The Nightlurker

“How’s your first day of school?” My mother asked during dinner. We quite enjoyed the first dinner in the mansion, after the furniture had arrived this afternoon.

“Fine, it was great. I got to meet a lot of new unique people and basically just make friends with them.” I scooped a spoonful of soup.

“Unique?” Nathan asked.

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, you know Scottish are literally different from Londoners. They tend to...believe in old traditions and superstitions.”

“Really? Did they tell you odd or scary things?” My mother asked.

“No, it’s just my friends told me about it.” I tried to ignore Nathan as possible as I could. “You can say they’re old fashioned for having not been to London before, but trust me, they’re nice people.”

“I told you, you were going to like it here.” Nathan added. I didn’t recall him saying that before, or he was just making it up. As soon as I finished my dinner, I went straight upstairs towards my made-up bedroom.

Nathan bought me new furnishings and almost most of them were Victorian-themed. The desk, the make-up table, bookshelves, all dominated with earthy colors. The servants had covered a sheet on the bed, complete with my pillows, bedcover, blanket, and bolsters. A flat screen had been put across the bed, just exactly as I expected. A closet, a desk with a flat screen computer on it, two couches and its table across, a desk, and a bookshelf had taken their places neatly. My room lighting had been fixed too. My room now looked pretty dim with yellow lights, which gave an impression of a hotel suite once more. My bathroom was already cleaned and the bathtub seemed to have been changed, perhaps because it was already too ancient to use.

Ophelia seemed to be sleeping all day since I moved. I presumed maybe she found this place really comfortable. Then I spent the rest of the night doing my Algebra homework, and after that, I threw myself on the bed.

I hoped, after all the furniture had been set, my dream wouldn’t turn out to be a nightmare tonight. That night was not a really cold night, so I decided not to turn on the heater, since the house was located on the slope of a hill. The air outside was pretty chilly, but inside it was rather hot, so heater would only make it worse. I turned the TV on but I was not sure what I was watching, just some sitcoms that reminded me of my father. I didn’t realize that I was already exhausted, until my vision suddenly blurred.

* * *

Aileana...

That ghostly voice again.

Aileana...

I opened my eyes to see that I was standing in the dark corridor outside my room. It was raining heavily outside and thunders rumbled. I didn’t even know how I could end up there. I only hoped this one wouldn’t involve Nathan. Nothing about my bitter past. Instead of just standing, I decided to walk down the corridor, not sure where to go. I couldn’t even see the end of the corridor.

Lightning flashed in the end of the corridor. At once the end of it was bright, but then turned dark as the lightning passed. Thunder rumbled again, this time I saw a tall figure was walking slowly towards me. He walked closer and closer. I could hear the footsteps.

Aileana...

I couldn’t see his face closely and clearly. One thing I was pretty sure; he was pale, still young, and he was the one who hissed the name. My heart pounded quickly, thinking it must be Nathan, for Nathan looked pretty young for someone in his forties. In fact, he struck me quite as a man looking in his thirties. Who else? I always dreamed about him since the night of my parents’ separation, and even since I moved here. But who was Aileana? Why was he calling that name to me? I was not Aileana.

Aileana...Aileana...?

I listened carefully as the hiss sounded closer and clearer. It sounded as if he was asking, leaving a question mark. I could feel he was already in front of me, but still I couldn’t see him clearly.

A thunder flashed again. This time, his face looked very close, pale, but I could hardly remember his facial features. Then everything went dark. I realized it was not what exactly happened to me. It was just a dream, whether it was a nightmare or not, I still couldn’t decide. But as long as it didn’t involve Nathan or any of my bitter past, it wouldn’t be a nightmare for me.

* * *

I was woken up by the beeping sound of my alarm clock. It was already bright outside. The curtains were already open and the TV, which I didn’t remember if I turned it off last night, was currently in the off position. The desk was already cleaned and I didn’t remember if I had cleaned it up last night. What diligent servants, I thought, They must have woken up early to do that. Still I wasn’t sure about Aileana and I’d been trying to not think about that name again, because it would get me nothing than confusion and more curiosity.

I gathered with my new friends again in the second day. As they had requested the other day, I talked about London. Honestly London was not as special as it sounded. It was quite a boring city for me, but not for my friends. I tried to steal some glances towards the last row where the ever so mysterious Sophie sitting

The first class was history, which was my favorite. The bell rang and everyone got into their seats, ready to greet the teacher as she came in.

She was unexpectedly young, too young to know everything about history. I presumed she must be a freshly graduated student yet she was playful enough. Miss Anna Richter talked about World War One that I got too carried away with the topic. History was always my favorite, especially when it came to topics like King Arthur, revolutions in Europe, and world wars. I locked my gaze towards Miss Richter’s hand swinging the marker swiftly over the board, drawing a rough map of Europe with territory lines. I hardly cared about my surroundings and kept focusing on the topic.

After almost two hours of lesson, my focus started to cease. At the same time, my shoulder felt very heavy – as if someone put a fifty kilograms barbell on it – and my head inexplicably went spinning. Miss Richter’s voice slowly sounded as if she was mumbling and my vision became a blur.

“On August...7...British troops...German...”

I tried to look away and when my head twisted, it seemed my brain was twisted as well. Someone was playing with my eyes that everything in front of me sounded like a blurred picture. All of sudden, I felt a heat all over my body and my body fell restless. It was like something sucking up all my energy. I didn’t know what could cause this heat to happen all over my body. As if a fire was hugging me, only I didn’t get burned.

The next thing, I didn’t recall what happened.

Everything was light, marine blue when I opened my eyes. I had no idea where I was or who had taken me here. But after regaining my consciousness, I suddenly realized where I was. I didn’t know how long had I been lying in the infirmary. One thing I remembered, I must have missed History class and all the interesting stories.

“Oh you’re awake.” A woman with long blonde hair tied up in a pony tail wearing a doctor-like uniform appeared behind the light blue curtain.

“What happened?” I spluttered, wanting to know everything.

“You passed out.” she said with a comforting smile. “But nothing wrong with it, perhaps you’re just a little bit tired and your vertigo just came up.”

Vertigo? I didn’t have any records on that disease.

“Oh you’re the new student, aren’t you? I assume you might haven’t adjusted yourself. It’s pretty common. Did you have a breakfast already?” she continued.

I nodded weakly. “Who...who brought me here?”

“Ms. Richter did. You should see her face when she saw you passing out.” the doctor said.

“Oh and someone helped her carrying you here...and oh, guess what, she’s still here.”

A black-haired girl appeared behind the curtain. It wasn’t really the face I’d expected the see and my jaw really wanted to fall at the moment.

“Excuse me.” The doctor disappeared behind the curtain and let me alone with Sophie for some private moments.

There was a long silence after the doctor left. But why on earth did she have to be here? I tried not to think anything my friends had told me before the other day about this girl. Clearly it had nothing to do with superstitions. Maybe this girl was just trying to make friends with me, which would be no problem.

“Um...thank you.” that was the only thing I could come up, although I was still questioned. Why did she care enough to carry me to the infirmary? I expected it would be Lorelai or Phoebe. But I guessed she just wanted to make friends with me.

“You’re welcome.” she answered flatly in a light tone.

“And you missed the class just to wait until I woke up?”

Sophie nodded again, not saying anything. It was really nice of her though. I was thinking of something to say, just to open up a conversation. Her face was still. But later, I studied her expression. I could tell that she really wanted to say something.

“It’s so nice that you brought me here. I appreciate it.” I muttered under my breath.

“Well, I have to.” she said. “Or else, you wouldn’t be saved.”

“Saved from what?” I began to sense that something was not right.

“I’m sure your friends have told things about me.”

“Yeah, but I guess they’re only jealous. It makes sense, doesn’t it? You’re pretty, you’re smart...”

“No, Julia.” she said sharply. My compliments didn’t seem to work. “They’re right. They’re right about me.”

“No they’re not. I’m sure they just happened to make up rumors about you seeing ghosts and all that stuff.”

“But it’s right.” Sophie pointed out. “And I know everything that just happened to you.”

“Then what is it?”

The black haired girl took a seat next to the bed and sighed deeply. “Are you sure you want to know?” she said. It looked like she’d been through some hard time.

I nodded.

“Do you promise not to freak out after I tell you what really happened?”

I nodded once again, this time impatiently. But I’d better not to keep begging her. If I did, she could change her mind not to tell about it.

“Alright, but first, I want to ask you something. Do you believe in superstitions?”

“No.” I replied.

“Then I’m afraid you have to, starting from now.” she said, her tone sent me chills. “Do you believe in ghosts?”

I nodded again in silence, although if I may answer it, it would be another no. But it was for the sake of the truth.

“If you want me to continue, I’ll have to ask you a few more questions, just to clear things up.” Sophie said, trying to calm herself although her face looked tense. “Where do you live?”

“Birloch Road.” I tried to recall the name of the road. Actually Birloch wasn’t exactly the name of the main street where my mansion was located.

Sophie closed her eyes and fell silence for a moment. I waited until finally she opened her eyes to continue the investigation. I didn’t know if my home address had anything to do with my faint. “Hm, OK, I can get the picture of your house.” she said. The way she said that was almost similar to saying ‘Right, the house really is haunted.’

“Did you ever feel a strange atmosphere in your house? Especially, in your room?” she asked again and this time, it sent me more chills, however I couldn’t lie.

“Y-yes.” I’d never thought she’d know this far.

“That’s it, enough with questions.” her face still looked tense. There was another long silence. I was sure she was going to get to the point.

I’d better brace myself for it. “Then what is it about me?” I shivered. She sat silently, not answering my question. I sighed. “Sophie, I’m not like the others, don’t bother to tell me everything. I’ll listen.”

“Are you sure you want to know, Julia?” her voice sounded heavy. I nodded nervously.

“Alright, just don’t freak out. The...strange atmosphere stuck with you. It followed you everywhere, or should I say he.”

Sophie’s voice trailed off when she mentioned he. I still had no clue what she was talking about. So many questions had piled up in my mind now, especially who he was.

“He?” I asked.

“That’s right. That ghost is a guy.” Sophie gulped. “He even followed you to school and during the history class. At the moment, Miss Richter was talking about the World War I. I don’t know but it seems the topic apparently bothered him. He really wanted to get out of the class but...he couldn’t leave you, say...he was stuck with you. He was trapped but in the other hand, he couldn’t stand to hear more about the topic. So he was sort of...moaning to get out. While he was moaning, he felt like his body was burning him. And it just happened, it was not like you were possessed by him – I think he has no intention to possess you – but anyway, since he was already stuck with you and he was burning, you could feel the heat as well. The atmosphere felt constantly weak and restless. So he absorbed your energy, leaving you the one who was weak.”

Sophie took a deep breath, relieved that finally she came to the end of the story. I wondered if she could see or feel it all. More questions had already piled up in my mind. Did it have anything to do with the figure I saw last night in the dream? I really wanted to tell everything to her. Because apparently, she was the only one I could share thoughts with about this kind of topic.

“You’re kidding.” I forced a laughter. “Tell me you are.”

“I’m not.” Sophie said sharply. “Julia, you said you wanted to know everything and that you would believe in everything I said. Then the truth should bother you no more.”

Alright. Calm down Julia. Let’s get back to the real world. The ghosts didn’t exist. Maybe you just had a vertigo just like that kind doctor said. Yeah, a vertigo. That was all. Nothing else than it. No ghosts sticking to my freaking aura.

No it was not vertigo.

I breathed in, breathed out, trying to absorb all of the nonsense Sophie just told me. But somehow my curiosity was unlimited. I had to ask for more. I knew it was stupid to discuss about things I didn’t even believe to exist in this world. But again, I realized I had to.

“So are you trying to say that Ms. Richter’s lecture about World War I gave him a...sudden influence?” I felt chill when I mentioned him.

The black-haired girl, who now looked relax, shrugged but her expression convinced me that she knew more than the story she just told.

“At least you’re lucky, Julia.” she murmured.

“What lucky?” I hissed impatiently. Feeling your body burning didn’t sound lucky at all.
“I haven’t finished yet.” Sophie raised one of her eyebrows. “You’re lucky that you didn’t get possessed. Well, I thought the spirit resisted to take control of your body, which was good.”
“But possessed or not, that thing could have killed me.”

“He doesn’t have any intentions to kill or even harm you.” Sophie said. “He’s not like what you think he is.”

“Well, how do you know?” I demanded.

“Because...” she gulped. “Well, you know what I am, Julia. I recognize characteristics of every spirits and ghosts I see. He’s the nice one. Just trust me.”

“Then can you tell me more?” I pleaded impatiently. “What does he look like? Is he a ghost from the past? Did he have a bitter memory about World War I? Was he killed there?”
Sophie sighed again. “I thought I’d told you and that’s enough. At least you get the picture what happened to you. And I think that’s more than enough. Besides I think I’ve made you quite freaked out right now, which is why I don’t want to continue.” she said. “All you have to do now is find out more about him. I might be able to help you out. You can guess if you like, but please don’t beg me to tell more than everything I told you. Oh and also, since you just moved in, maybe you forgot to ask for permission first before you occupied the house. He’s a nice guy, so don’t give him a hard time. You can try taking pictures of random spots in your room, expecting him to appear in his ghostly figure, or play an Ouija board if that’s to your liking.”

Alright, this was getting to my nerves. I braced myself, ready to tell everything about the dream, the mysterious voice, the mysterious wind, and weird things that happened to me lately. I knew it sounded absurd if I connected how I could faint with the odd events going on in my house. But maybe Sophie knew it all. “Actually, Sophie, I...”

Perfect. The bell rang.

“Julia!” Phoebe and Lorelai came up, along with several people from the class I couldn’t recall the names.

“How’re you feeling?” Lorelai stroke me.

“Good, guess I was just overtired. I’ve been through a long journey from London.”

It wasn’t until Lorelai, Phoebe, and the others felt Sophie’s presence. They jerked away from her, before Sophie could announce if there were any ‘invisibles’ around. Perhaps Sophie could feel that he was still around, but she didn’t want to mention it now, except she wanted the others to get freaked out. Later she shot me a Let’s-talk-later look before she left the infirmary. She insisted me to do this but, for the first time ever...

I started to believe that superstitions and ghost stories did exist.