“So, Chloe, tell me, are
you okay? You seem…distracted…” Sam said
as he watched Chloe slowly pull the label off the bottle in her hands.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Jess and I have been spending too much time
together and I went to church today…” she started to explain. She didn’t meet his eyes because she was
afraid that she would start crying again.
Even though she wasn’t home she couldn’t help but feel isolated from the
person she was sitting next to. The idea
of opening up to Sam seemed welcoming and horrifying at the same time. She didn’t think she had the energy to rehash
her situation twice in one day. Telling
the minister had been challenging enough, and she still wasn’t sure that he
even believed her. It took Jessica
actually encountering the ghost thing to believe her, and even then Jessica had
made Chloe feel guilty about it. How
would Sam react? Would he laugh at her
or believe her? If he did believe her,
then what? What could he do about
it? She knew that she was being rude, so
she gave a big smile and met his beautiful eyes and lied; ‘yeah, I’m fine, like
I said. I should probably get
going. I didn’t mean to go off about
Jess and church,” she over explained as she stood up. Sam sat and stared at her. In all the years he had known her, she had
never lied to him and he didn’t know how to feel about it. He was upset about it, but didn’t know how to
address it.
“It’s cool, if you want
to talk, you know you can talk to me, right?”
She nodded and gave him a quick hug and left.
They
were greeted by the overpowering scent of frankincense and lavender. An older woman with flowing silver hair and a
loose fitting tie-dye dress greeted them.
Jessica waved and Chloe headed towards the book section. Chloe discovered the source of the assaulting
scent, a smoldering pile of incense.
Curious about the other scents, Chloe picked up a box called Lilac and
another called A Midsummers Night Dream, “ick,
that smells like a burnt tire,” she mumbled to herself. She exhaled loudly and took a step backwards,
backing right into a very large man. She
gasped and spat out a quick apology. He
winked at her and said that there was nothing to be sorry about.
“Can I help you?” He
asked. Chloe blinked the incense smoke
out of her eyes and took a closer look at the man. He was very tall, remarkably tall for his
age, which she guessed to be in his mid-50’s.
Like the woman who greeted them, he was also wearing a tie-dye shirt,
which barely covered his expansive chest and mid-stomach. He had wild silver hair, and an impressive
beard that would make Santa jealous. His
eyes were what Chloe’s attention, they were strangely gentle. They reminded her of her grandfather.
“Girl, you going to
stand there staring at me?” His voice boomed at her and made her take a step
back, causing her to run into a large spice rack.
“I- I’m sorry, I was
uh, nevermind. I need a book, a cheap
book on evil spirits. Or spells or
something.” She stammered.
“What’s yer pleasure, Wicca for beginners? Wicca for Idiots? The New Age Goddess and You?”
“I have no idea. I have a ghost or something at my house, and
it’s making me crazy.” Chloe said, glancing around looking for Jessica. She spotted her looking at charms and
flirting with a man with a nose ring.
“A ghost? Did you try a smudge stick?” He offered, his
eyes narrowing a little.
“Yes, and it didn’t
work. I tried a crucifix…and that didn’t
work. I mean, it kinda did, I got a
couple of hours sleep but then it disappeared.”
The memory of the missing cross and the conversation with the priest
came rushing back to her. She couldn’t
help but feel resentment and anger about the conversation.
“What do you mean it
disappeared? You pullin’ my leg or
something?” He was strangely curious
about this girl. She looked tired,
pretty but tired. He felt compelled to
help her, but he didn’t know why.
“I mean it just
disappeared. I tried to get a priest to
help me, but all he gave me was a $2 cross and told me to pray. He didn’t even give me a bible.” She
complained, she could feel the tears gathering in her eyes. Great,
I’m going to start crying and this guy is really going to think I’m crazy.
“Are you a
believer?” He asked, adjusting his
weight.
“I don’t know. I have been thinking about it a lot though
lately. I believe a lot of things, and
recently I’ve begun believing in a lot more.”
Jessica saw Chloe talking to a large man in a tacky
colored shirt. Pocketing the phone
number from the man who had just left, she strolled over to the pair. Chloe nodded at her. Jessica shook her head. Ever since childhood, Chloe believed
everything people told her. Every
legend, every myth, and every story. It
was a miracle that she was able to walk down the sidewalks without dancing
around the cracks. Jessica looked at her
surroundings, crystals were strung from the ceiling; walls were covered in small
glass bottles containing various plants and roots, Jessica entertained the
notion that the bottles were filled with dirt.
That guy was probably telling Chloe that she needed magical dirt to make
the ghost go away. I can’t believe I brought her here.
Dumb. Dumb idea. I better go save her.
“Hi Jess, I’ve just
been telling my new friend here my little problem. He thinks he can help.”
“Oh really? Why’s that?” Jessica didn’t even try to hide
the disdain in her voice.
“Yeah, you’re friend
here was telling me that she thinks she has a ghost. You should get a cat. Cats can sense spirits.”
“A cat? That’s your solution? A freaking cat. Wow, why didn’t we think about that?”
“You’re friend here
doesn’t seem to like this idea. But nevermind
that…”
“Listen, I don’t to
sound too- uh- pathetic…but do you have like a loaner cat?” Chloe asked. She felt Jessica’s eyes boring into her. She knew what her friend was thinking, she could
already hear the sarcasm in her head.
She refused to acknowledge her and stared into the vortex of color ahead
of her.
“A loaner cat? You can’t be serious,” he sighed and glanced
behind him. The woman with the flowing
dress and hair approached the small group.
“What’s this I hear
about loanin’ out cats? Zig, what
craziness you talkin’ about over there?” He waved at her as she joined them.
“This here girl’s got
an annoyed spirit in her house. Been
keepin’ her up at night.” The man known
as Ziggy told her.
“A spirit? Are you sure?
You know anyone who died recently?” She asked. Jessica rolled her eyes and let out a heavy
sigh.
“Okay everyone,
listen! Yes, she has a ghost thing at
her house. Yes, it’s real. We’ve tried burning sage, we’ve talked to a
priest, got a crucifix and now we’re here.
Do you have any magic potions or cool looking symbols that could help
us? And by us I mean Chloe here.” Jessica demanded glaring at the rainbow pair.
“Thanks, I don’t think
the people across the street heard us.” Chloe snapped as she glared at her
friend. Jessica shrugged as she pretended
to be interested in a book about herbs.
“Fine. If you really want our help, do as we say.”
The big guy in the juvenile shirt ordered.
It was a long ride home.
Jessica thought the non-stop howling from angry cat would make her
reconsider her lifelong friendship with Chloe.
Chloe couldn’t stop laughing about the non-stop strangeness of the
week.
“Seriously, Chlo, this
is beyond ridiculous. A cat?” Jessica
fumed.
“Oh come on, it’s not
that crazy. It’s no crazier than burning
sage or consulting a priest.” Chloe
said.
“Whatever. Do you have a cat litter box? Food?” Jessica asked.
“No and no. Let’s make a pit stop at a pet store.” Chloe said, cringing at the impeding money
coming out of her account.
Once
Chloe and the cat, otherwise known as Ninja, were home, she felt a little more
relaxed. She watched him devour the can
of tuna she had bought him for dinner; while she prepared a sandwich for her
own dinner. She folded her knees into
her chest and curled up on the couch.
She turned on the television and welcomed the sound of commercials
advertising frozen pizza and anti-depression medication. She watched Ninja explore his new
surroundings and called him to her. Not
normally a cat person, Chloe welcomed the company and was even more pleased
when he jumped into her lap. He was an older calico cat with large, intense,
green eyes. He purred as she petted his
head and behind his ears. The sun was
setting and she took a deep breath.
“Good kitty. Good Ninja. You’re going to keep out the scary things
aren’t you?” she cooed laughing to herself.
She had to admit, she did feel more comfortable. Deciding to sleep out on the couch for a
change of scenery; she washed her face and brushed her teeth. She went into her room and grabbed a pillow
and blanket and returned to the living room.
Ninja
was staring out the window when she returned.
His tail was flicking back and forth, his ears dropping closer to his
head. She walked over to him and peered
out the window as well. She saw nothing
to cause him such alarm, but then again she never saw anything that had caused
alarm for the past several months. She
patted his head and picked him up and brought him with her to the couch. He was felt as though he had gained ten
pounds, she could feel every muscle in his body. “Shhh…its okay hon. It’s okay, shh…please let it be okay…” she
cooed again. She couldn’t quite sense
her unwanted house guest, but she knew that it was close. The irritated cat was like an alarm
system. Not hearing the growling, she
sighed and made herself comfortable. She
left the hall light on; with the cat and light she felt armed and ready to take
on the evening. She muted the television
wondered why on earth she was actually listening for the sound which made her
skin crawl. She kept Ninja pinned to her
chest, acting as a shield. The silence
was deafening. She felt Ninja’s eyes
studying the night around her. She
exhaled loudly, inhale, exhale, deep breath,
that’s it. It’s going to be okay. I have a cat, I have a cross somewhere. Inhale, exhale…she chanted to
herself. She could feel Ninja’s claws
through her night shirt. She closed her
eyes and continued her mantra. Despite
the heaviness around her she felt herself relax and drift into sleep.
Her
slumber was disrupted a couple of hours later with a series of growls and
hisses invaded their way into her dreams.
She opened her heavy eyes and looked around. Ninja was no longer in her embrace. She
squinted and saw him standing on her kitchen table. She became instantly dismayed and she wanted
to scold him, but then stopped. It was
not his growl that she heard. She was
becoming more familiar with the growl which had made its daily appearance; and
the sensation that came with it. Ninja
on the other hand was not as familiar with it and was not amused. She sat up and tried to call to him, but her
voice was caught in her throat. Ninja’s
back arched and he let out a howl so high that she was sure all the dogs in the
building would wake up. Not a good sign at all…then he meowed
and swiped at the air. It was then that
Chloe saw the shadow. A shadow with no
form, yet is had a form. She had only
seen it once before, but this time it seemed to have more substance to it. Perhaps this is what the cat had seen;
perhaps Ninja was just trying to protect her.
I’m going to need more than a cat
to help me. What was I thinking? This is insane. Completely insane. Dear God, or Jesus- someone, please help me…Ninja
swiped again and jumped down from the table and ran back to Chloe. Not knowing what to do she reached out and
grabbed him. A new sound seemed to come
from the shadow, a low hiss. A sticky
dampness seemed to come from the black mass on the floor. The smell reminded Chloe of swamp water with
a hint of burning rubber. Ninja became
even angrier. He growled and struck out
at the air again. Chloe loosened her
grip on him for fear of being scratched herself. She listened to the growling
conversation between the cat and the shadow.
Only me, this would only happen to
me. I wonder what they’re saying to each
other. “Back of bitch, this is my turf”
the Shadow would say.
“Who you calling bitch, whore!” Ninja would
say.
“You watch that tone, you four legged furry cretin.”
“You’re just jealous because I’m a lovable cat and you’re just a
shadow.” Chloe’s attention was
demanded when she saw the shadow move.
Ninja leaped from her arms and tried to attack the shadow. She was relieved when the shadow didn’t move,
but that didn’t ease the tension in the apartment. She could feel her blood pumping through her
veins as she tried to study the shadow.
The hall light still shone on it, but it didn’t reflect any light. Every nerve in her body was on fire as she
crept a little closer to the foreign object in the middle of the floor. Ninja continued to bat at the air, yet the
shadow didn’t move. Was she really
expecting the shadow to move? Where had
it come from? Her fear was at an
unprecedented level and she could no longer think, she could no longer hear any
other sound than unearthly growling. She
felt a different set of eyes on her; she felt certain that they were examining
her very bones. She saw the shadow
parley away from Ninja and move in a way that could only be seen as aggressive. Forcing herself off the floor Chloe lunged
towards Ninja and somersaulted her way into the kitchen table. She felt the soft body of the still hissing
Ninja beneath her and a welt developing on her hip. Still cradling Ninja she jumped up and turned
on another light. The shadow didn’t
move; it actually grew in size and density.
She gasped and felt the hot tears streaming down her face. She began to shake and embraced Ninja so
tightly that he bit her. She pressed her
back against the wall and loosened her grip on her small companion terrified
that the shadow would hurt the cat. Her
attention was torn away from the shadow when she heard another low snarl. Ninja struggled his way out of her arms and
jumped back up on the edge of the counter.
That damn cat is braver than I am,
come on Chloe, pull yourself together and see what he’s seeing. Although she didn’t see it with her eyes,
she felt as though the shadow was once again moving around and approaching her.
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