Ghosts of the Past: Secrets Revealed
*Solan
When I woke up the next morning, I remembered what had happned the night before. Opening my eyes slowly, I looked over and smiled.
Miri was sleeping in my arms, her golden head nestled against my chest. She made a sleepy sound as I moved, and I froze. I didn't want to wake her.
I heard the door squeak and I looked up. Edan was looking at the scene in front of him, his face unreadable.
Uh-oh. I sat up slowly, moving away from Miri. Standing up, I looked at Edan. My long hair was messy from the long night, and I looked scruffy. Not the kind of person you'd like to see in bed with your daughter. . .if you even wanted to see a person in bed with your daughter, never mind we both still had all our clothes on.
"I'm sorry. She had a nightmare again and asked to sleep in here-" I explained. Edan held up his hand.
"I know. She gets them often. They're very upsetting for her. I'm glad you're here. It's harder for her to deal with them when you aren't."
I blinked, a little surprised.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm not overjoyed seeing this new developement, but you're helping her, so I'll talk with Quistis."
I smiled. "Thank you."
"What do you think about my daughter?"
Should I tell him the truth? I didn't think it mattered. "Well, to be honest, sir, I love her."
Edan grinned. "I'm glad to hear you say that. Watch out for her, all right? I feel like something's going to happen, and I just know she's going to be mixed up in it."
I had the same feeling. "Edan. . .I feel the same way. You don't need to worry about her safety. I'll protect her with my life."
"I was afraid of that." he said with a low chuckle. Shaking his head, he left the room. I felt a little worried. My suspicions were just that, and I had put them off, but now that Edan felt the same way. . .I was definitely worried. If anything happened to Miri. . .
She stirred a little in her sleep. Edan had shut the door already, and I bent down and kissed her forehead. Her arms tightened around me just a bit, and I smiled. What if she felt the same way about me? It was too much to hope.
*end
I woke up before opening my eyes. I wasn't sure where I was, but I could hear voices. Soft voices, as if someone was trying to be quiet because someone else was sleeping.
Someone was holding me. I wasn't asleep as I normally slept, because I wasn't alone. Recalling back to last night, I remembered that it was Solan.
I sighed a little, not too loudly, so that it could be chalked up to my still being asleep. I'd done a lot of thinking the night before as I was trying to fall asleep. Mother didn't want Solan and I in the same room alone together because we were both growing up and she was afraid we'd be attracted to each other differently now that we weren't kids anymore.
Maybe she was right. I was thinking about Solan a lot differently this year. He'd grown up a little, and didn't look so much like a gangly boy. He wasn't very tall, but when he'd probably be close to six feet when he was completely grown. I probably wouldn't get much taller than my five foot two inches, but I was hoping.
He was good-looking, and that was nice, but that wasn't all. What I mean is, he'd always been nice to me, teaching me new things, looking out for me, sharing his books with me, and other things reminiscent of a big brother. Solan was my best friend. Sometimes I wished he'd be more than a best friend though. Then something came over me and I shook it off, wondering what I was thinking and laughing at how silly I was being.
Today it didn't feel so silly though. I barely held back a gasp of surprise as I felt him stir a little and then, again, as I felt something warm and soft on my forehead. Even with my eyes closed I knew that he had kissed me. Maybe he did feel the way I did, at least a little. That could have been a brotherly kiss though. . .My arms were around him-I'd moved into that position some time during my sleep late last night-and I hugged him tightly. Slowly, as if it was a natural sleeping action. His arms tightened around me as well. I smiled a little.
We stayed in that position for some time until I decided it was time to get up, however regretfully. I opened my eyes and looked up. His hazel eyes were staring straight into mine. Grinning, I pulled away and sat up.
"Hi!" I said.
"Took you long enough."
"You only just woke up."
"I know. But you still slept longer."
"That's a good thing."
"Whatever."
"Are we going to argue all morning?"
"I don't know. . .That's up to you. I'm getting up. You can sit here and argue with yourself though."
"What's the fun in that?"
"Miri, are you ever going to grow up?" He asked teasingly. There was no bite to the comment, but I felt some. I gave him a hurt look and stomped out of the room, dragging the blanket that had been wrapped around me along. Ignoring him as he called after me, I slammed my bedroom door shut.
It was just as I had left it last night, the sheets on my bed rumpled and in total disarray. One of my pillows had been knocked to the floor and in my rush to find Solan I hadn't picked it up. A stuffed cat was on top of the pillow and Iceheart was curled up asleep on the bed. I sat down next to her and rubbed the top of her head gently.
"Why'd I get so upset?" I wondered to no one in particular. "Solan always teases me, and I tease him right back. So why am I angry?"
I wasn't angry, though, really. Just a little hurt and confused. My feelings for Solan were changing. We were still friends, of course, but I felt differently toward him. Could I be falling in love with him?
"I'm too young to fall in love. . ." I whined to Iceheart. She looked at me, an understanding expression on her face. I grinned and sat up.
"What if he was falling in love with me? That'd be cool. . ." I hugged my arms to my chest and grinned, falling back on my bed.
"Mirax Loralei Avalon." I said slowly, dragging each syllable out. "That sounds good together. Don'tcha think?" I asked Iceheart. "Mirax and Solan Avalon." Shaking my head, I laughed. "I'm so silly."
I thought about going back out there, but I remembered I had stomped off just in time. Groaning, I flopped back onto my bed. There was no way for me to go out there without losing face. Just as I was resigning myself to spending the rest of the day in my room, there was a knock at the door.
"Wh-" I started to say, but the person wasn't done knocking. They knocked again, making a set of three. Again, two sets of three knocks came. I grinned.
"Come in!" I called, making my voice a little angry, as if I'd been sulking. Solan's head appeared over the door, just like I knew it would.
"You remembered our knock."
"Obviously."
"Miri. . .I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to make you upset."
"I know. . .I just get upset easy now for some reason."
"That's cause you're a girl." I glared at him, and his response was to stick out his tongue.
"That's very mature of you." I said. I swung my legs over the side of my bed and stood up. Walking over to where Solan was, I noticed he'd shut the door behind him and my heart skipped a beat, for no reason probably, but still. I was nervous, why I didn't know.
"You do it all the time."
"I'm younger than you."
"Not that much younger."
"You're almost fifteen."
"So?"
"I repeat. You say that too much."
"So?"
"Miri. . ." he said warningly.
"What?"
"You know what."
I looked at him. A lock of brown hair hung over one of his greenish eyes, making him look younger and so maddeningly handsome. I reached out and pushed it behind my ear. He looked at me oddly and I blushed.
"Why'd you do that?" He asked, curiously.
"I don't know." I realized my hand was still on his cheek and when I started to move it away, he moved his hand up from his side slightly, but then let it drop again. "It was in your eyes."
"Do you want to take a walk?" He asked suddenly.
"I. . .guess so." Strange. I was usually the one to suggest walks and things like that. Solan preferred staying inside. I remembered what had happened up on the hill a while back and brightened considerably. That was something I wanted to show him. Bouncing a little excitedly, I said, "Hey. . I want to show you something! Come on!"
Running off, I didn't give him time to protest.
*
It didn't take us long to reach the hill. Solan wasn't as used to such long walks as I, and he was panting a little as we trudged upwards. It was warm out, but not hot. I spotted the waving grasses and the stone. As we neared the area, I frowned a bit. There was something on top of the stone. Once I was closer, I saw that it was the cat.
"Not again." I said under my breath.
"What's the matter?" Solan asked, concerned.
"Nothing." I said shortly, shaking my head at the same time. Right now was not a time I cared to elaborate. Remembering what had happened last time, I knew that the one thing that I could not do was touch the grave. Last time I had been badly frightened, and I still didn't even know entirely what happened. Something worse could and most likely would happen this time.
"Solan-" I started to say, but stopped. I could feel something against my leg. I looked down. The tabby cat was rubbing against my leg and purring. At that instant I knew something very strange was going on, and I was about to look up, put my eyes back on Solan, but the cat beat me to it.
She caught my gaze and held it. The intense blue eyes overpowered me, robbed my body of its free will. I tried to scream but I couldn't. My mind was no longer under my command. Woodenly, I took a step towards the grave.
Solan! I screamed. It was no use. The words would not come out of my mouth. My feet followed the ancient path to the grave and there was nothing I could do about it.
What was going on here? Why was it so important for me to come into contact with Raine Loire's grave? Who was Raine Loire, and why was it me that she was focusing on? I was just a country girl with a particularly wild spirit.
Perhaps she had been like me. Maybe I was like the young Raine, and she was calling me for some reason.
That's silly. There's no such thing as a ghost. Is there? No, of course not.
Then what in Hyne's name is going on here? And what does this cat have to do with it. She was sitting on the grave once more, eyeing me. I could feel that Solan was watching me as well, but I couldn't be sure because I wasn't able to turn and look.
I was near the grave now. Another step and I could reach out and touch it.
And I did.
A strange tingle passed through my body as my fingertip touched cold hard stone. I could see a pale blue light emanating from the place where my skin was touching stone. I shivered, although I was not cold. Just then a barrage of thoughts and feelings hit me and I reeled back in shock.
A little girl with fawn-colored hair, running down stairs and tripping near the bottom. A woman ran over to her and picked her up, singing a soft lullaby.
A tall young man with black hair and startlingly emerald eyes grinning a charming, lopsided smile.
A pretty young woman with long chestnut hair and blue eyes.
A small baby, only hours old. A still form on a bed covered by a sheet. The baby wailed in his bed in the dark room as thunder crashed outside.
There were more, so many more. Child's memories, a girl's memories, the thoughts and dreams of a young lady, and then the hopes and wishes of a fully grown woman. So many things. The flashed in my mind in colors, blue and white. I was seeing through the woman's eyes, the girl with the chestnut hair.
Was she. . .Raine?
When the flood of someone else's mind stopped, I regained control over my own mind. Try as I might, I could not stand. My legs shook and gave out under me. I heard, dimly, Solan stifling a gasp and he rushed to my side. I looked up at him and the expression on his face changed from one of worry to shock.
"Miri-" he gasped out.
"What? What's wrong?"
"Your eyes. . .They're-" He stopped and dug into his pocket, pulling out a piece of glass we'd found on the way. It was clean and I put my hand behind it and held it up to my face.
My eyes were blue.
*
Solan calmed down after I explained to him everything that had happened. "Why didn't you tell me before, Miri? Maybe I could have helped you."
"I doubt it. Whatever's happening to me. . . I don't know what it is. But I doubt that anyone can stop it except for who is doing this to me."
"We need to find out what's going on."
"I agree." I tried to stand up and fell down again.
"Miri, just rest for a while. We've got all day. You don't need to-" he stopped. Probably because I was crying. "Miri. . .what's the matter?" He asked gently.
I shook my head. "I don't know." I said through my tears. "I wasn't going to cry. . .but I feel sick and my head hurts."
"It probably does. From what you told me, it sounds like you recieved someone's consciousness-" I glared at him. "Sorry."
I smiled a little. "It's okay. You mean well." The tears came back. "Don't leave me, okay?"
"Miri-" He broke off, shaking his head. "I'll never leave you, okay?"
"Promise?"
"I promise." He pulled me close to him and held me in his arms. "Besides. . .how could I leave you when I love you so much?" he whispered into my ear. I was drifting off and didn't think that I had heard him correctly. Sleepily I looked up, expecting nothing to have changed. But his face was slightly red and he had a sheepish smile on his face. That was the instant I knew I loved him.
"Solan, guess what?" I said, my voice laughing. Even though I was tired I still had enough energy to tease him.
His voice was unreadable, supressing emotion. "Yeah?"
"Love you too." I leaned back onto his chest and I felt him tense underneath me.
"Are you sure?"
I looked at him again. "Would I lie to you?"
"No. . .I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
Without warning he leaned backward taking me with him. I was flat on my back in the grass, looking up at the sky. He sat up and leaned over me, holding his hair back from his face with one hand.
"Mirax?"
"What?" I asked. That was the first time he had ever called me by that name.
"Do you trust me?"
"Don't be silly. You know I trust you with my life." I said seriously.
"You won't be angry with me if I do something?"
"I don't know. Depends on what you're going to do," I said, my heart pounding. Please let it be what I thought it was going to be. . .
He bent down over me and touched his lips to mine. My heart was racing as I closed my eyes. I didn't even know what to do, I just assumed that was the proper procedure for a situation like this. For a moment that seemed to drag into eternity, nothing happened. Then I felt what I was sure was his tongue against my lips and I opened my mouth a little. I met his tongue with mine and reached my hand up to him, pulling him down closer to me. This was my first kiss and I'd be damned if I didn't make the most of it. I could feel his hair soft beneath my fingers and also I could feel his hand on my hip, moving upward slowly. When he reached my ribs he stopped and let his hand rest there, soft and warm against me.
I assumed I was doing things properly because he didn't pull away. After what must have been several minutes, I pushed him away gently and rather reluctantly.
"Wow." He said. I glared at him. "What?"
"Nothing. . .Really?"
"Yeah."
"First kiss?"
"Mm-hmm."
"Me too."
"Of course." I made a face at him and sat up, running my fingers through my hair to free it of grass.
"I wouldn't do that yet if I were you." Solan said.
"Why not?" I asked, missing the playful tone in his voice.
"Because." He leaned over and kissed me again. The kiss was long, soft, sweet, and we did wind up with even more grass in our hair after that one. Everything shedded in the summer. Cats, dogs, the earth. . .
What seemed like eternities passed before either me or him became aware of anything but each other. I looked up to see that the sun was directly overhead. We'd been out here for at least two hours. We were both still wearing the clothes we'd slept in the night before, a shirt similar to the one I'd been wearing the day before when Solan first arrived, only in light pink, and white shorts that were a little shorter than the ones I'd worn yesterday. I tugged at them self-consciously over my skinny legs and twitched a tiny ladybug off my skin. Solan was wearing a loose shirt with the sleeves missing and a pair of loose pants with a drawstring waist that had probably once belonged to his father. They were a washed out indigo and very soft.
He took advantage of the fact that my head was bent to pick some grass out of my tangled golden hair. It hadn't seen a brush this morning and the only combing it had gotten was that of the finger genus. It wasn't horribly messy because I had been blessed with hair that just hung straight no matter what. Luckily I wasn't big on curling it or anything like that.
The small green blades fell to the ground one after another and I shifted restlessly as he worked slowly and patiently. I had never been good at being patient. He'd always been the one who sat for hours on end, waiting for a bird to come closer to him. I'd call the creature and if it didn't come, I resigned myself to the fact that it wasn't going to and gave up. He'd wait and be the one to put the dove or squirrel into my hands and let me pet it.
Finally he finished and I raised myself up onto my knees so I could reach the top of his head. I ignored what part of my body was in his face and decided that he could just sit there blushing if he didn't have enough sense to turn his head the other way. I moved around to the other side, though, after a moment or two. He was too polite to say anything.
It was a lot harder to pick the pieces out of his hair. The golden-brown locks had always been slightly curly, and now, his hair was shoulder length. I'd be there for a while. He reached up to help me and our hands touched. His fingers slipped around mine and pulled my hands down from the top of his head. Pulling me close, he kissed me again.
"I'm really glad we came out here today." He said quietly.
"So am I." I said, smiling. There was a hint of something in my voice, though, that I wasn't even sure I could explain. So of course he noticed it.
"Are you okay?" He asked immediately.
"Yeah. . .I guess I'm fine. I just-I wish I knew what happened earlier."
"So do I." He hugged me. "Don't worry, Miri. We'll find out and I'll make it right, okay?"
I smiled a little. I was still worried. My eyes had changed color, for no apparent reason. That was something to be worried about right there. But I knew Solan would figure it out. He was good at that. And I'd help him, and then everything would be okay.
*
Over the next few weeks, strange things began to happen. Just little things, but they bothered me. The most significant was when I was sitting in the bar one Saturday night. It was really late, and Papa was upstairs with Mother. They were both asleep already. I was sitting on the bar, swinging my legs back and forth, not really thinking about anything in particular and he was sitting in a chair reading.
He turned a page and I looked at him. A thin strand of hair hung over his left eye, which was looking particularly green at the moment. I knew he must have felt my eyes on him because he looked up at me and smiled. That particular smile rang a bell in my expanded memory.
"You look just like Laguna when you smile." I said.
"Laguna? Who're you talking about, Miri?"
"Laguna Loire." He looked at me strangely.
"The guy who used to be president of Esthar?"
"Yes."
"You know him?"
"No." Why'd I say that? I didn't even know what Laguna looked like.
Yes you do an insistent voice in the back of my mind said. In my mind's eye, I saw the picture of the man with black hair and green eyes.
It was just little things like that. I'd be walking down the street and remember doing something that when I brought up later, someone told me that I had never done. Walking past the flower shop, I remembered a middle-aged woman tending it, selling and trading flowers of all kinds to the people of Winhill and tourists and the like.
A middle aged woman. The flower shop had been run by a very elderly woman when my mother and father first came here. She had died before I was born and the shop had been vacant ever since.
Why was I having these memories of things that never took place? What's happening to me?
My eyes were still blue. It had been nearly a month, June was well underway. I wondered if I had lost the emerald shade forever.
Why, every time I looked into a mirror, did I see that girl with chestnut hair and blue eyes? I did. Just for a moment, and then it was me. Mirax. It was always her first, though.
Why were my eyes so reminiscent of that cat? What did the cat have to do with this? No one had any answers for my questions. Solan hadn't even been able to uncover anything except an old town record, with photos of lots of people from decades ago. The girl was only in two pictures. In one, she was holding a little girl. Solan said he knew that picture from somewhere, but he couldn't remember where. Until he did, we were stuck, because in the other picture she was much younger, closer to my age than anything else. It didn't trigger anything with me, only that I somehow knew it was her.
I'd have to find the answers on my own.
-End chapter three
Author's Note: I'm quite sure many of you have figured out where this is going already. That's okay. I know I'm not too good with surprise plots and things like that. Sometimes you figure out what's going to happen even before I do.
I do know how this story is going to turn out. It's going to be weird for a while, so you might as well get used to that. It's not as supernatural as I'd like, really, but then, I was never good with that kind of writing. So I guess you'll just have to take it as it is.
Really, though, I hope you're enjoying Ghosts of the Past. I'm having so much fun writing this story. Please, tell me what you think of it. The best part of being a writer here is hearing what you guys have to say about my work. So please, review this. :) Thank you!
