After grief

Present day 

The next morning, I awoke in my small lavender bed that was covered with stuffed animals feeling relaxed and refreshed. Impatiently, I hurtled myself down the crooked stairs and into the kitchen.  

Three of the kitchen walls were painted a creamy colour and a fourth was a deep purple, the shelves were made of Victorian style oak and had glass built into the doors.

The cupboards below matched the shelves above, although these did not have glass, the kitchen counters were made of marble that was a white and grey colour.

We had a small 80’s retro style fridge-freezer, it was black and old, we also had a few other kitchen essentials that were necessary but nothing much. 

I found my mother at the oven baking some maple syrup pancakes with crispy bacon. Yum, my favorite!

But there was something else that had been on my mind, so as usual I just said what was troubling me; It kind of went something like this... 

“Mum, hey mum. That scary figure is still appearing in my room at night…” I tried explained to my worn-out mother. 

“Not another silly fantasy again Rayna, I can’t take any more of this damn creature you keep talking about” replied my mother agitated. 

“But it is real, he was there again last night, and he has been there every night for the past few years, I think it may be da…” 

“Ray do not finish that sentence, I know how this is going to end and it will not be like that, go to your room!” 

“But… but it really is…” 

“RAYNA ROSEMARY PHANTOMHIVE!!! I said go to your room, NOW!” 

I stormed off to my room, sulking as I dragged my feet up the old creaky stairs that leadup to the bleak hallway on the second floor.

Sluggishly, I walked through the passageway to the second door on the right. 

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. 

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My room has a worn, lilac colour plastered one of the walls, and a washed out white on the other three.

I have a small bed that was to the far left of the room, an old writer's desk with an old office chair that had wheels under the window that was on the left side of the back wall.

There is a vintage wardrobe on the, that is slightly broken with age, opposite the window. On the right side of the wardrobe is a small Victorian style chest of drawers, upon which is a small mirror and a little alarm clock.

A cream-colored rug also lies in the dead center of the room. Oh, and I cannot forget the mountain of cute, little teddies that I snuggle up to every night. 

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. 

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 As soon as I entered my room, I slammed the door and threw myself on bed of soft teddies angrily because my mother never believes me about these things; She always limits it to my overactive imagination.

Well, she is wrong. I know what I am capable of, and I know that it isn’t just inside my head, she just doesn’t understand!  

For you see, I have this... gift, of sorts. I have had it for years, it allows me to see the dead, it has also come in handy when catching criminals as the dead see everything and anything that happens.

Some people even called me a witch for it, but I am not, the real name for what I am is a seerer.

Either way they don't really care because otherwise they would call half of the town witches or warlocks, as at least half of the town have a gift of their own. 

This was different though, the slender figure, it felt weird, it was not like the other apparitions (or ghosts as some people call them) that I had seen or heard of before.

This one was more secluded and desperate than the others; there was a sort of sad, yet eerie vibe around him. Though it felt as if it was … familiar! 

“RAYNA” shouted my mother. “Are you ready, we have to go to the shops to buy some things?” 

“I will be, hang on!” I replied honestly. I quickly threw on a pair of pitch-black leggings and a cream turtleneck, grabbed my washed-out white trainers and rushed downstairs.

Swiftly I brushed my hair then put on an ocean blue denim jacket that I had left hung up by the front door and was ready to leave. 

“RAYNA” my mother roared. 

“Yes, mother I'm at the front door with the bags” 

“Oh ok, let’s go then”. 

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The buildings, trees and countryside went by like a blur as we drove to the supermarket. Why did I have to go?

I could stay at home and do homework or clean the house, but no, she says I am too young and well… yes, I guess I am, but I am also sensible and responsible… actually, no I'm not responsible or sensible, I had ‘accidentally’ nearly killed the cat once.  

I didn’t mean it, I swear!

I was paying more attention to my ghostly friends than what I was feeding the cat; I had accidentally fed Mr. Whiskers the plant food instead of the little food pellets that he usually eats!

It's not my fault that they look the same and Mum shouldn’t put them so close together! 

It had felt like forever until we reached the supermarket car park. While mum look for a car parking spot that was free, I felt a strong and odd sensation, it’s as if I am in a dream, like I'm not actually here but here at the same time...  

Freakishly, though there was this sort of strange aura surrounding or even emanating from within the depths of the supermarket, it sent chills down my spine and made me feel physically sick inside.

Dread was now flowing through me; I remember this feeling from once before; that day was the first time I had felt power like that.

It was the power of true evil, something hard to come by in this world as no-one ever knows how to find it but people like me find it now and again; some embrace it, others fear it, and some even challenge it! 

What about Me! Well, I try to ignore it, but you can’t really ignore something that smells like rotting corpses and a sky that turns blood red like a river that was made from the blood of all the people that it has claimed as its victims.

This could only be seen by angelic seerer’s like me though, so I always feel a bit… Well, let’s just say that I am a little different! 

This ominous being made it feel as if all the happiness in the world had been drained and from the looks of it, my mother hadn’t even noticed it was there.

I would have been fine if it was something I saw daily, but I was not ready for this… well whatever this evil was.

Unnervingly this being was stronger than anything that I had ever felt before and that, frightened me! 

I suddenly realize that the cars and people that were around me only a few moments ago had just evaporated from my sight.

I stagger out the car door coming to the realization that this aura needs to be eradicated, but by whom shall it be defeated? 

Mum started to walk towards the now desolate supermarket without knowing of the danger that was towards.

I must stop her, or she will get hurt and leave me just like dad did.   

“Mum wait!” were the words that screeched out of my lips that were quivering out of pure fear. 

“For what, no-one is h…” she slowly replied as if she had just been in a dream. Slowly she looked around in a slight daze discovering that everyone had disappeared in an instant. 

“Exactly, where is everyone, it is usually busy by this time on a Sunday and there’s a…” 

“A what Rayna!” anxiously asked my mother with a sort of curiosity 

The dark and ominous being seemed to grow and bulge as if it had just eaten a massive feast.

It was growing and I feared that this was just the beginning of something more than just conflict between the two worlds of the living and the dead.

Suddenly I felt queasy and about to faint, who would face an evil so great that it could rip holes in the fabric between dimensions… now I understand.

The reason for my gift was this, I was the one! I was the last defense, but was I ready… 

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