The Presence

by Charlene Neil

  Where are you, Carrey? Are you safe? I hope Evelyn found you and is looking after you, my child.

  “Are you okay?” Catherine’s eyes moved toward the gentle female voice. “I’m Linda. You’ve been sleeping for a few hours.”

  “Where are we?” Catherine coughed as her dry throat scratched when she spoke.

  “I heard them saying something about a concentration camp in Bloemfontein.” Linda spoke quietly. “We’re on our way there.”

  Catherine looked around her and saw two other women, seemingly older than them and four small children huddled behind Linda. “Who are these people?” she managed to ask through her burning throat.

  “That’s Lauren over there and Clara,” Linda said as she pointed to the other two in the wagon. “And these are my children.”

  Catherine felt the warm tears flowing down her cheeks. “They’re beautiful.”

  †

  The concentration camp was brutal and even though Catherine missed Carrey, she believed that her daughter was safe at home with Evelyn. She had to believe it, or else she would go insane with worry.

  Then typhoid fever broke out, crushing any hope there might be for survival. Catherine thought of Joshua and Carrey constantly. Daily, she watched little children die of disease and starvation. It was hopeless.

  Chapter 26

  Present day

  Three weeks had passed since Rebecca had moved in. Sarah had never raised any question about why her mother shared the same bed with Rebecca.

  “Is there anything else that needs to get done?” Rebecca asked Kayleigh who was standing in the kitchen checking on the pork roast.

  “No, I’m pretty sure everything is ready.”

  Just then the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it,” Rebecca said. She gave Kayleigh a quick kiss and walked out of the kitchen.

  Kayleigh heard their voices growing louder as they moved toward the kitchen. “Hi, Kayleigh,” Lindsay and Judy said in unison.

  “Hi, guys,” Kayleigh hugged them both before accepting the glass of wine Rebecca handed her.

  “Red or white, Lindsay?” Rebecca asked while pouring Judy a glass of red wine. “Here you go, Judy.”

  “Thanks,” Judy said as she lifted the glass to her nose. “Did you let it breathe?”

  “Oh, shut up, you numb nut,” Rebecca said and laughed. “Who’s got time for that shit?”

  “In that case I’ll have the white,” Lindsay said with a big smile.

  “So, how is the lesbian life, Kayleigh?” Judy asked while Rebecca poured Lindsay’s white wine.

  “Rebecca’s great.” Kayleigh wiped her hands and walked to Rebecca. She slipped her arm around her slender body and heard Rebecca inhale.

  “She still takes my breath away,” Rebecca said before she leaned closer and kissed Kayleigh. “Let’s feed them so they can leave,” Rebecca teased.

  “I hope you’re going to wash your hands before you pass me my wine,” Lindsay said. “The way you two are all over one another. Yuck.”

  Judy laughed and reached for Lindsay’s wine. “Here you go, my love. I didn’t wash my hands after I touched you, though.”

  “You’re a dirty, dirty girl,” Lindsay whispered.

  Just then Sarah walked into the kitchen, and everyone moved away from one another. “Aunt Lindsay, and Judy, you’re here.” She hugged them both.

  “You’re getting big, sweetie,” Lindsay said while she hugged Sarah. “Is your mom still treating you well?”

  Sarah giggled. “Life would be much better if my moms gave me more sweets.” She turned to her mom. “Table’s set, Mommy.”

  “Now that deserves a sweet, don’t you think, Kayleigh?” Lindsay smiled at Sarah before reaching into her handbag and lifting out a box of Astros. “You can have these, but you may only eat them tomorrow, okay?”

  “Thank you, Aunt Lindsay.” Sarah took the Astros and held them like a newborn baby. “I love these.”

  “Dinner’s ready,” Kayleigh announced. “Shall we?”

  †

  Lindsay and Judy stayed until late, and by the time they left Kayleigh and Rebecca were exhausted. Later that night, after Rebecca and Kayleigh had fallen asleep, something startled Rebecca awake. As she lay there in the dark, she tried to figure out what it was that had awakened her. She couldn’t hear any sounds and couldn’t see anything out of the ordinary.

  After a few minutes, she decided to go back to sleep. Just before reaching dreamland, something tugged on her blanket. She grabbed hold of the blanket, thinking that it was Rattex playing with the edge. But whatever had tugged it, tugged at it again…harder this time. Rebecca knew that Rattex didn’t have that amount of strength.

  She shot straight up in bed, her heart pounding and rapidly gaining speed. She couldn’t see anything, but she felt something was definitely with them in the room. The temperature had dropped by a few degrees and Rebecca shivered. She looked over at Kayleigh, who was still covered in the blanket and sleeping soundly. Whatever was pulling at the blanket was only pulling at her side. She was terrified, but didn’t want to let fear rule her.

  Not wanting to wake Kayleigh, she refrained from switching on the bed lamp. She just sat there in the dark with her eyes darting around the room. The air felt cold and damp. She shivered and pulled the blanket up to cover her shoulders. Suddenly, the invisible force yanked the blanket again so hard that it exposed her whole body. She reached over quickly to switch on the bedside lamp. Light flowed from the lamp and exposed the room. There was no one there. Rebecca’s whole body shook, and she gasped for air.

  Kayleigh rolled over and sleepily placed her hand on Rebecca’s leg. “What’s the matter, honey? Didn’t you have enough of me yet?” she murmured.

  “I think our ghost is back and he doesn’t like me much.” Rebecca tried to swallow down her terror.

  “Why, honey? What happened?” Kayleigh sat up and put a comforting arm around her.

  “He pulled my fucking blanket off me, that’s what he did.” Rebecca’s fear-filled voice echoed in the quiet house.

  Kayleigh switched her bedside lamp on as well and jumped out of bed. She walked around the room and searched behind the door. She shivered.

  “You feel it too, don’t you?” Rebecca asked. “The cold?”

  Kayleigh nodded. “Where was he?” Her voice shook as she began pacing the room.

  “At the bottom of the bed, I think,” Rebecca whispered. “He scared the living daylights out of me.” She took a deep breath and tried to calm down. “How did you survive with this shit, baby? Why are you still here?” Rebecca started to cry cupping her hands over her face.

  Kayleigh walked back to the bed and sat down next to Rebecca. “Shh. I’m so sorry that he scared you. Don’t cry, my love.” Kayleigh put her arms around her and soothed her, but Rebecca was inconsolable.

  They tried to fall asleep again after that, but Rebecca didn’t feel safe, and she was sure that Kayleigh didn’t either—especially since the ghost managed to beat up the burglars. Rebecca only managed to sleep for short periods at a time, waking up too many times to get a full night’s rest.

  †

  The following morning, she went into the bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. As she bent over the basin, she cupped her hands and filled them with ice cold water in order to rinse the exhaustion from her face. She closed her tired eyes and splashed the water over her face a few more times. The air became cold and stale again, and Rebecca moaned into her hands.

  “Please not now,” she muttered. She looked up slowly at her reflection in the mirror and what she saw behind her made her scream out in terror. There was a man hanging from a noose, from an invisible shower railing, eyes open as if popping out of his skull. She let out a loud yell and leaped around in horror, but there was nothing there. If she could blame it on her exhaustion, she would, but she knew it was more than that. She was certain this spirit was trying to scare her and get rid of her for some reason.

 
Kayleigh stormed into the bathroom. She grabbed Rebecca by the shoulders. “What happened?”

  “Listen here, Kay. You might be impervious to what’s happening in this house, but I’m terrified. Can’t we go and talk to Graham about this? I mean, surely he can release you from this contract if, say, the house just suddenly burnt down to the ground?”

  “Tell me what happened.”

  “Man hanging by his neck is what happened.” Rebecca laughed out loud. “The bastard actually committed suicide.”

  “What on earth is so funny?” Kayleigh didn’t join in the laughter.

  “I think I’m going mad.” Rebecca carried on laughing hysterically. She ceased laughing as quickly as she started. In an angry voice she said, “You know what? We actually shouldn’t allow this bastard to throw us out of our own house. He hanged himself, the son of a bitch. He can deal with it. Do you hear me, you fucker? Deal with it!” she shouted.

  “We’ll go see Graham today, I promise.” Kayleigh hugged Rebecca close to her. “I don’t like seeing you this way. Besides, we have a daughter to think about as well. Right?”

  “Right.”

  Twenty minutes later, the three of them sat in the Mini Cooper, on their way to Sedgefield. Sarah sang one of her Afrikaans songs that she must have learnt at school, as if she were a CD player set on repeat.

  Rebecca glanced over at Kayleigh. Kayleigh met her eyes, looking relieved that Sarah had no idea of what horror possessed the house.

  Chapter 27

  Early 1900s

  After the war ended, Joshua took the long road back home from Cape Town. He couldn’t wait to see his wife and his daughter. The war was longer than they’d anticipated it would be, and Carrey would be much bigger by now. He wondered if Carrey would even remember him.

  As soon as he saw his house, Joshua kneed his horse into galloping as fast as he could. When he reached the final bend in the road, he noticed the blackened walls and the burnt away roof.

  “No!” he shouted as he dismounted. “No!”

  He ran into the house, but there was nobody there. After searching everywhere inside, he ran to the helper’s land, where he found Evelyn and her husband Stander, Joshua’s farmhand.

  “Hauw, Boss, we’re so glad to see you still alive.” Evelyn said.

  “You too, Evelyn. Where are my wife and my child? What happened here?”

  Evelyn started to cry.

  “Tell me, please.” Joshua pleaded, tears also rolling down his face.

  “The bad man, he came, and he take your wife…and Carrey.”

  “No, no, no…” he cried out. “How could you do this to us, God?” He fell to his knees, his hands over his face.

  “Me, I’m so sorry, Boss.” Evelyn tried to soothe him, but he jumped to his feet and stormed toward the remains of his house.

  Chapter 28

  Present day

  Graham was only available at lunchtime. They’d meet him at his office at noon, but they decided to arrive a little early.

  “What can I do for you two fine ladies?” Graham asked in his British accent.

  “Graham, I’m not going to beat around the bush. I want out of my contract,” Kayleigh said as she sat down in one of the chairs in front of his desk. Rebecca sat down beside her in the other chair.

  “Why? Was there another break-in?”

  Kayleigh knew that if she told him about the paranormal bullshit, he’d never believe her.

  “Rebecca here has invited us to move in with her, and we think it’s a great idea. Only problem is that I’ve signed a twelve-month contract, which you well know.”

  “I’m sorry, but your contract is a legal and binding document. There’s no way out of it unless you can find other tenants. I also need to add, Kayleigh, that if you breach this contract, you’ll have the owner’s lawyers to deal with.”

  “I want the owner’s details,” Rebecca cut in. “If you refuse to contact him, then I will.”

  Graham’s face hardened. “As his estate agent, I’m legally bound to keep his info confidential.”

  “Look, we already know the owner’s name is Martin Norton,” Rebecca snapped. “It’s only a matter of time until we track him down. You might as well stop your bullshitting and give us his number.”

  Kayleigh placed her hand on Rebecca’s arm in an effort to calm her down figuring that she was probably only impolite due to the lack of sleep from the previous night.

  An angry red flush worked its way up Graham’s neck. “I’m sorry, but there’s nothing I can do for you. I suggest you track him down on your own. You seem to be getting along quite fine without my help. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.” As if to prove his point, he shuffled the papers that were on his desk.

  “Oh, we’ll find him, and then I’ll tell him what a prick you are,” Rebecca said through clenched teeth.

  Graham didn’t respond but fixed her with a dark glare.

  Kayleigh could see this was getting them nowhere. She stood. “Come, honey, he’s of no help to us.”

  She guided Rebecca out before she became physically aggressive and got herself into trouble.

  †

  After they left Graham’s office, they went to eat lunch at the place where they’d had their very first lunch together. They still had two hours to kill before fetching Sarah from school. Kayleigh placed their order, reached across the table, and took Rebecca’s hands into hers. “You really know how to stand your ground, don’t you? I bet Graham didn’t see you coming.”

  “He’s such an asshole. What’s up with him?”

  “He has a business to run, just like you and I. I’m sure it’s nothing personal.”

  “Our next step is to try and find tenants and then to track this Martin guy down. I’ve looked in the phone book. I’ve searched the Internet. I just don’t know what else to do.” Rebecca stared down at their entwined hands. “I love you, you know,” she said softly, the anger now gone from her voice.

  “I love you, too, sweetheart. More and more with each passing day.” Kayleigh took a sip of water. “When did you look Martin up?” Kayleigh asked, surprised. For so long they’d thought only of one another that she’d forgotten about the search for the owner.

  “Long ago. After we went to the municipality. Nothing came up. He must be unlisted or something.” Exhaustion lined Rebecca’s face.

  Kayleigh tried to change the subject. “How is your sexy new shop assistant getting along?” She needed to get her mind off the ghost stories. Even if just for a while.

  “Do I detect jealousy in that beautiful voice of yours?” Rebecca teased.

  “Why didn’t you hire someone plump and ugly?”

  “Because sexy sells. I would have hired the sexiest chick in town, but she’s already taken. She slices animals open for a living. I mean, how sick is that?”

  Kayleigh laughed. “Weirdo.”

  “I learned from the best.” Rebecca reached across the table to brush her fingers over Kayleigh’s cheek. “My new employee is doing quite well. If it weren’t for her, we wouldn’t have had so much time together. I like spending time with you, in case you didn’t already know.”

  “Ask her if she can slice open animals, maybe we can share her.”

  “I don’t do threesomes—not anymore, anyway.”

  “Oh, that was bad, Rebecca. Even for you.” Kayleigh smacked her on the hand.

  “Hey, we needed to lighten things even more. Anything to get your mind from being jealous of my twenty-something assistant.” The waiter approached with a full tray. “Oh, and here’s our lunch. Mmm… looks yummy.”

  Kayleigh had ordered a rare filet with salad. Rebecca had ordered a medium rare sirloin.

  While chewing on a big juicy bite, Rebecca said, “So, how are we going to break into Graham’s office to find that darned owner?”

  Kayleigh nearly choked. She quickly downed some water. “Break in? I was right. You have gone mad.”

  Rebecca swallowed and blinked. “Or else, ther
e’s always torture.”

  “I’d much rather torture him than break into his office,” Kayleigh said as she cut another piece of steak.

  “Invite him over for dinner. Your ghost will sort him out,” Rebecca suggested with a sly expression.

  “Our ghost.” Kayleigh realized with dismay that they were back on the ghost subject.

  “He doesn’t seem to like me much. Maybe he’s in love with you.” Rebecca pointed at Kayleigh with her fork.

  Kayleigh fluttered her eye lashes. “You know as well as I do that I’m irresistible. Who could blame him?”

  “And right you are. I don’t blame him for falling in love with you. You’re a looker.”

  “So are you. I’m amazed he hasn’t joined in for a threesome yet.” Kayleigh cringed at her words, and her stomach made a sour turn by just the thought of what she’d said. She shook her head and went back to the job of carving her steak with the steak knife.

  “He’s not welcome in our bed. Gosh, this thing is really freaking me out.” Rebecca dropped her fork on her plate with a clatter as her eyes welled with tears.

  Kayleigh reached over and held her hand. “I noticed. You must be exhausted. I’m so sorry for putting you through all this, Rebecca.”

  “You know as well as I do that none of this is your fault.” Rebecca gave Kayleigh’s hand a quick squeeze before picking her fork back up and stabbing a crispy French fry.

  After lunch, they popped into the newspaper office and placed an ad for the house, then they collected Sarah from school. She was waiting right by the school gates. She seemed upset when she hopped in the car.

  “What’s up, sweetie? That’s not the face I expect to see the day before vacation starts,” Kayleigh asked. “Besides, you’ll be visiting your dad for two whole weeks.”