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order how? Throw you out? In a blink of an eye. You are not human beings.
You can exist anywhere, can t you? Why does it have to be in my house?
Again, the voice came.  Some of us died here, some close by. Those
cannot leave. They belong here. Many, many for years. From history before
the house was even built. Native Indians and pioneers and seamen and the
like.
There was much movement among them. Most seemed to be fading
away completely, until only a couple dozen remained. The voice spoke.
 Are you happy now? They have gone back to where they were before they
joined us here. It was a nice place with no outside influences, like YOU.
 You are telling me that all of you, all those who were here, are waiting
for records to be closed or whatever? How long does that take? And why
can I see some of you so clearly, but some hardly at all? Caroline wanted to
know. Suddenly, the whole thing was more than she could handle. She was
now positive that she was insane. A house full of spirits was just too much.
She lowered her head onto her folded arms and started to cry deep,
sobbing tears. When she finally looked up again, she was alone. Her
questions still hung in the air, but no one was there to answer them now. Did
her tears drive them away, or was it her fear for her sanity? It seemed to
Caroline that they could read what she was thinking, as she suspected
Malcolm had the other day, with the roll top desk.
She locked the house and moved like a crippled zombie on crutches, up
the stairs to her room. She turned down the bed and slipped under the
blankets. Sleep, she must sleep. When she awoke, she would call Dr. Martha
and ask for the name of a place she could check into for mental evaluation.
She knew she was crazy and needed help.
Sleep came quickly, but along with it came dreams. None of them made
any sense, even to her subconscious mind, but she was not frightened. They
96 Beverly Sims
were not nightmares, but rather soft thoughts of things she had heard and
seen since she bought the house. She felt Malcolm slip into bed with her, but
he simply held her close and whispered her name. When she finally awoke,
he was still beside her.
Caroline did not move, just gazed at his face. It seemed to be almost a
human face, now, not quite as transparent as before. He watched her and
moved his finger down her cheek. He pressed her head to his shoulder and
put his arms around her, holding her as if she were a child. It was incredible,
but she felt completely safe in his arms. Softly she cried again, this time for
the feeling of security she felt and for his presence. He seemed to
understand, nodding and wiping away the tears as they slid down her face.
She dozed once again
When she awoke, he was still holding her in his arms, smiling down at
her. Again, he touched her cheek and then kissed it gently. He slipped out of
bed and moved toward the door as if to leave. Caroline called to him.  Wait.
I want to ask you some things. He did not stop, just turned his head and
smiled as he left the room. She called to him again, but he did not reply.
Instead, several other shapes started to take on substance.
Taffy moved to the bed, waved a small goodbye, and faded away.
Herbert Devlin and SueEllen McThomas took Taffy s place by the bed,
waved and disappeared. Both men in the military uniforms did the same. Of
the ghosts she had known personally, only Donald and Heather, Dean Sloan
and Sunny McLaughlin remained. They stood around the end of her bed,
simply looking at her.
Malcolm glided back inside. He sat on the edge of the bed and took
Caroline s hand. For the first time, she actually heard a voice, a real voice,
from him. It was low but masculine as he spoke.  Caroline, we will not hurt
you. Taffy and the others left because their records are complete. Your
dislike of their presence here apparently pushed their trials ahead. You
probably will not understand what I am trying to tell you, but please listen.
 Different religions call it different things with different meanings, but
most commonly it is known as purgatory or an astral plane or A'raf or
gehinom or hamistagan. We who wait for a decision as to our afterlife place
refer to this place and time as  Decision of the Records. Taffy should have
immediately gone to Heaven, but somehow that was missed. In your world,
Caroline s House 97
Caroline, it is red tape or governmental bureaucracy. Whatever& your
presence here has resulted in the Records on some of us being closed.
 Like Taffy, Herbert and SueEllen were innocent of any moral crime
bad enough to cause their detention here any longer. David Marsh and Jack
Loman, who died in Vietnam, are now with the good men of their units who
gave everything to protect their country.
 Dean Sloan is still here because he was a thief. He was stealing logs
from the company he worked for. His body was never found because the
truck burned so completely, there was nothing to find.
 Donald and Heather will probably go on next time the Records are
reviewed. They had often broken laws by drinking, reckless driving, lying,
and other things rebellious young people often do. But until then, they are
stuck in between Heaven and Hell or the others places other religions have.
 Sunny McLaughlin Hathaway committed suicide. That is a grave
crime. She may never pass on, at least not for a long time, Malcolm
continued.
 I am here for eternity, I would guess, or until the Guy Below decides
he wants me. I seduced many women, including you, my darling Caroline. I
kidnapped, raped, and held captive an innocent woman and caused the death
of her husband as well as myself. But God only know how much I loved her
and she loved me. My family was shunned and disgraced. I could roam the
earth and reside between the lands for eons.
The others faded away until she and Malcolm were alone, and then
Caroline asked,  How do you know all these things, about the others, I
mean? And how is it that you become clearer and can now talk to me? I
don t understand any of this. She shook her head as if trying to clear away
cobwebs in her mind.
Malcolm returned to the bed, beside her as she sat. He gently pulled her
down, head on his chest, arms around her.  I will try to explain it as well as
I can. Each time I come in contact with you, as you did so willingly and I
did not force you to touch me, I gain strength. The strength to solidify a bit,
to talk, to move as a person again. This will only last as long as you allow it.
If you turn me away, I will again fade to nothingness as I was when you first
moved here. But if you do, I promise I will understand and will never harm
you. I will try to protect you as long as I can, but as I fade, so do my powers
over those who are still completely evil. My intentions were never  evil in
98 Beverly Sims
that sense. I was just selfish and loutish and uncaring, never cruel, nor did I
ever intentionally cause pain. Eventually, my beautiful Susan began to love
me, and had not I impregnated her, forcing our move, we would have been
happy together until we died naturally. [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]