Solitude

 

Tablo reader up chevron

Prologue

Summer's shades of yellow, green and blue were beginning to fade into autumn’s shades of red, yellow and orange as the season ended. The hot summer air became the warm autumn air, decent enough to still wear a t shirt or a dress.

All of the schools had begun their New Year as well as colleges and universities. Unfortunately for twenty year old Emily Winchester, she had nothing to go back to. She had ended university about a year ago and was now job seeking. Every morning she would hear her younger sister getting ready for school and her older brother getting ready for work. Her mother getting up two hours before leaving to have a bath, do her hair and makeup and then wake up the kids, except for Emily. Her sleep would be disrupted every morning by the sounds of footsteps marching up and down the stairs, going in out of the bathroom which was next door to her small bedroom, and the door being slammed behind them as they leave.

Once the house was empty, Emily would be too wide awake to go back to sleep, so she would get up and begin her long, lonely day. Once every two weeks she would go to the job centre giving them proof that she had indeed searched for jobs. She absolutely hated being unemployed. She badly wanted to move out of the thin walled house.

The thing about Emily was, all of her friends had jobs so she could never see any of them. None of them had days except the weekends but Emily would go to visit her father who lived an hour away. She had considered going to live with him, however her father had a three year old who is up at seven every single morning so her sleep would be disrupted. Sleep was very important to her.

After Emily had finished her breakfast, had a shower, blow dried and straightened her medium length auburn brown hair and covering her eyes in natural coloured make up, she grabbed her ipod and made it out of the door. The air was warm enough to escape a walk without a jacket or coat.

She walked down the streets of Burntwood and made her way passed Erasmus Darwin Academy to take the path towards Chasewater Meadow (that she named herself since she didn't know its actual name). She changed the music from alternative rock to the soft sounds of ambience. She had a collection of ambient music from the soundtracks of animes, video games and movies to lighten the mood and make her inner emotions feel calm and drift away into the environment she was currently on.

Her converse shoes trampled over the moss of the meadow and followed the gravel path towards the bridge that led to Brownhills town. Up ahead she could see the pelican crossing. She pressed the button and waited at the lights.

After crossing the road, she turned right and made her way to the forest that made Emily gazed at its green features. This was her first ever visit to this particular forest. She would pass it on the way to her dad’s every so often and was curious to have a look. She could see the inside of the forest and the sunlight shining through the trees. Emily took the stairs and walked down towards the muddy path. She turned right and made her way through the damp wooden planks that formed a bridge over a small dirty river.

She could smell the forest's scent of pinecones and damp tree trunks which made her smile. She loved forests, they were awfully peaceful and elegant for her to walk through. The sounds of the cars were still passing through by the dual carriageway however the twittering of the birds made up for the disrupted noise.

The wooden bridge continued even after going over the river. It continued on for a while until Emily reached a set of stairs to her right. She continued straight on until she reached a weird shaped tree. The ground was covered with fallen leaves in the colours of autumn and there were large branches and twigs above them.

On this tree was a small golden plaque screwed into the trunk. Some flowers had been planted on the bottom of the tree and a few notes that were laminated and tied up against the tree with string. Emily ignored it after noticing that the tree was climbable. She walked over to the beginning of the climb and grasped onto the branches as hard as she could and pulled her body weight up. She continued to climb up and then sat on the branch that was at a decent height for her to have a look through the forest. After feeling relaxed enough, she closed her eyes and took a deep breath in to smell the air again. She could smell the leaves and the dampness of the tree trunks still. The music in her ears made the moment more meaningful. The sounds of wind instruments and piano keys made her body tense-less as her back began sinking into the trunk behind her.

When she opened her eyes, she saw someone standing by the flowers of the memorial part looking up at her. He was lanky with thick light brown hair that sat on top of his diamond shaped face. He was wearing a navy blue jacket, a green t shirt and black boot cut jeans. His saddened blue eyes looked at Emily. Her heart immediately jumped with surprise. She took out her earphones and paused her ipod as quickly as possible knowing she was in deep trouble.

“I am so sorry!” she cried feeling ever so guilty. “I'll come down!” Emily prepared to climb down.

“Wait!” the young man cried. Emily stopped and looked at him wondering what he wanted. He then smiled at her. “You. . . can see me?”

Emily gazed at him with confusion. “Shouldn't I be?” she asked.

He shook his head.

“No,” he replied. “I’m . . . you won’t believe a word of this, but I will prove it to you. You see, I’m a ghost.”

Emily looked at him seeing sceptic about what he had declared himself to be. Her eyebrows gave him the look of disbelief.

The ghost decided to turn around and walked towards the sunlight that shown down on the dirty ground. He slowly made his way into the light one step in and then the other. His entire body was now see-through with no sign of any shadows on the floor. Emily's eyes widened with awe.

“You really are a ghost,” her voice came out in a whisper. He turned around and walked back to the tree. Emily was still in shock with what she saw.

“I. . .,” Emily seemed speechless. The ghost smiled at her.

“Would you like to come down?” he asked her. Emily wasn't so sure what to think. It wasn't every day that she'd meet something that was a mystery. She slowly made her way down off the tree whilst looking at the ghost, still feeling stunned. Once her feet were on the ground, she stared at him. Up close his ghostly features were more obvious. His skin was a pastel colour and she could see parts of the forest behind him showing on his body.

“I'm sorry I'm staring at you,” she said to him. “I've never met or have seen a ghost. I thought they were things people claimed to have seen.”

“That's okay,” said the ghost in a comforting tone. “That tree is my memorial tree. I died in this forest three years ago in a car accident. My friends placed the flowers here since it was where my mates and I used to hang out when we was at school.”

“Again, I am so sorry I was climbing on that tree.”

“Don't be,” the ghost chuckled and looked at Emily with a smile. Emily blushed slightly.

“I'm Jimmy,” said the ghost as he raised his hand forwards waiting for it to be shook. “Jimmy Connelly.” Emily looked at his hand seeming confused. Wouldn’t her hand just go through it? She ignored her thoughts and went for it.

“I'm Emily. Emily Winchester.” Her hand touched his and was surprised to feel the softness of skin. Jimmy's entire body began lighting up. Emily didn't let go of the grasp as Jimmy lit up like an angel.

The light sudden burst from his body and turned into thousands of small white spots that vanished before touching the ground.

“What . . . what happened?” Emily asked him. Jimmy looked at his hands and smiled. He then looked at the same sunlit spot he stood under earlier and made his way towards it. Emily notice that she couldn’t see the forest pictured on his body like a projection. She watched him stand in the sun waiting to see what would happen. Instead of being partially invisible, he was completely visible. His shadow, however, was still nowhere to be found. Jimmy looked around his body with amazement. He looked at Emily, smiling, and walked back to her with an idea in his mind. He stood an inch away from her, making her feel slightly nervous.

“Don't worry,” he ensured her, “I want to try something.” Jimmy raised his hand up against Emily's cheek and stroked it. She felt a sudden coldness rub against her causing her to shiver slightly. His thumb stroked her cheek and made Emily feel much happier than she had been in a while.

“I feel . . . alive,” he said to her as he dropped his hand. “I can touch, feel-” Jimmy walked over to his tree and full on bumped his body onto the trunk, “-and no longer go through solid objects.” he laughed. Emily laughed with him.

He turned around and gave her a big smile.

“Do you want to come and hang out with me?” Emily shrugged her shoulders whilst smiling.

Jimmy handed her a smile back and said: “Absolutely.”

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Girl & Ghost

Emily and Jimmy made their way through the forest trail that led them downhill and then uphill and out of the forest following the dirt path that surrounded the forest on the outside. Nobody was around to see Emily talking to herself when really, she was talking to her new ghost friend.

“So what's your story?” Jimmy asked her. “Are you at college? Work?”

“Neither,” Emily answered seeming gloomy about it. “I've been out of university for a year and it's been a horrible year trying to find work. Job centre appointments to sign on, finding things to do in the middle of the day, and to make matters worse, my entire family have something to do so they're up at seven in the morning.”

“I'm sorry,” he looked on ahead. “What did you do at university?”

“History. I want to be either a history teacher or a tour guide for a historical attraction.”

Jimmy hummed and nodded his head. “Sounds like a good idea. I take it history was your strongest subject in school?”

“Absolutely,” Emily smiled. “I'm not joking, but I find this pretty ironic: I also take an interest in the supernatural and folklore.”

Jimmy laughed out loud. “That is ironic. You have an interest in ghosts and what-not and you find yourself talking to one like it was a living human being.”

“I know, right?” Emily laughed back. “Anyway, there doesn't seem to be much going on in the job seeking world for me. Nobody is taking on vacancies. I'd be willing to take anything if it can get me enough money to move out and live independently.” Emily looked up at him. “What did you do or what was your home lifestyle?”

“I was living with my brother until I died,” Jimmy began telling Emily. “We were in a band together. I played guitar and backing vocals whilst Brody, my brother, was the lead singer.”

“A guitar playing ghost?” said Emily. “What was your band called?”

“Lucifer's Vessel,” Jimmy replied.

Emily's jaw dropped.

“Please tell me that's a reference from the TV Show Supernatural?” Emily's tone was filled with excitement.

“My brother and I were huge fans of the show. We wanted to dedicate the band to that show.”

“I'm a huge fan too! I love it so much! What's even weirder is my surname is Winchester like the brothers. People at school reckoned I was the long lost sister of the Winchester brothers since I had a strong interest in the paranormal and good knowledge on ghost hunting. I had to keep reminding them that it was just a show. Then again, the people on the show thought it was just a book series when really, it was all real. So you never know. Maybe I am the long lost Winchester sister . . . oh my god . . . did I just break the fourth wall?!” Emily and Jimmy laughed out very loud. Emily didn't care if anyone saw her. She hadn't had this much of a conversation with someone in a while that wasn't related to her. Ghost or not, she felt like she was talking to a real person.

“We played at a local pub one night and since Brody was staying for a drink with his mates, I headed back home with my guitar in the back of my car. It was hammering it down with rain and I lost control of the car and drove down into the forest instantly killing me. I’ve spent the past three years not being able to talk to anyone.” Emily looked up at Jimmy who looked back at her. She couldn't help but feel sorry for him. He had a great life with a close brother, a group of friends and a band with a possible future of being famous, and it was all taken away from in within seconds. She felt worse at the fact that he had spent three long years alone with nobody to talk to.

“I assume you've never seen other ghosts?” Emily began asking. “Can ghosts see other ghosts?”

“I don't know, I've never met other ghosts,” Jimmy answered.

“It must've been horrible spending so long alone,” said Emily. “I know I can get lonely at times but it's nothing compared to what you've been through.”

“If I were alive and had spent years not being able to talk to anybody, I would've gone completely insane.” Jimmy shrugged his shoulders seeming positive about things. Then again, he was finally having a normal conversation with a human being so of course he was acting positive.

They found themselves a bench to sit on and made their way over to sit down.

“Have you ever left the forest?” Emily continued to ask. “Or do you have to roam the forest and haunt it?”

Jimmy chuckled. “No, I've left the forest before,” he explained. “I've visited my proper burial, my family's house, I've been gallivanting all over the place. I found out that Lucifer's Vessel split up after my death and my brother quit music all together.”

“Oh no,” Emily whispered.

“My brother moved out of the flat and went back to my parents to support them. They stored all of my things in the attic and had photos taken down to ease the pain of loss. My sisters tend to come over every now and again whenever it's my birthday or anniversary of death to support each other. I haven't gone to see them in a while. It's too painful to watch them mourn.” Emily was close to tears. She knew that if it were her that died, she knew that her parents would see each other more, her brother and sister would comfort each other and their parents. She did have fights with them every now and again but still loved them.

Jimmy noticed Emily sobbing quietly. “Oh. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you cry.”

“No,” Emily wiped away the tears that dribbled down her cheeks. “It's okay. It's just sad to know that the people who loved you miss you terribly and are supporting one another. I began thinking about what would happen if I had died, how my family would react.”

“I'm sure they'd do the same,” said Jimmy. Emily nodded. She quickly changed the subject to stop the tears from escaping her eyes.

“What sort of music . . . did Lucifer's Vessel play?”

“Oh, we were an alternative rock band,” Jimmy laughed. “We had singles such as Possession, Seven Sinister Sins, we also did covers like Living in a World Without You, Plasticine, Long Forgotten Sons, and we didn't want to play easy cliché songs that you tend to hear bands cover. Brody and I loved metal and rock music. Do you have any favourite artists?”

“You wouldn't've heard of them,” said Emily, “there's a band called ESO I really like. Very underrated. They’re an industrial metal band. I'll show you later on when we go back to mine.”

“Oh. Am I coming back to yours?” Jimmy asked with a sly smile.

“Well . . . why not?” Emily asked.

“I have no excuse to not come over,” Jimmy shrugged. Emily smiled seeming glad to know she was bringing back a new friend but unable to show him off to her family. That then triggered a question.

“Do you think others can see you as well as me after what just happened with the hands?” Emily wondered.

“I highly doubt it. It's worth a try though. Let's go and find people to talk to.” Jimmy jumped off of the bench and waited for Emily who was still smiling. She somehow couldn't stop doing it.

They walked out of Brownhills Forest together and walked across the dual carriageway towards Chasewater Park. After a seven minute walk up a hill and over the motorway bridge, they saw the large reservoir with a tiny pond next to a park, a modernised building with plants growing on the roof (Emily had always assumed that it was to hide it from incoming planes what were planning to bomb the place). What disappointed Emily, however, was that the massive lake was partially drained out due to the damage of the dam so it looked less attractive. There were construction machinery downhill by the long trail that led to Chasewater Meadow and fences blocking pedestrians.

“I really hope they fix the dam soon,” she said to Jimmy with a hint of angst in her words. “It was beautiful before they drained it all out and constructed it up.”

“I know. But if they weren't doing this then Chasetown would probably be flooded by now.”

“I don't think Chasewater has enough water to flood an entire town, Jimmy,” Emily thought out loud.

They made their way down to the park and saw several types of people; mothers with their children, elderly couples, school teachers with small students and the staff.

Jimmy raced over to the closest person to them. He stood right in front of a woman watching her child with his nose almost touching hers. She didn't react whatsoever. She stared on and smiled.

“Careful, Callum!” she called out. Jimmy moved away from her and looked at Emily. He shrugged his shoulders and walked back to her.

“Well it looks like you're the only person who can see and speak to me,” he told her. Emily nodded, not wanting to say anything in case someone looked at her and gave her judgement. They walked away from the people and made their way towards the drained lake. The dirt flooring of the lake was cracked from dryness. They walked straight forwards across the desert dry-like ground until they reached the mini beach. Once there, they climbed up the stairs and made their way to the left on a road that led them to a gate.

“We should study about ghosts when we get to mine. I have lots of books on ghosts, mythology, folklore, lots of things about the paranormal.”

“I'd gathered that you would've known about ghosts by now if you read a lot of paranormal things and study the supernatural,” Jimmy chuckled. “I mean, you didn't know I was a ghost until I proved you wrong.”

“Oh, come on!” Emily laughed stubbornly. “I've never seen a ghost before! How was I supposed to know! I wasn’t so sure until I saw you up close!” Jimmy laughed out loud. His laugh made Emily relax knowing he enjoyed her humour.

They turned left and walked over a wooden bridge over what should've been a nice lake. Unfortunately, there was very little water in the lake and lots of grass growing around it. Their feet trembled over the wired barrier that wrapped around the wooden planks. Once off, they walked up the grass hill and saw part of Chasewater Lake, still drained. They continued to walk up the hill and followed the trail. They reached a flight of stairs that led to a bridge over a tiny waterfall and another lake next to it. They climbed down the stairs and crossed the bridge. The water was quite filthy but on their right was the lake with ducks swimming along.

“I haven't been here in a very long time,” said Jimmy. “My dad and I used to come here when I was a kid.” Emily felt the quilt and sorrow in her heart again. She looked at him giving a sad expression.

“I don't know what to say,” said Emily feeling guilty. “I'm not used to talking to people who have grieved or have lost someone. Or had someone lose them.”
“Hey,” Jimmy assured her, placing his hand on the centre of her back. “It's okay. You don't have to feel bad for me.”

“I feel bad mostly for your family,” she told him. “You and your brother were really close. I wish I was close with my siblings. But ever since I went to uni, things have been feeling distant. I'm hardly around anybody, my sister spends too much time studying for her GCSEs and my brother is out and about doing things.” Jimmy understood what she was saying. Even though she has never grieved or had met anybody who went through grief, she wanted to be closer with her family in case she were to suddenly die.

“I understand,” Jimmy nodded.

Emily quickly changed the subject to avoid any awkwardness.

“Other than Lucifer's Vessel, what did you do for a living?”

“I worked at a music store,” Jimmy answered with a smile.

“CDs?” Emily asked.

“Music equipment, music books, music everything.”

“You really must love music,” Emily smiled.

“I really did,” Jimmy smiled back. “I did a few years at college doing music. Played guitar, piano and drums.”

“I would've loved to play an instrument,” said Emily. “I was more focused on history and paranormal stuff.”

“I couldn't stand history at school. Why did you take in such an interest in the subject?”

“It's just fascinating to know what had happened in the past. Castles, wars, beliefs, how the human timeline changed.”

“No surprise if your favourite era was the one that mostly involved ghosts and witches,” Jimmy chuckled.

“Sort of,” Emily shrugged. They walked up the hill and found themselves by a fenced gate. Both of them climbed over and continued walking until they reached a bench with nine planks of wood behind it.

“Shall we sit down?” Jimmy asked.

“Sure,” Emily replied. They both sat down on the bench and looked on ahead. They could see the wide field of grass and moss. There was a large hill over the wired fence and the railroad in between. On the far end on the right was the train station.

“Have you ever ridden the train?” Jimmy asked.

“Once,” she responded, “when I was fifteen. My parents were going through a divorce at the time. We saw Santa after the ride on the train. I don't remember why but my parents had this huge fight when we got home. Me, Zane and Grace all sat in Zane's room looking at each other wanting the fight to stop.” Jimmy looked at Emily as she spoke. “My parents just . . . hated each other and I never knew why. By the time dad left, things at first felt incomplete, but they then got better. We did more things together, he found someone else and everybody was happy.” Emily looked at Jimmy and nodded her head. “Life got better for the both of them. My mother still has someone to find. She works as a manager at a restaurant in Lichfield. My dad is a news article editor for Express & Star.”

“I’m sorry your parents didn’t get along,” Jimmy told her.

“Don’t worry about it. What did your parents do for a living?”

“My mom worked at a pharmacy and my dad worked at a computer store.” Emily had never known someone so fast in a day. Usually she'd know a little bit of a person a day or visit. A question suddenly popped into her head.

“What will you be doing tonight?” Emily then asked him, “I mean. . . sleep-wise.”

“I don't sleep,” Jimmy answered.

“I gathered that. I mean, where will you go when I go to sleep?”

Jimmy shrugged his shoulders.

“Anywhere,” he finally answered.

“Could you go to London? Not saying you should right now.”

“I don't intend to. There'd be nothing for me to do there.”

“Seriously? You could visit the sites! You could catch the train without paying!”

“You know. . . I never thought of that,” Jimmy nodded. “I should've done that. Instead I spent four years moping around feeling sorry for myself.”

Emily smiled. “Why don't you stay with me tonight? You can read some of my books or use my laptop if you want.”
“Won't I wake you up?” Jimmy asked with worry.

“Nah. I sleep like a baby when I exhaust myself. I tend to go to bed pretty late. I was told sleeping when you’re super tired makes you sleep better and quicker. You'll be fine,” Emily gave him a wink. Jimmy nodded with agreement.


 

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Friends

After sitting on the bench next to Norton Field, they made their way down the hill on the left until they reached the gated fence. They walked along the gravel path until they reached a hill. Up that hill was a green circle bench that showed the view of Norton Field and parts of Chasewater Lake. Emily and Jimmy both sat on the bench and looked on ahead. The wind brushed Emily's hair away and cooled her skin.

“Do I get to meet your family tonight?” Jimmy asked her.

She looked back with a smile that showed she knew the irony of that sentence.

“I guess so, though they won't be meeting you,” she laughed. “If you knocked something over you could freak my family out.” Jimmy had that idea stick to his mind. “You're thinking about doing it, aren't you?”

“Maaaaaaybe.” They both laughed. Emily kicked her feet back and forth under the bench. She began blushing, she didn't know why. She didn't have feelings for him. The blushing must've been from the laughing or the thought that she was talking to a ghost and wasn't so sure how she should be taking it. Most people would freak out and/or call the paranormal investigators. Emily, on the other hand, had always wanted to see a ghost or experience the unknown world of the supernatural.

“I think we should go back to mine in a bit,” Emily suggested. “I am getting pretty hungry.”

“How far is your house form here?” Jimmy asked.

“Twenty five minute walk from precisely here” she answered.

On the way back to Emily's, they continued discussing more about each other. Emily was worried that she'd run out of things to say to Jimmy about herself so she gave him some of her memories, both loving and embarrassing ones. Jimmy didn't seem to judge her which was what she was expecting.

Once they got to her home, they walked in and immediately went to her bedroom. Jimmy admired the way her mother had arranged the living room, the layout of the furniture and the ornaments inspired him.

“Your mother has a good taste in living room arrangements,” he told her.

“She does. I love what she's done. Ever since dad left it's what's been keeping her busy.” Jimmy looked around Emily's bedroom. The purple painted walls that blended with her dark purple bed sheets on the small bed in the corner by the window. The drapes were also purple.

“Is purple your favourite colour,” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah,” Emily smiled as she walked over to her bed and sat down. Jimmy explored more of Emily's room. He saw the small black bookshelf on his right by the door. He gave it a quick scan to see what sort of books she had, even though he knew she had books on the paranormal. He saw several Stephen King novels, an autobiography by a singer talking about his experience with the paranormal, a book series he recognised about three talented orphans and a dream dictionary. He also saw some DVDs. Supernatural seasons one to seven, American Horror Story season one, Paranormal Activity one, two and three, Grave Encounters one and two, several classic horror movies, some comedies and there were some accessories on the shelves. A small pink crystal, a charm bracelet and a stuffed toy of a rabbit.

“What a collection you have,” Jimmy turned and smiled.

“Thank you,” Emily smiled back. “Luckily I get paid for looking for work. Some of those books were bought with that money as well as some new clothes. I have been wanting this coat that's like sixty quid for ages but I'm paranoid about spending too much money, especially when I have to pay to live here.”

“Do you not like it here?” Jimmy seemed concerned.

“Every now and again I do. I love my family, but they are so noisy in the morning. Sometimes I wish I could join them. Eventually I will do when I get a job, whenever that will be. But I'm thankful for this place. I get my own space.” Jimmy nodded and went over to sit on her bed.

“Where's your laptop?” he asked. Emily knelt down to the floor and grabbed a silver aluminium covered laptop from under the bed. Jimmy looked at it with amazement.

“It was a present off my dad,” she explained as she handed it to him. “What are you going to do on there?”

“Well, I was thinking maybe we could do some research about what sort of ghost I am,” Jimmy told her.

“I'll research through my books whilst you use the power of the internet.” Emily got up from the bed and went to her bookshelf. She pulled out one of her books on the paranormal and scanned through the index pages.

Jimmy wasn't able to find anything, neither did Emily.

“So this must mean you are a special kind of ghost,” Emily concluded. “Maybe one that hasn't been discovered yet.” The thought of discovering something made Emily feel excited yet she knew she didn't want to expose Jimmy.

She placed the book back on the shelf and went over to sit next to the ghost.

“People have always wondered whether ghosts are real or not. I could be the very first to answer that, if I wanted to that is,” said Emily. “I'm not one to create attention but I'd rather keep this a secret.”

“That's probably the best idea,” Jimmy answered, “you don't want to freak people out.”

“Maybe there are others out there who can see ghosts like you as well as me. But you're the first ghost I've ever came across so it still boggles my mind as to how I can suddenly see you.”

“I wouldn't worry too much about it at the moment,” Jimmy suggested. “You’ve just discovered your visual powers and don't want to strain yourself with questions.”

Emily nodded. “You're right. I'll just enjoy having a ghost for a friend and worry about the million questions later.”

Jimmy gave her a smile as he closed the laptop. Emily looked at her black bedside clock and saw that it was two o'clock.

“Grace's going to be home in an hour and a half,” she told him. “Let's make the most of our day before we get the Winchester family coming home.”

“What do you want to do?” he asked her. Emily rolled up her eyes as she thought of something.

“We could go downstairs and play some video games?” Emily suggested.

“Ahhhhh, I would love to do that,” Jimmy clapped his hands together as well as lifting his head up with a huge smile written all over his face. “Got any retro games?”

“They're in my brother's room. We have modern games downstairs.”

“Let's go then.” Jimmy got up from Emily's bed and walked over to the door. Emily got up and followed Jimmy down the stairs.

An hour of non-stop video games occupied Emily and Jimmy before Grace got back from school. They played a brutal racing game that had lots of explosions and it required killing the other players in a stadium arena as well as in cities. Both of them were having a thrill of a time. Jimmy defeated Emily several times but she was able to beat him a couple of times.

As soon as the clock struck half past three, they turned off the game console and went back into Emily's room. Both of them decided to lie in bed and watch some episodes of Supernatural.

Once her mom and Zane were home, Emily got out of her room and went downstairs to greet them. Her mother had light blonde hair and was tall and slim. Her brother had thin curly brown hair and was growing a small stubbed beard. He was the lankiest person Emily had ever seen, as lanky as Jimmy if anything.

“How was work?” she asked her.

“Hard,” her mother replied as she let her light blonde hair down from a hair clip. “I'm cooking pasta tonight, is that okay with you.”

“That's great, mom,” Emily smiled.

“Hey mom?” Zane suddenly asked as he leaned over the kitchen table. “Could we have garlic bread or do you need me to go and get some?”

“I can make some,” their mom replied. “Is Grace in her room?”

“Studying as always,” said Emily as she went over to the fridge to get some juice.

As soon as Emily had finished pouring herself some juice, she left the kitchen area and walked up the stairs back into her bedroom. She found Jimmy lying in bed reading one of her Stephen King novels.

“That's my favourite one,” she told him. “I'd love telekinetic powers. I wasn't bullied as much as she was in high school.”

“You were bullied?” Jimmy asked seeming concerned.

“One person bullied me but eventually she got expelled. Anyways, I was all into this stuff back then as well as today. I even saved up my birthday money and bought this.” Emily crawled her arms under her bed and pulled out a block of black wood with letters and numbers written on it.

“A Ouija board?” Jimmy laughed.

“I only used it once when I was fifteen, haven't used it since. Me and Zane used it but nothing happened.” Jimmy continued smiling and then chuckled. “What?” Emily asked.

“I have an idea,” he told her. “It's a bit of a dick move but it will be brilliant.” Emily handed him a cocky smile as she knew what he had in mind.


 

After Emily had dinner with her mother, brother and sister, she went back into her bedroom and found Jimmy going through what looked like a sketch book. The front cover was covered in purple coloured paper ripped and glued together. There was a grey rabbit on the centre of the front cover looking upwards.

“You have a good imagination,” Jimmy smiled as he lifted the book up to show her what he was looking at. It was a water colour painting of a castle on a cliff island in the centre of a large blue lake. Below that castle were a group of cottages.

“I tend to draw places I've dreamt of,” Emily smiled back and walked over to the bed to sit next to him. “I have an interest in dreams and how they can relate to our waking lives.” Jimmy took a big interest in what Emily had to say. She was a very interesting human being to him.

“Sometimes I wish I could just go to those places and escape reality,” she told him. “I tend to hate how this world works. This place would have no politics, no war, everyone would be honest with each other and no one will kill animals.”

“Are you a vegetarian?” Jimmy asked.

“I am a pure vegetarian,” she answered. “I don't wear or eat animals. I believe we can live in a world where we don't have to kill animals for our benefit. I do have to eat plenty of protein though.” Jimmy looked at her and nodded as he was listening.

“Anyways, what else have we got in Miss Winchester's sketch book of beautiful places?” he chuckled. He turned the page and revealed a ballroom.

“This is inside the castle,” Emily pointed. “I can imagine dancing around the ballroom in a beautiful white dress. A bit cliché, I know.” She began giggling and blushing as Jimmy smiled. He turned the page and saw a library with thousands of books.

“Why am I not surprised that there's a massive library inside?” Jimmy laughed.

“Already you know me well,” Emily tilted her head to the side. Jimmy closed the book and looked at the front cover.

“What's with the rabbit?” he asked.

“It's the sigil of Solitude,” she responded.

“Solitude?”

“It's the name of the world in that book. Some of the places from reality will be there as well. I just need to take some photos and add them in there.” Jimmy looked up at Emily and couldn't help but think how imaginative she was to think of a world of her own.

“I love rabbits, that's one reason for the sigil,” Emily told him. “They represent luck when being seen in a dream.”

“Interesting,” Jimmy nodded. He handed her back the sketch book and then laid down on the bed. He looked at her bedside clock and saw that it was six forty. He then looked back at her.

“So,” he said, “what shall we do now?”

Emily looked out of the window and saw that it was still sunny outside. She looked back at him.

“Let's go to the field,” she smiled. “It's a twenty minute walk from here.” Jimmy nodded and got up from the bed.

After informing her mother that she was going for a walk, Emily and Jimmy left the house and walked down the street. They made sure nobody was around or outside their house when they were talking or else they'd think Emily was talking to herself.

“So you've lived in that house all of your life?” Jimmy asked.

“Yeah. All twenty years,” said Emily. “My dad left when I was fifteen. I almost considered living with him but I wasn't so sure since he had a baby with his new wife. Noise isn't my favourite thing in the world, except for music.”

“Music is the best,” Jimmy nodded. “All genres of music.”

“Including dubstep?” Emily laughed.

“Mmmm, it is sometimes catchy, but it isn't something I'd have on my ipod or listen to on a daily basis. What about you?”
“I love ambient music,” Emily smiled. “I tend to listen to some scores from animes, movies and video games. It helps me get inspired when drawing the images from my dreams. It also helps when I go for a walk around forests or fields.” Jimmy admired her way of seeing the world, with music in her ears. “Oh, I also love listening to many genres of metal and rock.”
“I grew up listening to metal and rock as well with my brother. We loved music so much. It's what made us so close. We went to gigs, learned to play some songs and read music magazines. We even made sure we were doing the same college course.”
“How did you do that?” Emily asked. “Aren't you two years older than he is?”

“What we did was I stayed at school until I was eighteen and did my a levels whilst I waited for Brody to finish year eleven. We then went to the same college and did the same music course.” Jimmy smiled at the thought of his brother. He looked up at the blue sky with a very small amount of clouds passing by.

“You're very lucky to have had a sibling to be close with,” Emily smiled. “I'm pretty jealous. I was constantly fighting with mine.”

“That's natural though. Everyone fights with their siblings over ridiculous things. I did have small fights with Brody when we were like four to six years old.” That memory made Jimmy smile.

Emily and Jimmy walked down a quiet neighbourhood road before turning left to a grassy field. The field had weekly junior football matches as well as a newly built park on the far right side of the field. They walked on the small hill and sat down by the bushes in-between the field and the road. The shade blocked the sun and made Emily's skin feel cool. The cold wind blew her hair away from her face. She felt the coldness enter her ears as well as chilling her lobes.

They watched a group of people walking their dogs or playing with their kids in the park.

“This is where I come to read and sit on the grass,” Emily told Jimmy. “We don't have grass in our garden so this is where I go when it's nice and sunny.”

“Odd place to read horror novels,” Jimmy laughed.

“I read other things other than horrors you know,” Emily smirked. “I read fantasy novels and graphic novels.”

“Where were they on the bookshelf?”

“In a box under the bed. I forgot to put them on my shelf when I first got it last year. I've read every single one of them though I can't afford to waste my money on books. May as well re-read them.”

“Wouldn't that ruin it?”

“Depends how much of it I forgot. Usually if I leave a book for a while I'll forget what happens then I'll be just as happy as I was when I bought it. My memory isn't brilliant, I tend to forget the smallest of details.”

“Well your paintings don't seem to show that.”

“It's usually things I’m interested in I'll remember,” Emily shrugged her shoulders. Both of them remained silent as they continued to watch the field.


 

In the evening, Emily decided to fill out her job search booklet whilst Jimmy read one of her Stephen King novels. She used the laptop to look at certain job descriptions that fitted her criteria and filled in the boxes.

“Did you ever have to do this?” Emily asked Jimmy.

“Yep. I was on job seekers for two months until I got the job at the music store. Brody was the same as well. I managed to get him hired too.”

“Wow. You two really were close.” Emily heard Jimmy chuckle slightly as she finished her job search booklet. She got up and went downstairs and saw her brother playing on the games console she and Jimmy used earlier. Her mother was getting ready to go out to the local pub to see some friends. Emily got a glass of cranberry juice and brought it upstairs into her room.

“You want to watch some episodes of Supernatural? Catch up on what you've been missing for the past few years?”

“Absolutely,” Jimmy smiled brightly with excitement. He closed the book and placed it back on the bookshelf. Emily set up the laptop and placed it on the bedside cabinet. Jimmy laid down behind her as she clicked play on the first episode.

One episode later, they decided to get the Ouija board out and go downstairs. Jimmy stayed upstairs as Emily came down to see Zane and Grace.

Her sister Grace had longer hair than Emily. It was straightened with much lighter tones of brown. She was almost taller than Emily.

“Hey guys,” said Emily. “Look what I found under my bed.” Zane and Grace turned around and looked at Emily with the board in her hands.

“Aw cool!” Zane smiled. “But that thing never worked.”

“I've worked it out now,” she told him. “I think we should give it a try this time.”
“Doesn't mom disapprove of those?” Grace asked them.

“Yeah, but she only approved of it as decoration,” Zane explained to Grace. “Since mom's not here I suppose we could try it.”

“You guys are the best,” Emily smiled as she went over to place it on the kitchen table. Zane and Grace sat down and waited for Emily. She placed the small triangular wooden piece with a hole in the middle in the centre of the board. Zane, Grace and Emily placed their middle and index fingers on the piece and waited for Emily to begin the séance.

“Is there anybody there?” she began. “What's your name?” Nothing happened for a few seconds. Emily saw Jimmy standing next to her and reaching out for the piece of wood. He began moving it causing her siblings to jump slightly.

“Are you moving it?” Grace asked her brother. “No. Are you moving it, Ems?”

“I swear I'm not. It's actually working.” Jimmy spelled out his name letter by letter very slowly across the board.

“Jimmy?” said Grace.

“Do you want to hurt us, Jimmy?” Emily asked, trying very hard not to laugh. Jimmy moved the wooden piece over to the word no.

“Thank God,” said Zane in relief.

“Did you die here?” Emily asked. Jimmy moved the piece away and then back to no.

“What year did you die?” Jimmy decided to be creative and changed the year of his death. 1865.

“You've got to be moving this, Ems,” Zane told her. Jimmy walked over to the coffee table and knocked Zane's empty glass off the table. Grace screamed in shock. Zane cursed as he turned to see the glass on the floor. His heart pounded against his chest. This couldn’t have been Emily’s doing.

“Don't move!” Emily cried. “I promise this will end soon!”

“It better!” Grace cried feeling frightened as ever. Jimmy went over to the kitchen and began opening the cupboards rapidly. Grace screamed again and ran up the stairs. Emily decided to join in with and ran up the stairs screaming taking the board with her. Zane didn't move. He watched as the cupboards stopped. He walked over to examine them. Jimmy snuck around him and went up the stairs and into Emily's room. She had her face in her pillow preventing her from laughing too loudly.

“That certainly was a dick move,” she muffled in the pillow.

“I should be sorry,” he told her, “but I haven't had this much fun in a long time.” Jimmy laughed along with her.

Neither Zane nor Grace spoke to Emily that evening. Emily was slightly worried they'd tell on her, but she didn't care. For the first time in a while she was having a lot of fun.

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Retribution

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Revelations

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

The Journey

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...

Confrontation

Comment Log in or Join Tablo to comment on this chapter...
~

You might like Loz Cadman's other books...