“Your mother sounds like an amazing woman.”
“She is. That’s why I can’t leave her. She loves me more than anything, and I love her. I have some really great friends, too.”
“The ones at the battlefield?” Benjamin asked.
“Yes,” Mia answered. “It seems so long ago now since that first night that you were there.”
“Time is a fickle thing,” Benjamin said, laughing. “After wandering around for well over a century, it seems like only yesterday to me. You were so beautiful that I was entranced.”
Mia smiled. “I’m glad you were. Otherwise, I would’ve had one nasty fall down that tower.”
“Who knows? Maybe fate will bring us together again,” Benjamin said optimistically.
“I hope so,” Mia whispered.
They talked and laughed until the late afternoon sun dipped below the tree line. For Benjamin, it was the perfect day. He had cherished every word she spoke, every smile, every touch.
“It’s just about time for you to return to your world,” he said. “Remember what I said. Think about the day that you first jumped through the portal. Try to return during daylight hours. Your car should still be there. Whatever you do, run to your car and leave immediately. Promise me, Mia.”
“I promise,” she whispered.
Benjamin took her hand in his to draw her attention to him. “Don’t look for me. Don’t think of me. Get in your car and go home.”
Mia squeezed his hand and nodded.
“Could we stop by the hotel before we go?” she asked. “I know you would like to check on your father, and I would like to see him, Matt, and Emily one last time. I want to thank them for being so kind to me.”
“Of course,” Benjamin agreed.
He stood and helped her up. He took two carrots out of the picnic basket and held them out to Mia. “I thought you might want to give the horses a treat.”
Mia took the carrots and smiled. “I would love to.”
Benjamin packed up the picnic items and stored them in his saddlebag.
Mia walked over to Buttercup and Thunder, who were lazily nibbling clumps of grass, and held the carrots out to them. They each took one and crunched it with their massive jaws.
Benjamin assisted Mia onto Buttercup’s back, and then mounted Thunder. They took their time heading back to the stables, knowing that it signaled the end of their last day together.
Abram greeted them as they entered the house, and he went down to the stables to put up the horses. Then, he pulled the carriage around to the front of the house, where Benjamin and Mia were waiting.
“Abram, would you please take us to the hotel?” Benjamin asked.
“Yessir, Mr. Benjamin,” Abram agreed.
Benjamin helped Mia into the carriage, and then entered himself and sat across from her.
A short while later, they exited the carriage in front of the hotel. Benjamin offered her his arm as he guided her to the makeshift hospital.
He spotted his father across the room engaged in conversation with Wesley. A flurry of activity buzzed around them. Benjamin rushed to his father’s side. “What’s going on, Father?”
“More wounded soldiers have just arrived,” he announced. “We must make room for them and sort them based on their wounds.”
Mia helped a young man with a shattered arm to the right side of the room.
Wesley assisted a soldier, still clutching his gun. He triaged the soldier, noting that his head wound dictated that he be moved to the left side of the room. The soldier screamed in agony.
Benjamin assisted a middle-aged gentleman with a leg wound to the right side of the room and met up with Mia. “Mia, we must be going soon.”
She nodded.
A scream erupted from the left side of the room. The soldier with the head wound was pushing Wesley away. He pointed and screamed, “She’s a spy!”
Benjamin followed the soldier’s gaze, which led to Mia. “She’s not a spy,” Benjamin called to the soldier. “She’s here to help you.”
“She’s a spy,” he screamed, while clutching his head. “She’s the reason we were ambushed.”
Mia’s mouth dropped open. “No, I promise you,” she spoke calmly, “I’m not a spy. I’m only here to help.”
“Traitor!” he yelled. He raised the muzzle and fired, a thick puff of black smoke spewing from his rifle, the deafening explosion reverberating throughout the ballroom. Wesley grabbed the gun from his hands, but it was too late to prevent the whirling bullet from rocketing toward its target.
A sickening dread assaulted Benjamin’s veins. He knew all too well the damage that a Minie ball could cause. Visions of the battlefield flashed in his mind. Screams. Chaos. He leapt in front of Mia, pushing her behind him as he scrambled to protect her from the bullet. They toppled backwards over soldiers who were lying nearby and landed with a soft thud.
He rolled his body towards her, searching for her face, his eyes wild with fear. “Mia, are you okay?” he asked frantically.
Shaken, Mia nodded as she rose to her feet and gathered her wits. “Yes, I’m fine,” she whispered.
She moved to help Benjamin to his feet. He tried to keep the pain from showing on his face as he rose, strategically moving his hand to hide the wound in his stomach from sight.
He watched her face and knew the moment that she realized what had happened.
“Benjamin?” she shrieked. “Benjamin, you’re bleeding.”
“It’s okay, Mia. You have to get to the portal,” Benjamin urged. He collapsed to his knees.
“I’m not leaving you.”
He fell back onto the marble floor as Matthew reached him and dropped to his knees.
“Matthew, get her out of here,” Benjamin pleaded weakly.
“No,” Mia said, her voice filled with determination. “I’ll not go.”
Benjamin’s father and Wesley rushed to his side.
“Hold on, Benjamin. I’ll get Dr. Camp. Don’t leave me, son,” his father begged.
“I love you, Father.”
“I love you, Benjamin. You hold on. I’ll get the doctor.” His father scrambled through the room, dodging the wounded and yelling for Dr. Camp.
“Matthew,” Benjamin called. “You have to get her to the portal. Promise me that you will see her to the portal safely and that you will make sure she enters it. Abram’s out front with the carriage.”
“I promise,” Matthew said.
Benjamin nodded his thanks as he gritted his teeth against the pain ripping through his abdomen.
Benjamin looked at Mia, tears streaming down her face. He raised his hand and wiped away her tears with his thumb. “Please don’t cry. I can’t bear to see you unhappy.”
“This is my fault,” she whispered as she hovered over him on her knees. “I did this to you. I wanted to come here.”
“No, Mia,” he whispered. “It’s not your fault.”
“Yes, it is.”
He could see the pain in her face. “It’s not your fault,” he said again, wiping away a new wave of tears before his hand fell to his side.
“Please hold on, Benjamin,” she begged. “The doctor will be here in a minute.”
Benjamin felt the pain go numb. He had done this so many times already that he had no doubt he would die soon.
“Mia,” Benjamin whispered, his voice weak. He reached up and caressed her cheek. “You were worth waiting for.”
She took his face in her palms. “No, Benjamin, don’t leave me,” she cried.
He wanted to say more, but his strength was slipping away. He took a folded piece of paper from his pocket. The room was growing dark. It wouldn’t be long now.
“Benjamin!” she screamed. “Benjamin! Please don’t leave me. Please, Benjamin!”
She sunk to the ground beside him, sobbing violently. “Don’t leave me,” she whispered in agony.
She placed tiny kisses along his forehead. “Please forgive me, Benjamin.”
“Shhh,” he
whispered to her, trying to focus on her face, wanting desperately to take her in his arms and soothe her. “Please don’t cry. I’ll be fine.”
“Benjamin, don’t leave me,” she begged, smoothing his hair away from his forehead.
He reached for her hand. “My precious Mia.”
“You were right, Benjamin. We are soul mates,” she whispered.
He squeezed her hand, a small smile playing on his lips. “I know,” he whispered as darkness threatened to engulf him.
“No!” she screamed. “Please, Benjamin!” She rocked back and forth as she touched his face. “I’m so sorry. Please forgive me.”
He made no sound.
“Benjamin!” she wailed, praying that he would hear her. “I promise you that I will make this right. I promise you that I’ll come back for you, Benjamin.”
With the last bit of his strength, he placed the paper in her palm and squeezed her hand. Then, death claimed him.
***
“Come, Mia,” Matt urged. “We have to get you to the portal.”
Mia hugged Benjamin, begging him to come back to her. She looked up to see Mr. Richards, agony etched on his face, and Dr. Camp standing beside him.
Dr. Camp stooped down on his haunches beside Benjamin’s body and felt for a pulse. “He’s gone.”
Mia’s scream reverberated through the makeshift hospital. A cold emptiness enveloped her.
Matt tugged at her arm. “Come, Mia.”
Reluctantly, she took the folded paper and released Benjamin’s body.
“We must do as he has requested,” Matt said calmly. “We must get you home.”
Mia allowed Matt to lead her out of the hotel and into the carriage.
Grief engulfed her. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. She felt as if she were abandoning him.
She didn’t notice that they had arrived at the battlefield. The sun had surrendered to the horizon, and a bright, full moon drenched the field in eerie moonlight.
Matt helped Mia from the carriage.
“Are you ready?” he asked.
She nodded, tears still streaming down her face. “Thank you for everything that you’ve done for me, Matt.”
“You’re welcome, Mia.”
“Would you tell Mr. Richards, Wesley, Abby, and Emily that I said thank you and that I’m so sorry for…?”
“I will,” he promised, not waiting for her to say the words aloud.
“Come, Mia. I’m sure you’re eager to see your mother.”
She nodded her head, unable to speak, still clinging to the folded paper that Benjamin had slipped into her palm.
“Benjamin told me that Mr. Turner promised that no harm would come to you if you spoke your name. Benjamin trusted him, Mia. I’ll be right behind you in case you need me.”
“Thank you, Matt,” Mia said, taking a deep breath. She carefully lifted her skirts and slowly began walking to the area where the portal should be. They had planned for her to go to her room at the hotel and change into her own clothing before returning home, but things had changed. She hoped the gatekeeper wouldn’t chase her. She had no chance of escaping with those long skirts weighing her down and slowing her pace.
As much as she had wanted to return home, she had expected it to be difficult to leave Benjamin behind. But he was gone, and there was nothing to hold her to this place now.
She wanted to escape the misery of his death. She began to run to the portal. She longed to be back home to familiar surroundings and the comfort of her mother’s calm reasoning.
The familiar war cry screeched through the air, and she knew that the gatekeeper had her in his sights. She turned to see Matt a short distance behind her and felt comforted by his presence. A movement in the trees to her right caught her attention, and that’s when she saw it. She shivered, remembering what it had done to Benjamin.
The creature charged toward her and just when she was about to turn and run back in the direction from which she came, she hollered her name. “Mia Randall. I’m Mia Randall.”
The creature stopped. It stood silently, watching her, slowly moving towards her. It let out a cry, but this was not the shrill war cry she had heard a moment ago, but a cry of emotional pain.
It stopped a few feet away, holding its hand out to her, not in a threatening manner, but as if it wanted to touch her. That was when she saw it in the faint glow of the full moon. A tattoo was etched in its palm. She couldn’t tell if it was identical to Mr. Turner’s, but she knew it was at least similar.
What connection did Mr. Turner have with this creature? Somehow, she now knew that it would not harm her, just as Mr. Turner had promised.
The gatekeeper slowly backed away as it returned to its ghostly form, and she began moving toward the portal again, watching it carefully for any change in its stance.
When it remained still, she approached the portal and turned to see Matt directly behind her, his eyes watching the creature closely.
Matt looked at her, and she glanced at the gatekeeper, expecting it to charge after Matt at any moment. What she saw made her forget where she was and why. She stared, unable to believe what she was seeing.
“Mia!” Matt yelled.
Mia could vaguely hear him trying to penetrate the fog that had settled in her brain.
She stared at the gatekeeper again, wondering if her eyes were deceiving her. The gatekeeper had taken a human ghostly form, and though she could not remember seeing him in person, she knew her father’s face when she saw it.
“Mia!” Matt yelled. She glanced at him. “Remember the afternoon that you and Benjamin first came through the portal?”
Mia stared at him. Everything seemed confusing.
“Do you remember?” he yelled, shaking her.
“Yes, we were near Wilder Tow....”
Matt pushed her mid-sentence into the portal.
It happened so quickly that there was no time to be frightened. She found herself stumbling into the park, the sun beating down on her relentlessly. If it weren’t for the dress that she wore, which screamed of the nineteenth century, she may even question whether she had ever left.
She remembered what she had seen before Matt pushed her. Had she really seen her father’s face or was it some cruel vision? Perhaps like the brief visions that Kaylie Gaston’s father had of his grandfather.
She closed her eyes and shook her head, trying to clear the murky waters from her mind. She would have to dissect what had just happened later. Right now, she needed to focus.
She spotted Wilder Tower in the distance, lifted her skirts, and began to run toward it, knowing that her mother’s car should be parked nearby.
As she approached the tower from the rear, she moved around it toward the parking lot and saw her mother’s car waiting patiently as if the last six weeks of her life had never happened. She knew the keys would be under the floor mat exactly where she had left them.
At least she didn’t have to worry about her mother thinking she had disappeared. She was now at the point in time where it hadn’t happened yet.
She stopped to sit on the stone bench where she had waited for Benjamin in the past. She stared at the folded piece of paper.
Flashes of her time with Benjamin raced through her mind—walking through the gardens at the hotel, racing on horseback, helping the soldiers, holding him in her arms as he took his last breath.
She loved him.
Slowly, she unfolded the paper, her hands shaking with anticipation of his words. Tears slid down her cheeks as she desperately wished that he were alive and well.
When she opened the paper, it revealed a message in his neat script.
My dearest Mia,
If you are reading this, then I trust that you have returned home safely.
I know now why I spent so many years wandering aimlessly. I was looking for you. Know that I hold every moment that I spent with you as a precious memory.
Time is a fickle thing, but it cannot bind our love. You are the one for me
, and I will love you forever and always.
Your Soul Mate,
Benjamin
Mia took a deep breath, her vision blurred by her tears. She looked into the forest and whispered, “Benjamin, I promise you that we will be together again.”
A soft breeze rustled the leaves on the nearby trees, and the nape of her neck tingled.
“Forever and always.”
Note to Readers
I sincerely appreciate you reading Ghostly Encounter, and I hope you enjoyed Benjamin and Mia’s journey.
If you enjoyed their story, please consider leaving a review on Amazon.
Thank you for your support. It’s readers like you who are making my dreams come true.
Books
by
Suzannah Daniels
Young Adult
Ghostly Encounter (Ghostly Series-Book One)
Dangerous (Dangerous #1)
Devious (Dangerous #2)
Delirious (Dangerous #3) coming 2014
New Adult
Perfectly Able
Adult
Viking’s Embrace
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Suzannah Daniels has had an affinity for words for as long as she can remember. She grew up in North Georgia with four brothers, so she learned at an early age to admire snakes and motorcycles. When she wasn’t pestering her brothers, she could usually be found reading or writing.
Currently, she lives in Chattanooga, Tennessee with her husband and teenage daughter. Her son lives nearby. The family pets include a black Lab mix, a Basset Hound, a Shih Tzu, and a sweet, little kitty.
She loves to hear from her readers. Contact her:
Website: www.SuzannahDaniels.com
Email: [email protected]
You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
Ghostly Encounter (Ghostly #1) (Ghostly Series) Page 18