Ghosts of the Past: A New Revelation
In the weeks following the change in me, I spent my nights in Solan's room. I didn't have nightmares anymore, I hadn't had them since my eyes had changed color, but I was still scared at night.
I was scared all the time. Why, I don't know. There was just this feeling I had, like someone or something was watching me. Something-ghostly. It frightened me.
Solan couldn't do anything to make the weird feeling go away, but he could and did hold me throughout the nights, bringing some peace to my mind.
It's funny how things work out. Really, it was just such a coincidence that he'd told me he loved me the same day my life was turned upside down.
We still hadn't been able to find any more information on Raine. Both of us were sure that somehow her and the oddities were connected, but we didn't know how. The only thing we had to go on besides the pictures I'd absorbed into my mind was that picture of her with the little girl we'd found in the town records. Solan had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. If he remembered where he saw it, that might lead us to someone who could tell us about Raine, and also, maybe about what was happening to me.
I was sitting on his bed waiting for him to finish brushing his teeth. Mother didn't like us sleeping in the same room, but we left the door open so it wasn't like she could say we were doing anything. Papa had convinced her it was okay, and she trusted both Solan and I so she mostly just left the issue alone.
Suddenly, I heard something from the bathroom. I think it was a swear word, but it was muffled because there was something in the mouth of the person who had said it. Following were several hurried spitting noises, and then running water, and then a door slam. About a second and a half later, the bedroom door opened and Solan entered the room, shutting the door behind him softly.
"You're supposed to leave that open." I reminded him.
"I'll fix it in a minute. I've got to tell you something." He said earnestly.
"What?"
"Remember that picture we saw? I said I'd seen one before, just like it? Well, I remembered where."
"While you were brushing your teeth?"
"Y-what?"
"Nothing. Continue please."
"I'll come back to that. Anyway, Mom has that picture! You know the big album she has, it's silver with Winhill Ghosts written on the cover? It's in there.
"Winhill Ghosts? What's that mean?"
"I don't know. And we can't ask her until she gets here."
"When's that?"
"She said she'd be back in June."
"Okay. . .When?"
"I don't know exactly."
"So, basically, we won't know any more until she gets here."
"Exactly."
I sighed.
"So, what's all this about what I think when I'm brushing my teeth?"
"Nothing really. You're just weird."
"Do you kiss weird people?"
"Maybe. It depends on how cute the weird people look when they're subtly asking their girlfriend if she wants to make-out."
He promptly made a puppy face at me.
"Okay, good enough." I leaned forward to kiss him. After about a minute or so, I remembered about the door. "Shouldn't we open the door?"
"Your mom's asleep. Remember?"
"Good point."
"Come back here, please."
"Of course."
*
Ellone finally arrived back in Winhill on the 19th of June. It was two entire days, however, before we were able to speak with her in private.
Dinner had been over for an hour, and Mother was upstairs reading. Papa was down at the docks with James preparing the ship to leave. They'd just stopped to check in and were leaving tomorrow afternoon. Mother had spoken to James and Ellone and Solan was staying here for the remainder of the year. I don't know how they managed to pull that one off but I was forever grateful.
Ellone was resting and I walked up next to her. I placed my hand on her arm and she opened her eyes. "Oh! Mirax. You startled me." She smiled, but the smile froze when she took a good look at me.
"Raine? Oh, Hyne."
"What is it?"
"Your eyes. . .What happened?"
"We were hoping you could answer that, Mom." Solan came up behind me and put his arm around my shoulders. Together, we proceeded to tell her the events of the late spring and summer.
She was silent for a long moment afterwards. "I don't know what to say."
"Do you know what's happening?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I do."
"Tell me, please!" I said excitedly. I'd been waiting for this.
"I don't know if I should. No, don't get me wrong," she continued when she saw my face. "I know that you deserve to know what's happening to you, and you should know. But it may frighten you, and I don't want you to be scared."
"I'll be all right."
"Mom, I'll watch out for her. She'll be fine."
"Solan, I don't doubt that you'll watch out for her, but this isn't something you can change or protect against." She took a breath and continued. "There's a ghost here. She's been around for quite some time, haunting this town. No one knows exactly what she wants. I have my assumptions, but I can't be positive."
This was the point which I began to put two and two together. "Ellone. . .She's Raine Loire. The woman buried on the hill. She was married to Laguna Loire, and she died in childbirth. You were the little girl I saw. But what happened to the baby?"
"You know him."
"I do? It's not Papa, is it?"
"No. Your mother's friend from Garden, Squall Leonhart. He's my little brother. Not by blood, because I was adopted, but by love, certainly."
"Squall? That's Raine's son?" Solan asked.
"Yes."
I was still connecting things. "That cat. . .It must have been Raine's cat when she was still alive. Now it's her. Her spirit is in the cat, and that's how she makes me do things."
"You're right, Miri. At least, that's what I gather. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. It fits too well for us to be wrong."
"So what is she trying to do? And why is it me that she wants to control?"
"I doubt she wants to control you, Miri. She's a spirit. She has a limited form of communication with the people in our world, and I think she may be trying to get a message across."
"Like what?"
"We need to find that out. I wish I didn't have to leave, but I do. Solan, Miri, try and find out as much as you can. Just remember, she's not trying to hurt you. Don't be afraid of her. I don't know what she wants, but she does want something. Remember that she was hurt in her life, and be kind."
"Of course." I looked past Ellone and saw something familiar. "Sol-" It was her. The little blue-eyed cat sat on the bookshelf, staring directly at me.
I need a new vessel. This cat is aging, and soon she'll die. I need a creature with a longer life. What I need to do cannot be done for several more years. You won't do. . .at least not to carry my spirit. You would carry something else quite nicely, though.
The tingly feeling of being watched grew, and then disappeared. I was left with a memory of having been spoken to but no recollection of the words. Shaking my head to clear it, I couldn't remember what had happened.
I suppose if I had I'd have had a million more questions.
Oh, and the cat had disappeared again.
-end chapter four
Author's Note: Hmm. . .I should be able to finish this up in two more chapters. It's drawing to a close. . .I know you're all so disappointed. *grin*
In the weeks following the change in me, I spent my nights in Solan's room. I didn't have nightmares anymore, I hadn't had them since my eyes had changed color, but I was still scared at night.
I was scared all the time. Why, I don't know. There was just this feeling I had, like someone or something was watching me. Something-ghostly. It frightened me.
Solan couldn't do anything to make the weird feeling go away, but he could and did hold me throughout the nights, bringing some peace to my mind.
It's funny how things work out. Really, it was just such a coincidence that he'd told me he loved me the same day my life was turned upside down.
We still hadn't been able to find any more information on Raine. Both of us were sure that somehow her and the oddities were connected, but we didn't know how. The only thing we had to go on besides the pictures I'd absorbed into my mind was that picture of her with the little girl we'd found in the town records. Solan had seen it somewhere before, but he couldn't remember where. If he remembered where he saw it, that might lead us to someone who could tell us about Raine, and also, maybe about what was happening to me.
I was sitting on his bed waiting for him to finish brushing his teeth. Mother didn't like us sleeping in the same room, but we left the door open so it wasn't like she could say we were doing anything. Papa had convinced her it was okay, and she trusted both Solan and I so she mostly just left the issue alone.
Suddenly, I heard something from the bathroom. I think it was a swear word, but it was muffled because there was something in the mouth of the person who had said it. Following were several hurried spitting noises, and then running water, and then a door slam. About a second and a half later, the bedroom door opened and Solan entered the room, shutting the door behind him softly.
"You're supposed to leave that open." I reminded him.
"I'll fix it in a minute. I've got to tell you something." He said earnestly.
"What?"
"Remember that picture we saw? I said I'd seen one before, just like it? Well, I remembered where."
"While you were brushing your teeth?"
"Y-what?"
"Nothing. Continue please."
"I'll come back to that. Anyway, Mom has that picture! You know the big album she has, it's silver with Winhill Ghosts written on the cover? It's in there.
"Winhill Ghosts? What's that mean?"
"I don't know. And we can't ask her until she gets here."
"When's that?"
"She said she'd be back in June."
"Okay. . .When?"
"I don't know exactly."
"So, basically, we won't know any more until she gets here."
"Exactly."
I sighed.
"So, what's all this about what I think when I'm brushing my teeth?"
"Nothing really. You're just weird."
"Do you kiss weird people?"
"Maybe. It depends on how cute the weird people look when they're subtly asking their girlfriend if she wants to make-out."
He promptly made a puppy face at me.
"Okay, good enough." I leaned forward to kiss him. After about a minute or so, I remembered about the door. "Shouldn't we open the door?"
"Your mom's asleep. Remember?"
"Good point."
"Come back here, please."
"Of course."
*
Ellone finally arrived back in Winhill on the 19th of June. It was two entire days, however, before we were able to speak with her in private.
Dinner had been over for an hour, and Mother was upstairs reading. Papa was down at the docks with James preparing the ship to leave. They'd just stopped to check in and were leaving tomorrow afternoon. Mother had spoken to James and Ellone and Solan was staying here for the remainder of the year. I don't know how they managed to pull that one off but I was forever grateful.
Ellone was resting and I walked up next to her. I placed my hand on her arm and she opened her eyes. "Oh! Mirax. You startled me." She smiled, but the smile froze when she took a good look at me.
"Raine? Oh, Hyne."
"What is it?"
"Your eyes. . .What happened?"
"We were hoping you could answer that, Mom." Solan came up behind me and put his arm around my shoulders. Together, we proceeded to tell her the events of the late spring and summer.
She was silent for a long moment afterwards. "I don't know what to say."
"Do you know what's happening?"
"Yes. Unfortunately, I do."
"Tell me, please!" I said excitedly. I'd been waiting for this.
"I don't know if I should. No, don't get me wrong," she continued when she saw my face. "I know that you deserve to know what's happening to you, and you should know. But it may frighten you, and I don't want you to be scared."
"I'll be all right."
"Mom, I'll watch out for her. She'll be fine."
"Solan, I don't doubt that you'll watch out for her, but this isn't something you can change or protect against." She took a breath and continued. "There's a ghost here. She's been around for quite some time, haunting this town. No one knows exactly what she wants. I have my assumptions, but I can't be positive."
This was the point which I began to put two and two together. "Ellone. . .She's Raine Loire. The woman buried on the hill. She was married to Laguna Loire, and she died in childbirth. You were the little girl I saw. But what happened to the baby?"
"You know him."
"I do? It's not Papa, is it?"
"No. Your mother's friend from Garden, Squall Leonhart. He's my little brother. Not by blood, because I was adopted, but by love, certainly."
"Squall? That's Raine's son?" Solan asked.
"Yes."
I was still connecting things. "That cat. . .It must have been Raine's cat when she was still alive. Now it's her. Her spirit is in the cat, and that's how she makes me do things."
"You're right, Miri. At least, that's what I gather. I could be wrong, but I don't think so. It fits too well for us to be wrong."
"So what is she trying to do? And why is it me that she wants to control?"
"I doubt she wants to control you, Miri. She's a spirit. She has a limited form of communication with the people in our world, and I think she may be trying to get a message across."
"Like what?"
"We need to find that out. I wish I didn't have to leave, but I do. Solan, Miri, try and find out as much as you can. Just remember, she's not trying to hurt you. Don't be afraid of her. I don't know what she wants, but she does want something. Remember that she was hurt in her life, and be kind."
"Of course." I looked past Ellone and saw something familiar. "Sol-" It was her. The little blue-eyed cat sat on the bookshelf, staring directly at me.
I need a new vessel. This cat is aging, and soon she'll die. I need a creature with a longer life. What I need to do cannot be done for several more years. You won't do. . .at least not to carry my spirit. You would carry something else quite nicely, though.
The tingly feeling of being watched grew, and then disappeared. I was left with a memory of having been spoken to but no recollection of the words. Shaking my head to clear it, I couldn't remember what had happened.
I suppose if I had I'd have had a million more questions.
Oh, and the cat had disappeared again.
-end chapter four
Author's Note: Hmm. . .I should be able to finish this up in two more chapters. It's drawing to a close. . .I know you're all so disappointed. *grin*
