The Clearpoint complex was a remarkable piece of gentrification among the old buildings of brick-and-mortar that made up most of downtown. Many stood two stories, some three, a few even more, while this building stood among the very few tallest at ten stories. This place was located perhaps in the perfect spot. Being on the main street, across the bridge that led to the West Side, by the only grocery store in the area, and next to Municipal Lake and park, everything was close. There was even a ramen shop on the bottom floor.
Rachael did remember this building. However, the last time she was in Darkess, over the years, in fact, this was nothing more than a dilapidated structure that was once a hotel from decades back. Guess they finally did something with it.
Being here now, Rachael realized that she did not know which floor or unit her brother lived on and in. She texted Andy, [What number is your condo?]
The response was rather quick, indicating, [#303], followed by another text, [You’re a lot earlier than you said. It’s only six.]
She responded, [The meeting with the publisher was short.] [Hope that’s not a problem.]
[I’m not home], he explained. [But it should be fine.] [Actually, I might be a little late getting home. Let Olive know.] [Thanks.]
Rachael wondered why she needed to be the messenger when he could as easily text his wife. But time was not wasted by getting annoyed and arguing since doing as asked was just as easy for her. She just responded with a [Sure.]
Now having the information, her phone was put away and she approached the switchboard by the entrance door. The three-zero-three button, when pressed, rang like a modulated buzzer.
The communication channel linked with a slight static and a woman, Olivia, answered with a simple question, “Hello?”
“Hey,” Rachael started, “It’s Andy’s sister. I hope he mentioned I was coming over.”
“Oh, Rachael,” Olivia was aware. “Yeah, he said you were. I’ll buzz the door. But he’s not home yet.”
“I know,” Rachael remarked. “I was just texting with him, and he said he was going to be late tonight.”
“Another busy day at work,” Olivia could not help from commenting. “Alright, I’m getting the door.”
A similar buzz let know that the door was unlocked for the moment and Rachael went into the building. The small lobby had little style to impress, just a foggy blue and beige rug and a couple of hanging light fixtures, along with a couple of amenities, the mail cubbies, and a bench for sitting. Minimalism was the modern design. Right next to the front entrance was a door that led to the management office. On the far end were the elevator and a stairwell.
Rachael took the elevator to the third floor. The hall was as minimalistic as the lobby having the same carpet and lighting, but also having windows at each end. There were six units per level making the search for a particular condo easy. She made her way to three-zero-three, knocked, and was received right away.
On the other side of the opened door was who else but Olivia. She was a beautiful brunette with beautiful brown skin and striking brown eyes emphasized by sharp eyebrows. She smiled brightly while she spoke, “Rachael? Nice to meet you. I’m Olivia.”
“Thanks for having me,” Rachael showed gratitude.
“You don’t have any stuff with you?” Olivia wondered when seeing Rachael with only a camera and the clothes on her back.
“I left everything in my car,” Rachael explained. “I didn’t know if I should bring it up or not seeing as I’m only going to be here pretty much just at night, and I’ll be leaving early the day after tomorrow.”
“No shower?” Olivia earnestly questioned. “No changing of clothes? During your whole stay?”
“I guess I could do both of those,” Rachael seemed to have just realized. “I’m so used to backpacking and living in the wilderness, I barely remember those are options once I’m back in society.”
“Andrew did mention you were an avid traveler,” Olivia recalled. “Must be fun getting to see so much of the world.”
Before Rachael could answer the question, she felt curiously compelled by “Andrew? Sounds so weird hearing his name said like that.”
“Does it?” Olivia pondered. “I got to know him as Andrew before Andy, so that’s what sounds the most normal. But I did notice all his friends do call him Andy.”
“I wonder when he started using his full name?” Rachael began to think for no real reason.
Olivia answered, “I had to ask him that myself once. He said it looked better on resumés.”
“That’s all?” Seemed too simple an explanation. “But that makes sense. No matter how immature he can act, he’s smart enough to know when to be responsible. He was smart enough to choose an office job over chasing a dream like I did. There’s always a warm place to sleep. Food is freshly cooked. And he probably isn’t that alone most of the time.”
Olivia heard what Rachael had to say but what was seen in Rachael’s elated expression told something different that was brought to attention, “Sounds like you love what you do.”
Rachael smiled even wider than she had been without realizing it. “Absolutely.”
“You know,” Olivia could not help but say, “No matter how difficult life gets, I’ve never heard a person actually regret chasing their dreams, even if they failed. The only people that complain are the ones that never even try.”
“What about you?” Rachael asked. “Are you living your dream?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia said right away. Then she had to clarify, “Well, I wouldn’t know where to begin. My job is whatever. I don’t love it. I don’t hate it. It pays well, and I could do it for the rest of my life. This city is whatever, and I could say the same. The thing is, I don’t know what else I would do or where else I would go if given the chance. I really don’t want anything more. I have a comfortable life, and I’m married to a wonderful man, and we’ll eventually sell this place to buy a house in a few years and have some kids. So, I’m content with my life. Maybe I am living my dream?”
“I believe you are,” Rachael acknowledged. “I like to think of success as either achieving everything you want or achieving nothing at all. The nothing, by the way, is not a bad thing. It’s like living life like a monk. There is no grand objective, and you can be at peace not needing to chase something. Instead, you settle in life. And, again, settle is not a bad thing.”
“I like how you describe it.” Olivia felt comforted. “I’m guessing you’re trying to achieve everything then?”
“I already did,” Rachael bragged. “Now the rest is … what’s the phrase? Cake? Dessert? In any case, there’s nothing more that I want to achieve.”
“You already reached your dreams, and you’re not even thirty,” Olivia was impressed.
“You got married, and you’re a couple of years younger than me,” Rachael compared. “How is being married to my brother by the way?”
“The greatest,” Olivia expressed. “I want to be with him for the rest of my life.”
“That’s what marriage is for,” Rachael pointed out before saying more seriously, “You two will be.” Then her superstitious side had her critique, “And say, ‘I will be with him for the rest of my life,’ instead. Words have a certain power, whether you believe it or not.”
“Being certain with what I say makes certain it comes true,” Olivia understood what Rachael was getting at.
Rachael felt surprised at first followed by quickly being discouraged. “That’s exactly right. I should have assumed you would know. It’s common knowledge nowadays. Every self-help book and internet psychologist give this lesson at least once. And I’m just over here being that weird nag.”
“I’m not going to argue that everybody that’s trying to give life lessons has said this,” Olivia playfully teased. “And I’m not going to argue that you were just now being one of those people. But I learned the lesson back during my edgy high school days.”
Rachael was surprised once again but this time became excited with curiosity, “Were you into Wicca?”
“I was,” Olivia admitted. “But weren’t we all? Your brother brought a few stories up about you. Kind of why I’m mentioning it now.”
“I guess you’re not wrong,” Rachael recognized. “However, it wasn’t just a phase for me. I’m still very much a Witch.”
“Like you cast spells and believe in crystals?”
“Depends on the crystal.” Rachael had to assert immediately as she pointed with both hands in akimbo, then clarified, clenching fists to her chest as she hoped to get her point across, “Now, very importantly, modern medicine works far better than any home remedies or incantations. Whenever I say I’m a Witch, I get the ‘oh, you’re an anti-vaxxer’ look. I’m not. Vaccines are necessary. Magic and science can co-exist …” she waited to get confirmation.
Olivia was respectfully listening, smile on her face, and head nodding along.
“I don’t cast many spells,” Rachael explained. “I don’t know if Andy mentioned our friend Emily. Emily is more into Spell Craft. I’m more about performing rituals.”
Huh. Olivia seemed interested in this talk, her wide-eyed expression a clear sign. It was like she was being brought back to the days when she was younger. She could not hold back her reignited interest, “Could we perform a ritual then?”
“You would really want to perform a ritual?” Rachael did not expect the request.
“I think this would be something fun to do while we wait for Andrew to get back from work,” Olivia said. “Honestly, I always loved the craft. But I didn’t have any friends when I was in high school. Actually, I was made fun of for being the weird girl. That’s probably why I stopped once I grew up. I’m actually feeling kind of sad realizing I lost my passion because of what others said and did. But I’m also kind of happy now because this is something I would have wanted to do with other girls.” She wiped the wetness from her eye.
“Okay then,” Rachael could not agree fast enough. “I know a few simple ones that are guaranteed to work and won’t be dangerous.”
Andy sat at his desk, finishing up the final labors on his computer so he could go home. He should have been done on time as always, remarkable at time management. However, ever since lunch, every so often, he would find himself idle in his chair.
He could not help wondering why his sister was still so obsessed with spirits, and even more so, her fascination with conducting supernatural rituals. It made sense when they were kids. He himself had indulged in the fantasy after all. And even still loving such things was not a problem. But truly believing in them now as adults seemed thoughtless. That would be like believing quicksand was a real danger. Obviously, as kids, such a hazard was exaggerated and was believed to affect everybody at least once when, in fact, it probably would never be an issue. Then again, maybe that was just his own problem. The world did still very much love and believe in magic, no matter how many people would say otherwise.
A recollection came. There was a documentary drama that Olivia had shown interest in a month back that the two of them watched together. What started out as a true crime series soon became something more supernatural. Out of curiosity, he procrastinated a bit to look up what the show was. Then he procrastinated a bit more to look up the ritual that was mentioned in the series. He discovered ‘The Elevator Game.’ He read the rules and the payoff and was left wondering why.
Back to work, he put in his final lines of code for the day and gave a sigh of relief. Now he could leave. Closing up his cubical and shutting down his computer, he clocked out a little later than he usually would have.
In the elevator, about to be heading down, Andy thought back to the ritual he had looked up online. A part of him wanted to try it. He decided against the idea. He was already late, and he did not want to be even later by doing something that he did not believe in.
He pressed the button for the ground floor and reach the level shortly. He got to his car and was able to leave without traffic since most workers from around the area had already left. The drive to get home was no more than five minutes since he both lived and worked downtown.
In the lobby of the Clearpoint complex, standing before another elevator, Andy was given a second chance. He stepped into the metal lift alone. This was how it should be when starting the ritual. His finger hovered over the number three button. If he was to play ‘The Elevator Game,’ the first button to press would be the number four. After waiting half a minute, his curiosity got the better of him and he decided to try. If anybody got on with him while he was making the attempt, then he would end things there and stop getting distracted.
He pressed floor four. His immediate thought was how absurd he was being. But that was not actually out of character.
The complete sequence of floors went four, two, six, two, ten, five which he had easily remembered. Once reaching the fourth floor, he then pushed the second. From the second, he pushed the sixth, reached the floor, and went back to the second. Nobody had yet to interrupt his attempt, and he wondered if he really was going to complete the full ritual. He wondered if he really would end up in a different dimension. Probably not. But when he told his sister what he had done, she would be amused at least.
Upon reaching the second floor for the second time, Andy had his first odd experience. The doors opened quieter than the other times before. A certain type of silence seemed to enter from the other side. He became acutely aware of the noises he made, his breathing and the brushing of fabric as he moved the slightest bit. As he listened, he thought that he might be hearing something more, someone else. There might have been a voice coming from outside the elevator. What was said was undeterminable. He leaned out and looked down both sides of the hall. There was nobody there. The sounds must have been a fabrication from paranoia since he was beginning to feel unsettled the more he continued.
He continued even still, pressing the tenth-floor button and ascended. The doors opened to nobody. He pressed the fifth-floor button and descended. This time, the doors opened and there stood an old woman. He vaguely remembered the warning from the ritual that a person might enter at this point, but he was not that concerned. Though her face was hidden beneath the wide brim of her hat, he recognized her as Miss Claudrie from the fifth floor. They would talk sometimes in passing. This time, however, they did not speak as she got on. That was odd since she was a talker.
Andy decided that the experiment was over. He had said from the beginning that if someone was to join him then he would stop. That just happened. So, instead of pressing the button for the tenth floor, the one he should press to complete the ritual, he pressed the button for the third, the one he lived on. They descended without issue and the doors slid open to nothing unordinary.
As Andy got off, the woman warned, “You did it wrong.”
“What ritual are we going to do?” Olivia excitedly asked.
“I was thinking ‘The Picture Game,’” Rachael recommended. “That is if we have everything.”
“What do we need?” Olivia was eager to begin.
Rachael listed, “Two small mirrors. Enough string to make a circle big enough for the two of us to sit around, the type doesn’t need to be that specific. Scissors or a knife. A camera which I have. A glass cup. And something to drink, preferably alcohol.”
“So, this is a drinking game as well?’ Olivia joked.
“We won’t actually be drinking any of it,” Rachael informed. “Just choose something you don’t mind wasting.”
“I want the best outcome for this,” Olivia proclaimed, “so I don’t mind using some of the wine I have in the fridge.”
“You shouldn’t waste your wine if you don’t want to,” Rachael kindly discouraged. “Not like we can set things up perfectly, to begin with. The rules actually recommend playing sometime after midnight. Though, it shouldn’t be a problem since you have me, a conduit for the spooky and scary stuff. But what I’m getting at is not to worry about the small details.”
“I wouldn’t consider my wine wasted,” Olivia assured. “All I want is the most authentic experience. You were the one that said alcohol was preferred. And even if nothing happens, I’ll be okay with it.”
“Then let’s get the stuff and I’ll start setting things up,” Rachael readied.
Olivia went around the house gathering what was needed. Two mirrors and scissors were brought over and placed aside since they had no use as of yet. The string found to make the circle was a basic sewing thread. Far from the best because of how thin. In most cases, the boundary would barely be able to contain a spirit long enough for this ritual. However, with Rachael being involved, it should work. Olivia also grabbed a wine glass half filled with the dark drink. That was everything.
Rachael had busied herself by moving the coffee table in the living room to open a space where the two of them could conduct the ritual. The circle was made from the string and placed on the floor, the cup of wine was placed in the center, and the two mirrors were placed in front of where each of them would sit. All that was left to do was darken the room and take their seats.
“Alright,” Rachael called attention, “let’s turn off the lights,” which Olivia went to do, “and close the blinds,” which Rachael did.
The lights were completely out. Both had to cautiously walk back to the area blindly, able to find their way without a problem. They sat, outside the circle, across from one another, though, they could not actually see each other. Only the paranoid feeling of eyes upon them let know they were looking at one another, hopefully. Who knows what had already entered the shadows?
“I have goosebumps,” Olivia could not help but voice excitedly.
“That’s a good sign that there is already a ghost among us,” Rachael detailed.
“Holy shit,” Olivia could not contain her excitement and fear.
“I will be our guide for this ritual,” Rachael calmly continued. “Now, let’s close our eyes and keep them closed. Then let’s take each other’s hands.” They did. “What’s important now is declaring our trust in each other. Not at the same time. I’ll go first. I trust you, Olivia. I trust you. Your turn.”
“I trust you, Rachael,” Olivia announced with a shaky voice. “I’m getting anxious, but I trust you will make sure everything goes right.”
“Good,” Rachael praised. “Now, together … I probably should have told you the line before we started the ritual. But that’s okay. Just repeat with me. ‘The …’”
“The …” Olivia repeated with increased stress in her voice.
“Door …” Rachael gave the next word.
“Door …” Olivia followed.
Together they finished, “Has … opened; please … come … in.”
“Now open your eyes,” Rachael instructed, and Olivia did, seeing only blackness. “I will pass the camera to you, and you will take a picture of me. Make sure to say, ‘I capture you,’ as you press the button.”
The camera was passed over and Olivia did, hesitating for a split second out of fear of what might appear in front of her. “I capture you.” The flash illuminated the room for just a moment.
“Please pass the camera to me,” which it was, and Rachael took a picture of Olivia. “I capture you.” The flash illuminated the room again.
Two more times, the camera was passed back and forth, the words were spoken, and the camera flashed.
“It is time we end the ritual,” Rachael said. “Say this with me, three times …”
“It … is … time … to … go … home … now. It is time to go home now. It is time to go home now.”
Rachael stood up at this point and turned on the lights.
“We’re done?” Olivia seemed both relieved and unimpressed.
“Almost,” Rachael comforted. “Hey, that’s a good sign the ritual worked.” She pointed at the mirrors that had been sitting in front of each of them. Originally, they had been placed with the reflective side facing up toward the ceiling. Now …
“Those weren’t turned over when we started!” Olivia declared her shock.
“They weren’t,” Rachael assured. “And now they are. They got flipped over by the spirit sometime during the ritual.”
“You didn’t flip it, did you?” Olivia seemed to want a rational answer, regardless if it was honest or not, regardless if it ruined the mystique.
“I didn’t,” Rachael promised even though her answer was the opposite of what was wanted, but the magic was maintained. “But before we talk more about this, could you cut the string?”
Olivia quickly did as she was instructed. Rachael then picked up the glass of wine and dumped the contents over a patch of dirt, the dirt of a potted plant that was in the room.
“We are officially done,” Rachael proclaimed. “Want to see the pictures we took?”
“I don’t know,” Olivia was hesitant to have her world altered.
Rachael took the time to examine what they had captured. “These are some good results for how poorly executed things ended up being.” She offered the camera over to show.
Olivia was slow to approach in her apprehension while she craned her neck with dangerous curiosity. She was soon close enough to see what was on the screen. The first picture was enough to enrapture her.
The image was of Rachael who could only be distinguishable by her red hair. That was because the flash had illuminated her face to the point that all her features were imperceivable beyond the white. She seemed to be nothing more than a faceless entity. The background was partly illuminated and had an unsettling distortion. Things seemed to be emerging from the shadows.
Rachael pressed the next button every few seconds to share the following images which were each similar.
“Wow,” Olivia was impressed by the simplest evidence. “I can’t wait to show these to Andrew.”
“Not like he’ll believe them,” Rachael expected, then realized, “You know, Andy is really late.”
That was when the door to the condo opened. There stood Andy.
“We were literally talking about where you were,” Olivia said to him.
“I just got caught up in the elevator by Miss Claudrie,” Andy gave his excuse.
“She is a chatterbox,” Olivia remarked.
“Sure is,” Andy agreed even though that had not been the case this time. “So, what have you two been doing while you waited?”
“Check out these pictures we ended up taking,” Olivia answered through her actions, taking the camera over, and showing off the haunting imagery.
“Looks like unremarkable blobs,” Andy criticized as delicately as possible. “Just like the ones Rachael tried to show me earlier today. I told her her camera’s just broken.” The following humor was directed to Rachael, “Are you trying to turn my wife into a believer?”
“Is that a bad thing?” Rachael challenged.
“I’d still love her, so I guess not,” Andy admitted. He looked to Olivia, “I want to hear all about your experience.”