Author note: Yay! Another chapter, I'm on a role! I know I totally just pat myself on the back there, but I hope everyone enjoys this chapter.

Disclaimer: I own nothing that is recognizable in this fanfiction story. The Midnight, Texas series belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Chapter 5 – Unearthed

It was 5:32 am when Winnie left the house, dressed and with her travel mug full of coffee in her hand. Normally she would wake up around seven, but an unsettling feeling had left her tossing and turning most of the night until she eventually gave up on sleep. When she had finally decided to go for a walk; she put on her light-blue t-shirt that said 'Life Update: Still a Mess', a pair of jeans, her green hoodie and her all-black slip-on Vans.

Two laps around town and an empty mug later, Winnie stopped at the restaurant for a refill and a breakfast roll. She was sipping her coffee as she leaned against the railing and waited for the sun to rise.

The sky had just started to turn orange when she caught movement out of the corner of her eye. Turning to see what had distracted her; Winnie saw the reverend outside the church.

She found herself moving without conscious decision in the direction of the black and white clad man. He was tending to the pet cemetery and she stopped at the fence.

"Good morning," the gypsy girl said "Looks like we'll get to see the sunrise together, again."

"Yes," he said as he looked at her, "And I'm sure you are finding this one more enjoyable than the last time, given the circumstances."

She shrugged as her lips curved into a smile, "I'm here with you, circumstances or not, it's all the same to me. Last time there was this gorgeous creature asleep in my lap, and this time I'm having a conversation with him," the smile changed to a playful smirk as she finished, "with clothes on."

There was a hint of shyness as he looked down and away before his eyes came back to hers. "It's kind of you to think that way," he told her, "and awfully naive. The tiger is a dangerous creature. I count myself lucky that only one person died that night."

"Stop," the psychic demanded with a firm tone as she pinned him with her gaze, "I already told you, what happened wasn't your fault. It was a tragic accident, wrong place at the wrong time, nothing more. Manny was the only other person who got hurt that night, and all that tiger did was scratch my brother when it could have gone for his throat—like any other tiger would have—so I refuse to believe that it's just a killing machine," her next words were softer, "We sat in that circle 'til sunrise and you never once hurt me."

Winnie turned her head away to look at the sun starting to peek over the horizon. The reverend didn't speak letting the girl collect her thoughts.

When she looked back a moment later, she licked her lips and took a deep breath before speaking, "Now, I was finally starting to have a good morning but my mood seems to have changed. Which is fine, not every day is a good day, right? I'll see you later, Rev."

"Winifred…" the weretiger started to say as she turned to walk away, but was stopped when she held up a hand.

"Not—not right now," she said without ever looking at him.

The female psychic came back to their house to see her brother crouched on the porch next to the steps, with a Jack-in-the-box in his hands and a worried look on his face.

"What is it?" she asked concerned.

"Not here," he told her and nodded to their RV, "inside."

They entered the RV and sat down at the booth, which was when Xylda appeared, her feet propped on the edge of Winnie's seat. Manny sat the toy down on the table letting his sister take a good look at it before she froze. It was a defaced doll that looked like the male psychic.

"Hightower," Winnie stated more than asked.

He nodded in confirmation, "He knows where I live. Would've been easy enough to shoot me when I opened the door, but he didn't."

"He wants to make you suffer first," Xylda told him.

"Yeah, he's doing a pretty good job," he acknowledged with a sigh.

"Hon, I wish I never got you into this mess."

"Didn't even have the decency to stay alive to help me out of it," he teased.

Xylda chuckled lightly but there was still regret in her eyes.

"Truth is, I wanted that money as much as you," he stated, looking at the slip of paper that had come with the Jack-in-the-box, "Do I meet him?"

"No." Xylda and Winnie said at the same time.

"You ask for help," Xylda went on to say.

"Besides, money's not what he's after," Winnie told her brother, her eyebrows were knit in distress, "All this time, tormenting you like he has been—he's in pain and looking for someone to take it out on before it can consume him. Hightower's not going to forgive what happened. The deal was for so much more than money and it cost him more too."

"Which is why we need to leave…" he said.

"Manny!" she said annoyed, "What good would that do?"

He was stopped from replying when the sound of motorcycle engines started to get louder outside and then there was an explosion from the building beside them.

The twins left the RV to see people running down the street and smoke billowing from the pawn shop. They ran up to Bobo as flames came out of the store front.

"Lem and Olivia are still in there," the owner told them before nudging Manny on the shoulder and taking off to the other side of the street, "Come on!"

Bobo went to the emergency box mounted on the build next to the fire hydrant and took the wrench to open the hydrant while Manny grabbed the hose. A few minutes later and they we're working to extinguish the fire. Bobo made sure to spray everything that had burned and the whole store front was soaked by the time the flames went out.

The pawn shop owner was turning off the hose when Creek asked him, "The Sons of Lucifer did this?"

Instead of answering the man headed into the shop.

Winnie entered the building behind Bobo to see if Lem or Olivia needed help. They started coughing immediately and Bobo called out.

"Olivia!"

They could hear her coughing from the back of the building and she soon came into view.

"Lem okay?" Bobo asked the blonde woman.

"Yeah, he slept through it. He doesn't have to breathe. I do." She told them as she continued toward the exit.

"I'll be right out!" he said taking in the rest of the damage and starting toward the back of the building when someone spoke up.

"Just a big ol' distraction," said a male voice with a rusty southern twang.

Winnie and Bobo looked around before looking at each other in silent question. They shook their heads at the same time.

"Who's there?" the brunette interrogated angrily.

"Down here, dimwit," the voice said.

Winnie and the man looked down and both raised their eyebrow at what they found.

"Fiji's cat?"

"Yep, and oh, my beeswax, the cat talks," the animal said.

Winnie coughed to cover up her giggle but it transferred into a real need to clear her lungs.

"Now that that's out of the way, we got to move on. They took Fiji."

"What do you mean they took her?"

"I mean they came in the store, put a thingy over her mouth, and dragged her out—she's gone," was the reply before the shop's phone started ringing.

Bobo went to the phone and Winnie started to follow but paused when she heard the cat say something.

"She feeds me. Can't be away for too long."

"Hey," Winnie said talking to the cat, "You're name's Mr. Snuggly, right? You want to come here?" she asked holding her arms open.

"Sure, girly, just be careful. I'm old," he told her as he came closer and she picked him up before walking into the office, absentmindedly rubbing his ears.

Bobo had already answered the phone when they entered. His face was slack from shock but he almost snarled the name, "Peter Lowry."

Winnie came closer and was able to hear the voice on the phone.

"So, Winthrop, is there anything you'd like to say to me?"

Bobo bit his lip before asking, "Where's Fiji?"

"I'm disappointed. I was expecting an apology. You know, 'Sorry about Aubrey'?"

"What?" the brunette asked confused before questioning, "What did you do with Fiji?"

"She's fine for now. She'll be fine as long as I get what I want. I want the weapons. I want the money. I want all of it."

"Done," Bobo accepted, "Where do you want to meet?"

"I'll get back to you."

"No, wait, let's do this now. I can be ready—" Bobo began to say but stopped as the line went dead.

"It's a trap," Winnie announced.

Bobo's jaw tightened and he nodded, "Yeah."

Her face looked pained as she continued speaking, "Even if you give him what he wants, he'll kill you both. You heard him. He blames you for Aubrey's death. To him, this won't be over until you're dead."

"No, they won't care once they've got what they want," Bobo assured.

"I hope you're right," said the gypsy girl in a worried tone.

"Listen, I'm going to take care of this," he said placing a hand on her shoulder and squeezing gently, "I'll get Fiji back, just let me handle it."

She sighed, "You're just like my brother, always trying to protect me, even when you're the one who needs help."

He gave her a smile and rubbed her shoulder soothingly before pushing her toward the exit, "Go on."

"Men," she mumbled as she turned to leave.

"Hm, most men are dumber than a box of rocks," said the cat in her arms, "it's a wonder you women folk haven't started running things yet."

Winnie chuckled, "Who says we don't?"

The cat seemed to shiver, "That's a scary thought, girly."

Exiting the shop, Winnie found Manny waiting for her. He looked at her and then the cat she was holding, "What's with the cat?"

She looked down at the animal, which looked up at her, before she explained, "He found his way into the shop. I found him and was making sure he got out. I was just taking him over to Fiji's."

"Oh, alright, I—I'm going to talk to Creek. I'll see you later," he told her.

The redhead chuckled. "You know, if you get anymore attached, you might find yourself wanting to stay," she teased, "and that wouldn't be a bad thing. I like it here."

He scoffed and left toward the restaurant.

"If he was a cat, he'd have his tail between his legs. That boys acting jumpier than a cricket," Mr. Snuggly said quietly were only Winnie could hear him.

"Here, let's go find you something to eat and I'll tell you about it," she offered.

"That's mighty kind of you, girly."

"Be warned, I don't have cat food, so I'll probably end up feeding you sandwich meat."

"Yum," The cat said and began to purr.

Manny came into the RV and started searching the stash while Winnie sat on the long seat petting Mr. Snuggly, who was curled up in her lap.

"What are you doing?" She questioned flatly.

"I need to get some cash, fast, and I was going to pawn these."

Her tone turned matter-of-fact, "Uh, no, you are not pawning our magical ancestral heirlooms."

"I need a hundred thousand and I've only got twenty-one of that," he told his sister.

She sighed and got up with the cat in her arms, "Come on, I've got cash but I'm only giving you double what you have. I still believe this isn't about the money," she turned to glare at him as she opened up her trailer, "so if you survive this I expect every cent back. You hear me?"

They stepped into the trailer and she pointed to the correct cabinet and he pulled out the $42,000.

"Now open that drawer," Winnie told her brother pointing to a drawer below the cabinet.

Manny's eyes widened when he saw what was in said drawer.

"Where did you get all of this?" he asked looking through the jewelry inside.

"Family heirlooms of the not-magical variety," she explained, "You can take some of the weirder relics and this stuff over to Bobo's and maybe get twenty thousand for it, it won't get you a hundred but it will be close. Oh, and I'll want those back too."

"Thanks for this," he said indicating the money and valuables. "But I need you to stay out of this. You were like a second daughter to him, Hightower won't hurt you but I need you to stay safe."

"I know," she said in that exasperated tone she usually used when he was being overprotective, "Beside, after everything that happened, Bobo has some stuff to do. I was thinking about helping him."

"You're awesome," he told her with a smile, gathered everything up and kissing her on the cheek as he left the trailer.

"Yeah, yeah," she said watching him go, "Just don't get killed, Manny, you're the only thing from our family I really care about."

He didn't acknowledge that he heard her, so she just huffed and locked up the trailer.

"I'm still wonderin' were all that green came from," Mr. Snuggly said from his place in the gypsy's arms.

"Well, my fine feline friend, a person who occasionally receives psychic visions may find the opportunity to place the odd bet, now and then," she said rubbing him behind the ears, "And then there is the small bit that happens to find its way to me by other means. What you saw is only what I've happened to acquire since my grandmother died."

The cat gave a contemplative hum but it was drowned out by his purring, which was induced by the girls massaging fingers.

Winnie left her house about an hour before sundown, ready to help Bobo, and was heading over to the pawn shop when someone came around the back of the RV and into sight.

She saw the reverend approaching and bit her lip. Winnie was close to turning around and heading back inside, when he finally stopped in front of her.

"Hello, Winifred," he greeted.

She flashed him a small smile, "Hi. I'm sorry but I can't talk right now. I'm kind of in a hurry," she started to say trying to inch passed him.

"This will only take a minute," he said quickly and waited until she was looking at him before speaking, "I know what I said this morning upset you and I would like to apologize. We obviously have different views on the animal side of my nature and I—"

He was cut off when the redhead gently took his face in both hands and pressed her lips against his. The kiss lasted a few seconds before Winnie pulled away slowly.

"You don't have to apologize," she told him before walking away.

"You need to think this through, first," Winnie tried to convince Bobo, "He hasn't called yet, so he's obviously waiting for it to get dark, which is a bad sign!"

The man seemed to be ignoring her as he continued to pace the floor.

"Bobo," the gypsy made his name sound almost like a plea, "You need a plan."

Lem's voice startled Winnie as he came into the room.

"Who did this?" the vampire barked loudly.

Bobo stopped his pacing to answer, "The Sons of Lucifer. It's me they're after, so let me take care of it."

"It stopped being just about you when they bombed Olivia's home," Lem said harshly.

After Lem spoke the phone began to ring and the owner headed toward the office to answer the call. Lem watched him walk away and Winnie hurried after him, she could tell that the vampire was following her.

"Tell me where and when," Bobo said forgoing any greeting.

Winnie was standing right beside him and heard Lowry speak. Lem had stopped at the door but everyone in the room knew the vampire could hear the conversation.

"Service road off Ranchville Drive," was the clipped reply. "Come alone. We see anyone else, Curly's dead. You understand me?"

"Yeah. I understand," Bobo answered his expression full of stone cold determination. There was an audible click on the line and the brunette hung up the phone.

"I remember when you first moved here," Lem suddenly mentioned, "Offered to buy this shop in cash." The vampire stepped around to the front of Bobo's desk to look the man in the eyes, "I knew you were running from something bad. I didn't ask questions then. I'm asking now. What do they want from you?"

"Alright, I'll show you," he told the dark-skinned man, before he turned to the girl standing beside him, "I don't suppose I can talk you into staying here."

Winnie shook her head. "Not a chance. You and Fiji are in trouble and I'm going to help. But you don't have to worry, I'm not going to put myself in danger and I won't get in the way. When it's time to meet them, you won't even see me," she promised.

Bobo just nodded and told them they would be going to his house. Winnie said she would take her bike and meet them there.

Ten minutes later she came up to Bobo's house. The two men were standing next to an open cellar door. She parked her motorcycle close before pulling off her helmet.

No one said anything until they were down the stairs. Bobo switched on the light and Winnie's eyes grew wide.

"Holy crap," she uttered under her breath. Crates and cases were stacked all around, plastic wrapped bundles of cash sat on top, and guns lined the wall.

"You're right," the brunette man told the vampire, "I was runnin'…from my family."

"This belonged to your family?" Lem probed suspiciously.

"Yeah, my parents are wealthy, well-connected, and, uh…" Bobo grimaced, "white supremacists."

The psychic stood slack jawed and stared at her landlord and friend.

Lem slowly turned to look at the man and the only thing he seemed capable of saying was, "Oh."

Winnie let out a gust of air and closed her mouth. "Okay," said the redhead voice a little shaky, "Not like you're a mass murdering psychopath, it's just that your parents are…right."

Lem walked over to a case and opened it to reveal stamped gold bars.

"They had big plans for this stuff," Bobo told them, "Once I found out about it, I didn't want it on my conscience, so I left."

Lem spoke, "With their stuff?"

"Yeah," Bobo nodded and started to explain, "Story spread. This cache became a holy grail of sorts for the white power crowd. One of Lowry's guys must have figured out who I was."

"That's why he sent Aubrey," Lem concluded.

"Manfred said that Aubrey's feelings for me were real. That's probably why Lowry killed her. Now he's got Fiji."

"Not for long," said the vampire, "Let's bring her home."

The bald supernatural started making his way to the ladder when the man tried to stop him, "Lem, I got to go alone. If I don't they'll kill her. I can't take that risk."

"I'm afraid that doesn't work for me."

Winnie lightly tapped the man on the shoulder with her knuckles and gave him a half smile, "Just like my brother," she told him. "I'll take my bike and stay at a distance."

"I'll stay close, under the vehicle, just don't drive over any large rocks," Lem said, "Now we should start getting this loaded up."

There was a group of bikers waiting for Bobo when he arrived. Winnie had stayed back far enough that they wouldn't be able to hear her engine, but she had to use an old spyglass to see what was going on. She gritted her teeth when the bikers started to beat up the pawn shop owner.

When it was over and they were moving again, Winnie followed even farther behind her lights off the whole way, dangerous as that was. The group ahead finally stopped when they reached what looked like an abandoned warehouse. She killed her engine almost half a mile away and pulled out the spyglass to watch.

Then the bikers start to unload the crates and Bobo was taken to talk to a man, Winnie assumed he was Lowry. When they took Bobo away Winnie made her move at the same time Lem did. She arrived by the time the vampire had cleared out the area around the truck. Lem was taking out everyone that got in his way.

Staying to make sure the other three had a clear exit she watched out for anyone coming toward the truck, but then the side of her that was an opportunist kicked in and she started loading up the money into the truck as fast as she could. Guns were something she didn't care about but Bobo needed to make repairs to his shop.

Winnie stood waiting with the lights on in the truck as the others arrived.

"Sun's almost up," Lem warned Bobo.

"I'll be quick," the man said.

"Winifred, you should get going," Lem told the redhead as he helped Fiji toward the vehicle.

"Alright," she agreed with a quick nod as she started running back to where she had parked.

A little while later there was an explosion and Winnie waited for the others before she turned on her lights and followed them back to Midnight.

At Bobo's house everyone got out but then Lem was suddenly gone, on his way to the pawn shop and away from the threat of sunlight.

"I-I need to go home," Fiji said quietly.

"I'll take you," Bobo offered and helped her over to the vehicle he usually drove.

"Hey," Winnie spoke up and they looked at her, "I'm going to unload the truck before I leave."

"So, you loaded all that back up," he clarified.

She tilted her head noncommittally. "Yeah, you've got some repairs to do, remember? You'll need money for that. Now, hurry up and take Fiji home."

He nodded and they left.

Winnie sighed and sat on the bumper of the truck.

"I can't believe this," a voice snarled form her left, startling the woman.

The redhead turned to see the man she had identified as Lowry, but he was obviously dead, with a knife sticking out of his chest. The ghost was glaring at the taillights of Bobo's truck as it drove away.

"What can't you believe," she said equally startling the spirit, "That your racist ass got killed, or that a traitor and a bunch of freaks were the ones who did it?"

"Oh, make no mistake that pisses me off, but what really makes me angry, is your buddy Winthrop getting away with killing my wife. He and his whore get to live while everyone I knew and loved is dead!"

"So, you do believe Bobo killed Aubrey?" She questioned.

"That's what I said," the spirit spat.

"Aubrey was killed by someone wearing a Sons of Lucifer jacket," Winnie told the ghost, "Her ghost showed me what happened."

"That's a lie," Lowry said vehemently.

Winnie sighed and her face took on a contemplative visage, "No, it's a fact, so either one of your friends killed your wife or someone dressed like one of your gang did. Either way, you need to leave," she said looking at the ghost then waved her hand as if clearing the air and the spirit was gone.

Winnie had unloaded the truck by the time the sun came up and was about to leave when Bobo came back. She gave him a curious look, "I was thinking you would have stayed with Fiji."

"She said she wanted to get some rest, and I needed to get cleaned up," Bobo told her.

"Yeah," she said looking at the dried blood on the side of his face, "Come on, I'll help."

He gave her a tired smile, "Thanks, I'm really grateful for what you've done for me and Fiji."

She shrugged and walked with him into the house, "We're friends, right?"

Winnie left Bobo's house after helping the man clean and disinfect his cuts. She made it back to her place sometime before ten o'clock and was more than ready to go to bed.

"Where have you been?" Manny asked as she walked through the door. Her brother was sitting on the couch and looked just as tired as she felt.

The redhead curled up into his right side and laid her head on his shoulder before she spoke, "Helping Bobo, which it turns out, involved rescuing Fiji from a gang of bikers. Probably wasn't any safer than what you did last night."

He wrapped his arms around her. "Probably not," he agreed, "but we're still here, and I'm glad because 'you're the only thing from our family I really care about'." He told her, repeating the words she had said earlier. They shared a smile and he placed a kiss on the crown of her head. "Now come on, we both need showers. You first," he said nudging her off the couch.

She quickly took a shower and got dressed while her brother took his turn. During their showers they each took turns telling the other what they had been doing since the fire. Remembering something she went back into the bathroom, "Hey, Manny?"

"Yeah?" he called from the other side of the curtain.

"I talked to Lowry's ghost," she said, a second later the curtain opened and she was looking at her brother, "He said Bobo killed Aubrey. He didn't know that the killer was wearing a biker jacket when she was attacked."

"So what does that mean?"

She pursed her lips, "I don't think it's over."

"Hm," was his only reply as he finished taking a shower.

"Oh, and I kissed the Rev," she announced as she left the bathroom.

There was a thumping noise she hoped was the soap before he exclaimed, "What?! Winnie, what do you mean you kissed the Rev?"

She giggled as she heard him quickly finish his shower and turn off the water. He came into the bedroom with a blank face.

"Talk," he ordered sitting down beside her on the bed.

"Well, I kissed him," she said, but he kept looking at her and she clarified, "I was talking to him this morning and I got a little mad. Later, he came by to apologize and I…kissed him."

"Wow," he was clearly surprised but then he smirked, "kinky."

Winnie chuckled and rolled her eyes. "Shut up."

"I mean, the whole age thing and then the whole bestiality angle," he continued.

"Ugh," she groaned pushing him onto the bed and grabbing a pillow, "I'm going to smother you," she half-heartedly threatened.

"No you won't," he argued pulling the pillow out of her hands and flinging it toward the head of the bed.

"Fine," she huffed before grinning impishly, "Then I'm going to tell Creak that you're ticklish."

"Then I'll just tickle you," he countered while following through and starting to jab his fingers into his sister's sides.

"No!" she cried trying to get away.

They wrestled on the bed for a minute before collapsing, both out of breath. Winnie curled her arms around her brother, who returned the embrace.

She tucked her head against his chest and closed her eyes, "I love you, Manny."

"Love you, too."

"I think I'm going to pass out."

"Ditto," he replied.

"Night," she said with a sigh but he was already asleep and she was quick to join him.

It was late afternoon by the time the twins woke up. Winnie scrapped some sandwiches together for a quick meal and was standing in the kitchen when Creak knocked on the door. Manny answered while Winnie unabashedly eavesdropped.

Instead of a greeting the waitress said, "You made it out alive. Did he?"

The male psychic shook his head. "Long story. I wasn't sure I'd see you again after—"

"Your dead ex-fiancé fiasco?" the brunette woman asked.

"Look, if it's a deal breaker—" he started to say.

"It isn't," she interrupted and then stepped over the threshold and into his space, "I'm impressed. You did everything you could to make it right. You tried." There was a pause, "I'm sorry about what happened with your grandma. That really sucks."

"Yeah. It did," he stated before they kissed, "Can you stay a while?"

"How about I stay the night?"

Winnie raised her eyebrow at the same time Manny asked, "What are you gonna tell you dad?"

Creak looked down at the floor as she answered, "I already told him the truth. That I'm an adult, and he can't tell me how to live, and you and I are a thing," she finished looking him in the eyes. "I mean, if you're still planning on staying."

"Now I am," was the reply and he kissed her again, this time longer, "So, I'm not running anymore. You're not hiding from your dad. This gonna get boring?"

"Let's find out."

They both chuckled and started to make out as Manny shut the door.

Winnie shook her head and silently left through the back door. She came out of the alley on the other side of the pawn shop and made her way to the restaurant for a cup of tea. She sat and sipped the tea but didn't order a second cup, and soon after she left.

Once outside, Winnie went to the church. She and Manny weren't religious, and she hadn't gone to church in a long time before arriving at Midnight. There was no one inside so she headed for the middle pew. Taking a seat, she waited, but not very long.

"Winifred," the reverend said as he came around to stand before the pew in front of the redhead, "I didn't expect to see you."

"That's silly," she scoffed and smiled at him, "Of course you will, I live here."

He let a small smile curve his lips, "I suppose it is when you put it that way." The reverend went quiet and there was a long pause, in which he leaned against the pew behind him, before speaking again, "I'm beginning to see a pattern," he stated. She gave him a curious look and he explained, "You seek me out when you want to talk."

"Yeah, but that's 'cause I like talking to you," she smiled, "And I wanted to explain what happened yesterday morning."

"I see," said the man, "You should know that you don't have to explain yourself to me."

"I know, but I want to. I want you to know why I got upset," she paused to lick her lips, "Manny and I, uhm, we've seen ghosts all our life, and then in our pre-teens I developed empathic abilities and started having visions. Our Mom didn't have any abilities, so when we were born, she had no clue what she was in for.

"When we were babies Manny and I would laugh or cry sometimes and no one could figure out why. My Mom told a pediatrician about our behavior and he cautioned her that we might have autism. She probably would have been happier if that had been the case, instead her children could see ghosts.

"We grew up in a house that was haunted by the spirit of an old woman, who had lived there before us, Manny and I called her Aunt Penny. She looked out for us and would play games. Our Mom thought we had an imaginary friend until objects started moving around the house.

"When I was six, I woke up one morning feeling something that I had never felt before. My chest hurt and I couldn't stop crying, so my Mom took me to the hospital. The doctors couldn't find anything wrong and I was starting to feel better, so she took me home and suddenly I felt bad again. A neighbor came by later to talk to my Mom and told her that the elderly man living next door had lost his wife the night before.

"Two months later, I still felt the same but I was starting to get really sick and my doctor was worried about me developing pneumonia. I just wanted it to stop.

"One night, Aunt Penny came to tuck me in and I remember her telling me that I would feel better in the morning. The next morning I did feel better but around lunch time an ambulance came to the house next door. Everyone said that the neighbor couldn't take the heartache and had passed away in the night.

"Later, I asked Penny if she killed our neighbor. She said no, but I knew she was lying. She killed him because she somehow understood I was an empath, and I was feeling his emotions.

"A couple of years later, I had to sit next to this girl in class. She was always sad, depressed, and I could feel it. It was like the old man but worse."

She paused and looked up at him for the first time since she started speaking, "It was like her pain was my pain, and it was unbearable. That year I came closer to committing suicide than I care to admit. One night I had a vision, back then I didn't know the words for it. I saw the girl I sat next to, she was in a dark room and there was a man with her."

Winnie's eyes fell to the floor, "It was her own father. He had been molesting her for years. But, I just thought it was a bad dream.

"A few days later, she came into class and I got a flash, a vision that only lasted a second. I saw her falling off the monkey bars, so when we went to recess I told her to be careful not to fall. When she looked at me after I told her, she wasn't worried, she was almost in awe at the idea. No one wanted to admit that she threw herself off."

She sniffed and drew in a deep breath, "The ambulance and police showed up, but she was dead. Her ghost was there and she knew I could see her and she wanted me to tell them why she did it, she said 'tell them my Dad hurts me and I wanted it to stop'. So, I did.

"Not long after that, our mother left us with our grandmother, and I haven't seen her since."

She stood up and looked him in the eyes as she explained, "That's why I don't like it when people are feeling guilty about something that wasn't their fault. It's why I try and look on the Brightside.

"I've always been able to see ghosts and most of the time my visions are not pleasant. I couldn't survive having these gifts if I let myself get depressed. When you can see and feel Death, everywhere you go, sometimes it helps to be a little naive."

She bit her lip and stepped into the aisle facing away from the reverend. Taking a deep breath she turned back to him.

"Well, that's what I wanted to explain about yesterday morning, so there it is." She chewed on her lip before stepping closer and was relieved when he didn't stop her or back away. Her next words were a whisper, "but I kissed you, because you're an amazing person and I would like to do it again."

"So would I," he said quietly. His warm hands came up to frame her face and he gently pressed his lips against hers.

Winnie's left hand came to cradle the back of his neck as her finger tips played in the hair at his nape, while her right hand rested over his heart and she felt the steady rhythm under her palm.