The Ghost I Had Come To See

 

 

Ding.

The elevator reached the second floor. When I stepped out of it, planning to head to the chapel, I noticed that some people were watching me.

Sort of.

Standing directly in front of me were two hospital security guards holding tablet gizmos. The men were gazing at security camera footage of a familiar scene. It was me and the nurse from the first floor having our “Lost and Found” box tug of war. Apparently, I was a fugitive from justice. I had to fight laughing when the video showed the box ripping, and hats and gloves and the puzzle book, the whole shebang, flying everywhere.

If I giggled or made any movement at all, the guards would probably glance up from their tablets and notice me standing in front of them. What to do?

I froze against the wall and put on the glasses.

The guards’ auras were a harsh crimson and green. They looked like hunters tracking a deer. And I was cute little Bambi!

The Neck Tattoo Guard pointed at his tablet, which now displayed footage from a second security camera, showing me pressing an elevator floor button a dozen times, after I jumped inside the car.

“Suspect steals the crossword puzzle book, sees we’re coming, runs to the elevators to avoid apprehension, and presses five. Looks like five.”

Neck Tattoo’s partner, Muscle Guy Guard, nodded. “Five it is!” With that, they both looked up, directly at me. Neck Tattoo’s eyes narrowed. “Hey, wait a minute!”

The whole “deer in the headlights” thing is true. I wanted to run, but I couldn’t move my legs. I stood there like a dummy as I waited to get busted. The guards reached for me, but then a row of overhead lights exploded. Shattered bits of glass rained down on the men, but not on me.

That was when things turned spooky.

POP-POP-POP!

A bunch of helium “get well” balloons a man was holding popped like gunfire.

CLANG-CLANG-CLANG!

The elevator doors banged open and shut like jaws on a shiny metal monster.

WHAM-CRASH-SMASH!

Six empty wheelchairs, moving on their own, slammed into the guards.

“Ow! What’s going on here? An earthquake?” Neck Tattoo shouted.

I wanted to tell them it was actually a supernatural event, and that in the past ten days I had seen ghosts, dead people, a doppelganger, crows, omens, wolves, and lots of spooky things. Instead of speaking up, I watched the possessed wheelchairs chase the guards down the hall. It was hilarious, watching grown men run from empty wheelchairs.

I ran in the opposite direction.

Hot-stepping it down the hall, I again spotted the painted quote above the chapel’s door. “We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” Yesterday, I didn’t understand it. Today, the message was starting to become a little bit clearer.

I went inside the chapel, hoping to find a ghost. I saw Tabitha instead.

She was seated by herself, near the candles. Dancing light flickered across her face. Her eyes were closed in prayer. I got a clear sense she did not know I was watching her pray aloud, like she had done in her bedroom during my first night in Pennsylvania.

“Dear Mom in heaven,” Tabitha said. “If you can hear me, I desperately need your help. Mac’s in big trouble, Mom. He’s hurt bad, really bad, and he’s getting worse. You always knew the right words to say and the best medicines to give us. So I need you to show up and help heal Mac. I tried to look after him since you died, but now I’ve screwed everything up. And I’m so scared he’s going to die. I wouldn’t be able to take it. I still can’t believe I lost you, Mom. I can’t lose Mac, too.”

She sniffled and wept, and her voice stuttered.

“Mom? I know that I disappointed you sometimes. Well, quite often, actually.” Tabitha paused, like she was searching for the right words. “And now it’s too late to tell you how sorry I am. I wish I had been nicer to you, and I wish I had not caused so much trouble. But I need you to know I miss you, Mom. I miss you every hour of every day. Please come to this hospital and help Mac. I love you, Mom. Amen.”

Tabitha stood, and walked over to the table with candles. She sighed a long, exasperated sigh, and then lit a candle.

She still didn’t see me.

But I saw someone else. The ghost I had come to see was suddenly standing next to Tabitha, as if she had heard her daughter’s prayer. Sandra Morton, Mac and Tabitha’s ghost mother. I could smell her lavender perfume.

Tabitha had prayed to her dead mother in heaven, but now her mom was just inches away, giving her a sideways hug. It was beautiful. And incredibly sad. I was the only girl in the chapel who could see ghosts, thanks to the freaky sunglasses.

I thought about telling Tabitha her mom was with her. I thought again. Tabitha would say I was lying. She might even wallop me.

So, instead of getting into another fight, I slipped unseen out of the chapel. In the hallway, I got a text from my mom.

 

Come to Mac’s room. NOW.