Little Red Gem by D L Richardson Read Free Book Online Page A

Whatever you want to call them. The reason you got
inside my mom’s store was because she invited you in. And the
reason you need to cross over is to avoid being found by these
malevolent spirits. I’d hate for you to end up with the wrong
crowd. Mom has books on demons and they aren’t exactly fairy
tales.”
    What she said brought a
twisted smile to my face. “Aren’t you concerned about poltergeists
attacking you?”
    She shrugged. “I stay out
of their way. I’d suggest you do the same.”
    I gave up listening when I
spied Natalie and Shanessa pushing their chairs out from under the
table. Shanessa wedged some bills under the salt shaker, and with
their arms around each other’s waists they headed for the exit.
Natalie pushed open the door, the chime tinkled, and they walked
toward me with their heads rested against each other’s.
    “ Hey, superstars,” I sang
out to get their attention.
    My two best friends
ignored our customary greeting and kept walking down the street in
the opposite direction to where I stood.
    “ I still can’t believe
she’s never coming back,” said Natalie.
    “ It’s too surreal. Her
funeral is tomorrow,” said Shanessa.
    “ Whose funeral is
tomorrow?” I asked, running ahead of them to block their path. “Who
died? Tell me.”
    They turned toward the
curb and I guessed they were pissed at me for ignoring their advice
about not going to see Leo at the cabin. I’d gotten the vibe a few
weeks back that their resentment toward the time I spent with Leo
was increasing exponentially. Neither of them had boyfriends, so
they didn’t realize how being in a relationship meant that I felt
as if I were trapped in the middle of two equally strong pulling
forces.
    “ They’re not being rude,”
Audrey said, standing so close to me I could tell what flavor
toothpaste she’d used this morning, except I couldn’t sniff
anything. Not the coffee beans roasting, not the sugary cakes in
the cabinet, not the exhaust fumes caused by traffic.
    “ You’re nonexistent to
them,” she continued. “Stay here. I’ll prove it.”
    Audrey ran ahead and
landed with a jump in front of Natalie and Shanessa. Then she
walked backwards, waving her hands in front of their faces. She
even shouted out, “You sing like two tortured cats”, and they
didn’t give her the slightest bit of acknowledgement.
    Natalie and Shanessa were
very sensitive toward criticism of their singing, and for them not
to react meant they really couldn’t see Audrey. The proof was
sobering. This was not a prank.
    When Audrey returned to my
side, she wore a sad expression on her face. “I’m a projection and
you’re a ghost. My body is lying on my bed. Yours is lying in the
funeral parlor. You’ve got to believe me.”
    I shook my head. “No. I’d
know if I was dead.”
    While I watched my two
best friends walk with arms around each other for emotional
support, I wrestled with accepting Audrey’s version of the story.
To do so meant I was dead. And dead meant I would never again speak
with Leo. And there were so many words left unsaid, so much
business left unfinished.
    The final nail in my
coffin came when a customer walked out and Audrey pushed me
directly in front of the customer’s path. Instead of bumping into
him, I fell through him, landing on my hands and knees. My skin
tingled with pins and needles from where the body had passed
through me. A loud noise filled my ears, similar to water flowing
from a dam. For a split second my vision blurred. Then I watched in
absolute horror as my hands and legs split into millions of tiny
fragments.
    Audrey might have been
capable of delving into her mother’s magic bag to produce this neat
trick, but I wasn’t.
    I crawled into the gutter
because it seemed the most suitable place for a reluctant spirit to
bawl her eyes out. Audrey was kind enough to sit beside me with her
hand resting on my shoulder; although we were both apparitions the
contact still registered. I forgot