[Two to Write] Night's Final Hour - Chapter 54
Ivy Carter
“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock,
is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.” -
William Throsby Bridges
“Miss Ivy, I do not know exactly how to tell you this,” Benjamin begins
as I sit up. My head is swimming as he speaks. The world seems a sudden
blur.
“Tell me what?” I ask, turning gently. The ground spins beneath me,
reminding me that sitting is probably best right now.
“I believe,” he starts, staring past me. “You appear to have left the
land of the living.”
“Are you trying to tell me that I am dead, Benjamin Delacroix?” I ask
in disbelief. Of all the bizarre explanations for waking up in the
graveyard, this is the one that had not occurred to me.
“I have seen death many times over Miss Carter and your entrance is
certainly becoming of a woman who has died.” He walks away from me,
heading for a tombstone. I quickly piece together which stone he is
headed for.
“I don’t think my father will have any answers for you,” I tell him,
rising to my feet. The world has finally ceased its spinning.
“I know that,” he says, looking at me solemnly. “I just never thought I
would be the one to see the daughter of Mr. Carter enter the world of
the ghosts - the world of the dead.”
“It had to happen sometime, right?” I ask, feeling less afraid than I
would have imagined. Ever since I met Benjamin, death has not seemed so
scary.
“But you are much too young, Miss Carter. No one should have their life
cut short at your age,” he tells me with bowed head.
“You did,” I remind him. His eyes lock with mine, showing me the iciest
stare I’ve ever encountered.
“Miss Carter, I would not wish my fate on anyone.” He moves past the
headstone of my father to his own weather-worn stone. “Which is
precisely why I must help you move on.”
“To where, Benjamin? Where is it that you send these lost souls?” I ask
the question that haunts us all.
“I wish I knew,” he says, looking at me solemnly. “I wish I could tell
you that it’s all going to be okay, but I do not have those answers.
All I can tell you is that you no longer belong to this world. You will
soon be a spot in the paper and a body in the ground, nothing more.
With time, people will forget to mourn you and you will wonder why you
are still here. Hanging in the void between the living and the dead is
no place to spend eternity - I can promise you that Miss Carter.”
“Even if it means staying with you?” I ask, lifting his head to meet
mine.
“You cannot remain with me. Everyone passes in time. It is only a
matter of finding what holds them to this Earth.”
“What holds you?”
“I wish I knew,” he says, taking my hand from his chin. “Miss Carter,
we must figure out what - ” Company appearing in the graveyard cuts us
short. A young man has appeared across the graveyard, screaming
frantically.
“Help - I can’t breath! Help me please!” He is shouting into the air,
unaware that his screams have already been silenced. My heart breaks as
I watch him struggle to understand his sudden change in location. “Wait
- what’s going on?”
“Scott Stevenson, I’m Benjamin Delcroix,” Benjamin says, approaching
him slowly. “I have been chosen as your guide in the afterlife. I am
here to help you find your way.” Benjamin casts a glance over his
shoulder as me. He seems puzzled by something I can’t figure out.
“The afterlife?” He looks around at the barren yard. “Do you mean to
tell me that I’m dead?”
“I do. I wish there were an easier way to tell you, but there’s no term
that makes it easier to hear.” Benjamin seems to be repeating lines he
rehearsed years ago. The words seem to be doing their trick to soothe
the young man.
“I’m dead? Not crushed beneath the weight of a car?”
“Correct.”
“And you’re going to be my guide?” He asks, looking Benjamin up and
down. “No offense, but I think I’d prefer her.” His gaze has traveled
to me.
“She’s not qualified to be your guide,” he says rudely.
“Do you have something against women or something?”
“No,” Benjamin starts, but he seems to be at a loss for words. His
rehearsed lines seem to have run thin today.
“He has nothing against women. He just doesn’t like guys hitting on
me,” I comment, trying to save Benjamin. “My heart already belongs to
someone else.”
“That’s too bad to hear,” he says with a smirk. “Even the pretty dead
girls are taken. Such a shame.”
“Of course it is,” I say, with a smirk of my own. “He is right though -
we need to help you move on. You can’t just linger in the graveyard. Do
you have any idea why you’re still here?”
“What do you mean ‘still here’? Where should I be?”
“Well, some souls move onto the next life right away,” Benjamin
interjects. “Others linger in the in-between because they have
unfinished business.” I back away from the scene as Benjamin takes the
lead. “I am going to make a guess and say that you are still lingering
because your life was cut short so suddenly. There are probably people
you would like to say goodbye to.”
“Yeah, I guess there are,” Scott says quietly.
“We will start by making a list and then we will take care of making
sure they know how much you cared,” Benjamin is looking at me while he
speaks. “That should help you move on.”
“And me?” I ask, breaking in before Scott can begin his list. “What do
you want me to do while you two make a list?”
“Search for a paper,” Benjamin replies in a gruff tone. “I want to find
out how you died.”
* * * * *
Night's Final Hour by Crystal and Pamela MacLean is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United
States License.
“Disenchantment, whether it is a minor disappointment or a major shock,
is the signal that things are moving into transition in our lives.” -
William Throsby Bridges
“Miss Ivy, I do not know exactly how to tell you this,” Benjamin begins
as I sit up. My head is swimming as he speaks. The world seems a sudden
blur.
“Tell me what?” I ask, turning gently. The ground spins beneath me,
reminding me that sitting is probably best right now.
“I believe,” he starts, staring past me. “You appear to have left the
land of the living.”
“Are you trying to tell me that I am dead, Benjamin Delacroix?” I ask
in disbelief. Of all the bizarre explanations for waking up in the
graveyard, this is the one that had not occurred to me.
“I have seen death many times over Miss Carter and your entrance is
certainly becoming of a woman who has died.” He walks away from me,
heading for a tombstone. I quickly piece together which stone he is
headed for.
“I don’t think my father will have any answers for you,” I tell him,
rising to my feet. The world has finally ceased its spinning.
“I know that,” he says, looking at me solemnly. “I just never thought I
would be the one to see the daughter of Mr. Carter enter the world of
the ghosts - the world of the dead.”
“It had to happen sometime, right?” I ask, feeling less afraid than I
would have imagined. Ever since I met Benjamin, death has not seemed so
scary.
“But you are much too young, Miss Carter. No one should have their life
cut short at your age,” he tells me with bowed head.
“You did,” I remind him. His eyes lock with mine, showing me the iciest
stare I’ve ever encountered.
“Miss Carter, I would not wish my fate on anyone.” He moves past the
headstone of my father to his own weather-worn stone. “Which is
precisely why I must help you move on.”
“To where, Benjamin? Where is it that you send these lost souls?” I ask
the question that haunts us all.
“I wish I knew,” he says, looking at me solemnly. “I wish I could tell
you that it’s all going to be okay, but I do not have those answers.
All I can tell you is that you no longer belong to this world. You will
soon be a spot in the paper and a body in the ground, nothing more.
With time, people will forget to mourn you and you will wonder why you
are still here. Hanging in the void between the living and the dead is
no place to spend eternity - I can promise you that Miss Carter.”
“Even if it means staying with you?” I ask, lifting his head to meet
mine.
“You cannot remain with me. Everyone passes in time. It is only a
matter of finding what holds them to this Earth.”
“What holds you?”
“I wish I knew,” he says, taking my hand from his chin. “Miss Carter,
we must figure out what - ” Company appearing in the graveyard cuts us
short. A young man has appeared across the graveyard, screaming
frantically.
“Help - I can’t breath! Help me please!” He is shouting into the air,
unaware that his screams have already been silenced. My heart breaks as
I watch him struggle to understand his sudden change in location. “Wait
- what’s going on?”
“Scott Stevenson, I’m Benjamin Delcroix,” Benjamin says, approaching
him slowly. “I have been chosen as your guide in the afterlife. I am
here to help you find your way.” Benjamin casts a glance over his
shoulder as me. He seems puzzled by something I can’t figure out.
“The afterlife?” He looks around at the barren yard. “Do you mean to
tell me that I’m dead?”
“I do. I wish there were an easier way to tell you, but there’s no term
that makes it easier to hear.” Benjamin seems to be repeating lines he
rehearsed years ago. The words seem to be doing their trick to soothe
the young man.
“I’m dead? Not crushed beneath the weight of a car?”
“Correct.”
“And you’re going to be my guide?” He asks, looking Benjamin up and
down. “No offense, but I think I’d prefer her.” His gaze has traveled
to me.
“She’s not qualified to be your guide,” he says rudely.
“Do you have something against women or something?”
“No,” Benjamin starts, but he seems to be at a loss for words. His
rehearsed lines seem to have run thin today.
“He has nothing against women. He just doesn’t like guys hitting on
me,” I comment, trying to save Benjamin. “My heart already belongs to
someone else.”
“That’s too bad to hear,” he says with a smirk. “Even the pretty dead
girls are taken. Such a shame.”
“Of course it is,” I say, with a smirk of my own. “He is right though -
we need to help you move on. You can’t just linger in the graveyard. Do
you have any idea why you’re still here?”
“What do you mean ‘still here’? Where should I be?”
“Well, some souls move onto the next life right away,” Benjamin
interjects. “Others linger in the in-between because they have
unfinished business.” I back away from the scene as Benjamin takes the
lead. “I am going to make a guess and say that you are still lingering
because your life was cut short so suddenly. There are probably people
you would like to say goodbye to.”
“Yeah, I guess there are,” Scott says quietly.
“We will start by making a list and then we will take care of making
sure they know how much you cared,” Benjamin is looking at me while he
speaks. “That should help you move on.”
“And me?” I ask, breaking in before Scott can begin his list. “What do
you want me to do while you two make a list?”
“Search for a paper,” Benjamin replies in a gruff tone. “I want to find
out how you died.”
* * * * *
Night's Final Hour by Crystal and Pamela MacLean is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 United
States License.