Elias - 1. Part 1

“Did you hear that?” Kaelie asked as her flashlight darted around rapidly before she turned and blinded me with it.

“No,” I groaned, “the only thing I hear is you asking me if I’ve heard anything every five minutes.”

“Well, I wasn’t the one that wanted to come out here,” she countered, and I watched the beam from her flashlight dart to the ground as she placed her hands on her hips. I couldn’t see the glare in the darkness, but I knew it was there.

“It’s probably just Brady and Carly coming back,” I said as I strained my ears to listen. We were technically trespassing, but if we got caught I doubted the arresting officers would see the ‘technically’ side of our story.

“You know what they’re doing as well as I do,” she hissed as she grabbed for my arm, but only managed to graze my elbow. “Did you hear that?”

“No,” I sighed, chewing on my bottom lip.

We were in a little historic town that our hometown was built next to. It survived decades of development and was rewarded for it by being designated a protected historical destination. We were here for the other reason that drew people here, the legend being that this place was haunted. The stories that came from here were horrific. Unsolved murders, missing people that were never found. Even a witch’s execution that was halted just before the torch was placed at the feet of an unnamed woman. She was rumored to have cursed a man’s family when he scorned her for another woman. When she died mysteriously a year afterwards her house was burned down and she was buried in an unmarked grave.

Here is where we were supposed to meet up with Brady and Carly, the unmarked grave of the witch. Not seeing them here pretty much told me they were still at the car, probably fighting with the seat for the best sexual position my Charger provided. Glancing over at Kaelie as she looked down at the weathered unnamed stone that marked the grave. She had inched closer to it than I figured she ever would.

The place had nothing, not even any other graves. If it were daylight, it would look freshly mowed, with a walkway for people to look at it from a distance. The stone was all that was here, roughly cut into a rectangular shape. Looking around, nothing was stirring. No wind or a hint of a breeze. It was chilly, but not cold. Summer was just giving in to the inevitable fall, but the grass hadn’t started dying and the colors of the trees hadn’t changed. I felt the dew on my skin and there wasn’t a moon, which unnerved me a little bit when the quiet of the place just left everything feeling depthless and empty. The only light coming from our two cheap flashlights and a twinkle of the streetlights on the other side of a tree line that divided the town from this grave. The trees were intentional, it was a natural divide. No one wanted to see this woman, not even the rock she was laid to rest under, she had scared them that much.

“Look at this Ash,” she said, and I watched her kneel in front of the stone.

Not paying me any attention I quietly walked up behind her and when her flashlight darted to where I was standing before, I reached out and grabbed her shoulder. The scream that buzzed my eardrums was followed immediately by a blond ponytail flying into my mouth as I laughed and fell backwards to keep our heads from colliding as she scrambled to stand. Her flashlight flew twenty or so yards away, the thud of it hitting the ground killed the beam of light.

Laughing as I lifted my flashlight up to her face, seeing her glaring as she blinked and looked away. I felt the toe of her shoe connect with my leg.

“You’re a complete and total ass,” she said as she kicked out at my leg again, but I managed to dodge her as I scrambled to my feet.

“I just touched your shoulder!” I countered as she attempted to tackle me. I was a full foot taller than her, so she only bounced off of me.

“Give me your flashlight, I’m leaving,” she said as she reached for my hand that held it. Lifting it up above her head she jumped a few times before giving up.

“I’m sorry,” I said trying to wipe the lingering smirk off my face, it would be the only thing that got me out of trouble. She hated herself for it, but my butt chin and soft brown eyes were her weakness and we both knew it. Me apologizing only made it harder for her to stay angry.

“Help me find my flashlight. I threw it somewhere,” she said as I relented and gave her my flashlight. I would be more than happy for this night to end, being dragged here by Brady and Carly instead of going to the football game. Knowing, like an idiot, that this would be another sort of forced double date. A double date that ended up with them sneaking away for some private time and Kaelie and I entertaining one another as best we could. We had even gotten close, but I had to tell her that I was into guys, she was the first person I told and she wasn’t my best friend.

“I think it landed off to our right,” I said, and I pointed with my hand as I blinked against the sudden light. When she saw the direction, I pointed the beam went away and left me in a sudden darkness until my eyes readjusted. Following her, fumbling over my feet as the afterimage of her standing with a flashlight faded away as I went.

When she stopped, I looked down at her feet and saw the flashlight. Bending down I picked it up and when I shook it, I heard a rattling sound. Shoving it into the front pocket of my jeans I watched her look around thinking she was about to tell me that she was ready to go. Instead, she moved her flashlight back towards the unmarked grave.

“I thought I saw something before you scared me half to death,” she said as she held the flashlight out in front of her. “Promise to behave.”

“I swear,” I said as I held up both my hands. “I won’t scare you again.”

“Okay,” she said, scowling up at me as she started walking back towards the stone.

“What did you think you saw?” I asked as I fell into step beside her so that I wouldn’t trip over myself in the darkness.

“I didn’t get a great look at it, some dumbass was being an asshole,” she said as we got back to where I scared her. We both knelt down in front of the stone. It unnerved me a little knowing that we were kneeling over someone buried beneath the earth here. Someone that people hated and feared. The only reason there was a stone at all was to mark where the woman was so that townspeople wouldn’t venture too close. She may not have been burned as a witch, but she hadn’t been able to escape the verdict brought down upon her by her neighbors. Being here I wanted to know how someone could have such a fate, I had never cared enough to really listen to the stories before, even though most of it found its way into my memories over the years. Kneeling now, watching Kaelie run her index over the moss covered, weathered rectangular stone I felt something in my gut, almost expectant, but not knowing why or for what.

“I wonder what she did to deserve this,” I said as Kaelie’s finger came to a stop at the lower left corner of the stone. Glancing up at her, I saw her head tilt and her eyes squint.

“Do you see that?” She asked as she moved her finger slightly away from where she pointed. “It looks like the letter M, then an A, it gets more faded as it goes.”

“The grave wasn’t marked with a name or anything,” I said as I watched her bring her bag around and unzip it. I watched her pull out an eyeliner pencil and a slip of paper. When she handed me the paper, I took it. It felt like a receipt from some store.

“I know, but this looks like a name,” she said, “or letters anyway.”

“It was probably carved in by some idiot that wanted to deface it,” I said as she motioned for me to hold the thin paper over the edge of the stone. When she brushed her pencil over it the soft letter M started to stand out more, then the A, followed by more letters that I couldn’t make out.

“Let me see,” Kaelie said after she finished brushing her pencil across it. I held the paper up and traded the flashlight for it. Hovering it over the paper I heard Kaelie gasp and watched the napkin fall from her hand.

“What?” I asked when she looked back down at the stone.

“Maggie, the carving reads Maggie,” she answered smiling at me, her blue eyes twinkling from more than just the light of the flashlight. “Do you think there’s a date somewhere?”

“It’s probably a guy carving his girlfriend’s name into the rock,” I countered, feeling the dew through my jeans. I went to stand up, using the stone to help balance me, but the stone, which I thought was solid and heavy, gave way. When it rolled backwards, I fell on top of it with a grunt as Kaelie gasped my name and reached for my arm.

“Oh my god,” Kaelie said as I rolled to my side. “Do you think you just set free some kind of evil spirit doing that?”

“Shut up,” I groaned as I got back up onto my knees.

“Should I get you sprayed off by holy water or something?” She asked and when I glared at her she laughed.

“Help me put it back,” I said looking over my shoulder. “There’s probably a big assed fine for something like this.”

“Wait,” she said as I grabbed the stone and was ready to pull it back up. “There’s something under it.”

“Really?” I asked as she leaned closer to the ground.

“I’m not going to touch it,” she said as I moved back around to sit beside her.

Looking down I saw what looked like a ring pressed firmly into the dirt. It wasn’t made of silver or gold, but something that weathered over time to a blackened color with rust along the edges. Reaching for it, I felt Kaelie grab my forearm and when I glanced back at her she shook her head.

“What?” I asked as I stopped and let my arm fall to my lap.

“Don’t touch it,” she answered as she waved her hand towards the ground, “what if it belonged to her?”

“Then it is really old,” I countered as I reached for it again. Kaelie tried to push my hand away, but when my fingers slid over the ring and pulled it out of the dirt, a broken chain came with it. Unlike the ring it was made of silver. Both ends that would have formed the clasp were gone, but the ring was still linked with it.

“That’s so strange,” she whispered, leaning herself into me to get a better look, “now put it back.”

“No,” I said as I gently pulled the broken necklace with the ring out of the dirt. “The old Karens that work here might give me money for it.”

“How are you going to explain how you found it?” She asked, shaking her head. “Just put it back.”

“I won’t say I found it under the stone, I’ll say I found it at the stone,” I answered smirking when she threw her hands into the air.

“You’re an idiot,” she said as I tucked the ring and the necklace into my pocket with my phone. When the last of it was inside a gentle breeze tickled my face. Glancing over at Kaelie the small wispy hairs that had fallen out of her ponytail weren’t moving and when she looked at me, I looked away, still feeling the cool air against my skin.

“Let’s put this rock back and get out of here,” I said as I leaned forward and grabbed onto the side of the rock. I watched her grab the other end and when we both pulled, it lifted back upright. The real struggle was getting it back into place without tearing away the grass that grew up around it.

“That’s as good as we’re going to get it,” Kaelie huffed as she fell backwards. My hands ached from the strain, and I had to wipe the sweat from my forehead on my shirt.

It didn’t look crooked, but it definitely looked moved, by about half of an inch. Reaching for it again Kaelie grabbed my arm then used me to help her stand up. We had been out here a lot longer than I had planned and the fact that Brady or Carly hadn’t called by now told me that they had been able to find enough room in my car.

“Ready to go?” I asked, but she was already turning towards the parking lot and when she started walking, I rushed to keep up with her.

“I still think you should have left that ring under the stone,” she said looking up at me. “There are laws, right?”

“Yeah,” I answered, as I reached down, I felt the circular outline of the ring in my pocket and glanced over my shoulder. All I saw was darkness. Beyond that was the faint glow from the safety lights, through a small stand of trees. I could just make them out and I realized how far outside of the old town the witch was laid to rest. It was nowhere near the graveyard at the church that held the townspeople that put her out here alone. It had to be her story that kept her grave from being disturbed or overlooked all these years. There was nothing else here but her and her stone. Nothing to protect it like a name or a date to mark it for what it was. No iron gate, nothing. She stayed here with her stone, because no one had been brave enough to disturb her resting place until I came along.

After dropping Brady and the girls off and after watching Carly trying to smooth out her clothes and make-up outside her door, I drove home. Not wanting to wake anyone, I tiptoed into the house and eased the door closed behind me. Toeing out my shoes I looked around the living room, every light was off, but the door was unlocked. That told me they knew I still hadn’t come home before they went to bed. I was too old for a curfew though, I would be starting college next semester, wanting to take some time off between graduating high school and now.

Walking through the dark living room and down the back hallway that separated the kitchen and an empty bedroom, I opened the door that led down to the basement. I lived in the basement; I had since I was ten when my older brother kicked me out of his room and none of my other brothers would take me in. I didn’t understand the reason until I hit thirteen, but I liked it down here, an ever-running washing machine and dryer aside. I had all the space I wanted, there even was a second living room down here. It was the place for family to hang out during holidays when the other living room overflowed with people.

Flipping the light switch after I hit the bottom stair, the stairway went dark, and I walked around the corner and pulled off my shirt. Remembering the ring and the broken necklace I slid my hand into my front pocket and gently pulled it out. When the ring slipped off the chain and hit the floor it rolled to the center of the room and hit the rug that Mom insisted on putting down here since the rest of the flooring was smooth and cold concrete. There was a handed down coffee table with my Xbox controller resting on it. The couch was a futon relic from a few years ago that I had to share during Christmas and Thanksgiving. Then down another narrow hallway was my bedroom.

Picking up the ring I ran my thumb over the edge, at first I thought it had been chipped or the weather had caused it to corrode, it was rough to the touch. Holding it closer though, I saw that it was just roughly fashioned, with sharper edges. The person that made it, didn’t know what they were doing. Still holding the broken chain in my other hand, I linked them back together and walked down the hallway to my bedroom.

I would never admit to anyone that it used to scare me at night trying to sleep down here. The house was always settling, so it creaked and popped. I always knew when people were awake upstairs until Dad insulated and added a thicker ceiling one summer after they upgraded the air conditioning, that was after I turned fifteen. I had to keep my television on to use as a nightlight that didn’t cause shadows and cover the noises the older house made. No one had made fun of me for it though, so I knew I had Mom to thank for that. Now that I was older, I liked the darkness that accompanied the empty rooms down here.

After emptying my pockets and placing everything on my nightstand, I gently laid the ring on top of my phone. Then I stripped out of my jeans and walked into my bathroom, the best perk of living down here growing up really and brushed my teeth. Yawning as I turned the bathroom light off and walked back to the bed I slid into my bed and pulled the covers up from where I threw them this morning. Reaching over I turned my bedside lamp off and closed my eyes after making plans to run the ring over to the museum tomorrow morning. I wanted to see what I could get out of it and hoped the story I planned to tell on how I found the ring was good enough to keep the questions from turning into a full-blown interrogation.

Jumping as I was about to nod off, I didn’t know what scared me. I felt like something had tapped my shoulder. I expected to see Mom hovering over me, checking on me or about to yell at me for breaking a curfew I kept telling her I didn’t have after high school. Not seeing her I blinked and looked out the tiny window, not seeing the base of the rosebush planted just outside it, I knew it was still dark.

“What am I doing here?” I heard from somewhere in the room, it was like a whisper of a breath. It didn’t sound like a completely human voice. Shooting up in my bed I looked around and felt around for my lamp. Turning the knob that turned the light on, I blinked at the sudden light. Not seeing anything in the room I let out the breath I held.

Sliding out of the bed I walked out of my bedroom and down the hall just far enough into my living room to see that I hadn’t left the Xbox on and it somehow became unpaused. Seeing the television turned off I shook my head.

“What the fuck, Ash,” I groaned as I turned and walked back into my bedroom. Glancing around my room I walked back to my bed and after I sat back down on the edge I looked down at my phone. The ring wasn’t there, but when I looked down at my feet I saw it on the ground still linked with the broken chain. Bending down I quickly picked it back up.

“Where did you get that?” I heard from the other side of the room. When I whirled to see where the voice was coming from I fell out of the bed. I hit my elbow on my nightstand on the way down and the concrete floor wasn’t a soft landing.

“Fucking hell,” I groaned as I rolled back onto my knees. My heart was hammering in my chest and it was difficult to take deep breaths. My eyes were closed and I didn’t want to open them as I hovered just below the top of the mattress. I had just accepted that I was waking up from some kind of weird assed dream, now I just thought I was going crazy.

Finally getting the courage to open my eyes and sit up so that I could see over the top of my bed I looked across it to the other side of my room. All I saw was the curtain that seemed to be moving as if someone had pulled it back and let it fall. The air conditioner was running, I could feel it in the vent over my head. The second vent back here was just above the curtain, I was used to it moving, but now seeing it I felt frozen in place. Looking around I remembered I had a tennis racket under my bed in my old school bag. I wasn’t good enough at tennis to get any scholarship offers to play in college, but it was more something to do. Brady liked it and had gotten me into it, he was the real tennis player.

Reaching under my bed I pulled it out. Feeling braver with it in my hand I scooped up the ring and put it back on my nightstand. Then I quickly slid my lamp back onto the center of the table so it wouldn’t fall. I was surprised it wasn’t shattered beside me after I hit the ground.

“Brady if this is your fucking ass, I swear,” I hissed under my breath as I started walking along the edge of my bed. When I was at the foot of it I watched the curtain move like something had passed by it quickly. Stumbling backwards until my back hit the wall and I had to catch a picture Mom hung of me and my brothers before it hit the ground. “Did Kaelie put you up to this?”

“Where am I?” The voice said, clearer this time and right next to me. Knowing it couldn’t be a trick or a prank I tossed the picture I held onto the bed with the tennis racket and bolted from my bedroom swearing with every step I took.

I was at the bottom of the stairs when I felt something cold washing over the back of my neck, like I had opened the freezer door, but much colder. Screaming I threw myself backwards and as I hit the ground hard, I rolled onto my back and when I looked up I saw a figure of a boy hovering over me, looking down with his hand outstretched.

“What the fuck is this?” I hissed as I heard footsteps hitting the main floor of the house.

“Asher?” I heard Dad and I looked up to see the figure look up towards his voice and then back down at me.

“The ring,” he said, “why the ring?”

“I don’t know what you mean,” I countered as a cold breeze washed over my chest just as the basement door opened and I looked up to see Dad hovering in just his boxers.

“What on earth?” He said as he started down the stairs. “Did you fall down the stairs?”

“No,” I answered, groaning as I sat up. “I fell up them.”

“Are you drunk?” He asked, coming to a stop halfway down them and I feared I was about to see more of my father than I ever wanted to so I looked away.

“Put some clothes on,” I said as I looked back towards my bedroom. I didn’t see anyone or anything out of place.

“I thought you were down here being murdered,” he said, and I looked back up the stairs to see him relaxing. “I figured you’d want me to save you before putting on pants.”

“It was a really convincing nightmare,” I said, knowing that any retelling of what just took place down here would get me taken to the hospital to get me tested to see what drugs I was on. There was no way in hell he would believe that I was hauling ass out of the basement because I was hearing voices and seeing things. Dad was a high school biology teacher; he didn’t have any patience for stuff like this. Mom was the comforting one, but she also slept like the dead and she wouldn’t be awake for another couple of hours. I also knew that my ass was far too old and grown to let a nightmare freak me out like this.

“Do you want to sleep in one of the spare bedrooms tonight?” He asked as he half turned to head back up the stairs. “I’ll help you make up one of the beds.”

“No, I can do it,” I said as I winced and slowly got back on my feet. “I’ll be fine, just go back to bed.”

“You haven’t taken anything, right?” He asked and I rolled my eyes.

“No Dad,” I answered looking back up at him.

“And no one slipped anything into any of your drinks?” He asked and I shook my head.

“I didn’t go to a party, I went to the unmarked grave with Kaelie,” I answered and frowned when he busted out laughing and had to clutch the stair railing.

“Really son?” He said after he stopped laughing. “And that’s trespassing, you shouldn’t do that.”

“I know,” I said as I reached up and grabbed the railing. I wasn’t planning on following him up the stairs, but the thought of being down here and the possibility that I was somehow suddenly going insane scared me. “I won’t be doing it again any time soon.”

“Probably not,” he said, turning to glance down at me. “I can get some clothes on and stay with you for a little while.”

“No I’m not a baby,” I countered letting go of the railing. “Go on back to bed, I’ll be okay.”

“If you’re sure?” He asked and when I nodded, he nodded and turned his back to me. I watched him for a few seconds before I turned and walked away from the stairs.

“Who was that?” Said the voice from just beyond the hallway.

“Fuck me,” I groaned jumping as the room spun. I had to walk over to the couch and when I collapsed on it, I forced my eyes closed and focused on my breathing until I felt my heart rate slow. It took more of an effort, and I wondered just how close I was to a panic attack, I never had one. I was always laid back, my older brother Gavin was the energy of the house. The one that never seemed to be able to sit still and bounced from room to room. He was the aggravation of Mom when she was in the middle of cooking, and he was sneaking food quicker than she was able to plate it.

“I’m tired,” he said, and I opened my eyes, he sounded closer and as I scanned the room I had to focus to see him. Standing just outside of the hallway, he was looking at me.

“Then go away,” I said as I sat straighter on the couch. Still seeing him made my heart rate pick up again and I felt my face getting warm.

“I don’t know how,” he said as he moved forward, it was a smooth motion that looked more like floating in water than walking. As he got closer, he came more into focus. His hair looked like it was moving in an ever-present breeze. It looked wavy and it fell just above his ears. There wasn’t much color to him, and he only truly took shape when he was still.

“Do you have a name?” I asked, thinking this was the most reassuring question I could ask. I knew I wasn’t going crazy if he gave me a name. That I wasn’t just seeing something that wasn’t really there, if it gave me a name that I wasn’t thinking, couldn’t know or had no ties to. That made me sane, it had to.

“I, I don’t,” he said, and I watched as his form seemed to fade and come back, then fade again. “I don’t remember.”

“Why can’t you remember?” I asked as I grabbed a pillow and pulled it over my chest.

“I can’t hold on much longer,” he said as he looked around the room. “Tell me how I got here.”

“I don’t know how you got here,” I answered, squeezing the pillow into my chest with both arms. His voice deepened and had lost some of the wispiness that seemed to echo inside my head. If my eyes were closed I would think I was talking to someone in my room.

“You have my ring,” he said, and I saw him turn and disappear into the wall.

“Your ring?” I asked but remembered him reaching for it earlier and I glanced over at the ground just beyond the stairs and saw the ring and chain on the floor. Standing and letting the pillow fall back to the couch I walked over to it and looking over my shoulder I quickly grabbed it.

“Give it back,” he said as he rushed back through the wall. “You have it.”

“Yeah,” I said and backed away from him as he rushed forward, through the coffee table and up to me. I felt frigid air against my hand as he reached for it.

“I have been looking, I couldn’t remember where it was,” he said looking at it as I held it out in front of me. I no longer really wanted to touch it. I knew why he was here now though, the ring brought him here, he was somehow tied to it. I knew what he was too, I just had to wrap my head around this actually happening.

“I’m sorry,” I offered, staring down at his outstretched hand. I could just make out all of his fingers and only when he held his hand still.

“Please let me have it back,” he said and I swallowed and stepped forward despite everything in me wanting to bolt up the stairs and leave the ring down here.

“Take it,” I said as I held it out to him. I watched him smile, it softened him and made him look younger, I could see more of him now. He no longer looked like something walking along in the rippling haze of a hot day.

When I felt cold air graze the hairs on my arm I let go of the ring still watching him, I heard it hit the ground. When he disappeared I looked down and saw him at my feet looking at the ring. He was on his knees, his hand resting over it, but he couldn’t touch it. When he looked up at me, I saw a sadness in his eyes that I didn’t expect to see. Being this close to me now, backed against the wall I saw him. He had freckles across his nose, a stiff shirt collar around his neck and a dressing jacket. The pants were odd and ended at his knees where it looked like stockings or socks covered his legs and he wore dark shoes.

“I can’t hold it,” he said, and I watched him straighten and move away from the ring. “It’s so close and I can’t hold it.”

“Am I going insane?” I asked as I watched him blink in and out of a form that I can see as he darted around the room. His voice gained the airiness again that seemed to echo as he moved, he suddenly felt farther away, but it wasn’t comforting.

“Where was it?” He asked suddenly and I felt a sudden gust of air hit my face as he came to a stop in front of me.

“It was at the witch’s unmarked grave,” I answered, pressing myself against the wall, moving my face away from him.

“The stone?” He asked and I looked out of the corner of my eye to see him looking down at the ring. He looked confused and when he looked back at me I involuntarily winced and swore under my breath. “It made it to the stone, that’s why I was at the stone, I can’t, I can’t remember…”

“Remember what?” I asked when he trailed off and darted away from the ring and back to it again.

“Why I was going to the stone,” he answered as he fell back to the floor and reached for the ring again. I watched him, his hand a blur as he kept trying to hold it. Then he slowed down and let his hand hover just above it, with his eyes squinted and his eyebrows furrowed. I watched him slowly lower his hand. When the ring didn’t move he made another quick swipe before he darted away from it completely.

“I can take it back,” I said, not wanting to bend down and retrieve it off the floor. “In the morning, I can put it back under the stone.”

“Don’t touch it,” he countered as he stormed back to me. “It’s mine.”

“I know it's yours,” I said, holding out my hand. “I took it from under that stone, I can put it back there.”

“No, please,” he said looking right at me with a steadied gaze, the most focused he’d been since he first appeared. “I don’t want to be there, I was alone, I can’t remember why I was there.”

Nodding my head I had every intention of taking the ring back in the morning. If that meant that I would be rid of him, if I could prove my sanity I would take it back. The sadness in his voice when he said he was alone at the stone, I couldn’t help feeling though. Until I told Kaelie that I was gay I felt pretty alone too.

“What is your name?” I asked again after he floated backwards and looked down at the ring he was drawn to it, that much I was certain of. The quicker I got it back to the stone the better.

“E, e, it has been too long,” he said as he started fading and blinking back into form again. “I don’t know my name, stop asking me my name please.”

“It’s okay,” I said, holding out my hand. “What do you remember?”

“Walking,” he said, looking around the room. “The warmth of the sun and then nothing, then darkness, and red, a voice, then nothing.”

“Were you at the grave of the witch tonight?” I asked relaxing enough to take a step away from the wall. I still didn’t want to take my eyes off him. Him not being able to physically hold the ring earlier calmed my nerves around him a little.

“I’m always at the stone,” he answered as I slowly stepped around him heading back towards the couch. Him being here still had adrenaline pumping through me, but the weight of it all was starting to wear me down.

“So, you saw me take the ring?” I asked as I sat down on the edge of the couch. With him hovering over me, being lower than him unnerved me but I didn’t stand back up.

“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “I wasn’t awake.”

“Ghosts sleep?” I asked, sliding further back onto the couch.

“Not really,” he answered, and I cocked an eyebrow.

“You at least know you’re a ghost,” I said, and it surprised me when he laughed. It was a mixture of what sounded like a bell ringing with a deeper, more human voice.

“Is Asher your name?” He asked after he stopped laughing. I nodded my head and watched as his form faded and then I saw a scowl cross his face as he seemed to struggle to keep his form.

“What’s going on?” I asked, but I didn’t get an answer as he faded into a blurry haze and then nothing at all. Standing up I waved my hand out in front of me, then realized how stupid I was and let it fall back to my side. Shaking my head I stood and stepped around the coffee table, looking down at the ring as I passed. I didn’t know what to do with it, a big part of me wanted to take it outside, as far away as I could. Hide it for safekeeping so that I could return it in the morning. I didn’t want it in the house, but I didn’t want to touch it either. If the ring is what brought him here, woke him up, I wanted to leave it alone.

I didn’t want it left on the floor either, part of me thought it deserved more respect than that. It belonged to him, or he thought a lot about it enough to be tied to it now. On the cold concrete floor, it felt like I was disrespecting the ghost.

Walking to the hallway I stopped and turned to look at it again, I could just see it in the low light of the hallway. Sighing, I turned and walked back to the bottom of the stairs and stared down at it. The stupid thing might as well have been a land mine, that’s how I felt around it. Like it could go off at any second if I touched it. Mom would be down first thing in the morning after talking with Dad though, to ask me about last night. He would tell her, probably with a smirk on his face, that she would end up scolding him, because we’re her babies even if all four of us were adults. I was the only one that felt the full force of her mothering though, still living here.

Grimacing, I finally bent over and brushed my finger across the ring’s rough edge. Listening for a breath, a movement of air, his voice, anything that would tell me he was still here. Not hearing anything I picked it up and adjusted it in my hand so that I had hold of the chain that it was linked with, and not physically touching the ring. Letting it dangle in front of me I walked back around the coffee table to the end table beside the couch. Under it I had a box that held old baseball cards and junk that I didn’t care much about. It was somewhere I knew no one would bother it. Pulling out the small box I placed the ring inside and slid the box back under the table. Standing, I walked back into my room and collapsed on my bed pulling the covers over me, leaving the lamp on, I rolled over and stared up at the ceiling. The picture and tennis racket on the other side of the bed, neglected, but I was never much of a roller, so I didn’t get back up to put them away. I didn’t expect to sleep and when I looked over at my window, the curtains were blowing in the light breeze of the air conditioning vent, but I could see the base of the rosebush planted outside my window.

Closing my eyes I took a few steadying breaths, thinking there were only two scenarios at play. I was either crazy or I saw a ghost. Talked to a ghost and it answered me, had its own distinct voice that I never heard before, even an accent that I didn’t recognize. I didn’t know which one I would prefer, hallucinations couldn’t be good though, no matter where my mind went tonight.