It pulled me deeper into the darkness. Off the path. Stumbling over rocks and briars. My legs ran with a speed I hadn’t known before this time. But I didn’t control them. They seemed to have a life of their own. I moved fast in the blackness. The heavy canopy of trees blocked much of the moonlight trying to stream inside. I had no clue of where I was going, which was good because I ran in a black haze. Fear seeped through every part of my exhausted body. Mosquitoes nipped at me in the humid air, and tree branches cut at my exposed flesh. Even if I wanted to turn back to the path, I couldn’t fight the force propelling me forward.
I came to an abrupt stop. I looked around, my eyes adjusting to this brighter part of the woods. My body pulsated, and my hands shook. A noise startled me, and I turned around. He lay sprawled out in a bed of leafy green ferns. Blood dripped down his face.
I rushed to his side. “Tommy, can you hear me?”
His eyes fluttered, and he mumbled something inaudible.
I leaned closer. “Say it again.”
“Touch me,” he said in a weak whisper. “Touch the blood.”
I hesitated. I was the squeamish type, and touching someone else’s wound wasn’t something I’d normally do. But nothing was normal about this situation. It seemed pointless to me to touch him. How would it help him? I’d just end up with bloody hands. And I was confused why he was bleeding anyway. I didn’t think ghosts would bleed.
I placed my hand on his cool, bloodied skin gently. Heat formed between his skin and mine. A hot, intense, almost burning heat. I tried to pull my hand away. But I immobilized. The blood disappeared, seeping back into the open wound on his head. Then, I watched in amazement as the wound slowly closed. The skin on his previously gashed forehead returned, smooth and unharmed.
I jerked my hand back. Tommy’s eyes flew open, and he jumped up from the ground. I backed away, still holding my hand out in front of me. Confusion, and fear, raced through me.
“What the hell was that?” I yelled. My hand was still outstretched, like it wasn’t part of my body anymore.
“It’s okay, Emily,” he said. “Because of our connection, you have the power to heal me.”
“Power to heal you? You’re a ghost! How can you get hurt and bleed?
“I don’t know. This is the first time it happened. I was climbing that tree.” He pointed to a tall oak behind him. “And I fell. Hit a rock.”
“How can I have the power to heal you? I’m just a person.” I was calming a bit. I moved my hand closer and examined it. It looked normal. Like it always had. With all that heat, I thought I might have a hole burned through it.
“You are my connection to the world, at least this world. I’m somewhere in between, as stupid as that sounds. Blood and pain are earthly, and you are my earth-bound friend.”
“Your earth-bound friend.” I laughed. “That sounds so stupid.”
“Hey, this is all new to me, too. I’ve never been a ghost before.” Tommy reached out and hugged me. “I’m so glad you found me.”
“I didn’t really have a choice,” I said. “Something brought me here. And guess what? I saw my father tonight!”
“Really?”
“Apparently, you aren’t the only dead person I can see,” I said. But I hoped that those two were all I could see. I didn’t want to become some kind of communication device for the other side.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Tommy followed me into our trailer. Every light in the place was on. Aunt Holly slammed down the phone on the kitchen counter when we, or as she saw, I, walked inside. Sam arrived soon behind me. The slam of the door followed him.
“There you are!” she yelled. And Aunt Holly never yelled. “It’s almost midnight! I was so worried about you.”
“I’m sorry,” I said. “I fell asleep in the woods. When I woke up it was dark. I didn’t mean to worry you.”
Sam eyed me suspiciously. Tommy stood next to him. He reached out and tickled his left ear. Sam shook his head. Tommy tickled again, and Sam rubbed his ear. I suppressed a chuckle.
“I’m going to bed.” I wanted to get away from them as soon as I could. I didn’t want to explain anything that had happened tonight. Tommy and I went to my room. I locked the door and put the radio on—just in case they heard us talking. They would think it was the radio.
We lay on the bed listening to the music for a while. Sam’s bedroom door closed. A few rumbles as he moved around inside. And a thump. Few minutes later, he was snoring. Loudly.
“So, your mom’s going to be okay,” Tommy whispered to me.
I nodded. “She’s coming home tomorrow.” I took my hand, the hand that had healed him earlier, and touched his forehead. Not even a scratch on it. Amazing. “And tomorrow afternoon your dad is coming here.”
He groaned. “Oh, I feel so weird about that. I mean, just seeing him is going to be strange. A man I’ve wanted to meet my whole life standing in front of me. But what if he can’t see me?”
“I don’t have any answers for you. But we have to try it. It’s the reason you are stuck here.”
Tommy smiled. He touched my chin lovingly. “Maybe I want to be stuck here. Being with you is the happiest I’ve ever been.”
I smiled and closed my eyes. I didn’t want him to see the tears forming in my eyes at the thought of him leaving. I wanted him to stay stuck here, too.
***
Rain fell softly, drumming a soothing song on our trailer’s metal roof. I sat with Mom on the sofa, drinking sweet ice tea. She looked good. Actually, better than she had in weeks. The color was back in her face. And she was well-rested. Aunt Holly buzzed around, picking up this and that. Rearranging the kitchen cabinets. Throwing in a load of wash.
“I can do that stuff, Holly,” Mom said. “Thank you for all your help, but I’m okay now.”
“The doctor said at least one more day of rest,” Aunt Holly said. “I say two more. I have a ton of personal days stored up at work. Let me use them and take care of you.”
Mom smiled and winked at me. She’d be tired of Aunt Holly’s flittering about, no doubt, at the end of the two days. But why argue?
“Well, since you’re staying, I think I’ll take a nap,” Mom said. She yawned. “I am a little tired.”
“That’s great, Mom,” I said, standing. “I’m meeting a friend in town anyway. I won’t be gone long.”
Aunt Holly caught me at the door on my way out and whispered, “Make sure you’re not out like last night. I don’t want your mom to worry about you.”
I nodded and slid out the front door. I had no intention of running around the woods tonight. I would go to the restaurant where Joe Tucker planned to meet Tommy and me. I jumped on my bike and pedaled into town. I thought about what Dad had told me yesterday about changes. I’d always been resistant to change of any kind. It bothered me because if something was good, why mess with it? And unexpected changes, forget it. Familiarity was my friend. Change was the villain who threatened everything I knew as good and safe in my life. But change also forced me to grow up. At least a little bit.
The air was cooler today with the rain. Just a drizzle now. I liked its wet refreshment trickling down my face as I rode. My hair was damp, but not quite wet. I pulled into the parking lot of the town diner, The Coffee Cup. I parked out front and walked toward the stainless-steel door with a bright-red sign that said: Yes, We’re Open! The door squeaked when I yanked on it.
Tommy appeared to my right. I smiled at him and bent to tie my shoe.
“I’m nervous,” he said, leaning down next to me.
“Don’t be. I’m sure he will be able to see you.” I tied the laces tight. “Everything will be fine.”
We went inside and sat in a red-cushioned booth. I ordered a vanilla milkshake, and we waited. And waited. Finally, about forty minutes later, a man tapped me on the shoulder.
“Are you Emily?” he asked. He was a tall, slim man. He had thick, dirty-blond hair and arresting blue eyes. Tommy’s eyes.
I
nodded, and he sat across from me. He had an angular face, unlike Tommy’s. A well-trimmed mustache hung above his lips. He tapped his finger nervously on the fake wood table. Tommy sat right next to me, on the interior of the booth. We both studied Joe, wondering if he could see him.
“Where is he?” Joe asked me. “Where’s Tommy?”
Right next to me, I wanted to say. But I couldn’t say that. I glanced at Tommy.
“I’ll go down to the tracks,” Tommy said. “My presence is strongest there. If there’s any chance of him seeing me, it’s there. Take him there.”
I nodded, and he disappeared.
I turned to Joe. “Um…he didn’t want to meet you here. But he’s waiting for you. And wants me to take you to him.”
Joe looked at me, uncertain. “Is something weird going on here?”
“Not what you think,” I said. “He’s just nervous.”
Joe shook his head. “I’m sorry. All of this is strange. First time I’m going to meet my fifteen-year-old son. All of this is my fault. I’m just glad he wants to meet me.”
I stood. “Then let’s go.”
***
Tommy stood on the tracks as we approached. I walked beside Joe, waiting to see if he saw him. We traveled in silence through the rain-soaked woods and down the clearing to the tracks.
Joe glanced around when we got closer to the tracks, and Tommy. “Where is he? Where’s Tommy?”
“You’ll see him soon,” I promised, hoping I was right. My heart pounded when we moved toward Tommy. I clutched the news story printout of Tommy’s accident, and death, in my shorts pocket. If Joe couldn’t see Tommy, I could show him this and explain what was going on. I hoped he had an open mind.
I stepped on top of the track, a few feet away from Tommy. Joe followed me, placing his feet on the track, too. The same place Tommy had died two years ago.
“What are we doing here?” Joe glanced to his right, then back at me. And Tommy. He gasped, staring at him. “You’re here.”
“Hi.” He extended his hand. “I’m Tommy.”
“Tommy…” Joe shook his hand. “I’m so glad to finally meet you.”
A long awkward silence followed. They stood staring at each other, until Joe broke his gaze and looked away. Even the air felt tense around us. There was so much to say. But nobody quite knew how to say it.
Joe directed his gaze back at Tommy. “I’m sorry. I know that doesn’t mean much. But I am. I tried to contact you and be a part of your life. But not hard enough. I should have made sure I was a part of your life.”
“I always felt a piece of me was missing,” Tommy said. “And I was so angry at you for forgetting about me.” He held up the pocket watch I’d found in my locker. “This was all I ever had of you. A stupid pocket watch.”
Joe nodded. “I know. I left that behind for you because my father gave it to me. I guess I thought I was giving you something. I never forgot about you. I tried to contact you. But your mother kept me from having a relationship with you, if I didn’t want one with her. I’m sorry, but you were the only connection I wanted to keep. But I should have made sure to see you. To get to know you.”
“I know that now. Even just talking to you now makes me feel, I don’t know, whole for the first time in my life.” Tommy laughed and glanced at me. “This is kind of ironic.”
“Why’s that?” Joe asked, staring at him. “I know it’s awfully late, but we can get to know each other. Your mother will just have to get used to it. I’m your father and I have a right to be in your life, if you want me in it.”
“I’d like that. I really would. A relationship with you is all I ever wanted my entire life, but I can’t have it now. There’s something you don’t know about me.”
Joe shook his head. “We can have a relationship. We can start from here and see where it takes us. There’s a lot of things you don’t know about me, too.”
I pulled out the article from my pocket. I handed it to Joe. Tommy and I watched him read the article. He shook his head.
“This doesn’t make any sense,” he said. “It says you died two years ago. How can that be? You’re standing right in front of me.”
“It’s true. I died two years ago right on these tracks. And I’ve been wandering the tracks since then, at least until I met Emily. She helped me realize the reason I couldn’t move on was because of you. I died thinking you forgot about me. But now I know the truth. I’ll be able to leave. This is why we can’t get to know each other. I have to move on.”
“I don’t understand any of this,” Joe said, confused. He stared at the article and then again at Tommy.
“Neither do I, Dad,” Tommy said. He walked closer to Joe and embraced him. “But I’m glad I met you. Even if it is too late. You gave me two gifts…life and the ability to leave this life. I’m grateful for both.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Tommy and I walked along the metal tracks. Gray clouds still hung heavy in the somber sky. A soft, gentle rain fell down on us. But we barely noticed. Joe left us, confused and still holding the news article I’d brought him. He seemed to have some understanding of the situation, but no matter, the meeting was for Tommy, not Joe. Finally, Tommy was at peace. I knew this because he’d told me, but most of all I saw the peacefulness in him.
We held hands. Not in the fun, playful way we had before on numerous times. But tight and secure because we knew this would be the last time we’d be able to touch each other. Tommy’s life, and death, on Earth had run out. We both knew it was time for him to go. He was able to move on now.
I licked at the raindrops trailing down my lips, trying to ignore my heavy heart. I knew he had to go. That knowledge did not make me any less sad. He was my best friend. The one who saw the real me. Despite any attempts by me to conceal my true thoughts and emotions. I was free with him. More freedom than with anyone in my life. I didn’t know who’d helped who more, him or me. In our five-month friendship, I thought I’d grown up more than I had in the past few years. I had to let him go. But how?
He squeezed my hand. We stopped, and I turned to him. His hair hung in his eyes like it always did. I reached out and smoothed it back. I remembered reading a book a few years ago about a pair of best friends. They told each other everything, their thoughts and secrets. And I, even though I’d never admit it, wanted a friendship like that. But this wasn’t the relationship Tommy and I had created. We didn’t need to tell each other our secrets, although we did needlessly. We instinctively knew one another’s secrets and hidden thoughts. Nothing to work at, just a bond between each other we both felt intensely.
“I’ll miss you so much.” My voice caught with emotion.
We both stepped off our respective tracks, standing in the middle. I fell into his arms, and he hugged me close. Our bodies intertwined as one being, just for a moment.
He whispered in my ear, “I love you, Emily. You’re the most beautiful part of my life. I don’t want to leave you, either. But I must.”
Tears streamed down my face. “I love you, Tommy. A little piece of my heart will always belong to you.”
He looked into the darkened sky. “Do you see it? The light?”
I stared, but all I saw were gray clouds and the slow rain increasing in intensity. “I don’t see it. But if you do, I guess it’s time for you to go.”
He kissed me. My first real kiss on the lips. “Goodbye, Emily.”
And he was gone.
***
I walked through the front door of our trailer with a surprisingly light heart. I’d stayed at the tracks for a few hours after Tommy had left. Making sure I got all my tears out. At least for now. I would likely have more later. The door slammed shut, and the pleasing aroma of food filled the small confines. Fried chicken.
A large bucket of Kentucky Fried sat on the kitchen table. Along with containers of biscuits, mashed potatoes, and gravy. Nick also stood in the middle of the kitchen, fixing a plate of food.
“Hey, Emily.” He handed m
e a plate. “You hungry?”
I was hungry. Starving even. I hadn’t eaten much the last few days with everything being so crazy. Fried chicken sounded good to me. Really good. Even if Nick was here. “Sure,” I said, accepting the plate.
Mom walked out from the living room, still in her bathrobe. “Nick was so nice to bring dinner over. Now we don’t have to eat Aunt Holly’s specialty again tonight.”
“I heard that!” Aunt Holly said. “Don’t you know that pizza is the world’s favorite food?”
“True,” Mom said with a grin. “But not every night, Hol.”
“You’ll never hear me complain about pizza for dinner every night,” Sam said, spooning a gigantic scoop of potatoes on his plate.
I smiled a real smile. Probably the first real smile in this new makeshift home of ours. Change still wasn’t something I liked. But something I could now accept.
I was home.
The Tracks Page 11
