The Middle Realm

by Alessia Mattei

“Edgar, stop. Leave Whitney alone. We’re all having a hard time trying to move on. We’ll always be stuck in the eras in which we died. Now, apologize. Whitney is our friend,” Camille said.

  I wondered if I would ever able to change with the times. What if I stayed stuck in the 21st century? If I wanted to stay on earth, I’d have to learn to accept change. I was not living, but I still thought conforming to the times was important. This scared me. Edgar and Camille were still trying to hold on to the Victorian ways of life and Whitney was still trying to hold onto the Roaring Twenties. It never occurred to me that I might be stuck in the decade I was living in when I died. Edgar, Camille and Whitney needed to let go of the past, and I needed to let go before I get stuck. It wouldn’t be easy to watch the world change while I stayed the same. The world would just continue without me.

  “It’s true,” Edgar, said, “Every time we see a pub or tavern, she starts going on and on about how horrible it is to drink and what not. Give it a break, honey. I’ll change, if you will.”

  “Edgar, enough. Ask any spirit on the street and I’m sure they will tell you how hard it is to move on,” Camille said to Edgar and Whitney. “Now apologize to each other and then to Savannah. She should not have had to listen to you two arguing.”

  Whitney was the first to apologize. Edgar was reluctant at first, but he apologized, too. I was glad to see they were on good terms again.

  “You guys, how about we do something? Edgar, do you still want a change of scenery? If we do anything, it’d better be soon. I have to be back at the hotel by sunrise,” I said.

  “Will your carriage turn back into a pumpkin if you don’t, or will your clothes turn to rags?” Edgar asked. He thought he was hilarious. No one laughed. I had to at least give him credit for trying.

  “I know. How about we take a stroll through the countryside. It’s a nice night. The sky is clear. We’ll be able to see the stars and moon really well,” Whitney suggested.

  “Maybe we’ll see some constellations or a shooting star,” Camille said. “I do hope we see a shooting star so I can make a wish.”

  “That sounds lovely. What do you say, Edgar?” Camille asked.

  “It’s settled, then. We will take a stroll through the countryside,” Edgar declared.

  A stroll through the countryside? That sounded fun. (Insert sarcasm here) I thought we would be doing something exciting. I thought maybe we could scare some people. I know that sounds mean, but when there’s nothing else to do, you resort to other things. Hey, don’t judge me. It’s not like I did it all the time and to the same person, unlike some people I knew. Here’s looking at you, Edgar and Camille. Besides, it’s not like we’d be hurting anyone. Not intentionally, anyway. I hoped being a ghost was not going to be boring. If it was, an eternity was going to feel even longer than -- what’s longer than an eternity? Oh, never mind. French countryside, here I come. Yay!

  Ch. 23

  We walked arm-in-arm. The city was bustling that night. I saw young couples out and about. They made me think of Alexander. It seemed like everything reminded me of him. I was so relieved that we would be spending the evening in the country. There couldn’t possibly be anything in the country that could remind me of Alexander. Being in the city just depressed me. I kept seeing guys who looked like Alexander. Go figure, in a city as huge as Paris, of course I would see all the guys who looked like him. I must have looked sad because Whitney was worrying about me.

  “Savannah, are you ok? You look sad,” Whitney said to me.

  Sad didn’t even begin to describe it.

  “Actually, I am feeling a little down. I miss my boyfriend,” I told her.

  “I’m sorry. I’m sure he misses you, too,” she said.

  “Actually, he doesn’t even know I’m dead. He thinks I’m still alive,” I told her.

  “He doesn’t know you’re dead?” she asked, shocked.

  “Nope,” I said, shaking my head.

  Whitney didn’t know the story surrounding my death, so I told her. She felt bad. She was shocked that I would stay friends with the person who killed me. If Emma was being controlled somehow, it wasn’t her fault. One would think I wouldn’t want anything to do with Emma, that I would seek revenge on her. Actually, seeking revenge never once crossed my mind. Believe it or not. I was kind of hoping Whitney would tell me her story, but we arrived in the country sooner than I had expected.

  The night was clear and calm. After the noise and bustle of the city, the peace of the country at night was welcoming. I could hear crickets serenading anyone willing to listen. They didn’t care whether we had a pulse or not. To them, we were just another part of the landscape. The sky was a beautiful shade of dark blue. I could see the moon and the stars perfectly. They seemed so much closer than they actually were. All around us I could see other spirits enjoying the beautiful night. Their opaque bodies seemed to shine brightly in the darkness. They were all at ease. At this time of night the living were asleep, completely oblivious to the fact that the sprits were out and about.

  The scene in front of me looked like it was right out of a movie. I saw a ghostly carriage being drawn by two ghostly horses. In the carriage was an old married couple. A little dog was sitting in the woman’s lap. Judging by the way they were dressed and the style of the carriage, everything appeared to be from the 1800s. They were making their way down the narrow country lane. It looked like a normal scene. An elderly couple is taking a carriage ride through the country with their little dog. The exception being that they were ghosts. Other than that, it looked like nothing out of the ordinary. As they passed us, the driver slowed down.

  “Beautiful night, isn’t it?” the old man said.

  “It sure is,” Edgar responded.

  “Well, you folks enjoy the evening,” he said as the driver started pulling away. Wow, ghosts were generally friendly. To think all the movies out there give ghosts such a bad rap. Anyway, it was weird seeing the horses walking down the road without hearing the familiar sound of hooves hitting the ground. As we walked along, I saw children racing through the grass. They looked like they were playing tag. Not too far from them I saw a woman standing guard. She must have been their mother. Every once in a while we heard her yell at them not to go to far, that if they did, their father would spank them. A young man on a bike rode past us. He had a friend standing on the back of the bike. I saw a girl and boy on the back of two horses. They were racing each other. It looked like the girl was winning. She was definitely the better rider of the two. There was also a man walking his dog and a car full of teenagers, music blasting from the radio. There was also a teenage couple lying on the hood of a car staring up at the stars. Everything was so completely normal.

  “So what do you think of it here?” Camille asked me.

  “I don’t know. It’s weird seeing so many ghosts in one place. They all are all acting so… normal,” I said.

  “What were you expecting, Savannah? We’re not monsters. We were regular people at one time,” Camille said, laughing.

  “Savannah, you seem disappointed,” Edgar said.

  “No. It’s not that I’m disappointed. It’s just not really what I was expecting,” I said honestly.

  I didn’t know what to expect. These ghosts were acting like the living. I watched the ones who were sitting on the hood of the car watching the stars. I can’t tell you how many times Alexander and I had done that. I guess I never imagined ghosts to act so ordinary. I don’t if that’s the right word. I always thought they just hid in the dark and tried to scare the living daylights out of people. But it seemed that they just want to be left alone. They didn’t want to bother anyone. They certainly didn’t want to scare or hurt anyone either.

  “Were you expecting all the ghosts to be scary and ready to terrorize unsuspecting people?” Whitney asked me.

  “Yeah,“ I said somewhat guiltily.

  “Thank you, popular culture, for giving ghosts a bad rap,” Camille said.

  “Amen,” Edgar
replied.

  “I second that,” Whitney replied.

  “I third that,” said a ghost dressed in a suit. He seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. Edgar didn’t seem too pleased. He was used to being the alpha male in our group. It felt so good to say that I was part of a group. I was so happy that Edgar allowed me to join. It felt good to have a family again.

  Ch. 24

  The ghost looked like he stepped right off the set of the show Mad Men. His tux was tailored perfectly. Men really knew how dress in the1950s and early 1960s. This ghost in particular looked like he was more from the early 1960s. He looked like he was ready to go to some fancy cocktail party. All he needed was a martini and cigarette and he was good to go.

  “Pardon me? Was anyone asking your opinion?” Edgar asked him.

  “No. But I agree with everything all of you are saying. About the negative views popular culture has of ghosts. I may be a ghost, but I would never, ever think of terrorizing anyone. Except maybe my ex-wife and that bastard she cheated on me with behind my back,” he said.

  Popular culture had always made ghosts out to be these evil spirits terrorizing the living from beyond the grave. True, there were some ghosts who thrived on frightening anything with a pulse, but the numbers were low, so I was told. Most of the spirits roaming the earth just wanted to be left to themselves. They didn’t want to bother anyone. They certainly didn’t want to hurt anyone either. Most ghosts were content to just hide out until nighttime, when most people were asleep. Others happily roamed about during the daytime hours, careful to not be seen by the small number of living individuals who could see spirits. What I’m saying is that the majority of the spirits roaming the earth were more Casper the Friendly Ghost than Poltergeist.

  “Thanks for sharing. You may leave now,” Edgar said.

  “Edgar, that’s quite rude,” Camille scolded. “You can’t just get rid of him.”

  “Oh, yes, I can,” Edgar, said. “Watch me”

  “I haven’t even introduced myself, yet. I am William James Stanford III,” the man in the tux said.

  “That’s wonderful, William, but you arrived uninvited. I’m afraid you’re not welcome here,” Edgar said.

  “Fine. I’ll just walk through the fields alone. I’ll have conversations with myself,” he said. He turned his back and started walking away. “It’s a beautiful night, isn’t it, William? The moon sure is full. Oh, look! There’s the Big Dipper!”

  I felt sorry for William. He just wanted someone to hang out with, someone to talk to. He needed company. Just as when they were alive, ghosts needed companions. That is why many ghosts formed groups. There was room in our little group for one more. Edgar could probably use another male. He was the only male out of a group of four spirits. Camille took Edgar’s hand and dragged him away to talk to him in private. I’m sure she was trying to convince Edgar into letting William stay. She must have won, because she was smiling wide when she came back to Whitney and me.

  “William can stay,” she said excitedly.

  Edgar went after William. He didn’t have to go too far.

  “Mr. William Stanford. You can stay with us on one condition: You are not to make any moves on Camille. She is with me. Is that clear?” he shouted out to William who was now ten feet away.

  “Yes, crystal,” he said, walking toward us. “You thought I was after your girl. Don’t worry, I won’t try to steal her from you”

  “Thank you, Mr. Stanford. By the way, she is a woman, not a girl,” Edgar corrected him. “Let me introduce you to Ms. Whitney and Ms. Savannah Montgomery. This is Camille. I am Edgar. I apologize. I treated you a little harshly.”

  Edgar, you were more than a little harsh, I thought.

  “Yes, we definitely started off on the wrong foot. Thank you for the apology, I’m sorry for any trouble I’ve caused” William said.

  “It's all right. We’ll put it behind us,” Edgar said. “Savannah and William, we are pleased to have you both in our group. You two are wonderful additions to our family.”

  Camille and Whitney nodded in agreement. They were pleased with the new additions to their group.

  It felt good to officially be part of the group. It really meant a lot to me. I had a new family. If I couldn’t be with my actual family, this was the next best thing. I was touched. I never asked to be part of their group, yet they took me in with open arms.

  “Wow, thank you so much. This really means a lot. Thank you for taking me into your group. It feels so good to have a family again,” I said.

  “We are blessed to have two new members. Shall we be on our way? ” Edgar asked.

  We were soon on our way to wherever it was that Edgar wanted to talk to other spirits. William walked arm in arm with Whitney and me. All at once as we were walking, and William let go of Whitney and I. I didn’t know what he was up to. I would have said something, but I didn’t know him well. He took off into the darkness. I turned to Whitney and she shrugged her shoulders.

  “I wonder what that was about?” she asked.

  “Maybe he didn’t want to be in our group after all,” I said.

  Out of nowhere, William flew over us singing “Fly Me to the Moon” by Frank Sinatra. William had startled us at first, but then we started to laugh. He came back down to earth. He was hovering above the ground, sitting Indian style.

  “Come on, Savannah,” William said, grabbing my hand.

  “What are you doing?”

  “Don’t you want to fly? Walking is boring. In the words of Old Blue Eyes, ‘Come fly with me,’” he said.

  “Savannah, go with him. It’s quite an experience,” Whitney said.

  “What about Edgar and Camille?” I asked.

  “They won’t mind,” she said. “Go on”

  With that, William and I were soaring through the air. At one point a bird flew right through me. It startled me. William began to laugh. It took a while for me to regain composure. That bird came out of nowhere. The French countryside spread out below us. I saw other spirits down below and people from time to time. I flew up above the clouds. I felt like Jasmine in Aladdin when she and Aladdin took that magic carpet ride, only I had no magic carpet and I was with a ghost, not a prince. Hey, beggars can’t be choosers.

  “William, this is amazing. It’s so beautiful and peaceful up here,” I said.

  “It is,” he responded.

  I began to wonder if he brought me up here because he was in love with me. I really hoped that was not the case. I would hate to break his heart. I wanted to ask, but I was afraid. I’d try asking him as discreetly as possible.

  “So, do you bring all the women you meet up here, flying above the clouds?” I asked. He caught on right away. Thank God, because things could have gotten mucho awkward.

  “If you’re wondering, no, I’m not in love with you. I invited you because I thought it was something you should experience. You’re not in love with me, are you?” he asked.

  “No,” I said. “We are friends though, right?”

  “Yes,” he said. “We’re friends.”

  Well, that was a relief. Not that William was a bad guy by any means. I was just not interested in him in a romantic way. I felt better now. I would be able to enjoy the evening. “Let’s go to the ocean. It will be beautiful,” he said.

  “Aren’t we a little far?” I asked.

  “We’ll get there fast,” he said. “We’re ghosts, remember?” How could I forget?

  William was right. We did make it to the ocean rather quickly. It was kind of nice to get to places faster. It would have come in handy on those days I was running late for class. The ocean was calm and peaceful tonight. The horns from passing freighter ships sounded. We found a lighthouse and flew up to it. We sat at the top and just looked out at the sea. It reminded me of that scene in the movie Casper, the one with Christina Ricci, in which Kat and Casper are sitting on the lighthouse talking about Casper’s past. I was glad I could remember my past. I couldn’t imagine not having any m
emories from when I was alive. It would probably happen to me over time. I shuddered thinking about it. I needed to focus on something else, like how beautiful the ocean was tonight, so calm and peaceful.

  “Wow, this is beautiful,” I said. “The water is so calm tonight.”

  “It is very calm. You should see it during storms,” he said.

  “You come up here when it storms?” I asked, shocked.

  Who likes to watch storms? I know. People who are interested in the weather, duh! I could be so stupid sometimes. Well, this blonde moment was brought to you by me, Savannah. Why that didn’t occur to me earlier is a mystery. I hoped William didn’t think I was dumb.

  “Yeah,” he said, “It’s amazing to see how powerful Mother Nature can be. I’ve always been fascinated by weather. Plus, I can’t get hurt watching them,” he said.

  “That’s true. You can chase storms all you want now, and never worry”

  “Exactly,” he said.

  Ch. 25

  As we sat talking, we heard noises from down below. It sounded like people talking and putting together equipment of some kind. We were curious; so we flew down to see what was going on. We found a van. It was just a nondescript white van, nothing special. Since everyone was by the front door of the lighthouse, William and I decided to take a peak at what was in the van. We were sorry we did.

  “Are these people what I think they are?” William asked.

  “If you mean ‘ghost hunters,’ you’re right,” I said. Shit, we were so screwed.

  “Great. We were having a good time, too,” William said. “I wonder who the idiot is who caused them to come investigate.”

  “I believe I’m your idiot,” said a cranky old man.

  “Well, thanks, grandpa. Now we could get exposed,” William said.

  Wow, William. Did you really have to be so rude to him? Way to make a first impression.

  “I’ll have you know it was an accident. I don’t mean to mean to knock stuff over all the time. I was hoping the lighthouse keeper and his wife would blame it on the cat. But no, they had to call in paranormal experts to find out what’s going on,” he said. “Paranormal experts, my ass!”