Ghost Memory by Maer Wilson Read Free Book Online

voice, “Mom?
Dad?”
    “I’m sorry we’re late.” Dad gave me
his crooked grin. “We were in a car accident, and we had to walk.
It took a while in the rain.”
    I think my horror finally
registered with them.
    “Fiona, what’s wrong?”
    “What happened to you – both of
you?” I could feel the blood draining from my face. Suddenly, my
hands were ice cold and shaking. My bag slipped back to the
sidewalk.
    They looked at each other in
surprise, but they too realized that the other wasn’t quite
substantial. I don’t know how long the three of us stood there, but
it seemed an eternity. I watched their facial expressions change
from concern to horror to resignation.
    “I’m so sorry, my dear, sweet
Fiona.” Mom’s voice was gentle. “I don’t think we will be picking
you up after all.”
    I felt the rain on my face as I
looked from one parent to the other. I was a bright kid. I knew
they were there to say goodbye. Whatever had happened, they were no
longer alive.
    “Stay here, Fi,” my dad said. “Do
not leave here under any circumstances, until a trustworthy adult
shows up.”
    “Make them show their ID. Under no
circumstances are you to leave with anyone who isn’t a police
officer or someone you know.” Mom turned to Dad. “My mother, we can
get to her and let her know.”
    Dad asked me to repeat my
instructions, a precaution they always took.
    “I’m going to wait here until
someone comes to get me. They must show me ID. They will get me to
Nana.” My voice was low, dull and leaden. My parents nodded, and
Mom reached out a hand, but stopped when she realized what she was
doing.
    “I love you, my sweet girl. I’m so
sorry we won’t be here to watch you grow up, but no matter where I
am, I will always, always, always love you more than anything in
the world, times three.”
    The rain was pouring harder down my
face. When I looked up, I saw I was nice and dry under the awning.
The streams of water on my face were tears.
    “My lovely Fi, you take care of
yourself. You are smart and talented, and you can do anything you
want to.” Dad turned to my mom. “Will she be okay with Nana? How
can she stay sane in that place?”
    Nana worked as a fortuneteller in a
traveling carnival. She was a bit eccentric, but I adored her.
    “Maybe Nana will settle somewhere.
Hopefully, we can have a clear line of communication. See to it
that she gives Fiona a solid, normal home.”
    I followed all of this with some
detachment, probably shock. Hearing my dead parents talk about
normal things, as if they were simply going on a long trip was –
well, bizarre. I had accepted that they were truly dead pretty
quickly. Something inside me recognized that. Even though it was my
first real communication with the dead, I knew it for what it was.
The grief would set in later.
    “Well, we don’t know how much time
we have, so we are going to Nana now, Fi. I know this will hurt you
for a long time, but you must stay strong and know that you are
going to be safe and taken care of. Your mother and I love you more
than we can ever say. Stay here.”
    He reached out a hand, but, like
Mom, didn’t make contact. I heard sirens far off in the distance as
my parents started to fade from view.
    I called after them, afraid they’d
go before I said the words, “I love you both, and I always, always,
always will love you more than anything in the world times three.”
The strain in my voice caught their attention and brought their
figures back clearer for a few seconds, and then they faded from
view. By then the sirens had also faded.
    I don’t know how long I stood
there, not thinking, frozen in place. Time didn’t have any meaning.
My brain had shut down, and I existed in some place where nothing
could touch me. I simply – was.
    “Fiona Bartlett?” A soft male
voice, then a pause. “Fiona? What’s wrong with her?”
    Voices started to penetrate. A
young cop, early twenties, stood a few feet away. He had a sweet
face,