Chapter 20

Charlotte

I ate my delicious candy apple. ~Crunch-crunch~. Dimitri walked next to me.

“How come you don’t like candy?” I asked.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I just don’t like sweets in general. Every Halloween I would give my brother all of my candy, but I do like chocolates.”

The haunted house was a big tent with a large sign by the entrance. Its name was painted in red paint that dripped, making it look like blood. A ticket booth stood in front of it.

I used to be scared of these houses and walk away... But now I was a princess of darkness, and Dimitri was at my side. I wasn’t scared, I was... interested.

I pointed to the haunted house. “Do you want to go in there?”

“Aren’t you scared that we will run into a ghost?” Dimitri asked me.

I rolled my eyes. “It won’t be the real thing.”

“Okay then.” Dimitri sounded impressed.

“I’ll use my voucher to pay,” I told Dimitri, and rushed ahead. I wanted to avoid the approaching people so that we did not have to stand in a queue. I paid and gave Dimitri his ticket.

“Thank you, I did not expect you to pay for me.”

“I don’t mind,” I said. “It’s not like I can use this voucher anywhere else.”

We had to wait ten minutes before we could enter. Inside, it was dark, and the ground was uneven.

There were a few lamps that were shaped like candles that barely illuminated the tent. On the floor were plastic skulls and bones, and cobwebs and spiders covered the roof and walls.

“Are you scared yet?” Dimitri asked.

“If I say yes, will you hold my hand for comfort?”

He laughed and took my hand in his, catching me by surprise. Touch was not Dimitri’s love language.

His fingers were cold around mine, but comforting. My heart was racing, and I knew it was not because of the haunted house.

We passed through the halls, and a malicious laughter filled the air. Instead of finding it terrifying, I almost laughed as well.

“You’re not supposed to be smiling in here,” Dimitri commented.

“Would you have me screaming instead?”

For once, Dimitri looked away shyly. We walked on, and the laughter stopped, followed by a silence that seemed to swallow us whole. I took a few more steps until someone jumped from around a corner.

“BOO!”

I could not help it—I screamed. Of course it was not a real ghost, it was a person wearing a sheet. The sheet was cut open by his eyes so that he could see. He laughed as he ran away.

Dimitri laughed as well.

“What?” I was not embarrassed. I could laugh at my own silliness. “He caught me off guard!”

“Just keep walking.” Dimitri’s smile mirrored mine.

We encountered several rooms with different decorations. Some were empty and others were stacked with papers and pens and fake blood.

Someone else screamed, and the sound of bat wings flapping came from a hidden speaker.

“They are good with jump scares,” I said.

“And decorations!” Dimitri added.

We passed more people who were dressed as monsters. They reached for me, and I squealed and ran to the exit. Dimitri laughed and followed me. “You lasted longer than I thought you would.”

“I made it through the whole house!” I said.

Once we were outside, we wandered away from the crowds and the noise. The stars were shining down on us, and I felt like reality was finally better than my books. It was a happy night, one I’d never forget.

I paused. A man was stumbling around, lost and confused. He was not drunk... He asked people for help but everyone just ignored him. They carried on as if he was not there.

“What is it?” Dimitri asked.

“There is a ghost,” I said, as a human passed through this man as if he were made of mist.

I felt comfortable telling Dimitri this. I would never have told anyone else that I was seeing a ghost—not even my sister. But I trusted Dimitri and knew he wouldn’t laugh at me.

I explained, “It is an elderly man. He is in the middle of the crowd.”

Dimitri studied the crowd. There were many people, and I assumed he didn’t know who I was referring to.

“You can’t see him,” I said. “Only I can.”

“Is he . . . dead?” Dimitri asked as he looked in the man’s direction.

I nodded. “He looks so scared. I don’t think he knows he is dead. Several people have walked through him.”

As I spoke, a woman passed through the man. His body shimmered out of shape like mist, and the woman shuddered. She was probably cold and blamed it on the approaching winter.

“Does he not see that people are walking through him?” Dimitri asked.

“Sometimes they see what they want to see. And sometimes we do,” I said.

“Maybe he just needs someone to help him.”

“Don’t look at me,” I said. “I’m not going to him.”

I had never knowingly approached a ghost before, and I was not planning on starting now. I tried to stay away from them and hoped they stayed away from me.

Dimitri looked at me. “Don’t you think you have this gift for a reason?”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

“Charlotte, I think your purpose on earth might just be to help them.”

My purpose . . .

For so long, I hadn’t known what I was supposed to do with my life. For so long I had thought my gift was a curse, a punishment.

But maybe I was exactly what these ghosts needed to guide them. Maybe I could help them move on—as if I was an angel. And Grandma May had seen someone in my tea cup who needed my help.

“I . . . don’t know what to say.”

“You’re always telling me how you don’t know what you want to do with your life. Why don’t you give it a try?”

I took a deep breath and pushed aside my fear. I left Dimitri’s side and went to the old man.

~I am not afraid.~

I reached the man. “Excuse me, sir.”

The man looked at me. “Dear girl!” He said this hopefully, and ran toward me. When he reached for me, his hand went through me.

His eyes filled with tears, and I could see how confused he was. He must feel alone and misunderstood—like I felt every day of my life, before I met Dimitri.

“Don’t cry . . . ” I said. I couldn’t see any wounds and wondered if he had died from old age. His windpipe wasn’t crushed, like the Red-eyed Lady’s, and he was speaking just fine.

If only all ghosts were this easy to talk to, my life would be so much easier. But then again, maybe the Red-eyed Lady enjoyed haunting me and didn’t have interest in talking.

“Why are you the only one that can see me?” he asked. “Why can’t I touch anyone?”

“You don’t belong here,” I told him. “Why are you still here?”

The man thought about that. “My wife. I want my wife.”

“She will join you when the time is right,” I said. “There is no point in lingering here.”

I began walking, and he followed me. I led him away from the crowd and waited for him to realize what I had told him.

“I am dead, aren’t I?”

I nodded. “Yes.”

We stopped walking and the man looked into the open field. “I was so scared... My family could not see me. I was screaming at the top of my lungs, and they did not hear me.”

“And no one in this crowd could help me, except for you. Thank you, child.”

He had been more scared than I had been. He was dead, but didn’t fear death. He feared being invisible.

“You will be heard again,” I told him.

He gave me a smile and walked into the open field. I did not follow but watched him vanish into thin air. I did not know where he went, but I was sure he had gone where he belonged.

I returned to Dimitri. “He is gone.”

“You did a nice thing,” Dimitri said.

I did, didn’t I? I had helped someone whom I was scared of. Being scared seemed silly now. He hadn’t wanted to hurt me. He couldn’t hurt me. He had merely needed guidance.

“He was not that scary,” I said.

We walked in silence for a while. My dress was warm, and the night was not as cold as before.

“Is there anything else you want to do?” Dimitri asked. “Are you sure you are not going to regret missing out on the rollercoaster?”

“I’ve had enough,” I said. “It was a lot of fun.”

“I have one last thing that we need to do before going home . . .”

“What is that?” I asked.

He gave me a sly smile, and we went to my car. I switched on the headlights and followed Dimitri’s directions.

We drove to a park where there were plenty of people and many lights. There was a rock climbing wall and a water tower.

After finding a parking spot, I walked with Dimitri to the water tower. It had steps, and we climbed them. When we reached the top, we sat down and gazed out at the city lights. Columbus was not big, but it did have a lovely skyline.

“This is beautiful,” I said.

“I always come here when I want to get away from everyone,” Dimitri said. “I’ve never brought a girl here.”

I looked at him and felt my heart go pitter-patter. He made me feel so special . . . and he was special to me.

“I know I should not do this . . .” Dimitri said.

“Do what?” I asked.

He turned, and in one swift motion he leaned in. Our eyes closed as our lips brushed together. The kiss did not last long, but it was the most magical moment of my life.