A Banshee's Tale

by Veronica Breville

  “Ease up, Whitby. You have all night to get to know her.”

  “Ah, I’m actually supposed to meet Justin when you all leave. We’re going to a field party, but I’ll cancel if it means I get to talk to you for a bit longer,” he mumbled.

  I smiled as if to say “that’s fine with me,” but I silently wondered if encouraging him was the same as tampering with fate. I didn’t know if his accident would involve anyone else, but I did know it would happen very soon. As a matter of fact, my first thought yesterday had been that it would occur tonight. Was I simply prolonging his demise by a day or two, or was it not his time to go? Had providence brought us together and made it my mission to stop his untimely death rather than guide him into the hereafter?

  I made a decision to do what I could to keep him out of harm’s way, assuming that’s what he wanted, if only for the evening. If my visions about his death continued after that, then I would help him find his chosen path and lead him to the light in his moment of need.

  “That would be wonderful, but I don’t want to disrupt your entire evening, Mark. Are you sure you want to hang with us all night?” I asked. If he wavered, then I knew what I had to do.

  “Absolutely. So, what movie do you want to see?”

  He has such a soothing voice. Why didn’t I notice that before?

  “Emma made me promise to see the new chick flick... Sunset in the Alps or something. You two are welcome to see something else if you want. I wouldn’t blame you,” Will kidded and then began rubbing the spot that Emma had elbowed when he made his backhanded comment.

  “How about it, Mark? There’s a new thriller out tonight. Are you game for a little gore?” I joked.

  “Seriously? That would be great! Anything but the chick flick. No offense,” he said, shying away from Emma’s intended attack on him, too.

  “None taken,” I replied.

  As attractive as I found him, I didn’t have any romantic feelings toward him. Perhaps the fact that I had originally planned to be his Guide into the afterlife removed all possibility of a poetically corny love affair, or maybe he just wasn’t my type on that level. Who knew? All that mattered was that I felt comfortable around him, and that meant I would be able to relax and have fun. I would face the consequences, if there were any, tomorrow.

  The movie was two hours of gory horror with absolutely no chance of having a plot worthy of following. The only positive was all the laughing Mark and I did. We were so boisterous that it annoyed the two fourteen-year-olds in front of us. This had become one of the best nights of my teenage years, rivaling my birthday party, even. Will and Emma were waiting for us in the lobby as we stumbled from the theater, still laughing about the terrible special effects.

  “Did you see the little hose in his chest that spurted the blood? What was their budget, fifty dollars?”

  “I know. What about the strings from the bad guy’s harness? Aren’t they supposed to catch all of that in editing? At least we had a good laugh, but honestly we should ask for our money back. That was terrible!”

  “You two having fun?” Will meant this as a question, but it sounded a bit like a statement instead. “Our movie was okay. It was a comedy, too, so I didn’t cringe the whole time,” he said, exaggerating the word “whole.”

  “You laughed so hard soda nearly came out of your nose, you big liar!” snorted Emma.

  All four of us laughed until we cried, and we could barely make out the right car.

  We decided to go to a little café close to campus that was open late to serve the college crowd. It was a cute little retro place with black and white tile everywhere and red vinyl chairs. We settled into a booth in the far corner and talked for the remainder of the night. I let Mark in on my “normal” life as he stared at me wide-eyed. When I was through, I set about asking him about his life and let him carry the conversation while we finished up.

  We all piled back into Will’s car and dropped Mark off at the restaurant, promising to follow him home because he didn’t have cash to fill his tank. He had used it all on our date instead.

  Before he left, he gave me the most astounding compliment I had received in my seventeen years of life. “Catherine, I had a great time tonight. Thanks for giving me another chance after I put my foot in my mouth earlier,” he whispered.

  “It’s okay. I put my foot in my mouth daily, and everyone always gives me another chance. Just trying to pay it forward, I suppose.” I giggled.

  “You should know that you are one of the most interesting and beautiful girls I have ever been out with. I hope we can do this again sometime, even if you don’t want to call it a date. It’s just nice to talk to someone so interesting and deep. You can only take so much superficial conversation, and all of the girls I know don’t know any other kind.” He blushed.

  His statement caught me completely off guard, and I blushed with him.

  “Mark, I don’t believe anyone, other than my family and Will, has ever said anything so nice to me. Thank you, I would love to go out again, but you’re right about the dating thing. I have a lot going on right now and can’t commit to anyone. Does that change the way you feel?”

  “Absolutely not.” Without raising his head, he continued. “Would it be okay if I gave you a goodnight kiss?”

  “Sure?” My voice squeaked just a bit with my response and my palms started to sweat. What else can a girl say when a very handsome guy asks for a goodnight kiss? This would be a monumental thing for me, as well, and I couldn’t think of anyone better to give me my very first kiss.

  Well, maybe one person. Dumb, dumb, dumb!

  We both leaned in, and he placed his hand softly on my cheek. I could feel the warmth of my flushed skin match that of his hand. When our lips met, there were no magical tinkling bells or fireworks but that didn’t diminish its loveliness one bit. It was, in my opinion, delicate and sweet and perfect as far as first kisses went.

  He leaned back, eyes still closed and said, “Thank you.”

  “I should thank you. I don’t go on many, well, any dates really and this was just how I had always pictured it. Besides, it’s not every day that a girl like me meets such a nice and understanding guy who just wants to get to know me. Oh, and the kiss was really nice, too,” I added. “So thank you, Mark.” I kissed his cheek as he bent into the window to say his final good-bye.

  Will followed Mark home and we honked as we drove by his drive. I watched his tail lights fade feeling quite happy with the way the evening turned out. The remainder of the ride home found Emma chattering away about how great it would be if we could double again, and I had to remind her more than ten times that this would not become a regular thing. My life was too busy and far too complicated for that, but I did hope to see him again and most definitely not in the role of Guide.

  By the time we arrived at Aunt Lucie’s, I was exhausted, but I noticed that the lights were still on in the dining room and kitchen. I braced myself for the slew of questions my aunt would have for me as I said my good-byes to my friends and then trudged up the steps and into the house.

  “Okay, Aunt Lucie, where are you? Hit me with your best shot.” I walked into the kitchen expecting to find my aunt, but I was met with an empty room.

  “Lucie went to bed two hours ago, but she did mention setting an earlier curfew for you before she retired. You’re lucky I was here to diffuse her attitude. You deserve a late night to be a regular teen,” Zane said from behind me.

  I jumped at the sound of his voice and spun around quickly to see him leaning against the doorframe. “Well then, I suppose I owe you my undying gratitude for sticking up for me. Zane, you never cease to amaze me, and I mean that in both a good and bad way.”

  “Thanks?” He was clearly confused by my confession. “Are you going to tell me how your night went, or do I have to drag it out of you?”

 
“Since when are you so interested in my stale life, Mr. Laroche?”

  “I just figured since your stale life is spicier than mine, I could live vicariously through it and ignore my less-than-stellar prospects,” he answered. “So?”

  “I had a great time. I can’t remember laughing so much. My side actually hurts. The movie was terrible, though. Mark and I nearly got thrown out of the theater for laughing too loud, but that was a highlight.” Then I realized that I would have to tell him who my date was with and flinched internally. “Did I mention this was a blind date? Will and Emma didn’t even tell me his name till we met tonight. You will never guess who it was,” I said nervously.

  “Well, who was it?”

  “Mark Whitby,” I responded, closing my eyes a fraction, then cracking them open, analyzing every expression that flitted across his face.

  “What? You mean your Tourist? How the hell did that happen, Cat? We need to wake your aunt to let her know what’s going on. Why didn’t you just feign an illness and come home? You can’t get emotionally attached to your charges.” He continued his tirade for several more minutes and attempted to leave and wake Aunt Lucie before I was able to break in.

  “Don’t wake Aunt Lucie! Would you just trust that I know what I’m doing? Stop treating me like some child you’re babysitting and treat me like the responsible and intelligent adult I am becoming. When I met him tonight, I could tell things were different. His life wasn’t meant to end so soon, and I believe we were brought together tonight to keep that from happening. I feel I still helped him find his proper path. I just didn’t have to help him follow the proverbial light, as well.”

  “How can you be so sure, Catherine?” He leaned back against the doorframe and crossed his arms.

  “I just am. Now, if you will excuse me, I need to wash up and get to bed. I suggest you do the same, and wake up with a better attitude in the morning, Mr. Laroche.”

  “Have it your way this time, Cat, but if this turns out badly, I will not let you live it down,” he said before leaving. He pounded up the stairs and shut the door to his room with more force than was necessary.

  Fine! I know I am right, and I don’t need him to agree with me to make that a definite.

  During the night, I realized that all my dreams and visions had involved Daniel Frey. No matter how hard I concentrated, I could not bring Mark into the picture at all. It was a relief on a small level, but I still wondered what the morning would bring.

  A phone call from Will the next morning confirmed my suspicions from the night before. The friend Mark was originally going to meet was in a serious car accident after leaving the party he had attended. He had survived and was in stable condition at the hospital. I was sure if Mark had been with him, he would have died. I breathed a sigh of relief after explaining the entire story to Will, who agreed with me. I was meant to be Mark’s divine intervention last night, not his Guide.

  I skipped down the stairs like I had not a care in the world and bounced into the kitchen, smiling brightly.

  “Good morning, roomies. What’s for breakfast?” I sang.

  “Whatever, you can scrounge for yourself.” Zane’s snippy tone alerted me to the fact that he still seemed quite put out.

  My aunt sat behind her paper and asked, “How did it go last night?”

  “It was wonderful! I assume Zane filled you in on the dilemma I had?”

  “He did. Have you any news on that front?” She peeked over the newspaper and raised her eyebrow.

  “I have. The friend Mark was to meet up with did have an accident and will recover. I should also mention that no matter how hard I concentrated on his name, I could not conjure any feelings or visions regarding Mark. I am satisfied that I did what I was meant to and helped to save him from an untimely death.” I mentally stuck my tongue out in Zane’s general direction when I finished. Not my best moment, but I did manage to keep it to myself.

  Slowly lowering her paper completely, Aunt Lucie began to speak softly. “Catherine, you are the most astoundingly gifted Guide I have ever heard of. I know no one else with the ability to discern the things you have so early in your career, nor have I heard of a Guide being sent to save someone from death. My belief has always been that we were strictly meant to guide people to their own heavens. I think I need to do some more research to see if one such as you has ever existed before.” Her eyes were wide, and her cheeks seemed drained of what little color they normally had.

  Am I really that different, even as Guides go? It just isn’t in my stars to be a normal anything.

  “Lucie, do you truly believe this could be yet another gift she has?” Zane pushed his cereal around in his bowl but didn’t look up at my aunt or me.

  “I do, but as I said, I need to see if there are any precedents to follow. If you’ll both excuse me, I need to find some books in my library and begin my research.” She left the table, leaving behind a piping hot cup of untouched coffee and toast. Like a vulture, I swooped in to scavenge what I could.

  “Catherine, it seems I owe you an apology. I believe it is my turn to express how amazing I find you, both good and bad.” He stood up and walked to the sink to wash his half-eaten bowl of cereal down the disposal. He seemed sincerely upset with himself for having doubted my ability to make a proper decision.

  “Apology accepted, I think. We are still both learning what I am capable of. The biggest difference is that I can just feel that I am doing and saying the right thing, and you can’t. I do wish you would try a bit harder to trust my judgment. I know my age makes that difficult for you, but please try to look past that, okay?” I shoved my aunt’s bit of forgotten toast into my mouth and shot him a goofy smile when he turned to look at me. The last thing I wanted this morning was a fight that would surely kill my good mood buzz.

  “I promise to try, I can’t promise any more than that.”

  “Do or do not. There is no try.” I used my best Yoda voice to try to break him out of his melancholy mood and saw him crack a smile before I winked and grabbed my juice to chug it. “I don’t expect miracles, Zane. Just remember we’re both learning along the way.”

  “That we are, Cat.” As he walked from the room, he patted my shoulder and chuckled. I liked that I could make him smile when he was feeling down and that feeling only bolstered the happy high that I woke up with.

  When breakfast was done, I returned to my room and began planning my visit to Daniel Frey. I couldn’t get over how affected I was by his tortured appearance in my visions. He would be, without a doubt, my hardest case yet, and that thought had me a bit scared.

  Saturday finished without a bit of flair, and as I tried to fall asleep, I continued planning the next day’s visit. I would try to follow my normal routine and begin with the seed of thought. I had noticed that after I had met Lois, I felt an immediate connection with her. That connection must have been what enabled me to project to her, so it followed logically that I could connect with Daniel in the same way. I would be able to sense when his time had come, and if I couldn’t make it there physically, then I would be with him in my projected form, which I believed to be the embodiment of my spirit essentially.

  As I woke on Sunday, I noted how gloomy it was and felt the weight of the world pressing on my shoulders. Shaking my head to clear out all the cynical emotions that were creeping in, I focused on getting dressed and ready to go. The sooner I met Daniel, the sooner I would be able to go home and do my homework for Monday. I knew I wouldn’t be able to do much for him today, but the pictures of him in my head pushed me forward.

  Daniel Frey was currently in a hospital in Manhattan undergoing treatment for cancer. From what I was able to glean from my limited visions, it was Leukemia of some type and he wasn’t expected to live much longer. I also noticed that he had a predictable routine and spent part of his morning in the cafeteria with his father. I would cre
ate some sort of mishap near him so that I could apologize and “do my thing.”

  Impatiently tapping my foot on the hard wood floor in the foyer, I waited for Zane to finish primping. And people say girls are bad? We had nothing on overly vain men, and that included all four of my brothers. When he finished, we left in his truck for the forty-five-minute drive to Manhattan and didn’t say two words to one another. I wasn’t sure if he was still upset about doubting me over the weekend or if there was something else bothering him but figured if he wanted to talk he would.

  Once inside the hospital, we found the cafeteria and I spotted Daniel. His face was even more haunted in person than it had been in my visions. I shuddered involuntarily as I focused on the goings on around him. I would have to drop something a little messy to create a big enough scene.

  Finding the nearest coffee maker and filling a cup too full, I began to walk in his direction. I had instructed Zane to lay low and out of sight unless I looked like I needed him.

  My plan worked flawlessly, with several people, including Daniel’s father coming to my aid. Soon I was politely pushed out of the way while others cleaned up, and I took up residence beside my charge.

  “I feel so dumb. How many times can I drop something today? This is the third cup of coffee to fall this morning.” I acted embarrassed.

  “You’re not dumb, just having a bad day. It happens to all of us,” Daniel replied sweetly in a weak voice.

  We carried on a very short conversation before I noticed his father rising to come back. Before I excused myself, I looked into his eyes and thought the same things that had worked on Lois and Mark. Daniel’s expression changed slightly but remained quite severe. All I could do now was hope it would grow into a more solid and pleasant belief.

  After saying good-bye and shaking the pitiful young man’s hand, I went in search of my all-powerful Caomhnóir.

  When we reached the house, I noticed how very tired I felt and thought that was odd. I had a strange feeling Daniel wouldn’t last through the day. Although, judging by his appearance, I would have thought he had at least a few more weeks left. I opted to keep this to myself, though there was a niggling thought in the back of my brain that told me that was a very dumb idea.