Specter~Chapter 3
"C'mon, man, just do it already!" Finn said, urging Sam on.
Sam wasn't too sure about this. Since dying in 1852 and finding himself in heaven alongside Finn, he had mostly enjoyed sitting atop a puffy cloud, watching the Earthly souls go about their business. That's what he had to look forward to for eternity so he might as well enjoy it. Upon arrival in heaven, and seeing Finn and even Lucinda's father, he learned he was a spiritual being. He appeared the age he did when he died, as did Finn and Mr. Fabbrae, but all of the effects of being submerged in the ocean for days after his death were gone. He thanked God that he didn't have to spend eternity being bloated and gray.
The spirits were given two options: hang around in the clouds day in and day out or spend their time on Earth, only harmlessly haunting folks. Finn and Sam decided that that was the way to go, bid farewell to Mr. Fabbrae and other spirits they knew, and headed back down to Earth. They soon learned how to move effortlessly from place to place (just think it and you'll go). They heard a rumor from other spirits that you had one opportunity to reveal yourself to a living soul if you could figure out how, but neither one of them had ever seen that done before or even heard of it being done. At first, they haunted Battenfield for a few years but that soon grew tiresome. It saddened Sam to watch over Lucinda as she grieved for him and the others. Soon, Finn and Sam transported themselves to the battlefields of the Civil War where they had a largely fun time haunting the Confederate soldiers. They traveled around the United States, watching it grow, and then around the world, witnessing major events in history. They returned to Battenfield on September 1, 1916, because Sam had a feeling about Lucinda. He watched over her as she took her last breaths. He watched her burial in the old cemetery and knew she'd be arriving in heaven soon. He wondered if she'd make the choice to stay or come back as a spirit to Earth. He was still waiting to see her in spiritual form so he guessed she stayed upstairs. Through the years, Sam and Finn continued to make the rounds, enjoying meeting other spirits and always enjoying the haunting.
"I dunno, Finn...it would prob'ly scare that old man to death!" Sam answered, making them both laugh at that prospect.
"Are you 'fraid he'd come back to get you?" Finn asked.
"Then you do it!"
They were standing behind Prince Philip as he sat at the breakfast table enjoying his tea and toast after all the Queen's Jubilee festivities. Finn reached through him and moved his tea saucer across the table. They watched as Prince Philip took this in. Sam then reached through him and moved the saucer back to its rightful place.
Sam and Finn were snickering about the Prince's terrified expression until the Queen walked in and asked him what was wrong. He tried to explain to her about the tea cup and saucer, but she wasn't having any of that and called for the guards and had the Prince ushered to the hospital.
Sam and Finn transported themselves to Paris.
"Remember Amelia? She wasn't scared of anything, bless her," Finn said, recalling their intervention with one Amelia Earhart.
"She was a fun one," Sam agreed.
They both agreed that while haunting was a fun sport, it was only fun when the hauntee was not so scared, not believing they were actually being haunted. Finn and Sam considered those people a challenge. For the most part, the regular people they haunted had no idea they were being haunted and went about their daily activities never knowing a chuckling Finn and Sam were following them.
They had no concept of time and needed no sleep. Sometimes, if haunting was getting boring, Sam would transport himself to the Battenfield library (his favorite library anywhere) and read over someone's shoulder. He didn't care what it was, just something to pass the infinite time.
One of their favorite haunts in Battenfield, though, was the Abrams Estate and the lady who was the main caretaker. She refused to believe there were ghosts or spirits haunting those halls, even though Finn and Sam tried every trick they had to try to scare her just a bit. They'd close opened doors, open closed doors, blow papers from the table in front of her, blow out a candle, walk loudly enough for her to hear their footsteps, move inanimate objects (one of their favorite things to do). However, they always respected her privacy and never haunted her in the bathroom or at her own home. Sometimes, she'd speak out loud to them, telling them that they weren't scaring her. She didn't know who they were, per se, but she was not frightened of them in the least little bit.
After setting her cup of coffee down to adjust some curtains that had been open, now were closed, she turned to find her coffee cup gone.
"Really? Are you thirsty? I'm not sure you'd like my cream with a splash of latte. Now, where'd you put it?" she asked into thin air. She wandered from the sitting room into the expansive grand foyer and sighed. She just wanted her latte, was that too much to ask? She heard a thump in the dining room and followed it. There, she found her cup of latte, still steaming.
"Thank you very much," she said, smiling. She just hoped the new girl and the ghosts would get along.
xxxxx
September 1, 1916
So, this is what heaven looks like, she thought, a bit sadly, upon reaching the Pearly Gates. St. Peter was waiting there to usher her in. He directed her to a desk holding a giant book, the largest book she had ever seen. She signed in: Lucinda Q Fabbrae, September 1, 1916. She studied the Q. She had always wondered what it stood for; no one had told her. There wasn't much else to do except wander around. She was told of the two options, staying or going back to Earth as a spirit. She chose to stay. If she went back to Earth, she would just be reminded of all she never had. She checked the directory and found her parents, residing on Cloud #494E. She floated around, until she found them hovering over Mexico. Her father looked the same as he did the night he died in the shipwreck; her mother looked the same as when Lucinda last saw her alive.
"Lucinda! You've made it!" her mother said happily, floating over to hug her.
"Hello ma, pa...yes, I've made it," Lucinda said, somewhat resignedly.
"Look at this view we have! It took us awhile to move up such a great cloud, but we did it!" her father said, hugging her also.
Lucinda looked down and had to agree that it was a beautiful sight.
They caught up, asking her what she had done with her life. She finally asked them what the Q stood for, her middle name, and they told her that her middle name was Quynne, a name handed down on her mother's side of the family.
Lucinda Quynne Fabbrae…Lucinda Quynne Evans…she thought. She loved the sound of Quynne, wishing she had asked about when she was alive.
The topic of conversation finally came around to the night of the shipwreck.
"It was awful; the fog so thick no one could see anything...then the rocks and such a horrible sound! The Lizzy Dean began taking on water quickly and we went under," her father described. "The water was icy cold; it took me quickly. It took all of us."
"Did Samuel Evans pester you on that trip?" she asked her father, smiling.
"He did! He was a rascal that one! He promised me he'd take very good care of you, Lucinda, and I believe he would have," her father replied.
"Did you ever see Samuel here?" she asked them.
"Ayuh! He and the Hudson boy returned to Earth," her father told her. Her heart felt heavy. She had hoped to see him here at least, even if she was 80 in her human years and him still 17. Now, there was no chance of that. Her eternity would consist of sitting on the fluffy cloud with her parents, looking down at Mexico.
What happened in the next few days Lucinda considered a miracle. Word spread that God was trying out something new, a plan He called Rebirth. Under this plan, a spirit could choose to be reborn. The soul would fill out a questionnaire and as soon as a human match was being born they would be transported into that body. The drawback would be losing all memory of your previous life. Of course, all the kinks and quirks hadn't been worked out, but God and his disciples didn't anticipate too many issues. Lucinda picked up a questionnaire and read through it. Her first week in heaven had been dreadfully boring; at least on Earth, she had kept herself busy and social. But, losing all her memory of her previous life...she wasn't so sure she could handle that. Her memory of Sam would vanish. Maybe it's time I let him go, she thought. She filled out the data on the info form, turned it in, and waited. And waited. And waited.
Finally, her name was called. She hugged her family goodbye and reported to the transportal vestibule. She had to sign a final release before climbing in. The last thing she heard before being transported back to Earth was the saint who was blessed with the transporting task. He said, "You're going to Lima, Ohio!"
Just as the door on the transportal vestibule shut quietly, Lucinda's last thought as her own was, "Like the bean?"
xxxxx
The room was bright and loud and cold. She was screaming. Then, she was wet and cold and annoyed. People were handling her roughly and stinging her with sharp instruments. Drops were put into her eyes, making her scream even louder. Finally, someone wrapped her in a blanket and handed her to another person. That person smiled down at her, so she stopped screaming. Her mind was full of thoughts, racing and scattered images; she couldn't quite grasp them as they disappeared. She heard the name Sam though she had no idea what a Sam was…fluffy clouds…the feeling of peace dissipating. The smiling woman kissed her forehead and handed her to someone else who put her in a crib. The crib was rolled from the room to another room, full of other screaming people. On the outside of the crib, a placard was attached: Baby Girl Miller, September 1, 1992.
A/N: I hope this explains a little more of what's going to happen! I'm so excited about it...stick with me...it makes more sense as we go! If things still aren't making sense, let me know, and I'll get chapter 4 posted asap! Thanks for reading and reviewing! I love to hear from y'all! :-)