By Paula Bianchi –

“What happened, Lucy?” Dobson joined Lucy in the foyer.

“Emma just came running through here, and she seemed very upset as she ran up the stairs. When she slammed her bedroom door, that figurine,” Lucy pointed to the shattered mess of porcelain that spread across the marble floor, “went flying against the wall, then, this weird grey, misty cloud was hovering over where the figurine once stood.” She pointed to the empty spot on the table.

“Did you see which way the cloud went?” Dobson asked.

“It just evaporated.” Lucy told him, then, her gaze drifted up the stairs and fell upon Emma’s door. “I have to go check on Emma.” She said, full of worry.

“Yeah, you should. She’s not doing too good.” Dobson buried his hands in the pockets of his denim coveralls as his gaze fell to the floor.

After hearing the sadness in his voice, Lucy quickly floated up to Emma’s room and pushed her energy through the door.

Emma was crying into the crook of her arm, as her tall frame laid, on her belly, in the middle of a purple comforter, on top of her queen-sized bed. “I know it was her.” She repeated in a whisper.

Lucy sat down on the edge of the bed. She reached out to touch Emma’s chestnut hair and tried to comfort her daughter like she did when she was alive, but Lucy’s hands kept passing right through her.

At first, Lucy sat there feeling very frustrated, but then, she started looking around Emma’s purple room. Her daughter liked to keep her room tidy, so seeing the floor littered with books and magazines was quite out of the ordinary. Suddenly, the subject matter, of these tomes, jumped out at her.

Some of the books were about the metaphysical and the paranormal, but a large portion of this material, was about communicating with the dead because there were numerous books by, and about, psychic mediums, all stacked around the room.

Immediately, it dawned on Lucy what Emma has been trying to do. She was trying to contact Lucy in the spirit world. Tears filled her eyes as she looked back at her daughter with some understanding of what Emma was longing for.

One thought kept running through her mind as she sat staring at her daughter, and it was plain and simple. She wished she knew why Emma was so upset. As soon as she wished it, Lucy abruptly found herself inside Emma’s mind, and she could see through Emma’s eyes. What was amazing to her though, was how real it felt.

Lucy was reliving Emma’s day starting from the point, where, she walked home from school with her best friend, Stacy, and they were heading up the driveway to Stacy’s tan, two story house with dark brown trim.

Once they were inside, they were greeted by Stacy’s older brother (by one year), Mark, and a couple of his friends. Lucy could feel the butterflies in Emma’s stomach the moment she laid eyes on Mark, with his blonde hair and blue eyes. That’s when she could feel Emma’s cheeks blushing.

Emma pushed Stacy towards the stairs because she was in a hurry to get to Stacy’s bedroom and away from Mark. Lucy could feel how much Emma liked him.

“I can’t believe you’re still crushing on my brother.” Stacy threw her books on the bed and picked up her brush, from the dresser, so she could brush her blonde hair. “I told you he said you were like a sister to him because we all grew up together.” She reminded Emma.

“Yes. I remember what you said, but I can’t help it. Every time I see him, I blush and get butterflies.” Emma closed the door behind her, tossed her books and backpack on the floor, then she grabbed a magazine in an attempt to fan the rosiness from her cheeks.

Without warning, Lucy began to see flashbacks of different encounters between Emma and Mark, while they were growing up. They mostly centered around one theme. Mark’s relentless teasing of her, and some of these events, had left her in tears. Now, Lucy understood. Thinking of these events, helped Emma to push down her feelings for Mark.

“Do you still feel like playing?” Emma changed the subject.

“Sure.” Stacy went to her closet and pulled out a Ouija board.

They both sat down on the floor facing each other, with their legs folded in front of them, then they placed the board on top of their knees. Next, they both put their index fingers on each side of the planchette.

At that exact moment, when they placed their fingers on the pointer, Lucy could see spirits flocking into the room from every direction, until the room was packed with entities all wanting to communicate through the board.

Most of these specters had dark, negative auras. Some looked a bit murky and gray, but she could sense they were negative spirits too, only on a different level. There were a few spirits who emitted a beautiful white light. Lucy recognized their positive energy right away because she had felt it before with Keith and Remy.

“Mom? Are you there?” Emma asked the board.

The pointer started to circle around the board, until it finally pointed to yes. Lucy could feel Emma’s excitement rise, but she knew whoever was talking to her daughter through the board, wasn’t her.

Lucy popped out of Emma’s viewpoint, to find herself hovering above the scene below. Just as she had suspected, there was a man, with a murky, dark grey aura, and he had both hands-on top of the planchette too. He was pretending to be Lucy.

This infuriated Lucy to no ends. She wanted to do something to stop this guy, but she was just watching a memory. From her new viewing point, she could see the souls with white auras more clearly, and they were trying to get to the board, but the lower entities were blocking their way.

Watching this, made Lucy wonder if any positive spirits would ever be allowed to speak. She realized none would judging by the number of negative spirits that were in the room, and this negative man, with his greasy clothes and hair, had pushed his way through the crowd. The red mark around his neck left no doubt that he must have died by suicide.

“If this is you, Mom, can you tell me what day you died?” Emma was seeking confirmation that it was really her mother.

The pointer slowly started to move again. It went down to the numbers, then, it pointed to the one and the six. As the pointer began to pick up some speed, it spelt out ‘birthday’.

“Hi, Mom.” Tears started falling from Emma’s cheeks, as a smile spread across her face.

Suddenly, the door flew open, and Mark, with his two friends, came bursting in.

“Get out of my room!” Stacy threw a pillow at her brother, but it didn’t faze him.

“What are you doing with that?!” Mark asked.

“We’re talking to Emma’s mom.” Stacy answered. “Now, get out!”

“You know that thing is bullshit don’t you. How do you know you’re talking to your mom?” Mark wanted to know.

“Because, she just spelled out what day she died. My 16^th birthday.” Emma presented her proof.

“That doesn’t mean it’s really her. It could be anybody talking to you. You can’t trust those things.” Mark reached down and grabbed the board away from the girls, sending the planchette flying towards the door, where one of Mark’s friends, picked it up.

Lucy was happy Mark took the Ouija board. It was perfect timing as far as she was concerned. Most of the spirits in the room, fled once Mark took possession of the board. There were just a few stragglers left because they wanted to see the outcome.  

“I just bought that! Give it back!” Stacy yelled at her brother, as she got up and tried to get the board away from him, but he was much taller than her, and he kept it out of her reach.

Mark turned and ran out of the room with the board, and his friends followed him all the way to his car. Stacy ran after them, to get her board back, but her efforts were fruitless. By the time she made it outside, her brother’s car was already driving away.

When Stacy returned to her room, Emma was crying.

“I’m sorry he took it, Emma. We only got to use it a couple of times.” Stacy gave her a hug.

“I know it was her.” Emma told her friend.

“I don’t know, Emma. What if Mark was right?” Stacy sounded skeptical.

“You saw what it said!” Emma snapped. She got up and put her backpack on, then, she gathered the books she checked out of the library. “I know it was her!” She affirmed before she left.

Lucy suddenly found herself back in Emma’s room, sitting next to her on the bed with Emma still crying into the crook of her arm.

“I miss you so much, Mom.” She sobbed.

Lucy knew she had to figure out a way to communicate with her daughter. But, how?

Hope you enjoyed this week’s installment of: Lucy in the Afterlife. Come back next Tuesday and see how Lucy begins to learn how to “talk” to her family. Thanks for the visit. Bye for now.

Email: Remyel@hotmail.com

If you’d like to read Lucy’s story from the beginning, please select the Lucy in the Afterlife category from the bar above, then, scroll down to the first installment called, The Beginning.

Hope everyone is coping well with our new normal. Stay safe and stay sheltered. Sending light-n-love to you all.