The Presence

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The Presence Page 12

by Charlene Neil


  Kayleigh jumped out of bed and raced to the shower. She couldn’t let Rebecca see her like this. Luckily, Sarah was up and ready with a bottle for the kitten.

  “Morning, Mommy. Can I feed him, please?” Sarah looked like she’d been up for hours.

  “You have no idea how much that would help, sweetie. Thanks and good morning!” She called over her shoulder as she rushed to the shower.

  The water felt great, and there were no hands grabbing her this time. Kayleigh smiled to herself while she brushed her teeth in the shower. Through the steam in the bathroom, she closed the taps and opened the glass shower door, gazed up into the mirror, and froze. Written on the misted glass mirror was the name Catherine. It was as if an invisible finger was busy carving the name out in the mirror. Kayleigh swallowed hard and decided not to flee and it took all of her willpower.

  “Who are you?” Was she hoping that the invisible finger would write out its name? Instead, the shower doors started to shake. Kayleigh jumped around in surprise. There was no one there, and yet the shower doors were rattling as if there was a massive earthquake.

  “What do you want?” Kayleigh cried out desperately, forgetting that Sarah could possibly hear her.

  As suddenly as the shaking of the shower door had started, it stopped. The bathroom door swung open, and Kayleigh jumped around, expecting to see something else scary, like with the shower doors. A panicked Rebecca stormed in. “What’s happening? Why are you yelling? What’s that banging?” Rebecca’s eyes were wide, and she folded her arms around Kayleigh’s naked body in a protective manner.

  “Look on the mirror.” Kayleigh pointed. Rebecca turned around to face the mirror. The name Catherine was still there, although fading now with the steam evaporating from the shower. “And the shower doors were shaking. Truth, I promise you.” Kayleigh held up her hand like she was swearing in at court. “I didn’t touch them. They just shook.”

  “I heard it. Don’t worry, Kay. I heard it. I’m here now. Shh… don’t worry, I’m here.” Rebecca soothed her in a quiet whisper, and then she kissed her on the forehead and held onto her shaking body. “Come. Let me help you get dressed.” She reached over and pulled a towel off the railing and wrapped it around Kayleigh.

  Rebecca led Kayleigh up the stairs. Sarah had taken the kitten to her room and was singing it to sleep after he’d finished his bottle. When they passed her room, Sarah showed no signs of having heard what had happened in the shower. She looked at Rebecca and put a finger to her mouth as if to tell her to keep quiet or else the kitten would wake up. Rebecca gave her the thumbs up, and nodded in understanding. She assisted Kayleigh to her room and closed the door behind them, locking it quietly. Kayleigh was still trembling. In the privacy of the room, Rebecca helped dry Kayleigh, using gentle strokes as if to calm her nerves. After drying her, she took the towel off and sat Kayleigh on the bed. Kayleigh reached her arms up and pulled Rebecca down to her. Rebecca kissed her gently for a few moments and then sat down next to her. She hugged Kayleigh for a very long time until she stopped shivering. Then she got up. “Let’s get you dressed. You’re naked,” she whispered,

  Kayleigh hadn’t even thought of being nude in front of Rebecca. She was still shook up from her encounter with the ghost. She frowned, though. “How did you get in?”

  “I knocked and knocked. Eventually Sarah opened the door for me before she hurried back to feed the kitten.”

  “Oh, I was just wondering.”

  “Can I get you some clothes? I don’t mean to be a pest, but you’re still naked and painfully irresistible.” Rebecca grinned and waggled her eyebrows.

  Kayleigh got up and walked to her cupboard without bothering to cover herself up. Rebecca followed her. Kayleigh picked out her clothes and started to dress herself. Rebecca helped her with the buttons and to tie her shoes when Kayleigh’s hands couldn’t manage.

  “Might as well make yourself useful while you’re down there,” Kayleigh teased and then hurriedly added, “I’m just kidding.” Kayleigh felt her cheeks fire up.

  Rebecca glanced up at her. Her eyes glinted with mischief. “What? Want me to shine your shoes as well? Glad to see you didn’t lose your sense of humor."

  Kayleigh laughed and gently slapped Rebecca on top of her head. Rebecca straightened and kissed Kayleigh softly on her cheek.

  “So, what do we do now?” Kayleigh asked.

  “Sage.” Rebecca sounded so sure of herself as she said it. As if the answer should’ve been clear from the start.

  “I’m not in the mood to make pot roast right now. Is your plan to feed the ghosts and then they’ll leave us alone?”

  “Yes. Maybe they’re hungry ghosts.”

  “What if they’re vegetarians?”

  “Okay. Seriously now. I went on the Internet this morning and Googled it. They say we must burn sage in the house. It gets rid of lost spirits. This is why I came over… besides wanting to see you, that is.”

  “All right. It’s worth a try. Let’s do it.”

  “I stopped at the store on the way over and got some, but we need to get Sarah out first. You know, just in case they get mad or something.”

  “I’ll call her friend’s mom and ask if she can go visit for the day.”

  Luckily Kayleigh’s friend, Lisa, was happy to have her over. After Kayleigh had dropped her off at Lisa’s house in Sedgefield, she headed back home to where Rebecca was busy preparing for the ritual. Kayleigh was scared.

  †

  When Kayleigh reached her house, she put Rattex in his basket on the patio, making sure he was full and warm. She didn’t want him to inhale any of the smoke.

  Rebecca had taken out two pots and had laid out some sage in both. “One pot is for you, and one is for me,” she informed Kayleigh right before she produced a lighter and lit them up. “They usually burn these in these tied up bunches, but these loose pieces were all I could find.”

  “Gives new meaning to smoking pot,” Kayleigh said.

  The burning sage generated a lot of smoke. While Kayleigh had dropped Sarah off, Rebecca had closed all the windows and opened all the closet doors. She explained that the smoke needed to spread throughout the entire house, including dark corners. This didn’t make any sense to Kayleigh, but she didn’t ask any questions. They each took their dish of burning bush and headed for the rooms. They started in Sarah’s room. In the room it felt peaceful, but they walked around it and moved the pots around so the smoke would reach every corner. Rebecca waved her pot around inside the closet to let the smoke enter all the spaces. It was like fuming insects. Kayleigh wanted to laugh but managed to suppress it. Sarah would probably think they’d smoked dope while she was out with everything smelling of burning herbs.

  They continued like this through every room, leaving the shaking shower door bathroom for last. When they finally reached the bathroom, an hour had gone by quite uneventfully. They both stepped into the bathroom and froze. The air was stale and cold. It felt sinister to Kayleigh.

  With her face pale and drawn, Rebecca was the first to muster up the courage to speak. “We’re not here to harm you. We want you to leave here. You don’t belong here anymore.”

  Kayleigh got the general idea and continued. “You should follow the light. Your family is waiting on the other side of the light. This is not your house anymore.”

  The shower door started to have its seizure again as it had done that morning. Both Rebecca and Kayleigh stood rooted. Kayleigh wondered if Rebecca was thinking the same thing—to not run and show the spirit that they were cowards. The glass shook and rattled in the frame. It was shaking so hard that Kayleigh was sure it would break loose at any moment. But it stopped shaking as suddenly as it had stopped that morning. It was too quiet—eerie and creepy as if something was about to happen. They stood their ground. The only sound was their rapid breathing and Kayleigh was sure that Rebecca could hear the pounding of her heart as they stood there in the silence. They waited. As if something drew them at the same time
they turned to face the mirror. There, in the mirror, was a reflection of a man. Kayleigh swallowed hard and started sweating. The perspiration slithered down her face. She wondered if Rebecca felt the same, because she seemed completely calm as she spoke.

  “What’s your name?” Her voice was merely a whisper.

  He didn’t answer. He acted as if he couldn’t hear her.

  “What do you want?” Rebecca asked again only louder this time.

  “Catherine,” he whispered before turning his eyes toward Kayleigh and disappearing.

  Rebecca turned to look at Kayleigh, who had tears streaking down her face. She carefully took the pots from Kayleigh and placed them both on the floor. Rebecca straightened and wrapped her arms around Kayleigh. “It’s all right, Kay. It’s all right,” she said in a soothing voice.

  Kayleigh gently pushed her away so she could look at her. “It’s not all right. Is this what happens to us when we die? We keep searching for the ones we love? I always thought we go to some special place where we’re reunited with our loved ones.”

  “I’m sure there’s a rational explanation for all this. Maybe he wasn’t meant for that special place yet. Maybe this is his purgatory or something.”

  “I don’t know. He doesn’t seem evil to me. Just a sad man looking for Catherine.”

  “Well, he’s gone now.”

  “Do you really think he is?” Kayleigh rubbed her arms trying to rid them of her goosebumps. “God, I hope so.”

  After they’d cleaned up all of their ritual items and opened the windows to ventilate the house, Kayleigh brought Rattex back inside. They sat at the table with mugs of strong coffee. Following the previous day’s cocktails neither of them felt like anything alcoholic even though it probably would have calmed their nerves.

  “We should invite our ghost for dinner, put sage all over the bloody salad.”

  Rebecca laughed. “Sounds like a plan.”

  “Next time we smoke the sage as a joint,” Kayleigh said after taking a few sips.

  Rebecca gave Kayleigh a thoughtful look. “Why don’t we go to George tomorrow and see if we can locate some information about the previous owners of this house.”

  “I do have a light day tomorrow so I can get away.”

  Rebecca pushed her chair back. “Let’s go outside.”

  As she got up from her chair Kayleigh noticed that the color had yet to return to Rebecca’s face.

  Rebecca followed Kayleigh outside to the patio, they sat down in the deck swing, and faced one another.

  “How do you feel?” Rebecca’s voice was full of concern for Kayleigh.

  “Drained.” She’d never been so scared in all her life. “Thank you for not thinking I’m a nutcase. You’ve really stood by me through all of this. If it were you who was seeing and hearing things, I have to say, I would’ve thought you were as crazy as a frog with mad cow’s disease. I would’ve stayed as far away from you as possible. Yet, you’ve been very supportive. Thanks for sticking around.”

  Rebecca gasped and looked up in fake shock. “You mean to say that my cuteness wouldn’t have led you to stick around anyway?”

  “Well, you are sort of cute. I would probably have taken your madness for granted first. Used you up and then let you dabble in your lunacy.”

  “What do you mean, sort of cute? I’m hot. Full stop,” Rebecca joked. “Besides, once you’ve had a go at me it would be too difficult to stay away. Some of my friends call me Beck, and you know what they say, once you go Beck you never go back.”

  “Oh, you don’t say.” Kayleigh playfully slapped Rebecca’s leg. “For the sake of my well-being, it might be best to never start anything with you then. I mean, I wouldn’t want to be stuck with being obsessed with you for all of eternity. Then I would be the ghost in the mirror whispering your name.”

  “Don’t fool yourself, gorgeous. You’re obsessed with me already. It’s too late for you now.” Rebecca fluttered her eyelashes and flicked her hair.

  Kayleigh went silent for a few moments as she sobered, thinking about the two of them. “Where do we go from here? I mean you and me. I can’t get you out of my head. That kiss. Wow. But I’m petrified, Rebecca.”

  “Let’s go with the flow, what do you say? I promise not to do anything that you don’t want to do. I’m not here to push you into anything.”

  “Yeah. Let’s take things very slow. Baby steps.”

  Rebecca reached over and took hold of Kayleigh’s hand. “I like that. I’m so scared of losing you. If it takes five years before we made love, I’d be happy with that. There’s no rush whatsoever. Never any pressure. That’s my promise to you. Please don’t take five years, though. I beg of you.”

  Kayleigh’s cell phone rang in the kitchen. She got up from the table and went to answer it. Rebecca, not wanting to leave Kayleigh alone for a minute, followed her inside, carrying their coffee. It was Sarah. Lisa’s parents were on their way out and had offered to come and drop Sarah off on their way. After Kayleigh put the phone down, she turned to Rebecca. “What about Sarah? What if she knew how we feel about one another? I don’t want to cause any damage to her.”

  Rebecca shook her head. “I’ve seen relationships where kids are involved. They are extremely adaptable, you know. They don’t judge like adults do.” She took a deep breath and walked up to Kayleigh. Rebecca put her arms around her and pulled her closer. They stood there and held onto one another for a few moments, breathing in the other’s scent. They eventually went back to the patio where they awaited Sarah’s return.

  After Sarah came home from her outing, they cooked dinner together and ate outside on the patio while they watched the sun set. Kayleigh hated to see Rebecca go. She wished she could keep her there forever.

  That night the house was peaceful and Kayleigh thought that maybe the sage had worked after all.

  Chapter 18

  1899

  They called their daughter Carrey and Joshua adored her as much as he adored Catherine.

  In spring, 1899 when the Second Boer War started, Joshua was terrified his government would force him to fight against the English. Catherine was English and his two year old daughter was half English—he would be fighting against their people but he couldn’t decline if asked to fight. When they did call him in early 1900 he had no choice but to join the war.

  Catherine was hysterical. “How can you go? What will become of us, Joshua? I can’t survive if you die,” she cried. “One-by-one I’ve watched as my friends have lost their husbands in this bloody war.”

  “Darling, I have no choice. I must join the troops in the Cape,” he said firmly when he got his orders.

  On their final night together, they made love in the moonlight on the patio.

  “If for some reason they take you away or we get split up, I will come back to the house and I’ll meet you here,” he said holding Catherine close. “I will always come back to you here, my love.”

  After Catherine fell asleep he got up quietly and went to Carrey’s bedroom and looked down on the sleeping child. She was only two and, asleep in her cot, looked so innocent in her slumber. He cried as he planted a kiss on his fingertips and pressed it to her forehead. “I’ll come back to you,” he whispered.

  Chapter 19

  Present day

  Monday was hectic as usual and went by in a flash. Lunchtime came and Kayleigh asked Faith to answer calls for the rest of the day. Faith could send all emergencies to the other vet—even though Kayleigh didn’t feel comfortable with that idea, she hoped the animals would be okay. She left Rattex in Faith’s care for the day, seeing as he needed to be fed often.

  Rebecca walked to meet Kayleigh as she was leaving the clinic. “Are you ready to go?” she asked.

  “Yes. Let’s go see what we can find out about our ghost.”

  They drove to the busy municipality of George where the library and public offices were. It took an hour before an older woman with graying hair finally helped them.

  “What
can I do to help you?” she asked.

  “I’d like to find out some information about the property where I live,” Kayleigh said, before looking at the woman’s nametag. “Marge.”

  “Do you own the property?” Marge asked.

  “Um, no I don’t but I am interested in buying the property and would like to know more about it before I make the investment.”

  The woman eyed them both before shaking her head. “Very well. I’ll need the name of the owner.”

  “Can I just give you the address?”

  “Sure, but we don’t usually work this way. This is your lucky day, we’re way too busy for me to be following protocol. Shoot. What’s the address?”

  Marge passed Kayleigh a pen and paper for her to write the address down. Kayleigh quickly jotted the info down and slid it to Marge. Marge typed loudly on her keyboard. “The present owner is Martin Norton.”

  “Can you see who owned the house before Martin Norton perhaps?” Rebecca asked.

  Again the woman typed and waited. “The owner before Martin Norton was a woman named Catherine Norton and before her it belonged to Joshua Botha,” the woman said.

  “Thank you so much, Marge. You’ve been a great help.” Kayleigh smiled at her. She glanced at her watch. “Oh, I didn’t notice the time. I need to call Sarah’s school and have them keep her there at the aftercare.”

 

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