by Mute80
I stood up, surprised at how stiff my body was. My muscles were so tense from anxiety that I could hardly move. I took a couple of tissues from a box on a side table and offered them to her. The revelation that Sophia was a ghost was nothing compared to how my mind felt just then. I couldn’t believe I’d heard the true story of the Mary Celeste.
*****
I convinced Sophia that we should take a break from the living room and head outside to the patio. After what I’d just heard, I needed some fresh air. I grabbed a bag of chips and a couple of sodas as we passed through the kitchen on our way to the patio door. I offered the bag of chips to Sophia first, but she politely turned them down.
She smiled slyly. “Actually, ghosts don’t really need to eat. Sometimes we do just to keep up appearances, but it isn’t necessary and we don’t really taste the difference between one food and another. It gets kind of old chewing on stuff that tastes like paper when it isn’t doing you any good.”
“Really? If you don’t need to eat, do you need to sleep?”
“No, but we can . . . sort of. We have a way of temporarily turning our minds off and falling into a trance-like state, but it’s not really sleeping. I do it just to help pass the time, though. I try to live as human of a life as I can, but I never actually change.”
Suddenly, a crazy thought entered my mind. I really hoped it wasn’t true. “If ghosts are real, what other mythical beings exist? Please tell me there aren’t vampires or werewolves or zombies roaming around out there.”
Sophia laughed. I could tell she was feeling better. “Honestly, I don’t know. I’ve never met one of those characters, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist. It’s highly doubtful, Jamie.”
I got up and moved to the patio swing, rocking back and forth slowly. “So why did what’s her name, Captain Goodwin’s wife, want to save you if they got rid of everyone else? It obviously wasn’t for ransom.”
“Elsa. Her name was Elsa. Although for most of my life I called her Mother.”
“They . . . kept you?”
“Apparently she wanted a child, but they hadn’t been very successful in their attempts to conceive. When she realized that a perfectly healthy child was about to be sacrificed, she stepped in.”
“You were raised by the couple who killed your family?” I asked incredulously.
Sophia nodded.
“I’m still confused. If Captain Goodwin wanted the cargo and ship, why did he just leave it out in the ocean for the Dei Gratia to find days later?”
“Captain Goodwin had more crew members hidden below the decks of the Aurabelle. The plan was to divide the crew between the two ships and sail west to the Azores Islands. They would secretly change the name and paperwork of the boat and then sail both of them into the Caribbean, which was much more familiar territory to Jeremiah. This is the part of the story where the modern explanation of what happened to the Mary Celeste most closely resembles what really happened.
“The crew of the Aurabelle began exploring the rooms and cargo area of the Mary Celeste. They of course had to sample the alcohol in the barrels below deck even though I don’t think it was the kind of alcohol that was meant to be ingested. Somehow they unknowingly caused some of the barrels to leak or something, because the next day fumes were coming from below deck. Some of the crew got sick and everyone was nervous and scared. Seamen tend to be overly superstitious and they thought they were being poisoned and cursed for their piracy. No one wanted to remain on board. The crew went down in the lifeboat of the Mary Celeste and kept themselves tied to her to see if they could wait it out, thinking the fumes would dissipate. While they were in the lifeboat something made a loud noise from the ship and they were so scared that they didn’t dare board her again. Everyone returned to the Aurabelle and continued on their way, leaving the Mary Celeste to drift around on her own. I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure that was Captain Goodwin’s first—and last—try at piracy.”
“What made the loud noise?”
“I don’t know. My memories are only of things that I actually witnessed or heard. No one was on the boat at the time so no one knows what the noise was.”
“This is by far the craziest story I’ve ever heard. You must have been terrified.”
“Remember, I didn’t have any recollection of any of this until my childhood memories returned. When I found out, I was so angry with Jeremiah and Elsa that I spent years haunting them. I couldn’t ever show myself to them since I’d known them when I was alive, but I definitely gave them a lot of sleepless nights,” Sophia said proudly. “After six or seven years I finally got bored and left. I took myself on a tour of the United States and I’ve been all over the world. No one can say that Sophia Briggs doesn’t know how to party. But I finally decided it was time to figure out what I needed to do to be extricated. I thought if I retraced the steps in my life it would all make sense. Here we are years later and I’m still trying to figure it out.”
I thought for a minute. “Okay, the best thing for me when I’m trying to figure something out is to make a trip to the library. I guarantee they have every book, paper, and pamphlet ever published about the Mary Celeste and your family. I think I should read up on the history of it all and see if I can come up with any more unanswered questions or—” We were interrupted by the ringing of my doorbell. I slipped back through the sliding glass door, walked hurriedly into the living room, and opened the door to find Camille standing on my porch. Crap.
CHAPTER 5
“Hey, look at that. You are alive. Would it hurt you to answer a call or a text once in a while?” Camille said as she strolled by me into the house and plopped down on the sofa.
I felt my pockets and realized I hadn’t grabbed my cell phone off my dresser when I’d gotten dressed that morning. I’d been so preoccupied with Sophia all day that I hadn’t even noticed it was missing.
“Sorry. I left my cell upstairs, I guess. I’ve been hanging out down here all morning. How was the dance last night?” I knew that if I redirected the conversation towards Camille, she would do most of the talking and forget that she was supposed to be mad.
“The dance was a-maze-ing.”
“Tell me about it.”
“Well, first let me say that I looked stunning in the red dress you helped me pick out. You were right about the color. It definitely made me stand out in the crowd. And, I’m not going to lie—Travis looked pretty darn good in his tux.”
Camille handed me her phone so that I could see a picture of the smiling couple standing on her parent’s front porch. The pair wore matching white roses pinned to their chests. She did look amazing and I was happy for her. Maybe someday I would go to a dance . . .
“Trav picked me up at six and took me to dinner before the dance. We went to a place that had candles on every table and those fancy cloth napkins. I felt so mature.” Camille giggled.
“Anyway, we got to the dance around 8:30. Trav’s a pretty good dancer—for a football player. I could totally tell that some of the other girls were jealous because they kept watching us all night. I think their own dates were starting to get mad.”
“If I know you, Cam, you loved that part of it.”
“Of course. That goes without saying. The best part of the night, though, was when he took me home.” Camille blushed.
“Let me guess, he kissed you?”
“Well, duh.”
I rolled my eyes and laughed.
“I think we’re going to be seeing a lot more of each . . .” Camille’s words trailed off as she stared past me toward the kitchen with an odd expression.
I turned to see Sophia standing in the doorway.
“Oh. Umm . . . Camille, this is my . . . uh . . . my . . . umm . . .” I didn’t know what to call her.
“Hi. I’m Sophia. I’m Jamie’s friend.” Sophia walked into the room and stuck her hand out to Camille.
“Uh, nice to meet you,” Camille said slowly as she shot me a quizzical look.
I
didn’t know what to say. I couldn’t exactly give up Sophia’s secret to Camille on their first meeting.
Sophia saved me again. “I’m new in town and I met Jamie at the library yesterday. We started talking and I invited myself over today.”
This appeased Camille who I think chose to just ignore Sophia for the time being. She turned back to me. “If you would have been answering your texts, you’d know that I was trying to invite you to go to a late lunch this afternoon.”
“You know that normally I would, but I kind of already made plans with Sophia. I’m sorry. Maybe we can go for ice cream after school tomorrow?”
“Sure. Whatever. I guess I better be getting back home. You guys have fun.” Camille began walking to the door. I could tell her feelings were hurt.
I felt bad, but I didn’t think she would enjoy an afternoon spent at the library researching one random subject. If I told her of Sophia’s true identity, she would probably freak out and stop talking to me anyway.
“Goodbye. I’m glad you had fun last night,” I yelled after her. She didn’t respond as she quietly shut the door behind herself.
“Have you always let her run your life?” Sophia asked.
“What?”
“Camille. She always decides what the two of you will be doing. In all the weeks I was watching you, I don’t think I ever saw the two of you do something because you wanted to.”
It gave me the creeps to think of Sophia watching me for weeks, but I was even more stunned that she’d picked up on the inner workings of our relationship so quickly. Truthfully, Camille did usually make all the major choices in our friendship, but it was also true that I didn’t really care. When something really mattered to me, I stepped in and said something. Camille was good enough to let me get my way on those rare occasions, but I didn’t know how to explain all of this to Sophia who hadn’t been with us since the first grade. I probably should have defended Camille, but I didn’t.
“Let’s get going if we’re going to get any work done today. The library opens late and closes early on Sundays. I’m going to have to ride my bike since not all of us can fly.” I paused. “Can you fly?”
Sophia didn’t say anything, but rose up and slowly floated across the room. I rolled my eyes. “Show off.”
*****
Just as I expected, the library was a treasure trove of information about the Mary Celeste, the Briggs family, and their tragic ending. After spending a couple of hours searching through material, we checked out a bag full of books at the circulation desk and headed back to my house. I opened the garage door and saw that my dad’s car was back in its place. Great. What would I tell him?
“Dad,” I called as we entered through the kitchen.
We found him in the living room watching a Sunday afternoon political news program. He actually had his tie loosened.
Dad stood and reached his hand out to Sophia immediately. “Hello. I’m Jamie’s father. And you are . . .?”
Sophia responded just as easily as she had with Camille earlier in the day. I guess situations like those make decades of practicing to be ‘normal’ come in handy. I felt like everyone was looking at Sophia and I wherever we went, wondering what was wrong with her, but in reality she was as ‘normal’ as any other teenage girl in town.
“My name is Sophia. I’m visiting Marion with my parents for the summer. They’re thinking of buying a second home here. Jamie and I met at the library yesterday and she graciously offered to introduce me to the town.” Sophia beamed.
“Did she? Well, my daughter has lived here her entire life and I don’t think you could find a better tour guide.”
“I’m sure we’ll have fun together, Mr. Peters.”
Dad turned to me. “Are you still interested in going to dinner tonight? I made sure I left the office early enough to go for Chinese if you wanted.”
“Mmm. That sounds perfect. Sophia needs to be getting back home anyway. Right, Sophia?” I hinted.
Sophia nodded and headed for the door. “I’ll call you tomorrow after you get out of school, okay?”
“Sounds great. Have a good evening.”
It dawned on me that I didn’t know where Sophia went at night. Did she have an actual home? I had a feeling that she was probably still lurking somewhere in the shadows and I hoped she wouldn’t follow my dad and me wherever we went that night. The thought gave me the heebie jeebies and I shivered as cold tendrils crawled up my spine.
There was a quaint little Chinese restaurant called Dragon Star near the waterfront that Dad and I frequented. The food was authentic because the owners were actually from China. Sometimes we had a hard time understanding them when they spoke to us since English wasn’t their first language. I ordered my favorite sesame chicken with sides of steamed rice and an egg roll, and Dad opted for a couple of the spicier options on the menu. We lingered over our dinner that night and Dad made a sincere effort to talk to me. He’d probably clued-in to the mood I’d been stuck in, but I didn’t want him to worry about me. Things were definitely changing in my life and the summer was starting to look up. My mind continuously wandered during our meal and I think that made Dad worry more. I wondered how open he was to the idea of spirits floating around our town.
“Dad,” I finally asked. “Do you believe in ghosts?”
It’s hard to surprise my calm and proper father, but I could tell he was taken aback by my comment. He set his chopsticks down and cleared his throat. He stretched out his hands and looked at them before refolding them in his lap and answering my question.
“Well, I don’t know that I believe in ghosts of the sort you see in movies and such, but I think there’s a good chance that a type of spirit can linger when people pass on. I don’t think the spirits can actually do anything that would affect the living, but I believe they are sometimes there.” He creased his brow and looked at me. “Why the sudden interest in the occult?”
“No special reason. I just read a book about ghosts recently and it made me wonder what I believed.”
We sat in an uncomfortable silence for a few moments before I cleared my throat and changed the subject. “It sure is gorgeous weather today. I think I’m finally ready to put my winter clothes in storage for a few months.”
“The forecast says it will be sunny all week. I think we’re done with the cold weather for the season.” Dad played along. “Sophia seemed nice. Do you have any plans of getting together with her again?”
“I think so. We did hit it off. Her parents plan on staying here for the entire summer before they decide to buy or not.”
“Maybe we can invite her family over for a summer barbecue sometime to welcome them to town. Does she have any siblings?”
I was starting to get nervous with the subject and before I could think I blurted out, “She had an older brother, but he’s dead now.”
“Oh. That’s really unfortunate. Was it recent?”
“No. I think it was a long time ago. She doesn’t really remember him much. I don’t know if her parents would want to come over, though. She says they’re pretty private people.” The lies continued to march out of my mouth.
“Huh . . . well, we’ll have to see as the summer progresses.”
Dad knew I was hiding something, but he let the subject drop. He left a tip on the table and we went for a walk near the water, looking out at Buzzards Bay, before returning to our car. It was nice to spend time with Dad. The older I got, the fewer opportunities I had to do it.
By the time we got home the sun had set and I was safely able to excuse myself to my room without causing any suspicion. I really wanted to get started on my research. As I reached the top of the stairs, I could see a faint glow coming from under my door. I didn’t remember leaving my lights on. I slowly opened the door and peered inside.
“Hey. You’re back,” Sophia sang out.
I jumped. For the umpteenth time in the last two days it felt like my heart would stop.
“I thought you said you’d knock
the next time you came over,” I whispered while looking behind me down the hallway. The last thing I needed was for Dad to find out that Sophia was in my room.
“I told you I’d knock the next time I came over, but technically I never left.”
“I saw you go out the door.”
“Noooo. You saw me disappear at the door. I’ve been up here sorting through all this stuff we got at the library.”
I shrugged my shoulders and entered the room, shutting and locking the door behind me.
“Where do you want to start?” Sophia asked. “I’ve been marking pages that I thought were fairly accurate.”
“Let’s start with those pages then, I guess.” I sat down next to her on my bed and we began to quietly read. Sometimes we would comment on something or jot down a note. Other times we would burst out laughing when we came across particularly funny explanations for the disappearance of the Mary Celeste’s crew. We read until my neck was so stiff and my shoulders so hunched that I could barely move. I looked at the clock and was shocked to see that it was almost 1:00 a.m. I’d been so engrossed in my reading that I hadn’t even heard Dad come up for bed. If I knew my dad, he’d walked up the stairs promptly at 10:00 p.m.
I sighed and tossed the book in my hand to the foot of my bed. “I think I’m going to call it quits for tonight. I can barely see straight anymore and it might not mean much to you, but I’ve still got another week of school left. I don’t want to be a zombie all day tomorrow.”
“I really do appreciate your help,” Sophia said. “I’ll leave. And I promise I won’t sneak in while you’re sleeping.”
Somehow her words weren’t all that reassuring. We quickly organized the books so that we could return to them later and I fell deeply into a much needed sleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.
CHAPTER 6
I felt like I had an extra spring in my step the next day. All of a sudden my life had purpose and meaning. For the first time in a long time I looked forward to summer break.
