Chapter 10
Uncontrollable choking pulled them apart and that’s when Erin saw what they’d done. The wraith had fallen to his knees and the black smoke around him had lightened to charcoal. “What’s happening to him?”
“Happiness. Misery starves when happiness is present. And it weakens it enough for the person inside to fight.”
“The person inside?” Erin turned wide eyes to him. “He can be saved, like I was?”
She rushed forward but didn’t make it a step before Davis stopped her. “No, Erin. He’s still too dangerous. He needs professional help.”
At that moment the elevators dinged and the doors slid open. Two men strode out, looking from them to the wraith.
“Damn, son. And here I thought you weren't a fighter." The heavy southern accent accompanied a smile as big as Texas. Davis faced him, but kept an arm around her waist.
The speaker was a tall and lanky older man in a cowboy hat. Beside him was a younger guy who looked fresh out of a punk rocker high school. The kid was grinning at them both.
Were these the protectors Davis had mentioned?
"Nah," Davis said. "I'm more of a lover."
Erin raised a brow, but Davis grinned at her. "Now, anyway."
The two men stood on either side of the wraith, each placing a hand on the charcoal shoulders. Almost immediately, the smoke turned lighter and the silhouette of a person could be seen inside.
“Pa James and Luke are recovery agents. They help protect new ghosts until they are placed in a safe environment, and they specialize in helping remnants face their grief and pain so they can be themselves again.”
Erin watched the smoke disappear from the wraith, the wispy tendrils floating away and disappearing altogether. “What about all those faces I saw inside him? The other souls?”
Davis eyed the young boy who now knelt, sobbing while Pa James and Luke whispered in his ears. “Those, unfortunately, were just manifestations of the collective.”
Her eyes widened with the horror. “You mean they’re still trapped?”
He grimaced. “Yeah. We can only save them one soul at a time.”
She shuddered as the two men rose, the deadly menace, who was simply a young boy drowning with sorrow, braced between them. With a nod to Davis and Erin, they left through the elevator. The boy was probably in enough pain, they wouldn’t want to pass through walls and floors.
Silence settled in the observatory again and Erin turned back to the man with his arm still around her. “The wraith was just a kid?"
"Yeah. They aren't too picky about whose souls they take. They just want more."
"Is he going to be okay?” And then a terrifying thought occurred to her. “Are my parents okay?"
Davis squeezed her to him and met her gaze with confidence. "They will be fine. With him detached from the collective, and you never completely attached, there are no more links to your parents. As for the boy,” he cast a quick glance at the elevators, “there are many who can help him now. They just needed to reach him."
Erin eyed his jawline, then the curve of his lips before raising her gaze to his. "Our kiss reached him?"
His eyes warmed with a tenderness she’d only witnessed in movies. "Don't you know?” He caressed her cheek. “There's no room for anything bad when you kiss me."
Erin smiled at the melting sensation inside of her. "I like that."
“Me, too.” He lowered his head, his eyes watching her lips, then glancing up as if requesting permission.
She lifted up on her toes, meeting his gaze, then watching his lips. “So, how does that flashing light thing work again?”
He chuckled and showed her.
Special Note
When my 8 year old daughter was diagnosed with a brain tumor the day after Thanksgiving 2003, I was 28 and clueless. I had no idea what lie in store for us. Family and friends surrounded us, offering to help, and all of their efforts were so appreciated. I have no clue what we would have done without them.
But chemo lasted a year and a half and surgeries to drain the cyst that had formed lasted a few more years. Braces for her left wrist and foot were necessary, along with a variety of different occupational and physical therapies lasting to this day. Our lives were altered drastically and it has effected how we have and will live the rest of our lives.
Even the bestest of friends and the most well-meaning of family members don’t adapt and change in the same way a family experiencing cancer will. That is not to say there aren’t ways for friends and family to help, like these. Being in a wheelchair and with Friedreich’s Ataxia, I didn’t drive. My husband quit work to transport us to doctor’s appointments 5 days a week. Yes, it was hard to survive, but parents need to be at the hospital with their kids and in our situation, I just couldn’t do it all. We learned to live with the minimum of what was necessary. We drastically changed our diet to be more healthy. We learned to never take family time for granted. And we learned there are people and organizations out there that will help you during your darkest hours.
Which is why I support The American Childhood Cancer Organization. I was sitting in the hospital at my daughter’s bedside, learning words like “port” and “access” and white blood counts when I was approached by two very loving and caring members who handed me a Welcome folder full of information. All this time, I’d studied how to be a writer. With their support and guidance, I learned so much more.
They have helped with necessary information, fun activities a child weak from chemo can participate in, support groups on and offline, gift cards for gas and groceries, the outpatient snack basket, the Ronald McDonald family rooms and more things than I have room to list. Real, practical help to a family suffering a life-altering, traumatic trial that tests endurance, resilience and faith.
In my family, we decorate for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving. We enjoy the lights on our tree during the otherwise dark days of winter. But as my daughter was waking up from a sedation for her MRI, we were told, “They found something.” Immediately, we were admitted into the hospital. By the end of the night, her surgery was scheduled for early that coming Monday. Of course, this means Christmas was looking extremely bare that year.
Wishing Star is a non-profit foundation that specializes in granting wishes to children with life-threatening illnesses, but they actually do so much more. Because of them, we had gifts to open that Christmas. The following Christmas was our wish trip to see family and stay at Give Kids the World in Florida, a volunteer run resort of small houses, amusements like putt-putt golf and arcades, great food including free pizza delivered to the door. This was amazing for the days and nights she didn’t feel well enough for Disney World.
Wishing Star’s help didn’t end there. During chemo, they gave my daughter tickets to see the Spokane Chiefs and she fell in love with hockey. Tickets were gifted to her for several years after that.
Now, I would love to do what I can to encourage my readers to support these three organizations. Which might make you wonder why this book is free if I would love to raise funds for them.
It’s actually very simple. Awareness of these organizations, your time and your skills are just as important as money.
They are operated by volunteers, for the most part. People who donate time and skills to handing out welcome packets, stocking family rooms or wrapping Christmas presents. They need things as simple as 2” three ring binders and pens, small toys and gifts for the “poke” box, donations of blankets, quilts, knit hats and gloves. Even airline miles are a huge boon.
Then there are always uses of cash donations for gas, food, utility assistance, durable medical equipment not covered by insurances, granting wishes, shopping for and wrapping Christmas presents and more.
Gifting this story and this appeal to all of your friends and family also counts. Remember, spreading awareness of the struggles these children face and how they need your help is just as important as a cash donation.
Please conside
r what you can give.
The American Childhood Cancer Organization:
https://www.acco.org/inlandnw/GetInvolved.aspx
Wishing Star Foundation:
https://www.wishingstar.org/1536.html
Give Kids the World:
https://www.gktw.org/volunteer/
If you’d like to know more about my books, please visit:
My website: www.JamieLeighHansen.com
My twitter: www.twitter.com/JamieLHansen
My Faceboook: www.facebook.com/JamieLeighHansen
Thank you for your time.
Sincerely,
Jamie Leigh Hansen
Coming October 9, 2013:
Betrayed by Jamie Leigh Hansen
Death Is Becoming Page 10