“You can spread it out and lay it down,” she said.
“Okay,” he said as he fluttered out the pashmina until it covered the chair cushion.
“That’s a pretty big ball,” he said, staring at the crystal ball. He hesitated, half standing, half sitting.
“Are you afraid of it?” Dorothy asked.
“Perhaps. I’ve never seen one that big before... in real life.”
“Don’t be afraid, it’s like having Skype. We can see what we can see...” Dorothy said.
She reached under the crystal ball stand and pulled out several tea lights and a lighter. She lit four candles and placed them around her and Oscar. Oscar took a sip of his water. Then he paused.
“Am I allowed to drink?”
“Sure. Do you want something stronger than water?”
“Not just yet, but I might...” he said, unable to take his gaze from the ball.
With the candles lit, the room popped into life, shadows dancing along the ceiling, the ball reflecting shards of rainbows across the walls.
“What are we doing?” he asked. She looked at his face, his forehead wrinkled in worry, his eyes big and curious. She wanted to toss the ball away and lead him back to bed. But first, she had to find out what happened to the plants.
“Relax and look into the ball. Let your mind wander. Let it see what it sees without judgement. I’ll tell you when we’re finished.” Dorothy said.
“But what if I don’t see anything?” he asked.
“You may or may not, just as I may or may not. We’ll see what we see...” She walked over to him. She kissed him on the lips as she enticed him to sit in the chair, gently pushing him down. Once he settled, she went to the other chair across from the ball.
No sooner than she sat down, images inside the ball swirled.
Pictures floated, ebbing in and out of focus; flowing long strips of dark seaweed, long pale corn stalks, long flowing multi-colored hair. All swirled in a tornado inside the ball, winding and unwinding into each other like balls of yarn rolling around on the floor.
“Do you see anything?” she asked Oscar. He leaned closer to the ball and then he leaned back, squinting his eyes.
“No. Am I supposed to?”
“You might not.” She said. She watched as the ball showed her several mermaids slithering through the backstreets of Hermana, dragging large bulging bags behind them. She saw that one of the mermaids appeared wounded, scalp half raw and seeping with puss, her green scaly skin seemed more mottled than her peers. She dragged herself along the road, stopping every now and again. A high-pitched screech echoed through Dorothy’s head as the mermaid stopped and looked up, almost as if she was looking into a camera and right at Dorothy.
The mermaids in the ball began to screech, their mouths raised to the air, their voices rang through the sky, she could hear their eerie cries outside as well as through the ball. Visitors may mistake such sounds for the wind or distant coyotes, but that eerie cry in the night was often mermaids.
Oscar looked at her over the ball.
“What’s that noise?” he asked. The wailing seemed a bit louder but still distant.
“It’s just the wind... I swear the wind has a mind of its own. I guess that’s why there’re so many stories about it.”
“Crazy howling wind. No wonder there are so many horror writers from the East Coast!” he laughed. “Between the fog and the wind, there’s nightmare fuel for years.”
“I can agree with that,” Dorothy said, still watching the mermaids slithering towards the sea. The back ways they took kept them out of sight of any pedestrians.
“Are you seeing anything?” Oscar asked her.
“Yes, but it’s of no consequence,” she lied. She continued to study the images.
Oscar looked at the ball again, his brow furrowed.
As the mermaids reached the boardwalk, they seemed to pick up speed, if they had legs, they would have been running. They flung themselves into the sea clutching their bags.
When the last mermaid had disappeared into the frothy waves, Dorothy looked up at Oscar.
“I don’t think I’m going to get any answers today,” she said. “The plants are gone and, well, sometimes that’s how things go in this weird town. One day you have a home bursting with out of control plants, the next day, things are back to normal as if it never existed at all.”
Oscar reached over the ball to take her hand.
“Can I help in anyway?”
“Not with the plants. I’m sure they are gone and that’s that. It’ll be nice to have a living room again,” she said.
She squeezed his hand and stood up.
“You can help in other ways, though,” she said. She walked back over to him and reached for him under the towel.
“You know, I really only needed a little water break. If you think it’s safe, we can go back for round two,” Oscar said, reaching for her breast. Her towel fell away as Oscar fondled her breasts. He kissed her nipples and then licked them, alternating from one to the other.
“Mmm,” Dorothy sighed. “I’m fully ready for round two!”
Oscar stood up and they kissed, their hands roaming along each other. Once again, Dorothy ran her fingers along his muscular arms, pressing her body against his firm abs and chest.
“Let’s go back to bed!” she said. She stepped back from him for a moment to extinguish the candles with the snuffer. Then she put the cloth back over the ball. Just as the cloth covered the ball, she saw an image of the wounded mermaid stuffing her face with some of the plants.
Enjoy your salad...
Dorothy led Oscar back to bed.
Chapter Fourteen
Death: In order to transform, something must be left behind.
“I think we’ve put off going back to your place long enough,” Dorothy said. “If indeed you want to return to it at all.”
“I never want to go back there, but I guess I must. You know you don’t have to...” Oscar said.
“I’ll come back with you. I said I would.”
It was now late, nearly midnight.
Dorothy looked out the window and saw the distant lights from the movie set. She looked up at the night sky. The moon was still a sliver.
“Oscar...” she said.
“Yes, my beautiful Dorothy?” he whispered as he came up behind her and put his arms around her. Together they looked up at the sky.
“You won’t tell anyone about the magic you’ve seen, will you? The plants, and anything else... that is when you get back home?”
“If you want me to keep things secret, I can do that,” he winked. “I’m very good at secrets. After all, look at how many times I had to pretend I wasn’t on for a season of Scary Haunted Tales and then, boom, there I am, honing my murder skills!”
“It’s very important you don’t breathe a word about the plants. Not even to any of the other witches I know, okay?”
Oscar studied her face.
“Why? Are you in trouble for them being gone?”
Dorothy cleared her throat.
“It’s not so much that I’m in trouble for them being gone, it’s that... well... I wasn’t supposed to have them to begin with.”
She blurted out the information and then almost instantly regretted it. She didn’t know if Oscar was capable of keeping secrets, real secrets, like hers.
She wiggled her fingers by her side and imagined that he had a blank spot when he thought about the plants.
“What were we just talking about?” Oscar asked. “I seem to have lost my train of thought.”
“Nothing important, at all...” Dorothy said, kissing him on the cheek. Oscar pulled her close and they kissed several times.
“Would you like a glass of wine or beer before we go?” Dorothy asked as they broke apart.
“Yes, you’ve given me quite a thirst!” Oscar said.
* * *
They sat on Dorothy’s couch, eating cheese and crackers and drinking wine.
“I feel like we’re procrastinating...” Oscar said.
“I guess we are... I’m not so excited to face the ghosts either, you know,” Dorothy said.
“Aren’t you used to dealing with ghosts and demons?”
“Sometimes... not really... it depends...” Dorothy said as she grabbed another slice of cheese.
“I guess it depends what is going on that day.”
“Yes, it does.”
Dorothy paused.
“I’m thinking about getting some plants,” she said.
“Plants? In here? I guess a few plants might make the place more lively,” Oscar said.
“I’ve had plants before, but I guess it’s time to find some new ones,” Dorothy tested.
“I can’t grow plants,” Oscar said. “I travel so much these days. Back when I was married, we had plants and a dog, a life. But... well, things are different now. I’m a single man and living out of my suitcase between the TV show, movies, and Broadway.”
“I really want to see you on Broadway one day. I almost got to see your last show, but the tickets were sold out.”
“Ah, that’s a shame. Next time, if there’s a next time, I’ll send you some, okay?”
“I would love that,” Dorothy said.
Whew. He doesn’t remember the plants. Which means there’s no chance of him slipping to the others. Hopefully no one will ever know I stole a plant, and that the mermaids stole it from me.
“Oscar, I think we need to do this now.”
Oscar sighed.
“Yes, you’re right, let’s go.”
He walked to the front door. Dorothy picked up her broom.
“However, we’re not going to walk nor take a cab.” Dorothy said.
“No? How are we going to get there, fly?”
“Yup!”
* * *
Dorothy and Oscar sat on her broomstick, high above Hermana. Oscar held on to her as they swooped and looped through buildings and fog.
“This is the craziest thing I’ve ever done!” exclaimed Oscar. “And I’ve done lots of crazy stuff.”
“I’m still new at this broomstick stuff so you’ll have to be patient if I make a rocky driver.”
“I wouldn’t know any different, my dear,” Oscar said, kissing her on the cheek as he held on tight.
Dorothy flew them over the cove, above the lighthouse, and even above the film set where the rest of the cast and crew were hard at work.
“I want to say hi to everyone, from here!” Oscar said.
“You can’t, we can’t be seen. Broom riding is a bit of a secret thing.”
“Too bad,” said Oscar. “I’m sure everyone would be jealous as hell.”
“Of course, they would!”
Dorothy flew them around the cove one last time before heading towards his bed and breakfast.
* * *
They entered his room. Immediately, Dorothy felt the shadows dart away, like cockroaches from the light. The air was thick. Oscar flicked on the light.
“Well?” he asked. Dorothy set out her incense and a few candles.
“There’s something here, perhaps many somethings, but we already knew that. This is Hermana and there’s always something doing something. At this point, I just want to give you some protection. I’m hoping to have this issue solved completely over the next few days.”
“Whatever you can do, I’ll be happy,” Oscar said, squeezing her and kissing her neck.
“I’m happy if you’re happy,” Dorothy said.
She lit a smudge stick and walked around the room with the smoke. Then she lit candles and incense.
“Turn off the overhead light,” she instructed. Oscar did so.
They sat on the bed in the dark, watching the candles flicker around the room. Dorothy saw the shadows dancing. Then a bigger shadow, long and menacing spread across the wall. She raised her hands and said several words.
The candle flames flickered frantically and grew higher. The air seemed to fill with fog. Dorothy spoke again, barely a whisper, her fingers clicking.
The room seemed to spin. She felt a heaviness in the air, as if a wet blanket was being hurled around her shoulders. She steadied herself against the push.
“Be gone. This is Oscar’s room for now. You can go to another room while he’s here. He’s working and doesn’t need to be disturbed.”
The room was silent. The candles returned to their regular flickering. The heaviness that she had felt before was gone.
With a sigh, she turned to Oscar. She stood up from the bed and walked around it with her hands raised.
“This bed belongs to Oscar while he is here. No one except me is allowed to share this bed. Leave him to sleep in peace.”
The room seemed lighter again. The dancing shadows danced but the big elongated jagged one had left.
Dorothy raised and lowered her hands, as if drawing an invisible bubble.
“This is Oscar’s space, and no one can cross it.”
She whispered a few more words and then nodded her head.
“It is done,” she said as she looked at Oscar.
“That’s it? No more haunting?” he asked.
Dorothy shrugged. “I did my best. It may or may not work. It likely worked with what was here already. I’m not positive it will keep new entities out, but let’s hope you can sleep peacefully now!”
“Thank you so much, Dorothy. Even if it doesn’t work, that was really cool to see.”
“Let’s hope you’re able to get some sleep...” Dorothy said as she wrapped her arms around him.
* * *
Dorothy’s phone buzzed in her apron. She finished ringing up a customer and then discreetly peeked into her apron to check the text. It was from Oscar.
Do you want to work as a background actor tomorrow? 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. It pays.
A small gasp of glee slipped from her lips. She was going to be on her favorite TV show.
Sounds great. Dorothy texted back.
You’ll get a text from the production office and they’ll tell you what to do.
Thank you!
See you tomorrow night!
Dorothy snapped back to reality as the next customer was picking groceries from her cart and lining them up on the belt. Dorothy didn’t want to work anymore that day. She wanted to go home and have a spa night. She had to look perfect for her next meeting with Oscar.
* * *
Dorothy arrived at the restaurant that was being used for background holding. There was a long table set up at the entrance where several people sat with stacks of papers. She gave her name and they handed her forms to fill out. She turned to see that there were several tables of people. Other background actors. She didn’t recognize anyone, so she sat at a table by herself, filling out the forms.
Her fingers were trembling. She had watched shows being shot but had never acted before.
I hope I don’t screw it up.
A wave of nervous energy flooded through her. She hadn’t realized that she was nervous at all until she signed her name at the bottom of the form. She returned the paperwork and waited to see what was next. To pass the time, she helped herself to some coffee at the craft table and several cookies. She chit chatted with a couple of people but mostly kept to herself. She was too nervous to do much but sit and wait and wonder.
It was a very long wait but at last, the PA came to the room to ask for six background performers. He pointed at Dorothy along with five others. Her heart pounded as they were led to the set.
“This scene is about Oscar losing his mind and is roaming through the streets on a rampage. He has drunk a potion that has an ill effect on him, sort of a Jekyll and Hyde idea. He will be wielding a large prop knife. Please keep very far from him so that you aren’t injured. But act afraid and cower in place.”
The PA placed the actors around the set. Then there was more waiting.
Now Dorothy felt like she part of something special. There were lights, cameras, cables, monitors, an
d dozens of people performing any number of tasks. She was positioned in the doorway of a lingerie shop, Adele’s lingerie shop, in fact.
“Rolling.” A voice shouted.
“Background.” Several background performers wandered down the street as they had been instructed to do. Dorothy stood in the doorway as she had been told, clutching a prop bag that was in fact empty, but decorated so that it looked like there was a lot of fancy lingerie inside.
“Action.”
Dorothy stood in the doorway as Oscar staggered down the street wearing only a pair of jockey shorts covered in fake blood. He held a knife high one minute, then it hung loosely at his side the next as his character lurched around, giving a heartfelt soliloquy about how no one understands the monster.
He lurched by Dorothy and stopped for a moment, his character snarled and then he moved on.
“Cut.”
Everyone stopped what they were doing and returned to their original spots. Oscar was surrounded by the makeup, hair, and wardrobe people who fussed with his hair, the blood spatter, his jockeys.
Dorothy watched from her spot in the doorway.
This is fun.
The scene was shot multiple times from several angles. Every time, Oscar would stop at Dorothy to snarl at her. The scene was repeated multiple times with cameras shooting from multiple angles until break was called.
Dorothy sat in the same holding area, this time there were several others sitting at her table as well. They were eating lunch. Dorothy was impressed with the generous portion of barbeque chicken, potatoes, and salad that she ate. There had been a few choices, a lavish buffet in fact, but she stuck to basics and tried to keep her portions small.
Remember how fit he was beneath your fingers. Try to keep up.
She listened to the other extras chit chatting around her. They ranged in gossip from their lives to what was cool about the show. Dorothy tuned out the immediate people around her because there were shadows whispering high up in the ceiling. The shadows slipped and slid through the eaves of the restaurant, tiny rustling whispers tickling her eardrums.
Taurus: A Hearse of a Different Color Page 18
