by J A Whiting
“Do you know if there’s a list of people who were on Canter as patients?” Viv asked.
Joyce’s forehead scrunched up in thought. “I haven’t seen one. You might contact the U.S Health Services agency to inquire about that.” The woman drained her glass. “My family has a distant relative by marriage who died on Canter, a young man in his mid-twenties.”
Lin was stunned to hear that news.
“The young man’s wife and young child had come across from England six months before he did. The wife and child had been staying on Nantucket with her sister who had come two years before. The sister is a direct ancestor of mine. My ancestor’s brother-in-law was on a ship that stopped at Cantor to be processed and he was detained due to having come from a port where smallpox was known to be present.”
“He had smallpox?” Viv asked.
“We assume he did. We aren’t sure if he’d been infected at home before taking the ship to America, or he contracted the disease while on Cantor. The details are fuzzy and have been passed down verbally through the generations.”
A shiver moved across Lin’s skin. “Did you ever spend time trying to find out more information about him?”
“I did, but I ran into brick walls and never went back to it,” Joyce told the young women.
“Do you know the brother-in-law’s name?”
“We only know the first name. It was William,” Joyce said.
For a few seconds, Lin’s vision spun and she felt light-headed. “He’s buried on Canter?”
“We’re told he was, yes, but without the last name, we can’t find out which grave is his, and anyway, it is my understanding that some of the information linking names of the deceased with the numbered graves have been lost,” Joyce said.
“What happened?” Lin asked. “How was the information lost?”
“I guess from moving archives from place to place over the decades.” Joyce shrugged a shoulder.
Lin’s stomach clenched at the idea that no one knew who was buried in the numbered graves. Lost souls. Forgotten and left behind.
8
With some apprehension, Lin and Viv stepped out of the rowboat and heaved it up on the sandy beach. Bob, a charter boat operator out of Nantucket, had dropped the cousins off at Canter Island and promised to return in four hours to pick them up.
Despite the bright, warm sun overhead, a chill filled Lin’s stomach.
“Let’s be sure this rowboat is high enough up on the sand,” Viv puffed. “We don’t want to have the tide come in and pull it out to sea. I don’t want to be stuck on this island for the rest of my life.”
Lin couldn’t help but chuckle. “I don’t think Bob would leave us here.”
The cousins followed the sandy path through the dunes up to the former town that had been built on the island over the long decades.
Trying to catch her breath, Viv looked around at the old foundations and the dilapidated main road. “This place gives me the creeps. Let’s go find that cemetery and get the heck out of here.”
Lin had two old maps of the island downloaded to her phone so she pulled one up and after a moment orienting herself, she pointed. “This way. The main street leads to a dirt road that heads down into the cemetery. It’s on the east side.”
“Is your ghost around?” Putting on her sunglasses, Viv eyed her cousin as they walked over the dusty road towards their destination. “Do you feel anything? Do you feel cold yet?”
“Not yet.”
“Is that ghost going to show up? He’s been missing for days. If he wants your help, he’d better show up and give you some clues.”
“They all work in their own time and in their own ways,” Lin said with a hint of resignation in her voice.
After a half-mile of walking, there were no more of the old foundations and the road was lined with trees and brush and some wildflowers, and birds sang high in the treetops. Lin began to relax and admire the different shades of green, some leaves already tinted with red.
“I hate this place,” Viv announced, startling Lin with the force of her statement. “So much misery happened here. I don’t like it. Not one bit. I hope we never have to come back.”
“I know,” Lin agreed. “But maybe we can be of help to one poor soul who suffered here. Maybe we can help erase a little bit of the sad things.”
“A tiny drop in an ocean.” Viv kicked at a pebble in the road. “At least, it would be something.”
After ten more minutes of walking, Viv spoke as she brushed away a bit of perspiration from her forehead. “Why did they build the cemetery so far from the town?”
“I have a guess.” Lin looked sideways at her cousin.
The reason dawned on Viv. “Oh, right. To keep the diseased bodies from being too close to the inhabited part of the island. Can a dead body spread smallpox?”
A shiver ran over Lin’s skin. “Maybe when the person first dies? I really don’t know. The cemetery was probably built far from the town for psychological reasons … smallpox patients wouldn’t want to see a cemetery right outside their hospital windows.”
“Good point,” Viv said. “How much further do we have to go?”
“The turn should be right up ahead.” Lin consulted the map again, and then pointed to the left.
A few yards later, the cousins spotted the weed-covered dirt road which was about as wide as a large horse-drawn cart or small vehicle. The cousins had to duck under low-hanging tree limbs and push at some branches of overgrown bushes to make their way down the old pathway. A prickly vine caught Lin’s ankle and scratched the skin causing her to curse.
Emerging from their wooded descent, Lin and Viv stepped into the open to see the blue ocean stretched out before them far into the distance. For a moment, the beauty of the view transfixed the cousins, and then they saw the grave markers in the long grass.
“Here we are,” Lin whispered as she felt her heart sink down to her toes.
Viv let out a long sigh and looking to her right, she gestured. “There are the numbered granite markers. Where do you want to start?”
Lin was drawn to the unnamed graves so she suggested they walk past that section of the cemetery first.
The ground was sloped so they watched their footing as they made their way down the hill. When they got closer, Viv let out a gasp.
“Look. Look at that.” Viv’s voice trembled with fear and surprise and she took hold of cousin’s arm.
Lin couldn’t believe her eyes.
At the bottom of the hill, a number of caskets could be seen sticking out of some open graves.
“What the heck?” Viv’s hand covered her mouth.
Lin led the way down the hill to get a closer look. “The recent strong storms must have caused high seas to advance into the cemetery and open up the graves. It was built too close to the ocean. Erosion has removed some of the dunes that used to be here making it easier for the tide to breakthrough into the plots when there’s a storm.”
“We need to report this,” Viv said. “If another storm comes up, these coffins will be dragged out to sea.”
Lin walked shakily through the disrupted section of the cemetery. “I count at least forty opened graves. This is terrible.” Lifting her phone to her eye, she took several photographs of the disarray.
Viv huffed. “These poor people contracted a disease, were quarantined here, and died here away from their family and friends. And now they can’t even rest in peace.”
When Lin turned to look at the next section of graves, her heart stopped for a second and blood drained from head. “Viv.”
Hesitating at first, Viv took a few steps closer to where Lin was standing. “What is it?” The tone of her voice made it clear she’d rather not hear the answer.
“Some of the caskets are broken open.” Lin pointed and said softly, “Some of the bones are visible.”
A groan escaped from Viv’s throat and turning away from the sight, she sank down onto the grass. “Is this the reason your ghost show
ed up? Because the graves and coffins are damaged?”
“I think it’s one of the reasons,” Lin whispered.
A few minutes passed without either young woman saying a word and then Lin said, “Come on. Let’s walk around. We’ll use our phones to document what’s happened here and then when we get back home, we’ll notify the authorities.”
Viv stared at Lin with dread, and then she sighed and pushed herself up from her sitting position. “Let’s get it over with.”
“Let’s split up. I’ll take the unnamed graves. You can do the graves with the headstones.”
“And then let’s get out of here.” Viv used her phone to photograph the closest disturbed plots while Lin headed to the far side of the cemetery to document the damage in that section.
“Don’t leave my sight,” Viv called to her cousin.
With her heart beating like a drum, Lin began walking between the opened graves. If the casket was broken apart, she averted her eyes from any visible bones. Unable to stop thinking about the people buried there, her emotions got the best of her, and some tears formed in her eyes.
Stopping to collect herself and brushing at the tears, a swoop of icy air enveloped her and she steeled herself to what she knew she would see. Looking to the craggy beach at the edge of the cemetery, the ghost-man stood at the water’s edge, his eyes boring into Lin.
His gaze sent his sadness directly into Lin’s heart and she almost teetered backwards. The ghost’s body was translucent and the particles that made up his form glowed from silver to pink, and then to bright flaming red.
“I know,” Lin said softly. “I understand.” The heat of the ghost’s anger and hopelessness poured out of his atoms and thudded against her chest. “What happened to you?”
A crimson flare shot high into the air from the spirit’s being.
“I’ll figure it out,” Lin told him with a tear tracing down her cheek. “I’ll help you. I promise.”
The ghost’s atoms lost their red color and turned to a silvery-white hue as they began to spin in a circular motion building up speed going faster and faster until the man’s form became a blur. When the particles flared bright, Lin had to close her eyes against the flash.
When she opened her lids, the ghost had disappeared.
Viv yelled to her cousin from across the cemetery. “What was that? Are you okay?”
Weakly, Lin lifted her hand to wave to Viv and then halted her motion. Blinking for a few seconds, she strode across the grass to where Viv stood.
“What did you ask me?” Lin’s chest heaved up and down.
“Are you okay?” Viv narrowed her eyes.
With a racing heart, Lin asked, “Why did you ask me that?”
Viv was about to say something, when she stopped. “I … I don’t know why. Are you okay?”
“Think.” Lin held her cousin’s arm. “What made you call to me?”
Viv screwed up her face and looked down at the ground. “I’m not sure.”
Lin waited.
“I think I heard something … like a bunch of Fourth of July sparklers flaring.” Viv rubbed at her forehead. “Was there a flash? Like lightning in the distance?” She turned her head to look out at the ocean. “That can’t be. There aren’t any clouds.” Looking back at her cousin with a questioning expression, she saw Lin grinning at her. “What’s wrong with you?”
Despite standing in the midst of the cemetery’s sadness, excitement rushed through Lin’s veins making it difficult for her to get the words out. “The ghost was here. He was staring at me from the edge of the water. His atoms were sparkling. There was a flash when he disappeared.”
Viv blinked, uncomprehending.
“You noticed the flash.” Lin held tight to Viv’s arms. “You felt the ghost. You must be developing skills like mine.”
Viv’s eyes widened and her jaw dropped open … and she swayed slightly from side to side, and then the young woman fainted dead away and fell into her cousin’s arms.
9
When Viv came to, Lin was sitting on the grass next to her holding her hand. Trying to make light of what had just happened, Lin told her cousin, “Good thing I was standing right next to you before you decided to take a break from our conversation.”
“Oh, gosh.” Viv sat up and rubbed the back of her neck. “I passed out.”
With a grin, Lin said, “I noticed.”
“It must have been something in the air that I saw … like heat lightning or a solar flash … or something,” Viv said.
Lin said, “Well, I choose or something, and I know what that something was. It was a ghost.”
“But it can’t be,” Viv almost wailed. “I’ve never seen a ghost. Never in my whole life.”
“Things change,” Lin said softly. “And anyway, you didn’t actually see the ghost. You sensed him. You were aware of his presence. The next step might be seeing him.”
Viv pulled her legs up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “I don’t want to take the next step. Seeing ghosts is your thing, not mine. Oh, gosh.”
“It’s not that big a deal.”
Viv’s eyes widened as she held her cousin’s gaze. “Really? Let’s ask some people walking around Nantucket town if they think seeing a ghost is sort of a big deal. What do you think they’ll say?”
“I know what they’ll say, but those people aren’t descendants from our ancestors.”
“How is this happening?” Viv rested her cheek on her knee.
“It would be a big help to me if you could see or, at least, sense ghosts. We could put our heads together and figure things out faster.”
Viv’s big blue eyes looked teary. “I like helping you the way I always have.” Looking over her shoulder to check if anyone was around, she whispered, “Ghosts scare me.”
“No need.” Lin took her cousin’s hand. “You’ll have time to get used to this new thing. The skill will probably come on slowly. It will be fine, you’ll see.”
“I don’t want to see anything. I want things to stay the way they are.”
Lin glanced around the cemetery at the open graves and the damaged caskets, and she let out a sigh. “People don’t always get what they hope for.”
Viv’s shoulders sagged. “I know. I know I’m fussing too much. I’m just frightened.”
Lin gave a little smile and helped Viv to her feet. “Come on. Let’s get back to the beach. Bob will arrive soon to pick us up. Things will work out. I’m with you. Things will be okay.”
All the way back to Nantucket in Bob’s boat, the young women were quiet. When they’d first gotten into the boat, Bob asked them how the adventure turned out. Lin told him what they’d seen at the cemetery and the older man blanched. “You can’t catch smallpox from a dead body, can you?”
Lin assured the man that it was impossible for the bones to transmit the disease.
“That’s a relief.” Bob shook his head, not looking completely convinced.
Once they arrived back at the docks, Lin and Viv headed up Main Street to Lin’s cottage where the dog and cat were at the door to greet them.
“They must know we had an eventful visit to Canter,” Lin said as she put tea on and removed a dish of burritos from the refrigerator, placed them on a cookie sheet, and popped them into the oven to warm.
Nicky rubbed his head against Viv’s leg and Queenie jumped up onto her lap.
“See, they’re trying to comfort you,” Lin said placing a steaming mug of fragrant tea in front of her cousin.
“Thank you.” Viv petted the animals, and not wanting to talk about her paranormal experience on the island, she asked, “What are we going to do about the open graves? Who do we tell about them?”
“We can tell the Nantucket police to start with.” Lin set a bowl of salad on the kitchen island. “Then I think we should call the state board of health. They can tell us if we should notify anyone else.”
“Okay, good.” Viv nodded slowly. “That sounds right.”
“I thin
k you should talk to Libby,” Lin said. Libby Hartnett, a life-long resident of Nantucket, was a distant cousin to the two young women. She had special powers of her own, and had helped Lin come to terms with her ability to see ghosts.
Viv rolled her eyes. “Wouldn’t that be jumping the gun? Today might have been a fluke, a coincidence. We may be misinterpreting what happened.”
“Fine.” Lin knew her cousin needed time to process what she’d sensed when on Canter. “Just reach out to Libby if you need advice.”
“Can’t I ask you for advice?”
“Of course, you can, but Libby knows a boatload more than I do. She’s dealt with a lot of people who have powers.”
Viv winced at the word powers.
Lin said, “Libby can help you understand your own special set of skills.”
Forcing a chuckle and a light tone, Viv said, “Except I don’t have any skills.”
“Time will tell,” Lin shrugged and decided to leave the topic for another day.
Lin and Viv appeared at the police station the next day to report the damage at the Canter cemetery. After being grilled about why they had been on the island, Lin made a call to the state board of health, and after being on hold for forever and being transferred from person to person, she finally spoke with the correct administrator at the department of conservation and recreation to explain the exposed, open coffins and remains at the cemetery.
A couple of days later, the administrator phoned Lin to tell her about two excavators that had been sent to Canter to work at repairing the graves and on rebuilding an enormous seawall that had been destroyed by severe storms. The woman also reported that authorities would work to excavate and identify the remains of the bodies, and if there are no relatives of the deceased who are willing to accept the remains for burial, the bodies will be re-interred at a cemetery on the mainland.
“Maybe they’ll be able to discover the ghost’s name,” Lin said.
