"Ghost Catcher" by Remelisa Cullitan

            Billowy white clouds slowly darkened to black as they swelled with waters that were soon to fall on earth. Before the rains came, there was a settling gray calm over the world, or at least Laurie’s world. It felt like the eye of the hurricane. There was a strange calm that was rather soothing after the first round of disaster. Secretly in her heart, Laurie already knew that more destruction was heading her way after this serene feeling.

Suddenly the first wave of heaven’s water storage poured upon the roof. Rain pounded upon the brightly colored stained-glass windows that captured the image of rainbow-colored birds and flowers that started moving to the rhythmic movement of the water. That was when her demons clad in their darkest, shadowed desires started entering her once quiet life.

“Laurie dear, you really should consider selling this filthy rot hole... If you like, you may hand it over to me and I can take care of everything for you. You could even live with Aunt Martha and Uncle Seth, till you get back up on your feet of course. If there is anything else you need dear, you can always come to me, your dear, sweet, old, Aunt Louise,” dear, sweet, old, Aunt Louise slyly conversed while smacking her lips, eating the cracker and cheese entrees Laurie Dear had been working hard on to serve her unwelcome guests.

Laurie knew better than old Aunt Louise thought she knew. Laurie knew the house that was now in her possession was worth more than a filthy rotting hole old Aunt Louise had described it to be and also knew that the not so clever Louise would never give her what was rightfully hers when the house was sold. Adding insult to injury, how dare Louise bring in Aunt Martha and pervert Uncle Seth. Not that Laurie mind her Aunt Martha, by all means she’d love to live with her favorite person at that moment which happened to be Aunt Martha, but Aunt Martha’s husband on the other hand frightened Laurie for her own safety.

For a moment, Laurie started planning her words carefully as to what she would say to Louise, but something within her sort of snapped. Why should she say nice things to this woman? Aunt Louise wasn’t even blood related but married into the family and has been a widow now for five years. She wasn’t really a part Laurie’s real family any longer. Laurie painted on her most charming smile as she spoke in a low tone.

“My dear.... old Aunt Louise...Of course I plan to sell this house... when I’m old as yourself and can not climb the stairs to the second floor and beyond... Now if you excuse me... I have some important matters to attend to,” Laurie said in her falsely sweet voice. Laurie then left her fish faced aunt and entered the safe haven of the library, or as old Aunt Louise called, a closet with vast shelving for stuff.

The stuff was Laurie’s Grandparents’ books and treasures to be precise. Laurie cherished each item. From the small but impressive collection Grandfather had accumulated through the years, to Grandmother’s knickknacks that cluttered each self. To Laurie, these were all treasures that she planned to keep as long as possible. The house itself was covered in jewels of past memories she shared with her guardian grandparents, since her parents had been long deceased.

After brief weeping periods, Laurie emerged out of the small room and looked around at all the black feathered vultures that cluttered her house. They looked at her with their eyes filled with apathy. Clothed to mark the death which was carried in a sorrowfully manner yet lacked all emotions and only had self-interested thoughts of what they could gain from this death. Exactly like vultures preying on deaths, feasting on whatever remains they can find. Even as far as fighting one another to get what they desired to gain. The whole event sickened Laurie. This was to be an event of sadness for the passing of her grandparents. It certainly held a tearful note since her grandmother died from a blood clot in her brain and weeks later her grandfather, through an autopsy, died of a broken heart, well a.k.a. a heart attack. However, Laurie liked to think of it as a broken heart that killed him after the passing of his beloved wife.

Amidst her deep thoughts of hatred for her relatives, something, or rather, someone caught Laurie’s attention at once. At first glimpse it was a girl, maybe a few years younger than herself, making this girl at least sixteen years of age, who was wearing all white. The girl wore a crisp white summer dress that stood out among the black and navy blue sea of clothes. The girl had thick straight black hair and a conniving smile upon her thin pale lips.

Laurie did a double take to make sure she saw what she thought she saw, but at her second glance the girl was gone and all that remained was the endless sea of black and navy blue clothes. Laurie thought back as to which cousin that could have possibly been. No one in the family had black hair that she could think of. Everyone was either platinum blonde like herself, or had light brown hair. Possibly a cousin’s friend, but why dress yourself in white to a funeral?

Laurie pondered over this as she headed towards a leather covered armchair and slouched in, sinking far into what comforts the armchair could offer. The warm chair offered its physical comfort yet lacked the emotional comfort she searched for. It also lacked protection from the jibber jabber of the people that seemed to flock near her. With her eyes closed Laurie deciphered whose voice was talking to her. First was Uncle Seth who wondered if Laurie was awake. Laurie, without batting an eyelash glared through her words as she told him that she was awake and she would remain awake so he is better off looking for Martha than looking for trouble. Old Louise tried her un-deceitful antics and failed with Laurie’s fake snores that disgusted old Louise as she walked off smacking her lips and crunching on those cheese and cracker snacks.

“Cumbersome fools,” a soft female voice whispered into Laurie’s ear. Laurie was not able to recognize this woman’s voice and opened her eyes to see the girl in white. “Is there somewhere we can talk in private?” the girl asked looking around leery at the people who surrounded Laurie’s armchair like meaningless statues. Laurie got up blearily like in a dream, and without verbally responding she just started walking out onto the back porch, and led the girl into the vast backyard into the misty rain that sprayed over them.

“I have a proposition for you Miss Laurie,” the girl said as they reached the furthest corner of the backyard where a small grove of trees protected them from the water spray. Laurie did not know how to respond to this. She could only gape at the girl like a fish out of water. The girl walked around a large oak tree and looked around for a second before disappearing behind it. Laurie peeked around to find the girl sitting in a tire swing. The girl looked up at Laurie with her black eyes filled with pure curiosity while her lips smirked to something she was thinking of.

“Who are you,” Laurie found herself asking. The girl laughed to the question, but stopped briefly to respond, “It does not matter who I am. More or less, ‘what’ I am is the question and what I have to offer to people like you.” Laurie looked at the girl puzzled. She had never heard anyone talk that way before. The girl held a questionable manner that did not seem to suit a girl of sixteen.

In the back of Laurie’s head she knew that something was off with this character, yet she did not want to leave without some questions answered as to who this person was, why she was here, and why wear white, of all colors, to a funeral?

“Well if you won’t ask what I have to offer you, I suppose I can always just tell you, Miss Laurie. You know, shoot from the hip...How badly do you miss your grandparents? Moreover, what would you do to get a hold of your parents? Isn’t it a terrible feeling to lose people who are so dear to you? What if I could offer you a chance to be with them? Every single person who has died that you loved. Wouldn’t it be great to be with them once more? What would you say if I could give you what you long for?” the girl asked looking up at Laurie with her black eyes.

“What are you talking about? I’m sorry but what you’ve just asked me... every single question just sounded crazy. You still haven’t answered my question, and I have several more to ask you,” Laurie said watching the girl sway slightly on the swing. The girl gave no reaction, but instead had a look of deep thought across her pallid face.

“Alright... well what are your other questions?” the girl asked as she continued to swing. “Well first answer my previous question. Who are you?” Laurie asked. The girl suddenly had an annoyed look across her face. “Alright, if you must know my name, it is Lilith. Satisfied?” “Ok Lilith… Why in the world did you choose to wear white to a funeral?” Laurie finally asked the question that had been peeving her about this strange child.

Lilith gave a small smile as she looked down at her apparel. “Well it’s in my opinion that we mustn’t look at funerals and deaths as the end or in such a dark way. I like to think that deaths follow new beginnings and I dress to express those new beginnings. Well think about my offer and by the next full moon, we can work out the minor details since I am certain you will want your loved ones back,” Lilith said getting off the tire swing and walked back to the house leaving Laurie out in the rain stunned.

When she finally snapped to, she ran back into the house and shoved the guest around in search for Lilith but Lilith had already left. Laurie went back to the armchair and sat there thinking over what Lilith had told her. Hoping something would sink in. The only thing that sunk in was more questions for this little Lilith.

By nightfall, her demonic relatives fled under the cover of darkness, leaving behind a trail of cracker crumbs around the house. This is rather annoying, Laurie thought as she vacuumed the carpet around the house.  As she made her way with the vacuum around the main floor, her thoughts went back to Lilith. What does that little girl propose? Was it to raise the dead? Laurie didn’t like the thought of her grandparents’ corpses walking around. If only she had more information. That girl didn’t tell her anything. It was a no-brainer that she wanted to have her grandparents and her parents back, but Laurie didn’t want them to return in the decomposing form.