Diary of a Part Time Ghost (Ghosts & Shadows Book 1) Page 9

  “Now, girls, do try to be quiet. Uncle Alim needs calm and quiet,” Mom began to lecture. Despite my preoccupied thoughts, I smirked. Calm and quiet doesn’t exactly describe my three sisters.

  She was still warning them against making any loud noises when we reached the door to Uncle Alim’s room. Dad opened the door cautiously, glanced inside, and bellowed, “What in blazes are you doing here?” Everyone jumped at the shouting, and a nurse glared at him as she hurried by with a clipboard in hand.

  “Sh,” Mom hushed him before tiptoeing in. “Oh.”

  Shanti, Gita, and Anjali pushed past me to see who had caused such a stir. I peered over their heads and spotted the source of the commotion. It was Bibi. She was sitting calmly, her hands paused in midair with knitting needles stuck in their grips. I have to tell you, I genuinely smiled for the first time that morning. Finally, I could get some answers!

  Bibi gazed at the other visitors serenely before responding, “Good morning!” She paused as she caught a glimpse of my frantic hand gestures from behind the others. With a small grunt, she rose up while stuffing her needles and yarn into her big, flowery purse. “I think I shall get some fresh air and a spot of tea while I’m at it. I’ll see you later.” She patted Uncle Alim’s hand, ignored Dad’s muttered comment about not hurrying back, and then strolled out of the room, closing the door behind her.

  I could barely restrain myself. The instant the door was closed, I blurted out in a gush of words, “Bibi, the book, it’s … I mean, I … it’s not really a book, is it? Well, it is, but … it’s kind of like a really cool, really real virtual reality game, but without the special glasses and gloves and the fact it’s not a game. And I went back in time and now my great-great-great, I don’t know how many great-grandmother and her brother are lost in the forest and a cougar is after them.” I gasped breathlessly and stared at Bibi, waiting for a response, for answers, for anything.

  She just stared at me.

  “Well?” I demanded impatiently, my arms crossed over my chest.

  “Well, I don’t know what to say,” she replied mildly with a small smile. “Except why are you here if your great-great-something-grandmother and her brother are lost and a cougar is after them?”

  I couldn’t believe her calm reaction. “But did you know what the book could do? Of course you did,” I answered my own question. “Then why did you give it to me? What am I supposed to do with all this? And why can’t you do it instead?”

  Bibi nodded her head several times. “Those are excellent questions. You should keep asking them. I think I’d like a cup of tea now.”

  “A cup of tea?” I repeated in disbelief. My voice rose sharply. “This is no time for a cup of tea!”

  Bibi glanced at me in genuine surprise. Actually, she looked almost shocked. “Why, it’s a perfect time for a cup of tea. It’s always a perfect time.”

  “But I need you to answer me!” I pleaded. As you can see, I wasn’t too proud to beg. This was a very desperate situation, and she obviously was not taking it seriously enough.

  Bibi sighed. “You don’t need me to answer you,” she finally replied. “The truth is, I don’t have any answers that will make sense to you, Ash. I can’t tell you the ones I do have, for you must find them yourself, otherwise they won’t mean anything. All I can say is: be careful. I think by now you understand what the shadows are.”

  I nodded, hesitated, and then nodded again, suddenly realizing I actually did. “They represent dark emotions, dark energy, and for some reason I can see them. And when someone is angry or afraid or negative, that darkness gets stronger and covers the light of the person.” I paused. Where did all that blinding insight come from, anyway? Obviously my subconscious was working overtime. What a pity it didn’t do that for school work.

  Bibi smiled. “Exactly. We are all potentially light and dark. And we can choose what to focus on and develop …”

  “Or we can let the choice be made for us,” I finished, grinning as I finally grasped her point. Then I frowned. “But I don’t see how that helps me overcome Kali. He’s pretty strong.”

  “He’s just another shadow,” Bibi reassured me.

  “Yeah, well, he’s a pretty solid-looking shadow,” I retorted, trying to steady my breath.

  Bibi laughed. “Yes, he is. Most shadows do look pretty solid, especially when you let your mind become full of dark thoughts and feelings.” She gripped my elbow to get my full attention. She had it. My full attention, that is. She gazed into my eyes, and I had the sense that she saw into my very inner being. “But even the most solid-looking shadow is defeated in the same way as all shadows are: shine a light on it. The darker the shadow, the brighter the light must be. You can be a light amongst shadows.”

  “What you focus on, you become,” I breathed out.

  Bibi smiled, probably thinking, Finally, he gets it! “Our positive thoughts and actions have great power and light.” Then her face grew serious. “But some of our greatest dangers don’t come from the outside, but from within.”

  “Like what?” I asked, eager to learn more. I didn’t want her to stop talking.

  The door to Uncle Alim’s room opened, and Dad stuck his head out. “Ash, we’re visiting Uncle Alim this morning,” he stated in a flat voice, with a slight emphasis on “Uncle Alim” and a meaningful glance at Bibi.

  “Watch out for Kali and don’t let him into the veil. Now off you go,” Bibi said kindly as she walked away from me. “The answers will come.”

  “Great,” I mumbled, my heart sinking as she walked away.

  Somehow, I survived the rest of the morning without passing out from impatience or anxiety. As soon as we arrived home, I rushed into my bedroom, my jacket pockets bulging with food stuffed into plastic bags from lunch. I stuck a big “Do not disturb—thanks” sign on my door. I was ready to go back to the beach.

  Chapter 9

  The beach was bathed in afternoon sunshine. There was no sign of pirates, storms, cougars, or lost children; only the barrel was a reminder of the previous night’s escapades. The forest didn’t look as foreboding and dark as it had that morning. But it still was pretty wild, thick, and definitely not domesticated with hiking paths kept clean by Boy Scouts.

  As I floated about, I remembered what had happened on the ship when I had wanted to find Sara. It had been a pretty cool trick, so I decided to try it again. Focusing my mind on Samuel and Sara, I willed myself to go to them. Nothing happened. There was no familiar swoop and rush of speed. I didn’t hurtle through the trees to my friends / ancestors. Instead, I remained floating just above the stones, translucent and airy. This was not good.

  I tried again. Again, nothing happened. I frowned, getting worried. What could it mean? That they were dead? Deciding to try again, I focused only on Sara and willed myself to her. This time it worked: the world blurred around me as I sped by trees at an alarming rate. When I slowed down and the world solidified around me, I realized I was now deep inside the forest. I gazed about expectantly; all I could see were thick, tall trees. Only when someone groaned did I look down. Sara was on the ground, curled up and clutching at her ankle.

  “Sara!” I called in excitement and relief.

  The girl spun onto her back while pushing herself upright. When she spotted me floating above (that must have been a strange sight for her), she exclaimed, “Oh, Ash! You scared me, but I’m so glad to see you! I was worried the big cat got you too. But then again,” she paused, as if meditating on this, “I guess cats can’t really eat ghosts, so I should’ve known you would be okay.”

  “What do you mean you were worried it got me too?” I demanded, my chest tightening as I floated around Sara.

  “Samuel …” Sara shook her head, unable to continue. Tears began to fill her eyes, but she brushed them away impatiently. “I failed him. There was a big cat, unbelievably big, and its eyes were on fire. It chased me along the beach but stopped when I fell into the water. It ran away when I started splashing it, and by the ti
me I returned to the barrel, Samuel was gone.” She stopped abruptly and bit her lower lip, which was quivering.

  Not knowing what to say, I stared out into the trees. As aggravating as my sisters could be—and believe me, they were—I could imagine how horrible I would’ve felt in the same situation. My thoughts then went in another direction: it was kind of a strange behavior for a cougar: water shouldn’t stop a cougar chasing its prey. Finally, I cleared my throat. “It’s not your fault. And … maybe he’s still alive.”

  I don’t know why I said that. It was a stupid thing to say. Most likely, the cougar had returned to the barrel to catch an easier meal. The chances of Samuel surviving that encounter were … well, there was no chance. But Sara didn’t know that. She glanced up with a hopeful smile, her eyes bright and fixed on me. Mental note: I seriously had to think before I talked.

  “You think so?” she asked eagerly. “Oh, Ash, if there is any chance … please, will you help me find him?”

  Silently cursing myself, I nodded anyway, even though I was pretty sure we wouldn’t find anything. “First, though, we have to get you ready for a hike.” I focused as strongly as I could. At first, nothing happened, and I wondered if it would take another life-or-death situation for me to be able to solidify. I hoped not and kept trying. After a moment of focus, I felt myself sinking into the soft, leaf-littered earth. A sharp scent of pine needles filled my senses. Cool shadows danced on my skin. A slight breeze drifted through my hair. I was solid.

  “Let’s hope this worked,” I muttered and reached into my jacket pockets for the plastic bags. When I pulled them out, I was relieved to see that the food had materialized. “Are you hungry? There’s a hotdog, juice, some granola bars, and trail mix.”

  Sara peered at the bags, frowning. “What are these things?”

  I frowned as well, wondering what to say and realizing that I actually didn’t know how to describe them. Fast food in the eighteenth century probably meant animals that ran really fast. “Yeah, I guess these are kind of modern inventions. Well, just trust me. They are edible, sort of, although I have my doubts about Shanti’s tofu sausages. If you’re cold, take my jacket. I have a sweater underneath.”

  Yeah, I was feeling pretty pleased with myself for all this planning. I handed the jacket to Sara and watched her examine the zipper. “Oh. Ah, you won’t be able to keep it. Zippers haven’t been invented yet.”

  “Where does it come from?” Sara asked as she pulled up the pocket flap and stroked the Velcro fastener in fascination. “And where did you go?”

  I sighed. “I don’t have any answers for you, Sara.” The irony then struck me: Bibi had said the same thing to me just a few hours before. I wondered if the answers to my questions would seem just as strange to me as the answers to Sara’s questions would seem to her. Now that was something to mentally chew over, but maybe another time.

  “Okay,” Sara said after finishing the food. She looked very determined. “Let’s go find Samuel. I suggest we go back to the beach to look for tracks.”

  I nodded glumly. Slowly, we started walking in what I thought was the general direction of the ocean. At least we were moving. When we came to a stream, several deer were drinking. Instead of running away, they watched the two humans cross the shallow water, cautious but not overly afraid. Farther on, we heard a screech echoing through the trees. Sara gripped my arm tightly. “Could that be the big cat?” she whispered.

  I shrugged. It could be, but I had no idea. It certainly didn’t sound like a bird, squirrel, or deer. Then again, my experience with the wilderness was pretty much limited to a couple zoos and a school camping trip in a very domesticated park. We continued walking, and I became lost in thought. Why had Bibi given me the book instead of keeping it herself? And what was I supposed to do with it?

  A branch slapped against my face. That jerked me out of my musings pretty fast and painfully. Our path was taking us into thick growth. “Time for a detour. What do you think?” I glanced behind. Sara was not there. “Sara?” I called out. My voice seemed muffled by the thickness of the trees. I glanced about, slightly irritated and worried. Where could she have disappeared to?

  “Here!” An arm waved above a clump of bushes. Relieved, I jogged back to the spot. Sara was sitting on a mossy log, rubbing an ankle.

  “Maybe we should rest,” I suggested, but Sara shook her head fiercely and stood up. She could give my sisters a lesson in mule-headed determination.

  “No, I’m better now. Let’s go,” she insisted. “There’s no time to lose.”

  Sighing, I set off again, this time walking more slowly. After several minutes, Sara commented, “Do you get the feeling we’re being watched?”

  I stopped abruptly, and Sara bumped into me. We stood very still, gazing about at the darkening forest. I glanced sharply to one side, but the shadows remained still. I tried not to feel completely creeped out.

  “I don’t see anything,” I answered, but in a whisper, still watching the spot where I thought I had seen movement. Keep moving. “Let’s keep moving, okay? Sara?” I called out quietly, realizing suddenly that there seemed to be an emptiness behind me. I spun about. Sara wasn’t there. Oh great. I began to march back along our trail, expecting to see her huddled on another log.

  “Sara?” I shouted and listened. There was no reply.

  Just as fear gripped me, I felt more than heard something rush up from behind. Before I could spin about or dematerialize, arms grabbed me and a cloth bag was thrown over my head. I tried to wiggle free but it was futile. My arms and legs were quickly bound with coarse rope, and I was flung over someone’s shoulder. Now, that’s just wrong.

  My head bounced about uncomfortably and filled with blood. After a few efforts, I gave up my struggling, which was quite obviously not helping, and instead cursed silently. Kali had caught me, and it hadn’t been too difficult to do. Despite Bibi’s warnings, I had been careless, and if I opened the veil now, the man could travel through it and the book would be lost. Whatever that actually meant, it was not good. My dark thoughts were interrupted when, a moment later, I heard Sara calling my name.

  “Sara, I’m here!” I called back. “Are you okay?”

  “No!” came the angry answer. “I’m tied up like a pig for slaughter and I’m being carried around like a sack of potatoes! It’s very undignified.”

  Although not really appreciating the reference to the doomed pig, I nonetheless felt a surge of relief that at least she was alive. We didn’t talk further, and I began to focus on the people around us. There were several of them, and they were speaking a language that was completely alien to me. Maybe our captors weren’t with Kali after all. I began to feel hopeful. I listened attentively, wondering if they would switch to a language I might understand, but they stopped talking.

  Then, without warning, I was dropped unceremoniously onto the ground with a painful bump, my focus momentarily distracted by the jarring force of the landing. Sara fell beside me with a grunt. The abruptness of it disorientated me, and I breathed deeply to stay focused and solid. By the sounds of it, a new person had joined the group. It took a minute for me to realize that the people around us had switched to English, probably because of the new arrival. Or maybe they wanted us to know that they weren’t feeling too kindly about us. Like that wasn’t already abundantly clear.

  “In any case, they shouldn’t be here,” a man was speaking while others murmured in agreement.

  “What of the other one? Are they connected?” It was a woman.

  “It’s possible,” the first man spoke.

  “It doesn’t matter,” another voice interjected, anger lacing his tone. “Our tribes must agree on this point: these people bring nothing but trouble. We should toss them back into the ocean from where they came.”

  “They’re children,” the woman countered.

  “They’re spies for the troublemakers!” the angry voice retorted.

  “I doubt it,” another man spoke, his voice low and calm. �
�And not all our tribes believe in your approach, brother.”

  “You should’ve left the other one in the forest,” the angry voice growled.

  “East Wind,” the woman responded calmly, “that wouldn’t be right.”

  I sat up straighter. Were they talking about Samuel? “Where’s the other boy?” I asked, without thinking it through.

  My voice was slightly muffled by the cloth over my head, but it was clear enough for the people gathered nearby to hear. Someone approached me and jerked off the bag. Squinting slightly, I found myself staring into a set of dark and menacing eyes.

  “So you are with the English, then. What are you doing in our lands?” the man demanded, his muscular arms flexing threateningly, as if in preparation to attack. I recognized the voice. It was from the man who wanted to send us back into the ocean. Charming.

  “Not making trouble, I hope,” I replied sincerely, as I didn’t really relish another swimming lesson. The man, East Wind, scowled, and I continued quickly, “I mean, we’re not here to cause trouble. We’re just trying to find my friend’s family.” I studied the man who was studying me just as intensely. Okay, he was probably being way more intense than I was.

  The first thing I noticed about the man was his hair. East Wind had shaved the hair off the sides of his head, leaving only a narrow, black strip down the middle of his scalp from the forehead to the nape. The severity of the style seemed to suit the man’s character quite well, I thought, and I kept that thought to myself. I was practicing wisdom here, not to mention self-preservation. Like the other captors, his clothes were made from soft leather with decorations of quills and ribbons, and he wore shell earrings and necklaces.

  “But you are not from her land. Why do you help her?” the man finally demanded, leaning even closer. Despite his hostility, it was clear that East Wind was curious about me. I guess I don’t look like the typical European settler of the time, my family (or most of my family) being from India and all.