Books of the Dead

by Morris Fenris

  It was morning, even before Natalie could close her eyes. She looked tired, pale and particularly unhealthy. Natalie looked for Merly, but she was not around anywhere. She called out a couple of times, but she didn’t get an answer, so she walked up to the sitting area and found Merly reading from one of the books that were stacked in front of her. Natalie went ahead and snatched the book from her hand. “What are you doing? I asked you not to go through these books. Why don’t you listen to me? Are you trying to call on a spirit here in your room? Or don’t you remember what happened to you the other night?’’ Natalie was gasping for air at the horror of what was happening in front of her eyes.

  Merly seemed unfazed. She seemed to care even less when she spoke in a soft tone. “I am all right. You know that I have to do this again, not here, but somewhere else, and there is no point in pushing it aside. There was someone in the room last night and I have to know who it was. Was it someone I am looking for or was it someone who is troubling me for so long? Who was it? This is troubling me, Natalie, and who would understand, if not you?”

  There was genuine agony in Merly’s eyes. She tried to look reckless and strong, but her eyes were tired and sad from sleeplessness, from thinking too much and from everything she had went through the past few days. There were fleeting moments when Natalie felt anger and hurt over Merly’s changing attitude, but she quickly reasoned with herself. And looking at Merly’s eyes made Natalie sadder. She sat down beside her friend and placed her hand on top of Merly’s. No words were exchanged between them, but they knew what they wanted to say to each other. Merly seemed to appreciate the new found friendship and she closed her eyes to show that.

  “Thank you” was all she could say.

  “Get up now, we got work to do.” Natalie pulled Merly up.

  “You don’t look too well either. Where are you heading?” Merly pulled back Natalie and was still holding onto her hands.

  “Mr. Stevenson has some questions to answer and I am not leaving him alone until he does. Why is everyone acting so mysterious? I need to know or it will kill me, and one more thing, don’t do anything while I am gone.” Natalie gave a little wink and went out of Merly’s room.

  ******

  Merly sat there by herself not moving. The pages that lay open in front of her were inviting and she couldn’t resist turning the pages. Greed consumed her and she turned one page after another forgetting Natalie’s warnings. Page after page were images and drawings and paragraphs about ways people can call on spirits.

  “I can do this on my own. I have to do this on my own. I must do this on my own.” She first tried to motivate herself, and from there, it went to conviction and although there was minimal strength left in her, she tried, but there were too many things and Merly was confused as to which one to follow. Then a paragraph about a broken mirror caught her eye and she felt intrigued and started reading it. The lines brought her closer to her answers, and the thought frightened her, but she went on. There were conflicting thought that circled her head. She wanted to try them, but then Natalie’s warning pricked her constantly. What do I do? Then her eyes fell on the mirror that was hanging in her own room. She slowly walked up to it and stood there looking into her own blank impression. She looked behind her and there was nothing and the mirror showed only her reflection and staring blankly. The bright sun rays penetrated her room and reflected on the same mirror and the lights bothered her. Merly went back to pull the draped closed.

  One by one, Merly closed all the windows and pulled the curtains, too, so that no external light would enter. When the room was perfectly dark with only one light switched on, she searched for five candles, lit them and switched off the remaining light. The stage was set and there was nothing that could stop her for beginning the process. It was the process through which all her questions would be answered.

  Merly slowly started to chant the prayers that were written in the yellow pages and they started sounding monotonous and rhythmic. She was getting dizzy and her hands were cold. The candle lights flickered on and then she took the name of the one person that mattered. The mirror cracked and she quickly shut her eyes and refused to look, but then there was the familiar feel of the hot breath behind her back and she started to lose her nerve. “I know who you are, and you are here for me. Didn’t you want to see me? Because I wanted to see you for so long, I waited for you just to catch one glimpse of you. Why did you leave me, Mrs. Nigela? Wasn’t I dear to you? Didn’t you promise that you will protect me and take care of me? I came back from the holiday looking for you, but they didn’t let me see you and…” Merly cried on hysterically and couldn’t speak anymore in between her sobbing.

  Merly was overcome with grief, fear and sadness, and she didn’t dare to open her eyes to see the one she was talking to. The hot breath behind her neck continued to grow. “Mrs. Nigella, I am Merly, don’t you remember me anymore?” There were more cracks in the mirror and Merly shrieked at the noise. “Please, Mrs. Nigela, don’t hurt me. You were in my dreams every day and I needed to do this for myself.”

  Someone placed an icy cold hand on her shoulder, and Merly shivered more, then gathered all the courage she could and slowly turned around to face the keeper of the hand in the eye. In the semi-darkness, Merly’s eyes burned in terror, because it was not Mrs. Nigela who was staring into her eyes, but an apparition of her former self. The shadow didn’t move and gave a dead cold look. It gazed deep into Merly’s eyes as if it was seeing through her soul and Merly couldn’t make out if she was indeed Mrs. Nigela.

  The terror in Merly’s heart was overcome with pity that she felt for herself. Merly couldn’t stop crying as the things that were happening were too much for her to bear.

  “Why are you crying?” a blurry voice asked, but Merly had no strength to answer. The voice asked again, and when Merly didn’t answer anything, the image started to fade.

  “Wait, Mrs. Nigela, don’t go. I just didn’t expect to see you. For so long, I never believed that this was even possible. I am so sorry that I couldn’t protect you, please Mrs. Nigela can you forgive me?” Merly sat down on her knees and begged.

  “Don’t believe what you see?” the shadow asked again.

  “But I do believe it. It is you, isn’t it? You are real. This is indeed happening. I didn’t believe before, but now I do.” Merly went on saying in between her sobbing.

  “Don’t believe it…” the shadow replied and it vanished in thin air.

  “No, don’t go … please, come back, Mrs. Nigela, please come back!” Merly shouted back and tried to reach out for the vanishing shadow, but she was not only too late, but it was impossible.

  “Please come back, you cannot leave like this, I want you answer me something, come back!” Merly went on saying, but all her efforts were futile. “This can’t be happening. No, no, I must call her back,” Merly frantically told herself. “What do I do … what do I do now? Oh, this can’t be happening!” Merly was unstoppable. She couldn’t see or hear anything properly and her head was heavy, but she couldn’t make herself stop. The candles were still burning brightly and Merly started chanting again and only a knock on the door could make her stop.

  Merly looked towards the door with fierce eyes, but made no attempt whatsoever to open it. The knocks on the door grew louder, but Merly went on chanting. Minutes later, the knocks ceased to exist and there was the sound of keys turning. It was Natalie who pushed the door open and came rushing towards her friend. She slapped her right across face when Merly didn’t stop. Merly got up and pushed Natalie aside and kept on chanting, she was in an uncontrollable fit.

  ******

  “Stop it, stop this madness, Merly! Don’t you realize what you are doing? You are going crazy. I asked you not to do anything.” Natalie looked from the side in horror and then her eye fell on the cracked mirror.

  Natalie made a second attempt and didn’t give up even when Merly hissed at her. She knew that she lacked the strength to stop her, so she ran towards the c
andle to douse the flames. Merly came towards her to stop her from doing that, but Natalie escaped. She ran towards the window to remove the curtains and pushed open the window to let the light in. Merly was unable to get up and stop Natalie this time. The sunlight proved to be a distraction, and she finally stopped her madness. Natalie stood in one corner and waited for Merly to get up, but she didn’t, so Natalie once again amassed her spirit and went towards Merly to pick her up, but when she turned her over, Merly had already passed out and had stopped breathing.

  Chapter 7

  Natalie freaked out with the motionless body of her friend in her arms. She shook Merly repeatedly to help her up. “Please don’t pass out on me, Merly. Wake up please,” she pleaded. “Oh, please this is not how it was supposed to be? Merly, please breathe. What do I do now? Someone, anyone help me please!” she sobbed. Then like a miracle, Merly opened her eyes and said, “What happened?”

  “Oh, you are awake. I was so scared for a second.” Natalie felt like her life was coming back to her. She hugged Merly tight and wept uncontrollably.

  “I am fine, but I don’t remember anything. What happened?” she asked while trying to sit up.

  “Throw those books away, Merly. They are evil. Do you even realize what these books are making out of you? The chanting, the praying … I asked you not to. Why did you try to do this on your own and alone?” Natalie questioned.

  “Will you accept my apology, Natalie? I am sorry, but I was tempted to try it. I tried, but I couldn’t control myself. I wanted to see someone and I felt the same sensation that I felt yesterday in the room Camille took us to, but then when I turned around, I saw her, but the she asked me something. She asked me if I believed she was real. I answered yes and then I don’t remember anything. What happened when you came in?” Merly asked while panting.

  Natalie listened to everything her friend was saying, but all the while she was thinking how to pull her friend out of the mess. “Stay here Merly because I have got news for you. I came when you were still chanting those lines. I tried stopping you, but you pushed me aside, but that is not what I want to tell you. I went to see Mr. Stevenson to tell him about what happened yesterday to us, but you won’t believe what he said.” Natalie stooped then said, “He completely denied suggesting us to do any of it and refused to listen to anything. I attempted again, but he completely pushed me out. The assistant librarian was there and he even prohibited me from going to the library for a week. What did I do wrong? I was just asking him a few questions, and why did he deny everything? I am telling you, Merly, something is wrong with him and we better complain.”

  “We have nothing against him, Natalie. What will be our reason of accusation? We have no proof that he told us to do this, we did it on our own, and we have to wait because there is nothing we can do now. He has all the rights to deny, because who wants to get in all the trouble. Realize how much news this would cause if these incidents ever get out,” Merly warned her.

  “This news should get out, look at yourself in the mirror, that is if you have one left, and see what the process had done to you.” Natalie’s tone was sarcastic.

  “I don’t blame him yet, Natalie; we were the one who went to him asking him for help. He tried and it didn’t work for us, but why I don’t understand that. If Camille has been practicing these, why hadn’t it affected her as it did to me? I need to know that. There is some truth in what he said and he didn’t lie. Maybe he was influenced when he denied everything that you said. We can’t rule that out, can we?” was all Merly managed to say before apparitions began to appear in front of her eyes again.

  Merly began to act hysterically and threw a fit again; Natalie tried to calm her down., Merly covered her eyes with her hands and didn’t stop shaking her head.

  “Merly calm down, I am here, so relax now. What is happening to you?” Natalie asked while holding her friend close to herself.

  “Someone is here, I can sense it, but I don’t want to face them. Help me, Natalie, please, and help me out of this!” Merly cried.

  “No one is here, Merly, so calm down,” Natalie said.

  Merly opened her eyes slowly and looked around to find no one was around. “They were here a minute ago, but now they are gone. Why is this happening?” Merly was unsure herself.

  “Merly, be a little patient, and we will get out of this.” Natalie promised her so she would calm down.

  Her words, however, reflected false promise and Merly was not easily fooled. “Don’t make a promise that you can’t keep. There is nothing you can do now. I started this and this will be my end,” Merly foretold.

  Natalie was silenced as there was nothing she could say that would sedate Merly, so once again her efforts were futile.

  “We have to go and meet Camille tonight. She might have a solution for us. She has to help us, so hold on tight for some more time…” Natalie said, but paused when she suddenly thought of something else. “Merly, who do you keep seeing? You said that you saw someone? Who was it? Did you really wish to see someone like Camille mentioned?”

  Merly didn’t hesitate before answering, “Yes, there was someone whom I wanted to see, but now I am not even sure if that is the person whom I saw.”

  “Who did you see then?” Natalie asked very carefully so not to rile Merly up.

  “I can’t figure that out, but the face was similar to someone whom I have seen before. Why do you think that happened? I was supposed to see someone that I called for.”

  “Do you suppose it was your imagination?” Natalie was still being careful.

  “You were there yesterday so you know that it was not our imagination, because there was someone there and today someone was here, too, so I couldn’t be wrong.” Merly’s confusion got the better of her.

  “Hardly anything makes sense now, from Nora leaving to you seeing the library ghost to this. When did things turned like this? Where did we go wrong?” Natalie said, but it was a mutual thought that both the girls shared.

  “What time is it Natalie?” Merly asked abruptly.

  “It is almost past four, and I didn’t notice at all. I suggest that you close your eyes for a moment, and then we can go and meet Camille around six. Do you want me to draw the curtains for you?” Natalie asked out of concern.

  “No, don’t draw them. I did last time and look what happened. Let the light come in, and I’ll be fine,” Merly said while she managed to get herself back into bed.

  “Do you think you will be able to go to meet Camille or should I invite her here?” Natalie wanted to know.

  “I will be fine, so don’t ask her here. I will go and meet her. I have to go anyway,” Merly answered from her bedroom.

  “I will wait here for you to wake up,” Natalie announced quietly and then started to clean up the mess that lay in front of her. She looked at the cracked mirror and traced her hand over it and flicked at the faint images that crossed her mind. Whom did she see? Natalie asked herself, not knowing the answer. The books lay strewn around and she started picking them up one by one and then came across the one that was lying in front of the doused candle. Natalie picked it up to read through the pages, which mentioned the trick to call on the spirit. She went through a few lines, but then closed it without looking any further. She hated the sight of those books. “What purpose do they have? I wish they were never sent to Merly to begin with,” Natalie kept mumbling to herself, and by the time she was finished, it was already 6:00 p.m.

  Merly was fast asleep, oblivious to the happenings around her. Natalie woke her up slowly, but the tiredness was still in her face. Despite calling a few times, Merly didn’t wake up. Her breathings were rapid and she seemed to be in pain, and Natalie couldn’t figure out the source. “Merly, wake up! it’s time for us to go. Camille asked us to meet her. We can’t be late.” Natalie kept calling Merly.

  She woke up a couple of minutes later. Her eyes dark and an obvious streak of fatigue burdened her shoulder. “I must have drifted off,” Merly said.

>   “Come on, we need to go. Get a sweater and we will move along.” Natalie rushed off to her own room and then the two girls journeyed to where they were supposed to meet Camille.

  Camille was waiting for them and looked at her watch while they approached. “You guys are late, now come on hurry up; I have things to tell you guys.” Camille grabbed Natalie’s hand and dragged them towards the back door.

  “Are you taking us back in that room? We are not going back there. You don’t even know what happened to Merly, and this morning…” Merly grabbed hold of Natalie’s hand and didn’t let her finish what she was saying. Natalie took the hint and merely followed Camille to where she was taking them, but made sure if it was the dreadful room, then she would protest.

  “Hurry up you two! It is getting late,” Camille urged.

  “Can’t you see we are? Merly is unwell. Where are you taking us to?’ Natalie asked for the second time.

  “Just come with me, and do you see me taking the back door? I am taking you both to my room. I have something to tell you,” Camille insisted and Natalie didn’t protest anymore.

  Camille’s room was lightly lit with books and candles strewn around. Merly noticed that among them were two of her books that she had carried to the horrific room the previous night, but she didn’t mention them. Natalie and Merly stood at the door and observed each little detail. They were skeptical and weren’t too sure of what their action should be.

  “Come on in. You two don’t suppose that I’ll eat you up. Also, I cannot talk to you if you are standing over there. Someone might hear,” Camille mocked.

  They tiptoed inside the room, but made no attempt to sit down. “What do you have to tell us? Hurry up, because we can’t waste our time anymore on this. We have been in enough trouble already and it is very exhausting,” Natalie said in an irritated manner.

  “You are extremely impatient, Natalie, and you are not letting me speak. What I am about to say is an important matter, and you two must listen very carefully, so…” Camille couldn’t finish her sentence when Natalie interrupted her again.