Miss Mayhem
I Thought You Were Real.
The Ouija board was simpler than the ones I'd seen in movies. It was an inch or two thick, and wooden, with fancy lettering where it was needed. In the left corner, there was a bolded 'YES' and on the right, a bolded 'NO.' Smack in the middle, curved slightly, was two rows which the alphabet was divided into. Below the alphabet was a single row of numbers in a straight line, going from one to nine, and then zero. And finally, below that, was another bolded word: 'GOODBYE.'
I looked up at Lauren and she gave a small smile, although her eyes were still fixated on the board. Seth gave me a nod as if saying, 'it can take a while sometimes.' So, when I was distracted, the planchette finally decided to move. I quickly looked down again, wondering if it was my own hands that moved it, but because of the concentrated silence of the two beside me, I figured it wasn't.
Slowly but surely, the planchette made its way to the left corner, indicating that, yes, someone was here. I sucked in a sharp breath, which hurt my lungs, glancing up again to see what Lauren would say next. "Are you a nice spirit?"
Instead of answering directly, the planchette swiveled about for a bit, and instead of saying yes or no, moved to the letters. It was my job to keep track of what was said, and I recounted the letters as they were spelled out one by one.
'I - WOULD - LIKE - TO - THINK - SO'
The planchette went still then, and Seth and I looked up at the same time, noting the tension that suddenly filled the room and stiffened the posture in our shoulders. Lauren didn't seem to notice.
"May I ask your name?" She asked with a sweet voice, one that reminded me of a child trying to coax a kitten out of hiding.
Yet again, the spirit decided to answer with words instead of yes or no. I didn't mind, though, not really. It saved some time and showed that he, or she, was direction.
'C - H - R - I - S - T - I - A - N'
My heart stopped, and it was everything that I could do to not pull away from the board. My breath caught, and Seth looked up once more, a hint of concern in his storm-like eyes. I tried to recollect some oxygen and feigned a smile, shrugging lightly. Christian. It couldn't be him, could it, from earlier today?
Lauren bumped my shoulder, whether to shush my loud breathing or to somehow acknowledge my discomfort, I don't know. But she continued anyway, which said a lot, to me, at least. "Hello, Christian. What is your favorite color?" A simple question to ask, but then again, I had to remind myself that too-personal questions weren't a good idea.
But then the spirit, instead of answering in words like he head been, simply guided the planchette to 'YES.' Lauren smiled, and I wondered if that meant something along the lines of, 'yes, I love colors. All of them.'
"Goodbye," Lauren said, and waited for the planchette to slide to 'GOODBYE.' Once it did, she allowed us all to take our hands off of the Ouija board, and the planchette was immediately removed and set safely aside.
I couldn't wait any longer. Mumbling an 'excuse me,' I scrambled to my feet, and even though I wasn't sure where exactly it was that I wanted to go, I ran upstairs that lead to another hallway. I stopped short, nearly falling over my own shoes, when I saw a bouquet. Specifically, a bouquet of sunflowers. Cautiously, I leaned over to pick them up, and they were indeed real, their smell filling the house with ease. I dared to look up, knowing what -- no, who -- I would see.
He wore that same handsome grin, though it was a bit sheepish, his long fingers fidgeting with the two wedding bands that sat on the chain around his neck. My eyes widened and his smile faded a little as he bit his lip, nervously, I realized. But I couldn't look away from his green gaze like a summer's day, or his brown hair that looked even more tousled than this morning.
"C.J.?"
"Surprise," the male lifted his hands in mock surrender, and I nearly dropped the sunflowers, clutching them tightly to my chest so that they wouldn't escape my shaky hold.
"But I thought you were..." I swallowed the lump in my throat, finding it difficult to breathe yet again. "Real."
I looked up at Lauren and she gave a small smile, although her eyes were still fixated on the board. Seth gave me a nod as if saying, 'it can take a while sometimes.' So, when I was distracted, the planchette finally decided to move. I quickly looked down again, wondering if it was my own hands that moved it, but because of the concentrated silence of the two beside me, I figured it wasn't.
Slowly but surely, the planchette made its way to the left corner, indicating that, yes, someone was here. I sucked in a sharp breath, which hurt my lungs, glancing up again to see what Lauren would say next. "Are you a nice spirit?"
Instead of answering directly, the planchette swiveled about for a bit, and instead of saying yes or no, moved to the letters. It was my job to keep track of what was said, and I recounted the letters as they were spelled out one by one.
'I - WOULD - LIKE - TO - THINK - SO'
The planchette went still then, and Seth and I looked up at the same time, noting the tension that suddenly filled the room and stiffened the posture in our shoulders. Lauren didn't seem to notice.
"May I ask your name?" She asked with a sweet voice, one that reminded me of a child trying to coax a kitten out of hiding.
Yet again, the spirit decided to answer with words instead of yes or no. I didn't mind, though, not really. It saved some time and showed that he, or she, was direction.
'C - H - R - I - S - T - I - A - N'
My heart stopped, and it was everything that I could do to not pull away from the board. My breath caught, and Seth looked up once more, a hint of concern in his storm-like eyes. I tried to recollect some oxygen and feigned a smile, shrugging lightly. Christian. It couldn't be him, could it, from earlier today?
Lauren bumped my shoulder, whether to shush my loud breathing or to somehow acknowledge my discomfort, I don't know. But she continued anyway, which said a lot, to me, at least. "Hello, Christian. What is your favorite color?" A simple question to ask, but then again, I had to remind myself that too-personal questions weren't a good idea.
But then the spirit, instead of answering in words like he head been, simply guided the planchette to 'YES.' Lauren smiled, and I wondered if that meant something along the lines of, 'yes, I love colors. All of them.'
"Goodbye," Lauren said, and waited for the planchette to slide to 'GOODBYE.' Once it did, she allowed us all to take our hands off of the Ouija board, and the planchette was immediately removed and set safely aside.
I couldn't wait any longer. Mumbling an 'excuse me,' I scrambled to my feet, and even though I wasn't sure where exactly it was that I wanted to go, I ran upstairs that lead to another hallway. I stopped short, nearly falling over my own shoes, when I saw a bouquet. Specifically, a bouquet of sunflowers. Cautiously, I leaned over to pick them up, and they were indeed real, their smell filling the house with ease. I dared to look up, knowing what -- no, who -- I would see.
He wore that same handsome grin, though it was a bit sheepish, his long fingers fidgeting with the two wedding bands that sat on the chain around his neck. My eyes widened and his smile faded a little as he bit his lip, nervously, I realized. But I couldn't look away from his green gaze like a summer's day, or his brown hair that looked even more tousled than this morning.
"C.J.?"
"Surprise," the male lifted his hands in mock surrender, and I nearly dropped the sunflowers, clutching them tightly to my chest so that they wouldn't escape my shaky hold.
"But I thought you were..." I swallowed the lump in my throat, finding it difficult to breathe yet again. "Real."
♠ ♠ ♠
What, two updates in one night? Enjoy!