Far and Away

by Fern Michaels

  “The table fits perfectly, just as I thought,” Toots commented upon seeing the wooden table she’d purchased for this exact purpose. She held Frankie, her adorable dachshund, in her arms. He growled when he realized he was not going to be the center of attention. Toots gently rubbed the space between his ears. He immediately quieted.

  “And tonight we’re going to find out if this . . . wood has all the magic Sophia claims it has,” Ida said, her voice shrill, an indication of her nervousness. Then she gave Toots a dirty look when she saw Frankie.

  “I promise not to disappoint you either. Though I do want you to keep in mind that this wood ”—Sophie nodded at the long table in the center of the small room—“isn’t the kind of wood that has the sort of magic you’re referring to.” Sophie grinned, not caring that she had embarrassed Ida in front of Daniel. After a year together, he should know Ida’s uppermost thoughts always included a reference to sex, whether consciously or not.

  “Now, don’t you two get started. This is Daniel’s first séance, and we definitely do not want him to think that this isn’t serious business, now do we?” Mavis, ever the peacemaker, asked. She’d brought Coco, her Chihuahua, who was absolutely convinced that she—the dog, not Mavis—was royalty. “Can we keep Coco and Frankie in the kitchen?”

  “Of course you can. I’ve already fixed a spot for them,” Sophie said, then returned her attention to Ida.

  “Rest assured I have told Daniel of your successes, Sophia,” Ida said in her best know-it-all voice. “And thank you, Mavis.” Ida smiled at Mavis.

  “You’re most welcome, dear,” Mavis said sweetly.

  “Yes, and I must say, I’m impressed,” Daniel said. “I’ve never been too much of a believer in all this hocus-pocus, personally, but both Ida and Mother insist you’re the real thing. I know Charleston is a hotbed for anything paranormal. Last week, Ida and I went on a ghost walking tour. I have to admit, it was a bit unsettling.”

  “Then you’d best be prepared tonight because I can promise you, after an evening with Sophie and her séances, you will be more than a bit unsettled,” Toots informed Daniel. “She’s the real deal. Nothing phony or fake about her. Right, Goebel?”

  Goebel nodded, then spoke as he finished arranging the chairs around the table. “Absolutely. If you’re okay with having the daylights scared out of you, stay. If not, it might be best to leave now before any ghostly apparitions make themselves known.”

  Daniel gave a nervous laugh. “I’ll stick around. Since I’ve moved back to Charleston full-time, it’s probably fitting that I have at least one ghost experience, so I’ll have something to converse about with new clients—just in case the topic happens to come up in conversation.”

  Ida shot him a dirty look. “You discuss ghosts with your clients? Why am I just now hearing this?”

  All eyes focused on Daniel and Ida. It looked as though they were about to have their first argument, or at least the first to be witnessed.

  “No, dear lady, I do not discuss ghosts with my clients. As I said, if the subject happens to come up—in the future—then I will have a true, bona fide experience to share.”

  For once, Ida kept quiet.

  “I say it’s time we get started. It’s getting late, and I promised Wade I would call him before I went to sleep tonight,” Mavis said. “He wants to stay close to Robert since he’s been acting . . . odd.”

  “Shit, Mavis, Robert is odd. He likes Bernice. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that man, other than he’s so smitten with Bernice that’s all he thinks about. Phil agrees, don’t you?” Toots asked.

  “I couldn’t say for sure and be one hundred percent sure without examining him, but I haven’t seen any signs of real dementia, as Wade seems to think. I think the old guy is in love. And love will make a man do all sorts of crazy things, right, Toots?” Phil said to her.

  Toots chuckled. “Depends on what you call crazy. So what kind of crazy things are we talking about here?”

  “I think I’d best keep my mouth shut before I end up sticking my foot in it and swallowing it,” Phil diplomatically replied. “Sophie wants to get down to business, so we can talk about this later. When we’re alone.”

  “Okay, enough bullshit. Ida, take the pooches downstairs. I agree that it’s time we get down to serious business. Let’s everyone find a seat,” Sophie said. As soon as Ida returned from the kitchen downstairs, they all gathered around the table.

  “First, thanks for doing this for me. I know it’s late, but it is what it is, and I wouldn’t have asked any of you to come over this late”—she eyed Toots—“even though it’s early for me. I had a very disturbing dream last night, or what I thought was a dream, and now I know it wasn’t. That’s why I wanted to perform the séance tonight. I wanted to do this while the memory is still fresh and vivid in my mind. Now, since Daniel hasn’t attended one of my séances before, I’ll tell him what we do, then we can turn out the lights, and, Mavis, if you would do the honors of lighting the candles when we’re ready, it will be close to how we did things in California.” It had been several months since Sophie had performed a séance with the girls, and this would be the first in her new home. Before speaking further, she gave a silent prayer for the spirit to be filled with love, and that those in the room with her would not walk away with fears and doubts.

  “Of course I will,” Mavis said. “I enjoy helping the process. I just wish Wade were here. He would love this sort of thing.”

  “Next time bring him, and the hell with Robert and Bernice’s wackiness. I know Bernice secretly wants a dachshund. She can’t seem to keep her hands off Frankie, at least when she thinks I’m not looking,” Toots said.

  “Toots? Are we finished?” Sophie asked in a low voice, the voice that they knew meant business, and that business was making contact with the spirit world.

  “Sorry,” Toots said, then reached for Phil’s hand beneath the table, where she gave him a reassuring squeeze that he instantly returned.

  The wooden table was round, yet Sophie sat with her back to the single window, facing the door. Toots took the seat to her right, and Phil sat next to Toots. On Sophie’s left was Goebel, then Ida, who seemed a bit eager to grab Goebel’s hand, but Sophie knew full well that while Goebel tolerated Ida’s foolishness, he only had eyes for his wife. After she finished lighting the candles, Mavis took her seat next to Daniel, reached for his hand, then took Phil’s hand when he offered it to her.

  “Daniel, just listen and follow my instructions. First, in order for one to make a connection to the other side, we must clear our minds of all things negative. Fill our minds with good thoughts, pleasant images. A beach, a stream alongside a mountain, flowers gently blowing in the wind, the sound of a soft rain as it falls from the sky.” Sophie paused so the group could clear their minds. After a few seconds had passed, she spoke again, only this time her voice was softer, yet deeper. “First, let us say a prayer for those who have departed and want to reach out to us now. May we touch their souls with love and light, so they may find eternal peace unto the end of time. Let’s join hands.”

  Sophie wasn’t following the exact protocol she’d used in the past because she knew it wasn’t needed. No rocks or glass would fly across the table by way of answers, nor would they see any free writing done by this spirit. Sophie knew what to expect and found her heart racing. Taking a deep, calming breath, Sophie inhaled and exhaled several times before her heart rate returned to a normal beat. She could hear the others following her breathing patterns. Good, she thought. The more relaxed they were, the more likely the spirit would make itself known to them.

  Sophie continued to speak out, yet it wasn’t to anyone in the room, or at least any living someone in the room now. “You came to me in a dream, a vision. I felt your constraints, I felt your excitement.” Sophie paused, allowing all of them time to get used to something different. Except for Daniel, as this was a first for him, it would be what he would continue to expect if he were asked to
attend any future séances.

  “You are from another time, long ago. Hundreds of years ago.” Sophie slowly released each word as though each were sacred. “I mean you no harm,” she added. This was Sophie’s rule, that she let those from the other side know that she would not harm their spirit; nor would she allow a spirit to harm any who attended.

  They all were totally silent, the room dim except for the four candles Mavis placed on the table, one at each corner representing the four points of the compass. Sophie didn’t always use this particular arrangement, but it had proved to be just one more way to ensure that a spirit found her. Again, she did not know why, just that it did.

  “Let’s all clear our minds, open them to our spirit, let her know she is welcome and that we mean her no harm.” Sophie took deep breaths, in and out, slowly. The others followed. “Yes, blow all the negative thoughts away from your mind, free them, let them go. Only positive, loving thoughts now,” she said, almost in a whisper. “I want to understand you, and help you,” Sophie continued, encouraging the spirit with her soft, mesmerizing words.

  Normally, Sophie was able to make contact with the other side fairly quickly. Tonight, her method wasn’t working as fast. “Please show yourself, let me help you. We all want to help you. These are friends, family.”

  Often, if a spirit felt there were too many people in the space it normally occupied, it stayed away. Sophie wanted to make sure her spirit knew she was safe to show herself in this room as this is where she felt most comfortable. Sophie guessed that the room held a special meaning for her.

  “Let’s concentrate. Remove all the negativity from our minds,” Sophie repeated softly. She started doing the deep-breathing exercises again, keeping her eyes closed, trying her best to call up the image of the woman in her vision. She opened her eyes, fully expecting to see the woman, but again, all she saw were her dear friends gathered around the table doing their best to concentrate on also clearing their minds so that she could figure out what this meant. “You all are doing great,” she added in a soft voice.

  Encouragement never hurt, she thought as she closed her eyes again. There was more deep breathing, in and out, trying to clear away the bad energy. Sophie was about to open her eyes when she heard what sounded like a soft, tinkling sound, a bell. Toots squeezed her hand, Sophie gave a squeeze back. “We’re here to help you, whoever you are. We are your friends,” Sophie repeated. This spirit was not going to show itself easily.

  “I know that you were hurt, I felt your pain when you fell.” Sophie thought these might be the words this particular spirit needed to hear. “Is this what you want me to acknowledge? Your pain?”

  One of the candles in the south position flickered for a few seconds, then went out. Smoke from the wick spiraled above the candle. All eyes were focused on this. The smoke formed a small whirlwind and flew across the room so fast, everyone at the table felt a small gush of air! “Are you here now? Did you just blow out the candle?”

  Another candle was extinguished, and the smoke from that candle withered away into the air as it would have had someone pinched its wick. “See?” Ida whispered to Daniel.

  “Shhh, be quiet, Ida,” Sophie admonished.

  “Are you here in the room with us now? If you are, let us know by extinguishing another candle.” All eyes focused on the two remaining candles on the table. The red, orange, and gold flames barely moved.

  For the next minute or so, no one took their eyes away from the two remaining candles.

  “I don’t think our spirit is ready to make contact yet. I feel as though she is . . . afraid.” Sophie mumbled the last word.

  They returned their attention to Sophie when she spoke. “Something terrible must have happened to her.”

  Chapter Five

  The pain seared throughout her body, and she felt as though her entire being were on fire. Then, as fast as the pain came, it was gone, replaced by a warm, pleasant feeling as though she were being held by a ray of the brightest sun. She looked around her and saw herself splayed out at the bottom of the steps. Her right leg was twisted at an unnatural angle from the knee down. Her left leg appeared uninjured, though both arms were broken in half between the elbow and the wrist. Her head tilted upward, her eyes frozen, and she stared up at the ceiling.

  Unable to comprehend why she felt just fine, yet able to see herself, unmoving, in a heap at the bottom of the staircase, Florence looked around her, and again, she felt different, changed somehow, as though she was in another world. Yet how could that be, she thought as she walked around the crumpled woman who appeared to be herself. Again, it must be another dream.

  She walked back upstairs to wait for Theodore. Not understanding what was taking him so long, she decided to go ahead and prepare for bed.

  “Ruth,” she called out as soon as she entered her suite of rooms. Shaking her head, then closing and opening her eyes, surely, she thought, she was quite out of her mind.

  These were not her rooms, yet they were!

  She stared at the room, her room, or what she thought to be her room, and what she observed did not make sense to her at all. She’d had no wine with dinner, nothing to cause her to feel so out of sorts. She tried closing her eyes for a few moments, then opened them yet again.

  Her cherry four-poster bed was no longer in the room. In its place was a small bed, without ornaments of any kind, its coverings extremely plain. Fearful of her thoughts and where they would lead, she forced herself to focus further on the room and its contents. This room was not her room. She stepped fully into the large area, searching for anything familiar, but she saw that nothing was as she’d left it earlier in the evening.

  On the bed was a contraption holding different types of fabrics, yet still, nothing in the room seemed familiar. Surely, she must be in the midst of a nightmare. With one hand, she reached for the other. When she tried to pinch her wrist, her fingers slipped right through her skin! Again, she tried to pinch herself, and her fingers were unable to grab anything!

  Dear God, she thought, have I been poisoned? Surely there was some explanation for this, even though she could not begin to imagine what it could possibly be. She walked around the perimeter of her room, a room she thought had once belonged to her. But nothing was as it should be. Before she lost complete control of herself, she hurried out of the room and down the hall to the small room she planned to use as a nursery. She forced herself to think she was in the midst of a dream, and in doing so, she found she was anxious to see what awaited her.

  She hesitated before entering the nursery, again reminding herself this had to be a dream, though actually it was more like a nightmare that had come to life. There were no other words to describe what she was experiencing. Had she somehow unknowingly consumed liquor? She hadn’t had any alcoholic beverages for weeks, unless she’d mistakenly drunk out of Theodore’s glass; but, no, that was ridiculous. She would never be that careless, especially in her condition. No, there had to be another explanation.

  Forcefully pushing the door aside, Florence entered the nursery, or what she planned to be the nursery. She had ordered a very special wallpaper for this room just last week. The pattern would be perfect for a baby’s room, boy or girl. Puffy clouds, pale blue skies, and adorable little lambs leaping over a fence in a lovely green pasture. It was sure to be calming. Clearing her mind in order to focus on her current situation, she took in her surroundings. Odd, as this room appeared as it had the last time she’d been in here. The walls were bare, as they were being prepared for hanging the wallpaper that was scheduled to arrive next month. The single window remained unadorned, waiting for her to choose a fabric to coordinate with the wallpaper.

  She stood by the window, expecting to see nothing but darkness, as it was quite late. Instead, she saw that it was daylight, early afternoon if the sun’s position was correct.

  This can’t be!

  Cook had served dinner just as the sun was setting; she remembered this because Theodore had commented how
warm it was today as he’d ridden throughout the plantation, remarking how much he had looked forward to the cool evening.

  Sick with panic, she paced the small room, careful not to look out the window. This was simply a nightmare from which she would soon awaken. Of course it was, it had to be. There was no other possible explanation. Or was there?

  Suddenly, she felt that she had to leave the room and return to her place at the top of the stairs. If he thought she had retired for the night, Theodore might go to bed without giving her a chance to tell him the wonderful news.

  Hurrying back to wait at the top of the staircase, Florence stood where she had only moments ago. She peered over the banister, hoping to see Theodore, or at the very least see her home as it was moments ago.

  Taking in the scene below, she saw her home stripped of its furnishings, decorations, even the lamps nowhere to be seen. Everything was gone, except for the staircase and banister, and it looked much older, as though it hadn’t been well cared for.

  No!

  She closed her eyes and would keep them tightly shut until morning. Ruth would awaken her with a soft tap on her door, then enter with a pot of hot tea and a plate of piping-hot biscuits fresh from the oven, liberally slathered with butter and fresh peach jam made with peaches from their own trees, just as she had every single day since Florence had become Mrs. Theodore Dabney.

  Praying she would soon wake up to her familiar surroundings, Florence remained at the top of the staircase. When several minutes passed, she opened her eyes.

  Again, she was greeted by unfamiliarity, and a complete and utter silence. This was not a dream; it couldn’t be, because she felt herself to be wide-awake. Her senses were never this heightened during a dream, whether it was pleasant or not. Inhaling, she detected a scent uncommon to her home. Normally, one could smell lemon oil throughout the house, but there was not a trace of the aromatic oil in the air. She focused on trying to identify the odor, but it was so unusual, she could not. Possibly Theodore’s clothing, she thought, though she did not recall smelling it when he came home this afternoon. It didn’t matter, she told herself.