getting excited about trying to get pregnant, but was a little discouraged that nothing had happened yet. She was a bit worried that there was something wrong with her, and that's why they couldn't get pregnant. She pushed the thought from her mind. Melinda picked up her plate, and carried it to the sink.
"Jim, you want me to get the dishes tonight?" Melinda asked her husband. He did so much for her, it was the least she could do, even though she was completely exhausted.
"Actually, I think we should just leave them for tomorrow. I have a better idea of how we should spend our evening." Jim put his plate in the sink as well, and slyly put his hand around his wife. He looked into her eyes, and gave her a passionate kiss. He had that smile on his face, and Melinda knew what he wanted.
"All of this baby talk makes me want to put it into action. Why don't we try again tonight?" Jim had a devious tone to his voice, as he tried to entice his wife.
Melinda loved her husband, and there was definitely no loss of attraction as they have been married, but she was exhausted from the day. She really hadn't even done that much moving, but she was worn out anyway.
"Jim, I love you, but I'm just so tired." Melinda didn't want to disappoint her husband, but she really didn't have the energy to get up the stairs, let alone anything else.
"Alright." Jim said, slightly crushed. He gave Melinda another kiss, and carried her up the stairs. He laid her in bed, and crawled up beside her. They just lay there for a while talking about the future. They both must have been tired, because before they knew it, they were out cold. Not even bothering to change into night clothes.
The next morning
Melinda had woken up to an empty bed. She knew Jim had an early shift, but she still hated waking up alone. She stood up to go to the bathroom, but began to feel slightly dizzy. She sat back down on the bed so she wouldn't fall. Melinda put her hand on her head, wondering what in the world she was feeling dizzy for.
"I guess I stood up to fast." She said to herself.
She walked to the bathroom, to take a shower, and get ready for the day. She began to feel a bit queasy again, and associated it with being dizzy.
"I must be catching something." She said out loud, to no one in particular.
She finished getting ready, and went on her way to the store, checking her directions several times so she wouldn't end up at the wrong place. She parked her car in front of the store with the correct address. She read the name, 'Charlottes Fine China' and knew it was the right place.
She walked inside, and a bell rang to signal her entrance, much like her own store. A lady looked up, and greeted Melinda.
"Can I help you?" The lady asked.
"Actually, I'm hoping you can." Melinda pulled the china jewelry box out of her purse. "I was hoping you could tell me who you sold this jewelry box to. It's really important that I find the family." Melinda said, trying not to sound like some creep off the street that was trying to stalk a family or something.
Melinda handed the box to the lady, and she began inspecting it.
"I believe I can tell you. One moment please, while I grab my record book." The lady put the jewelry box down, and went to the back room. Melinda looked around as she waited, and was checking out all of the lovely china that was in the store. There were a set of china plates with light blue swirls around the edges, and small red roses painted in between. Melinda thought they were beautiful. She looked at the price tag, and it said 1,200. Melinda dropped the tag and stepped back slowly, as to try not to touch the expensive plates.
She couldn't understand why a china jewelry box that was probably very expensive was just donated to her store. Just as she started to think about it, the lady interrupted her thoughts as she came back to the front of the store with a large book.
"Let's see…I can look up the serial number here," She said, scrolling the pages with her finger, "and the name should be…here!" The lady stopped her finger abruptly when she reached what she was searching for. "Penny Sanders." The lady read.
"You don't happen to have an address for her on there, do you?" Melinda asked. She reached into her purse for a piece of paper and a pen.
"I do. It's 1439 Timber Crest Drive. What did you need her for again?" The lady asked, as she closed the large book.
"Oh I just need to ask her something about the jewelry box."Melinda said, as she finished writing down the information on her piece of paper. "Thank you so much for your help." Melinda waved goodbye as she exited the store.
Melinda hopped in her car, and pulled out, headed for home. She was hungry, and wanted to stop for lunch before heading over to the Sanders house. She figured she didn't want to interrupt their lunch anyway.
Melinda had a lunch of a turkey sandwich, some potato salad, and an apple. She felt satisfied with her meal, and went upstairs to change clothes. She had a skirt on, and decided with the changing fall weather, that she would put on something a bit warmer. As soon as she finished changing clothes, a wave of nausea hit Melinda, and it hit hard. She ran to the bathroom, putting her hand over her mouth so she wouldn't get anything on the floor. She emptied her lunch into the toilet, and then a little more. It was a miserable feeling, but as soon as she was done, she felt much better.
What was that about? Melinda thought. It couldn't be food poisoning, because none of the food was bad. So why am I throwing up?' Then Melinda realized, and like a ton of bricks it hit her. She was late. She had missed her last period, and was now feeling nauseas. 'Could I be pregnant?'
She pulled out a pregnancy test from under the sink, and took it immediately. The two minutes for the test to finish were very slow. Finally, it was ready. She held up the test, trying not to get too excited, because the last few tests she had done this with were disappointments. She looked at the test, and saw two blue lines.
'Wait, what does two blue lines mean again?' Melinda thought, as she quickly rummaged for the tests instructions. When she found them, she read, "One blue line means not pregnant. Two blue lines means pregnant." Melinda thought for a moment, and then looked at the test again. "Two blue lines. Oh my god. I'm pregnant!" Melinda jumped up, and ran into her room to find the phone. She called Jim immediately, and told him about the test. All you could hear for about 3 minutes were screams of excitement from both ends of the phone. Once the couple settled down, Jim told Melinda that he was coming home.
"Wait Jim, I still need to go by that house, and talk to the lady about the vision." Melinda said, almost forgetting completely about her plans for the day.
"That's ok Mel. There was a large fire in Draco County, so they sent us over west. It will take me about an hour to get home anyway. I will just meet you when you get home." Jim said. He was so excited, Melinda could even hear the smile in his voice.
"Ok honey, but be safe." Melinda said.
"I will." Jim replied. "But you need to be extra careful. You are being safe for two now." Jim said, with a small giggle in his voice.
Melinda let out a small laugh as well, excitement also evident in her voice.
"Thanks." Melinda replied. "I love you."
"I love you too Mel." Jim said. And with that, the couple hung up the phone, and headed to their cars.
Melinda reached the house in about 10 minutes, and was walking up the steps to the door. She was trying to think of what to say. She rang the doorbell, and a lady answered the door. She looked to be around 70, and seemed to be nice.
"Can I help you?" The lady asked.
"Hi, I'm Melinda Gordon. I own an antique shop in the square. Are you by any chance Penny Sanders?" Melinda asked.
"Yes, I'm Penny Sanders. What can I do for you?" The sweet old lady asked.
"Could I come in? I'd like to ask you a few questions." Melinda asked.
Melinda was seated on an old Victorian styled couch. She placed her purse beside her, and pulled out the jewelry box. The lady came in with a tray of tea and cookies.
"How do you like your tea?" The lady asked, pouring a cup for Melinda.
"Sweet please." Melinda said. The lady added a small amount of sugar to the tea, and stirred it a moment before handing it to Melinda. Melinda accepted the beverage with a thank you, and took a small sip.
"Now what brings you here to visit a little old lady like me?" She asked, as she finished pouring her own tea.
"Well actually, I was wondering if I could talk to you about something that was donated to my store the other day." Melinda said. She put the tea cup on the saucer, and handed the jewelry box to Penny. "Was this yours?" Melinda asked.
"Why yes." Penny responded, looking over the jewelry box.
"Has someone close to you died recently?" Melinda asked.
The lady looked up at Melinda, with a strange face. "Why, no. No one." The lady said.
"No one? Melinda asked, kind of surprised.
"No. I never married, and never had any children. I don't really have anyone to lose except for my cat." The lady said, pointing to a chubby tabby that was lying on a chair in the back corner of the room.
"May I ask where you got the jewelry box from?" Melinda asked, now extremely curious.
"I bought it from a little store near town square called Charlottes Fine China. I like to go through my things upon occasion, and donate the things I really don't need so someone else can find joy in them. Why do you ask?" The lady inquired.
"So you just bought it because you liked it? It doesn't have any sentimental value or anything?" Melinda asked, now starting to get worried. If the box didn't mean anything to the lady, and no one had died, then how was there a ghost attached?
"That's right. It was just a spur of the moment purchase. I thought it was beautiful, and so I decided to purchase it." Penny said, not really understanding what all of the questions were about.
Melinda began to think out loud.
"Ok so if it's not sentimental, and the vision doesn't have to do with the box, and I was touching…" then Melinda got a horrible look on her face. "Oh my god. I was touching my stomach, and the baby, and…and, Jim! It's Jim in the car!" Melinda was almost screaming by the point, as she was figuring things out. She stood up abruptly, grabbed her purse, and rushed to the door.
"Is something the matter dear?" Penny called out, as she followed Melinda to the door.
"I'm sorry I have to leave, but thank you for your time, and for the tea." Melinda said. She was completely panicked by now, and was now sprinting to the car.
"Come back and visit me any time now dear!" Ms. Sanders called out to Melinda, as she got into her car.
Melinda raced home, hoping Jim would be there when she returned. She called him the entire way home, but there was no answer. She pulled into the driveway, and didn't see his truck, and got a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach.
She ran inside and checked the messages. Nothing. She called Jim on the phone, but no answer. Melinda was pacing back and forth, playing the vision over again in her mind, and how it could all be connected. It couldn't be Jim…could it?
Just then, her thoughts were interrupted by the phone ringing. She picked it up immediately.
"Jim?" Melinda asked, hoping and praying to hear his voice on the other end. But instead she heard the voice of one of Jim's colleagues.
"Melinda, its Tom. There's been an accident. It's Jim. I'm sent a patrol car to your place to pick you up. He should be there in a few minutes. Melinda, are you ok?"
Tom asked, hearing nothing but silence from the other end.
"Tom, how bad is it?" Melinda asked, already knowing.
"Melinda, you just need to get here as fast as you can." And with that, Tom hung up, leaving nothing but chilling silence.
Melinda felt as though her world was crashing down. How could she have not realized it was her husband the whole time? Then, she got a nauseas feeling in her stomach. It was a different kind of feeling than anything she had felt before. She ran to the bathroom, and threw up a few times, trying to let all of her grief out with it. Everything started to spin in her mind. Then, she heard the doorbell. She wiped her mouth, and ran to the door. It was the Police officer.
"Mrs. Gordon? I'm Officer Ramsey. I'm here to escort you to the accident site." He said. He had taken off his hat, and Melinda knew they did that as a sign of respect. Melinda didn't say anything, and just walked out of the door with the officer, and into the car.