They all gasped, that was not what Dean and Alice had been expecting, and poor Oscar looked dumbstruck. Darren continued, “I have to be honest, Dean, I did overhear something you said on the phone the other day, and I was really excited by that, but I didn’t sense anything at all just now. I’m really sorry, but I couldn’t find anything to suggest that this James Salisbury ever existed. I guess I’m not as gifted as I thought I was.”
Alice looked at Dean’s shocked face and laughed. It was such a relief that Darren hadn’t fallen into their trap, and that he had been honest enough to come clean about not sensing anything. She really liked Darren, and this stupid plan of hers had long since lost its appeal. She stood up, went over to Darren and gave him a hug. “Thank you for trying,” she said, “and for being honest.”
“Well,” said Oscar, “I wasn’t expecting that. I was so sure you would find something. But that doesn’t mean that this place isn’t haunted.”
Alice squeezed Oscar’s shoulder, and picked up her bag. “When my friend, Maggie, gets back, you know the one I told you about, I’ll ask her to come round if you like. If there’s anything here at all, she’ll find it. Now, I think I’d better get back to Jack and see if he’s talking to me yet.”
“I’ll call you a cab,” said Dean, reaching for his phone, “I’d offer you a lift, but I’ve had too much to drink.”
“That’s okay, I can walk.”
“No way,” said Dean protectively. But a minute later Dean hung up with a worried frown. “Shit, there are no cabs for two hours, at least!”
Oscar jumped up and grabbed his coat, “I’ll walk you home, Petal. It’s not far, but there’s no way we’re going to let you walk back on your own.”
Both Dean and Darren got up as well, “We’re coming as well.” Alice enjoyed the walk back with her three friends, they linked arms and chatted happily about the joys of Christmas until they reached the house. “Would you like to come in for a drink?” she asked, as she reached for her key.
“Better not,” said Oscar. “Why don’t you and Jack come over on Boxing Day? We’re having a few friends around for drinks and a bite to eat.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know tomorrow. Happy Christmas, guys, and thanks for walking me back.”
As she closed the door behind her, Alice noticed the sound of quiet voices coming from the kitchen. How strange, she thought, she wasn’t aware that anyone was coming tonight. She pushed the kitchen door open, and let out a gasp of surprise. For there, sitting at the kitchen table and sharing a bottle of wine with Jack, was Maggie.
“Maggie!” Alice dropped her bag and rushed over to hug her friend. “Where have you been?”
“Nice to see you, too,” chuckled Maggie. “I’ve been at the most incredible retreat in Thailand, you should come with me one day. Anyway, I’m back now. Jack’s told me that you’ve been trying to get hold of me. Is everything alright?”
Alice, still with her coat on, sat down next to Maggie, barely giving Jack a glance, and told her all about her encounter with the angel. “He gave me a message to pass onto Jemma, a really important message, but I haven’t been able to give it to her yet. I realise now, that the best way is probably to hold a séance, but I don’t know what to do, so I really need your help. Would you hold a séance for me, Maggie? Please?”
“Of course, love. Just let me know when you want to do it and...”
“Now, it’s got to be now. Please, can we do it now? It’s really important.”
Maggie shrugged and glanced over at Jack, who nodded his head. “Alright, we’ll do it now, but I don’t want to do it here.”
“Why?” asked Alice and Jack, at the same time.
“There’s a bad vibe here. I can’t quite put my finger on it, but something doesn’t feel right, and I don’t want to risk unwelcome spirits trying to come through. Is there somewhere else we could go to that Jemma has a connection with?”
“We could go to the old flat,” said Alice, “I’ve still got the key.”
Maggie nodded her agreement and quickly finished her wine, before reaching for her coat. Alice felt a rush of excitement as they left the house because, if all went well, she was finally going to talk to Jemma.
*****
When Alice, Jack and Maggie left through the front door, Jemma and Tom transported themselves to the flat instantaneously. They had been at the house when Alice had come home and had heard their conversation.
“That Maggie must be good,” Tom mused, as they waited for the mortals to arrive. “She picked up on the negative energy from Max, which is just as well, because if they had held the seance at the house, Max could have spoilt it.”
“I’m so excited,” said Jemma, for the fourth time. “I can’t believe I’m finally going to talk to Alice.”
“Hopefully you’ll get to find out what this mysterious message is.”
“Ooh, I can’t wait. What a shame Susie was out, she would have enjoyed this.”
“She’s gone to her parents’ house. She goes every year on Christmas Eve, and stays with them all night and all day on Christmas Day. They always hold a vigil for her and she’s never missed it.” Tom paused thoughtfully before continuing. “This will be the last time she does it. She’ll be leaving the day after tomorrow, and she doesn’t even know it.”
“It’s best that way,” said Jemma, putting her arms around him. “But I think she’s still avoiding me, even though I told her that I changed my mind about going back. I’m not sure if she believes me.”
“It’s not for much longer,” said Tom, gently.
“No,” said Jemma, “not long now.” She wasn’t referring to Susie though, she was referring to Tom’s departure, which was creeping ever closer. “Here they are,” she said, as they heard the sound of keys in the front door downstairs, followed by voices coming up the stairs and accompanied by the sound of Maggie’s jangling bangles. Seconds later Alice, Jack and Maggie walked into the flat. Maggie stood still for a moment, as if assessing the atmosphere and quietly said, “Yes, this is better.” She ordered Jack to pull the kitchen table out so that it was in the middle of the room. She then took a few white candles out of her huge canvas bag and placed one in the middle of the table and the rest around the room.
Whilst Maggie was busy setting everything up, Jemma walked over to Alice and touched her gently on the arm. “She’s here,” cried Alice, excitedly. “I just know she’s here, I can feel her.”
“Wow, we’ve both come a long way, haven’t we?” said Jemma. “She didn’t even hesitate.”
Tom chuckled, “I can remember that first night when you tried so hard to get her attention, you practically screamed in her ear and she still didn’t react.”
“And then I screamed at poor Susie thinking she was one of the mortals.”
“You were so angry and frightened then.”
“And naive.”
“You were determined not to accept your fate, and I really admired you for that. You also forced me to address some of my own issues, and I’m grateful to you for that. I needed a kick up the backside and you didn’t half give me one.” Tom pulled Jemma into his arms and kissed her gently on the lips. “And now we’ve come full circle, you’re about to talk to Alice and then we’re both leaving the day after tomorrow.”
“Let’s not talk about that now,” said Jemma. “I just want to enjoy the time we have left.”
“You really should go first,” said Tom. They had talked on several occasions about who would enter their wormhole first, but Jemma had always been adamant that it had to be him. After all, she wasn’t actually going anywhere.
“No, you need to go first, because if you don’t make it, then Susie won’t get back and she’ll need me to look after her.” Actually, this was true, and Tom couldn’t argue with it. “Look, Tom, they’re about to sit down.”
The table was ready. Maggie had placed a white table cloth on it and had lit all the candles. Once Alice and Jack were seated, she switched off the ceiling lig
ht, which was now just a bright naked bulb hanging without its shade, throwing a harsh glare across the room. As soon as it was off, the room softened with the combination of the orange streetlights from outside, mixed with the soft flickering glow of the candles.
“I’d like you to place your hands on the table and loosely touch the fingertips of the person next to you, there’s no need to hold hands. I’ll start with a short prayer of protection before we begin.” Maggie looked at Alice and smiled. “There’s no need to look so scared, love, it’s perfectly normal to ask for protection. Now, sometimes other spirits will try to make themselves known, and I will be very firm in telling them that they are not welcome. I will act as the leader and medium, but as you’re gifted yourself, Alice, you may find that Jemma makes direct contact with you. If that’s the case, just relax and enjoy the experience, Jack and I will look after you. Now, before we start I’ve got two very important questions. Firstly, are your phones switched off? And secondly, does anyone need the loo?”
Jemma giggled as she watched Alice fiddle nervously with her phone. This was all in aid of her and she was enjoying it. She watched Maggie perform the prayer before they started. Then, Maggie said, clearly, “Are there any spirits present with us today?”
“Yes,” cried Jemma, “I’m here. Alice?”
“Jemma Haley, if you are here, we respectfully ask that you let your presence be known to us this evening.”
“Cut the crap,” said Jemma, impatiently. “Just get on with it. I’m here”
“Jemma if you are present, please give us a sign. Maybe a knock on the table, or you could try to touch one of us.” Maggie’s voice remained calm and soothing, trying to lure the spirit in.
“Bloody hell, can’t you hear me? I’M HERE!”
“What was that I just said about you coming a long way?” smiled Tom. “You can’t just barge in like that. You need to do what I taught you when you first got here. Relax and concentrate. Start with a knock on the table, use some of the energy from the candle if you need to.”
Jemma remembered, and focused all her thoughts on the table, borrowing a little warmth from the candle as she did so. The candle flickered and, when the time was right, the sound of her knock could be clearly heard.
“Thank you,” said Maggie. “If that was you, Jemma, please knock twice for yes and once for no.”
“This is so cool,” said Jemma, as she gave two small knocks on the table.
“Thank you, Jemma. Your friend, Alice, is here. She would like to communicate with you.”
“Yes, I know. So talk to me, Alice.”
“You’ll need to use Maggie as a medium if you can’t communicate directly with Alice, but try Alice first. Focus your thoughts on her, will her to hear your thoughts. You don’t have to say anything out loud, if she’s as gifted as I think she is, she should be able to tune in to your thoughts.” Tom spoke gently, guiding her as if she were a small child learning to ride a bike.
Jemma did as Tom said, and focused in on Alice with every last bit of energy she possessed. She could see Alice close her eyes and she tried to direct her thoughts through Alice’s closed eyelids and into her soul. She was struggling, she didn’t have enough energy, and she could feel herself losing her concentration. Shit, this was a lot harder than she had imagined, but she wasn’t going to give up. Taking a bit more energy from the candle she tried again, directing her thoughts right through to the core of Alice’s body. And then she felt something. She felt Alice, her thoughts, her feelings, everything. She had finally made contact with Alice!
Chapter 21
“Jemma!” she heard Alice say, “I’m here, Jemma. The voice didn’t come from Alice’s mouth, who now looked like she was in some sort of trance, it came from inside her.
“Yes, hun. It’s me.” Suddenly, they were facing each other, seeing each other as if they were both some sort of hologram.
“Oh, Jemma, I’ve missed you so much,” cried Alice. She tried to reach out to her friend, but her hand went straight through her. “I’d love to give you a hug.”
“I know. Me too. I’ve been watching you, I’ve tried to talk to you so many times, but I couldn’t do it.”
“I heard you on that voice recorder, and I’ve felt you around me many times. By the way, thanks for helping me find the bangle the night before my interview.”
“That’s okay,” Jemma said, and then hesitated. Now that she could finally talk to Alice, she suddenly didn’t know what to say. She searched her mind for something a bit more meaningful to say, but all she could come up with was, “I’m glad you didn’t find that horrible green jumper I had hidden. You would have looked like an anaemic elf!”
“So it was you. I knew it!” Alice was smiling, but quickly grew serious again. “So, how are you?” They both laughed at the strangeness of such a normal question. “Apart from being dead, of course.”
“I’m okay. I’ve met this guy, he’s dead as well. He’s here with me now, his name is Tom and he’s gorgeous. He looks a bit like Johnny Depp.”
“Oh wow! Are you in love? Do ghosts fall in love?”
“Oh yes, absolutely definitely. He’s wonderful.” She decided not to go into detail about Tom’s imminent departure, and so instead she told her that she was living in Jack’s house with Tom and a girl called Susie. She didn’t mention Max.
“I always knew there were ghosts there. I miss you so much, Jemma.”
“I miss you too. I’m always around you. I’ll always be with you. Oh shit....”
“Jemma?”
Jemma could feel her energy beginning to dissipate and was trying frantically to refocus before she completely lost her connection with Alice. She drew in more energy from the candle, and the heat from the three people sitting around the table, and then, finally, she became aware of Alice’s presence again. “Sorry about that, hun. It’s actually quite hard remaining focused enough to communicate like this.” The candle was flickering furiously now and Maggie and Jack had shivered visibly as Jemma had drawn the heat from them.
“I’d love to ask you loads of questions about the afterlife, but I don’t want to risk you slipping away before I’ve had a chance to pass on a message.”
“Oh yes. I heard that you had a message for me. From an angel or something?” In her excitement at finally talking to Alice, Jemma had completely forgotten about the message.
“Yes, that’s right. He said that it’s really important that you return to the living. You weren’t meant to die, Jemma, and you’ll never be able to move on if you don’t come back.”
“I can’t go back,” said Jemma. “I would lose all my memories of Tom, and he’s the only good thing that’s ever happened to me. Why would I give that up in order to return to the useless life I led before?”
“Jemma, for gods sake. Your life was never useless, you were the most wonderful, funny and kind person I ever met, and you were just getting your life back on track when you started college the day you died.” Jemma was about to protest, and tell Alice that she wasn’t going to change her mind, when Alice continued. “Oh, and the angel said something else. He said that you have to beware of someone called Max!”
Jemma gasped. She hadn’t expected to hear Max’s name, and the shock made her lose her concentration completely, and in an instant, she found herself back with Tom.
“Jemma? Jemma?” Alice was calling out her name, desperate to carry on talking to her friend, but Jemma was exhausted, and could only watch as Alice slowly came out of the trance like state she had been in while they had been talking.
“Are you alright?” asked Tom, putting his arms around her to steady her.
“Yes. Tom, she knows about Max. How can that be? She said that the angel had said that I had to beware of Max. Why? Why should I be worried about Max? It’s you that he’s got issues with.” Even though he had attacked her that time, that had been because she had provoked him, not because he held a grudge against her. And then, like a slap in the face, she realised exactly
what Alice had meant. The angel was warning her that if she stayed behind after Tom had left, Max would be so mad that he would turn all his fury on her, and she would be the one in danger from him. Instead of being left alone with her memories of Tom, she would constantly be worrying if Max would ever harm her and, if the angel had gone to all this trouble to warn her, then the threat must indeed be very real.
“Hey, don’t look so worried, you’ll be gone in a couple of days and Max will cease to exist in your world.” Tom’s voice was so reassuring that Jemma almost forgot that she had lied to him about going back. She desperately wanted to believe him, to take comfort from his words, and for the first time since she had decided not to go back, she doubted her decision and wondered if she was doing the right thing. “Oh look, it’s just gone midnight and its Christmas Day now. Happy Christmas, Gorgeous,” Tom said and gave her a kiss.
“Tom, there’s something I’ve got to tell you,” Jemma said nervously, ignoring his Christmas greeting.
“Ooh, that sounds a bit ominous. Don’t tell me, you’ve fallen in love with Max!” he grinned.
“I lied to you about going back. After you’ve gone, I was going to stay here on my own.”
Tom’s face grew serious again as he took in what she had just told him. “But why? Why on earth would you stay behind?”
“Because, you said yourself, when I go back I would lose all my memories of you, it would be as if all this never happened. I’d go back to being the lonely pathetic person I was before I died, no job, no boyfriend and no family. You, Susie and Claire are my family; for the first time since my mum died I feel as if I belong. Even after you and Susie have left, I’ll always have the memory of you to keep me going.”
“But what about Alice? You said she’s like a sister to you. A sister is family, you know.”
“Yes, but she’s met Jack now. Even if I went back, they’d still fall in love with each other all over again. I don’t want to be a wallflower.”
Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) Page 22
