The Ghost of Josiah Grimshaw

by Suzy Turner

  As she ambled down the hallway, she peered into the living room and smiled at Greg and Lucy who were glued to the TV, sitting on the floor watching silly cartoons. Of course, Greg would deny it if you ever mentioned it to his friends. But Sunday was the only day they were allowed to watch morning television and so they could always be found there.

  Listening to the sound of her mum's voice, Lana walked into the kitchen just as Audrey was saying goodbye to someone on the phone.

  'Morning, Love,' she said as she leaned over and kissed Lana on her forehead. 'Are you feeling better?'

  Before she could reply, the kettle boiled, making an awful gurgling sound before it switched itself off. Picking it up, Audrey filled the old teapot and replaced the lid. 'Do you want a drink? I've got some green tea if you're still suffering with your period.'

  Lana smiled, remembering the lie her sister had told the night before. 'No, I'm actually feeling much better thanks. I'll just have a cup of normal tea, please.'

  'Is Emma still in bed?'

  Lana nodded.

  'That's unusual. She's always up before you. I hope she's not coming down with something,' she sighed as she gave the teapot a bit of a shake before pouring the tea into two mugs.

  'I think it's more to do with old Mr Grimshaw, Mum, and that boy dying. She was pretty upset about it.'

  Smiling sadly, Audrey nodded, 'Of course, yes. Poor thing. Dealing with death quite often, I forget how stressful it can be.'

  'Have you heard anything yet?'

  Her mum looked across the table quizzically.

  'The boy?' said Lana.

  'No, nothing. The police are looking into it, but so far he's been unclaimed. They've sent photos to the mainland and they're doing some facial recognition thing on the computer this morning. They're hoping someone might recognise him.'

  'How do you think he got here, Mum, if he's not a local?'

  Audrey took a sip of tea. 'He might have been on a boat that got caught in the storm. That's the most likeliest explanation.'

  'Mummmm... Greg won't let me watch Tracy Beakeeeeerrrr,' yelled Lucy as a kerfuffle ensued from the living room.

  Audrey rolled her eyes and stood up, 'Why don't you take a cup of tea to Emma? I'm sure that will have woken her up,' she smiled as she went to sort the kids out.

  'Morning, trouble,' Lana smiled as she opened the bedroom door to find Emma sitting up in bed, rubbing her eyes.

  'Trouble? That's your name, not mine.'

  Lana laughed, 'I suppose you're right. Here, I brought you some tea,' she said handing it over before plonking herself down on her own bed.

  'What time is it?' asked Emma.

  'Just gone ten. It's not like you to sleep in?'

  'I didn't get to sleep until really late. I just couldn't stop thinking about, you know, yesterday.'

  Lana smiled before standing up and taking off her dressing gown. She lifted up her pyjama top, turning to look at her back in the mirror. The tattoo was still there.

  A brief knock on the door made her almost jump out of her clothes and she pulled the top down just in time as Audrey opened the door and peered round.

  'Morning, Love. Are you all right? You slept late this morning.'

  'I'm okay, Mum,' she replied as she leaned forward to let her kiss her on the forehead.

  'Now that you're both awake, I've got something to tell you.'

  The girls looked across at each other expectantly.

  'I was waiting for confirmation about accommodation before I broached the subject but I've just spoken to one of your Dad's old friends and it's all confirmed...'

  'What is, Mum... what's confirmed?' asked Lana impatiently.

  'Wait, I'm getting to that,' she smiled, before carrying on, 'Your work experience. Your Dad and I thought it would be good for you both to go...' she paused for effect, '... to London,' she said, almost squealing.

  Lana jumped up with a smile so wide, that it almost reached the outer corners of her eyes.

  'Holy.... sh.....sugar,' she exclaimed with a brief glance in Audrey's direction, 'I thought I was just going to work in the gallery with Lady Denton. How did you do it? Where are we going to stay? Where are we going to work? When are we going?' she said with barely a breath in between.

  It was then that Audrey and Lana realised that Emma was very quiet.

  'Emma? Whatever's the matter? I thought you'd be over the moon?'

  Swallowing hard, Emma looked across at them both and burst into tears.

  Lana watched as her mother rushed to her side, 'Emma Jane, why on earth are you crying?'

  Placing her thumb nail onto her lips, Emma was about to bite when Lana almost dived on top of her sister.

  'Ahem... oh no you don't. It took me ages to get you to agree to having that nail art, you're not going to bite it all off now. It took hours to do,' she said, smiling and trying to make light of the situation.

  Emma hesitated and put her hands down by her side.

  'What is it?' her Mum asked again.

  'It's just... it's just... how are we going to get there?'

  Lana and Audrey both realised the problem at exactly the same time. They sighed together, their shoulders drooping.

  'No, Emma. I've had enough of this. You can't let your fear of the water stop you from experiencing something so... so... awesome. You have to get over it already.'

  Emma dropped her head to one side and scowled at Lana, her mouth forming a sharp pout, 'And this is coming from the girl who would never go anywhere near the bottom of the garden because of the cliff edge or Carlton Point until... until...'

  Lana's eyes grew wide and she tried to shake her head without her Mum seeing.

  'What are you talking about? Until when? Until what?'

  Lana managed a meagre chuckle before swallowing hard.

  'I... I... went up to Carlton Point yesterday, on my own,' she managed to utter.

  'Oh, but that's... well that's... I don't know what to say, Lana. That's just incredible. Well done,' she said as she leaned forward and hugged her daughter tightly.

  Emma's head bowed before she shook it. 'But that's not the same. Lana's fear was never quite as bad as mine.'

  'Nonsense Emma Jane,' said Audrey, 'You two were always as bad as each other. You both have, had, have, oh whatever, such an... an... irrational... fear...'

  'Exactly, Mum. Irrational fears. And if I can get over mine, then surely Emma can get over hers and I won't let a silly thing like fear of the sea stop me from going to London,' she said as she stood up with her hands on her hips. 'Come on, Em. It's London. It's only a few hours by boat. You'll be completely safe. I'll be with you. Look...' she said as she approached her sister's bed, crouched down and took Emma's hand, 'I'm sorry for being so pushy but this is such an amazing opportunity, Sis. Let's do it together. Please?' she asked.

  Looking from her sister to her mother, there was nothing she could do. She had to do it. Not just for Lana but for herself. If Lana could get over her own fear, then she would try her hardest to do the same.

  'Okay, I'll do it,' she whispered as Lana jumped up and cartwheeled onto her bed.

  Audrey shook her head and laughed out loud.

  'Scott is going to be so jealous,' giggled Lana.

  CHAPTER TEN

  Emma, Lana and Scott stood at one side of the newly dug grave, waiting patiently while Father Hawkins said a few words as Mr Grimshaw was laid to rest. Quite a few people had turned up to the funeral, even though nobody had really known him that well. He had no family. An only child, his parents had passed on many years before, and he had never married and he appeared to have no close friends. Both Audrey and Patrick were busy working, so the girls decided to attend the funeral on their behalf. After all, it was the least they could do considering he had died right in front of them.

  'Why are we here?' whispered Scott, as Emma stepped forward to drop a couple of large daisies onto the earth as the hole in the ground was slowly covered.

  'Shhh,' said Lana as
she frowned at him, 'We were there when he died, Scott. We're just paying our respects,' she said sensibly.

  Scott looked at her as if she'd gone mad. 'We didn't even know the old man.'

  Emma turned and scowled at her best friend, and as she did so, she thought she spotted a movement behind a large tree in the distance.

  Following her gaze, Lana and Scott both turned to see what had caught her attention.

  'What is it?' asked Lana.

  'Nothing, I just thought I saw someone watching us. It's probably just the shadow of the tree.'

  'Thank you for coming, Emma, Lana, Scott,' said Father Hawkins with a nod before he turned back to the others as they all headed out of the churchyard.

  'Can we get out of here now?' asked Scott, as Emma crouched down to whisper goodbye to Mr Grimshaw.

  'Okay, okay,' she said as she stood up and turned, linking her arms through his and Lana's.

  'Did you see that?' Lana asked, squinting behind her.

  'What?' asked Emma.

  'I could have sworn I saw someone hiding over there.'

  The three unlinked arms as Lana broke free and walked quickly towards the huge overgrown tree. She saw a person bolt, so she sped up, running across the grass, followed by Emma and Scott in pursuit across the graveyard.

  But the far end of the graveyard gave way to a long drop to the sea below. Without even a moment's thought, Lana launched herself off the highest point.

  'Lana!' cried Scott as he fell to the floor close to the edge with his arms outstretched. But as he looked down, expecting to see a horrifying sight, he was greeted by Lana running steadfast across the beach towards the shore.

  'What the...? How the...? Lana?' he whispered.

  Emma stood by his side, not saying a word.

  'You knew? You knew she could... she could... jump like that?'

  Emma nodded, 'I'll let her tell you all about it. But for now come on, we'll have to climb down the old path over there,' she said, as she grabbed his arm and pulled him back up to his feet, before dragging him towards the edge.

  The two ran as fast as they could, tumbling down, their backsides getting covered in sandy dirt and moss as they reached the bottom of the cliff.

  'Which way did she go?' said Scott, breathlessly.

  Emma looked one way and then the other but Lana was nowhere to be seen.

  'Lana?' she yelled.

  'Over here,' came a reply from the other side of a huge boulder that stood blocking access from the beach.

  Emma looked on as Scott took off his shoes and waded into the water around the rock until he'd vanished from sight.

  When he popped his head back around to see what she was doing, he suddenly realised.

  'Sorry', he mouthed, 'Do you want me to carry you?'.

  Afraid of stepping foot anywhere near the water, she shook her head, 'I'll... I'll wait here,' she said as she kicked at the sand beneath her feet.

  He nodded and disappeared again.

  On the other side of the boulder, Scott followed Lana's footprints towards a well covered cave, 'Lana?' he asked as he peered into the darkness.

  'I'm right here, Scott,' she said quietly.

  'I can't see a thing. Look, what's going on? Can you come out?'

  'Erm, just give me a minute.'

  Scott stepped outside and looked around, taking a deep breath, inhaling the fresh salty air and waited.

  After a few minutes, Lana appeared looking confused. She kept glancing over her shoulder as if she was being followed.

  'What's going on, Lana?' he asked.

  'I found him hiding in the cave,' she said with a nod behind her.

  'Found who?'

  'Him,' she said, rolling her eyes upwards.

  'Erm... I hate to break this to you, Lana, but there's nobody here but you and me.'

  Lana laughed, 'You're so funny, Scott,' she chuckled until she noticed his expression.

  With her eyebrows raised, she slowly turned towards the young man who hovered behind her and gulped loudly.

  'Let's just go back to Emma and maybe everything will be explained then.'

  Tutting, Scott shook his head as the two of them walked silently back towards the rock boulder.

  'Lana? Scott?' said the voice from the other side.

  'It's okay, Sis. We're here. We're coming back over now.'

  Emma sat on the beach far from the shore, with her knees under her chin and her arms wrapped around herself.

  As they waded through the water back towards her, Emma watched as the two of them looked at each other suspiciously.

  'Well? Did you find whoever it was?'

  Sharing a strange look, Scott said no and Lana said yes.

  'Well, which is it? What on earth are you two talking about?'

  'I did find someone, Sis... but Scott can't see him.'

  Emma slowly stood up, brushing dry sand from her black jeans and grey converse.

  'It's... it's the boy from the hospital.'

  'But... but... he's dead.'

  'I know,' whispered Lana as the hair on the back of Emma's neck stood on end.

  'He... he told me that his name is... Joe... Josiah... Grimshaw.'

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  'It's the most bizarre thing I've ever heard,' said Audrey to her husband later that night. 'Apparently his body has just vanished from the morgue. But not just that, all his medical charts have gone too. It's as if he never even existed.'

  Patrick was pacing up and down the living room, occasionally his footsteps would stop as he spoke. 'His file has disappeared from the station too. I can't explain it. Some of the guys are saying perhaps we should just forget about him.'

  'Well, perhaps it's a sign, love. Maybe we should just forget...'

  Lana and Emma were sat at the top of the stairs listening in to their parents conversation. It had been the strangest day of their lives... well, perhaps the second strangest after Lana's tattoo incident. Josiah had spoken to Lana and explained that it was really him, Josiah Grimshaw, the old man, to all intents and purposes. When he (as an old man) had waded into the sea during the storm and was knocked out by a particularly strong wave, he (as a young man) had come to on the beach the following morning.

  'I thought I was dead. I opened my eyes and there she was, my Emelia. I thought she must be an angel, come to take me with her to heaven,' Joe had explained on the beach earlier while Scott and Emma looked at each other with worried looks in their eyes as they watched Lana have a conversation with herself. Well it had certainly looked that way to them.

  'And then I remember being in the hospital in two different rooms. I can't explain what happened. All I remember is that girl, who I thought was Emelia, was there. She held my hand. But then I realised it wasn't her. They just looked a little similar that's all. The next thing I know, I'm in the other room, I felt so terrible, so old. And then when I woke up again, I couldn't feel anything. I just felt, I don't know, surreal, I guess. I felt like I was floating. That's when I realised I must be dead. I went home and saw my reflection in the mirror and I couldn't believe my eyes. I was young again. It was me, Joe... not an old man, not Josiah as everyone else called me. But Joe, that's what she called me. I wandered around town for a while, hovering, but no-one could see me. When I returned home that's when you two came into my house and I realised you could see me. It spooked me, it did.'

  'It spooked you? But you're the dead guy, Joe,' Lana had chuckled as she became more and more at ease with him.

  He'd smiled at her before continuing, 'That's why I ran, because it scared me. But then I became curious why you could see me and no-one else could. So I went to the graveyard to watch my funeral. Thank you for coming, all of you. I was touched,' he said as he put his hand to his heart and smiled at her before turning to the others. 'Please tell them how much it meant to me.'

  'I will,' Lana said as she looked over her shoulder to Scott and Emma who continued to be deathly quiet. She smiled.

  When she turned back to Joe, he'
d gone.

  The three of them stayed on the beach for a couple more hours, Lana explaining what she'd been told before she gained the courage to tell Scott what had happened to her at Carlton Point.

  'Wow,' he'd said as she'd lifted her top slightly and revealed the beautiful tattoo that adorned her lower back.

  'It says Provehito In Altum. Launch forward into the deep... but we've no idea what it means.'

  'Maybe it's got something to do with the fact that you can now launch yourself from major heights or something?' Scott suggested.

  The girls both nodded their heads, 'You might be onto something there. It kinda makes sense, doesn't it?' said Emma.

  'But what is all this about? The tattoo, Carlton Point, seeing dead people?' asked Scott as he threw pebbles across the sand in front of them.

  'Whoa hang on a minute, I've only seen one dead person. I certainly don't want to be seeing any more, thank you very much,' Lana said waving her hands above her head. 'No way, no thanks.'

  Suddenly the sound of distant thunder made Emma jump.

  'Oh God... I'd not even noticed the clouds coming in. It looks like we're in for another storm. I'm outta here,' she said as she stood up and immediately began walking towards the long windy path that would lead them back up to the churchyard where they'd left their bikes.

  'Hang on, wait up!' yelled Scott and Lana who followed behind her. Just as they caught up, a few spots of rain began to fall and Emma shivered as she looked up towards the sky. It was getting darker and darker, the clouds moving overhead far too fast for her liking.

  As they scrambled up the pathway, Emma ran across the grass as fast as she could until she reached her bike. But the rain, which had started off as a few light droplets, was threatening to unleash its force on top of them. Scott and Lana shared a familiar look.

  'Let's head for the church,' Scott suggested, 'and wait out the storm'.

  So for the next hour and a half, Emma sat huddled in between her best friend and her sister, inside the cold little church, listening to the rain beat down on the slate roof as the thunder clapped overhead. The others talked about the bizarre events that had been happening, in an attempt to take her mind off of her fear.