Reveal (Cryptid Tales)

by Brina Courtney

  When I open my eyes I can smell the coffee brewing downstairs. I feel groggy but better, not as drained. My legs fall over the side of the bed as I rub my eyes. Yesterday seems like a dream, but then I see him and I know what I did was real.

  “Jeremy?” I say as I look at the small boy in my bedroom. “Is that you?” He smiles that big toothy grin I grew up loving. He’s back in his six year old form, with his tan wrinkled pants and white top.

  My eyebrows must crinkle together because he walks over to me and says, “Oh Shay please don’t cry. I’m here, it’s alright.”

  He holds my hand in his, his little fingers attempting to intertwine with my own. I’ve rehearsed what I would say to him if he ever came back a million times but suddenly my mind is totally blank. I sit there paralyzed by disbelief.

  “Jeremy, I’ve missed you so much. I am so sorry I sent you away. I never meant to…” my words start to sound more like sobs and I realize I’m crying.

  “Shay look at me,” Jeremy says, “I understand what you did, and you don’t, so give me a chance to explain.” I take a deep breath and nod my head while wiping away my tears with the sleeve of my hoodie, I realize the material still smells a bit like rain. I watch him like a hawk, I don’t want to look away and have him disappear again.

  “Shay, when you told me to leave you banished my spirit from having contact with you. That didn’t mean I couldn’t see you, but it did mean that you couldn’t see or contact me. While I was banished, I was doing tasks for other ghosts and that’s how I met Wendy. She wanted to bring back her father and she knew that I had previously had contact with a person who may be able to do that. That person is you. We both agreed if you used your power to bring him back it would break the banishment because of the deal you made with Wendy. The deal that said she would connect you with me, if you helped her. Luckily our suspicions were correct.”

  It shocks me to hear such sophisticated talk from a six year old. It will take me some time to remember he’s been on our plane for over seventy years.

  I am astonished that this whole thing was a plan all along.

  “You knew I could do this? You really thought I could bring him back?”

  He frowns, “Well I knew you could bring him to this plane, but only if he was stuck on another. If he had crossed over then you wouldn’t have been able to, but since he was so depressed when he passed, we guessed he was lost on another plane.”

  I try to wrap my head around all of this, “You mean to tell me there are other planes?”

  He smiles at me sweetly, almost like he’s explaining all of this to a small child, instead of an adult like myself.

  “Yes Shay, many, but the main two are the living and non living. Our planes are parallel, so we constantly live a similar life on one of the planes.”

  “Is that where you were when I banished you?”

  He shakes his little head. It always amazes me how his bangs never fall in his face, although he can change his appearance by choice, it never changes naturally like mine does.

  “No I was still on this plane. You’re strong, but not that strong. You can’t banish someone from a plane, but apparently you can summon them back.” He smiles a coy smile, like he knew all along that I could make this happen. Suddenly something clicks in my head, “Wait is this why you wouldn’t go looking for my father? Because you wanted me to summon him on my own?” Excitement floods me; I will be able to see my dad again. I already start to focus on him in my mind. Almost dreaming of the way he smelled and felt when I notice Jeremy pursing his lips.

  “No, I’m afraid not. I wouldn’t go looking for your father because I have no idea where he is. I’m sorry Shay, but when I said I wouldn’t help you find him it’s because I can’t. I can’t track any people or spirits, just places. It’s the disadvantage of passing away when I was a child. So if you had moved away, it would be extremely difficult, if not totally impossible to find you. You would have had to summon me, which until yesterday you didn’t know how to do.”

  I still feel like I’m behind on the conversation. “What did I even really do? I mean I just thought about what he might be like. It was just this idea of a person that came into my head and then it happened. He was there, at least I think he was. What if I accidently summoned someone else?”

  “You won’t, your instinct will tell you if who’s coming is the right spirit or not. You’ll just have to focus harder next time. You did great for your first time. We can talk about all of this later, but for now I have to go. I need to check on Madame and the children.” He looks over his shoulder, ever since this conversation started I’ve been feeling like Jeremy is a little jumpy and rushed.

  Jeremy has always worried about his ghost family, constantly going back to the woods near the orphanage to check on them.

  “But wait, when will I see you again? And how did I get back here? Did you do this?” I gesture to my bed and my clothes, finally putting together that it’s the same outfit I wore yesterday.

  “All of this will be explained in due time. Can you come to me this time? I want to stay near my family tonight. I’m worried about them. Rebecca has been saying she’s seen the man in the black coat.” He suddenly looks chilled.

  Jeremy’s death wasn’t just caused any fire; it was a fire set by a cold blooded killer. He watched the children burn in the house and Jeremy says he can remember hearing him laugh, a cold harsh sound that he can’t forget. Ghosts don’t sleep, but if they did this man would fill his nightmares. When he’s worried about his family it’s usually because the man in the black coat has shown up again. Apparently he likes to revisit his work. It’s totally disgusting and I wish they would just catch the bastard who did it.

  “How about tonight? 12:30? There’s a bench by an old pine tree. There’s a crack in the tree near the base. Let’s meet there,” I suggest, I need to know more, now.

  “Sounds fine, see you tonight.” He takes his hands out of mine, smiles, and vanishes.

  Chapter 12

  I go to get dressed for the day, my jeans and hoodie from yesterday won’t do. And note that I need a shower. I walk into my attached bathroom, also done in my favorite color, purple. I turn on the shower and slowly climb in. As the water warms my body I think about all the pieces of information given to me over the past couple days. Ever since Wendy showed up things in my life have been moving at a much quicker pace than ever before. I am used to seeing ghosts but besides that I live a very normal boring life. I go to school, work, and track. I don’t have a lot of friends so I’m not invited to the high school drunk fests their parents call sleepovers or parties.

  But here I am, suddenly thrown into a whole new world of summoning and bringing ghosts to our plane. Our plane? I’m still trying to work out how there can be more than one plane. Is this what a wormhole is? Note to self, Google that later.

  And best of all about these new developments is Jeremy is back and from his reaction I can tell we’ll pick back up where we left off. Though his changed appearance will be something I need to get used to. I do miss the piercing eyes of the fifteen year old Jeremy, but I can certainly get used to him being a child again. I have to guess that he changed his appearance to match me and resorted back to the form he’s most comfortable once I wasn’t around anymore. The same body he had when he died.

  As I get out of the shower and dry off I notice my eyes in the mirror. They’re almost a yellow color now. Something is off here. Maybe me using my summoning power is causing my eyes to change? But I hadn’t even known I could do these things when my eyes started to lighten last month. So weird.

  I walk downstairs and notice Chad in his normal spot.

  “Hi Chad.” He barely nods and over the couch I can see he’s playing Madden again. God isn’t playing the game six days a week for real enough? Chad plays football all year with various teams. Mom hopes it’ll help get him into a good school

  “Are you doing anything today? I have to go to work soon; I could drop you off at the mall o
r something.”

  My mom says I have to make an effort with Chad, she thinks my father’s disappearance has affected him more than me. That’s the psychiatrist in her. She has office hours at the college today, so I’m trying to help out. He doesn’t respond, I doubt he’s even heard me.

  “Yo! Do you wanna go into town or not?” I yell, hoping for a small response, even if it’s a no.

  “Promise not to drop me off too close?” He squints at me over the couch as he pauses his game.

  “Sure, whatever.” I know he tries to act all big and bad but I also know he appreciates the ride. He’s too young for a license and I think Mom has some issues getting him a car for when he is. She’s weird about that with him. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s the baby or because he’s irresponsible. Either way, I don’t think I would help him get his own wheels either.

  After I finish my cereal at noon (I know, lazy), we get into the car and drive to the Marksville Mall. It’s pretty nice; it has Macy’s and Sears and a couple of outlet stores. I drop him off in front of Barnes and Nobles, his friends will be nowhere near here. I don’t think I’ve ever seen Chad pick up a book, unless it has naked anime girls in it.

  “You good?” I say as he gets out of the car.

  He bends down to look in, “Yeah Tim said his brother would pick us up later and bring me home.”

  “OK, see ya, and Chad?” He looks at me and raises his eyebrows. “Be good, alright? Don’t go and do anything dumb.”

  He says, “Thanks Mom,” sarcastically and shuts the door. He might seem touch but I can see the smile playing on his face as I drive away.

  I speed into work and park behind the old building on the town square. There’s an iron statue in the middle of the square of two brothers, a confederate and union solider shaking hands. I always look at it and wonder what it must have been like back then. I also think about what their mother must have felt, her two sons going to war, against each other.

  I’ve never told Chad about my gift. Actually I’ve never told anyone. But I don’t think Chad can do what I can, so that puts us on opposite sides of a line. Like the two brothers in the statue, I think we would have different views. Mine would be that ghosts are special and we’re lucky to help them, his would be that I am totally bananas.

  The back door chimes as I come in the shop. Olivia is behind the counter talking on the phone. Sounds like she’s making a deal for consignment.

  “Well if you can have it in by Wednesday we can work something out, but if not then we’ll have to fill the space with someone else.” She sounds impatient; this must have been a long conversation.

  “OK that sounds fine. We’ll see you Tuesday afternoon. As always, thank you for calling McEwyen’s Antiques.” She hangs up the phone and looks at me.

  “Hey! Cute sweater.” I look down at my outfit, a long brown sweater with leggings and boots. I’m a firm believer that boots should be worn all year, they’re too comfortable not to.

  “Thanks,” I say smiling. “Busy today?”

  She turns toward the register, “I wish. I am sooo bored. Mom and Dad are away so I have to man the shop all weekend. I’m stoked you’re working today. I had a great time at your place the other night; maybe we can have a repeat tonight? I have the whole place to myself.”

  We did have a good time on Thursday but I have plans tonight. “I’m watching Chad, sorry. Mom’s busy so I’m in charge. You know that means no sleepovers. My mom is so strict.” It’s a harmless lie.

  She nods looks bummed but she suddenly grabs her bag. “Well then we’ll have to look at my surprise now!” She holds up a Teen Vogue, the prom edition. She continues, “We can look at dresses for Senior Shuffle. I can’t believe it’s coming up so soon! We’ll be graduates!”

  “I know! I’m so glad they ditched prom and made this party just for seniors, it feels so much more, I don’t know, exclusive or something,” I say as I hop up on one of the stools behind the counter. I’m looking for any reason to not think about my life right now or the shambles it’s in. Besides, I can hardly contain how excited I am to see Jeremy tonight and I certainly can’t discuss any of that with Liv. She’s my best friend, but I’ve never told her about my gift.

  When I was younger I was afraid of what I could do. Jeremy always tried to make me feel better about it, but deep down, I was just plain scared. What if someone learned of my secret? How would they treat me? Would my mom put me in the loony bin? I’ve asked myself these questions a million times. Now that I’m older, I just want to fit in, have a normal life. And although having a missing dad makes it so you’re never quite normal, I still felt like I was on the right track. But ever since Wendy showed up my life has snowballed into a crazy mess. The worst part is I can’t tell Olivia any of this, I can’t tell anyone any of this. I feel kind of alone.

  I focus on the magazine and gaze at the glossy pictures. The beautiful girls with their matching jewelry and shoes stand out to me. Hair piled high on their heads and huge smiles plastered on their faces. I want to be just like them, hell, I want to be them. I look at Liv who’s scanning her cell for other pictures of dresses she can’t wait to try on. She is one of these girls and she doesn’t even know it.

  I point to a dark haired brunette in a blue gown, “Olivia,” I start, she looks up, “do you think I could pull this off?”

  She squints at the picture, “Oh yeah, why not? Though honestly, I think you’d look super hot in black.” She pages through quickly to a page she has dog-eared. “This one,” she announces and points to a short black dress with feathers on the bottom.

  “Are you serious? I could never pull that off!” I’m shocked at the dress she picked. I’m decent looking I guess, but I don’t have a body like that girl!

  Liv smiles hugely, “You would look rockin in that! And I know just where we can find it.”

  I crinkle my eyebrows, “Where?” I think about our small town’s mall, nothing this sexy could ever be sold there.

  She shows me what she’s been looking at on her phone. “Ebay.” She says with a smile. There it is, the dress, on sale for just under one hundred dollars. “We have to bid on it! It’s perfect for you.”

  I shake my head. “I don’t even have a date.”

  “If all else fails, I’ll be your date. But I’m sure we’ll find someone, maybe even Tall, Dark and Handsome.” She winks at me.

  “Uh huh, sure as if I’ll ever see him again.” I’m bummed, I want to see him again, but who knows when I will, or if I will. “We’re texting occasionally,” I tell her. “But it’s nothing to write home about. He hasn’t asked me to meet up again, just Calc questions mostly.” Quick to change the subject I add, “Got any inventory that needs marking?” I don’t want to think about how much I treasure that night we spent at the store together. Or the fact that we haven’t gotten together since. It breaks my heart to not be with him. It’s weird, its’ like I feel more alive when he’s close. He’s almost like this power that takes hold of me and I’m totally addicted to it.

  Liv snaps me back into my reality, the one where Hugh doesn’t walk through the door on my command. Because if we were in that world, he would be here right now.

  “Yea, a bunch of doorknobs came in this morning. The box is still by the door.”

  I walk over with the tagger and start marking them. Olivia comes over to help me and the afternoon passes quickly. She tells me all about her date last night with a guy from a neighboring high school. Apparently all thoughts of Eddie have left Oliva’s mind thank goodness. She even says she’s thinking of leaving the book club. Their latest story is “not really her thing,” (AKA she’s done since he’s left for his new internship and also since he left her and his precious book club). Things with Eddie would have been weird anyway. I mean he would never have been able to take her to Senior Shuffle or anything; it would have been awkward. All the seniors at the after graduation party with a student teacher hanging around? Totally bizarre. Liv also asks about my Friday night. I lie
and tell her I just stayed in, watched movies with my mom. I just hope she doesn’t ask Mom what we watched. She’s pretty close with her and they always strike up conversation when she’s over. Luckily she ignores my lies and continues on about her date. His name is Luke and he’s on the track team. Liv gushes about what she wore, what he said and so much more, but all I’m thinking about is what Jeremy has to say to me tonight and Hugh and his piercing green eyes.

  Chapter 13

  I drive out to the spot where I told Jeremy to meet me. Let’s see how good a six year old ghost is at remembering directions. It’s really dark tonight so I’m glad I remembered my flashlight. When I arrive near the orphanage I zipper up my coat and pull my scarf around my neck. I always feel like it’s cold when it’s this dark no matter what time of year. I get out and walk holding my flashlight out in front of me. I can hear voices up ahead. There are more voices than there should be. There’s a distinct difference between live voices and dead ones. People who have passed lack control of their final consonants, meaning there’s almost always a wispiness to the end of their words. In the conversation up ahead I hear both live and dead voices. I shine my light in their direction and two things surprise me. One, there’s about ten or so ghosts here, all children, not in the plan, Jeremy. Two, there is a guy here, a guy I know and that I’m practically in love with.