Soul Salvation

Rania blushed against the bright sun as it filtered through the curtains, trying to hold onto the last few remnants of her dream. It had all felt so real to her. But when Rania sat up and scanned the room with her eyes she found no trace of anyone entering her room in the night.

It all had to have been a dream. Just a strange, seemingly real dream. It wouldn't have been the first time Rania had blurred the line between what was real and what had merely gone on inside her head.

Feeling less insane than she had, Rania stretched and crawled out of bed. It was finally Friday, meaning once school was out she would be able to relax. Maybe she'd even invite Mariah and Sam over to spend the night.

As the school day wore on, Rania was having a harder time concentrating than she thought she would have. She thought she had laid her mind to rest when she chalked everything up to being a dream. She knew it had to have been, because of the shadowy figure she had seen before the alarm system had been installed in the house. Her mind had simply recalled the incident and projected it in her unconscious state while at the same time, recalling all of the ghost stories of the man who had owned the house.

But the more Rania thought about tit, the more unsure she became. How did her mind know how to portray Brian Haner? It was a man she had never seen before that was projected into her mind. And at the same time, it all felt too real. Realer than real. And, she didn't even know that Brian was the man's first name.

What if the man that had visited her in her dream really was a ghost? What if it wasn't a dream at all? There was only one way Rania would be able to find out...

"Do you guys know where I would be able to talk to Angie? The girl who claimed to see the ghost up at my ho--I mean...at Haner Manor?" Rania asked, quickly catching her mistake and hoping that neither Sam nor Mariah had picked up on it as they sat in the cafeteria for lunch.

"Well she's sitting right over there," Mariah pointed out, causing Rania to look over her shoulder. Smiling, she thanked her friend and went to stand. She was stopped when Mariah put her hand overtop Rania's. "I don't really think you should talk to her about-.... It's kinda a touchy subject for her."

"It's just one little question," Rania said, shrugging as she stood anyways. "I just want to know what she saw, okay?"

"Why do you need to know?" Sam questioned. "Everyone just thinks she and Mark are crazy. No on believes they really saw anything."

"Well what if I saw something?" Rania asked, immediately wishing she hadn't when two sets of eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

With that, Rania got up from the table, heading over to Angie. The girl was sitting alone, a Calculus book open before her as Rania took a seat across from her. Looking up, she sent Rania a confused look.

"Can I help you?" she quietly asked.

"You don't know me but, um..." Rania said, not sure how she should go about the situation. "I'm Rania..."

"Angie," the girl replied, putting her pen down.

"I was just wondering if I could ask you something. And please don't get upset. That's not what I'm trying to do," Rania said, placing her hands on the table. If she wasn't mistaken she could see a look of defense come up in Angie's eyes. "I just...I wanted to know what you saw...up at Haner Manor."

"Why? So you can tell me I'm crazy like everyone else?" Angie snapped darkly.

"No! I just...I need to know what it is you saw. I might have...seen something there as well."

"You?" You're what, a freshman-"

"Sophomore."

"-whatever. No one your age ever dares to go to Haner Manor."

"I live there," Rania admitted. "Weird stuff has happened there before, and I'm having a hard time piecing together what's real and what's not. I thought maybe you could help," Rania sighed, and she stood to walk away defeated.

"It was a man," Angie said quietly, but Rania heard her and sat down again.

"What did he look like?"

"I didn't really get a clear look. I just know he had a strong, chiseled face...and his eyes were dark as night. I've tried to forget that face ever since that night, but it keeps coming back to me. Mark and I don't know if it was a ghost, or just a squatter living illegally in the house. But we know we saw something," Angie explained.

"You wouldn't happen to know the name of the man who died there, would you?" Rania pressed. The way Angie described the man she had seen was very similar to the 'Brian' in Rania's dream.

When Angie shook her head in reply, Rania nodded.

"Well...thank you for answering my questions. Again, I didn't mean to upset you," she said, getting up and returning back to her table.