Page 101 of Squad Ghouls

“Close your eyes,” I told Petra. I had to find a way to get her to go. To move towards the beyond. I had to create a pathway for her somehow.

That was the step I wasn’t sure of. I had no idea what I’d done with Nathan, but he’d seemed all too happy to just burst into confetti and bugger off so I didn’t really do much.

I watched Petra, her eyes closed, her body glowing and shimmering.

“Think of your favourite memory with your sister, where it was, how it felt,” I said, hoping against hope some of it would make some sort of sense.

I watched a smile paint her features as she hugged herself around the waist, inhaling deeply.

“Imagine a…a golden slide leading you from here to that same place, to that same feeling,” I said, hoping the visual image was strong enough. “To the moment when you were the happiest with the person you loved the most.”

She frowned a bit, tilting her head like she was trying to find it. Wandering in the darkness of the afterlife alone. The glow dimmed a bit and panic washed over me. I glanced over to Ryan and shook my head. If he exorcised Petra, I’d never forgive him.

I had to get this right. I had to help her find the path. This was what I was born to do.

“You don’t have to feel lost; I’m here to help guide you. Follow the sound of my voice. The slide is right there. Can you see it?”

The glow returned. Brighter. Sharper. Stronger.

“I do. I see it. She’s waiting for me,” Petra said, a little breathless, reaching her hand out. “She’s calling me.”

“Go,” I whispered, heart hammering with anticipation and fear that it would fail right at the cusp.

In a burst of light, she climbed the invisible slide and disappeared.

Forever.

Andrea burst into the room, sobs racking her body as Bronwyn fussed over her. I wrapped my arms around her and let her cry.

“She’s at peace now,” I said.

“You told her?” Andrea asked. “You told her I forgive her? You told her I loved her and she was always in my heart?”

“If she didn’t know…she’d still be here,” I said, petting her hair as she let all of the pain and all of the anguish of her life flow out of her.

I helped gather the photos she had brought and tucked her into bed at my B&B one last time before she left the next day.

I went back to the retreat room and turned off the fan, putting the scents away. I looked around and smiled to myself because I’d done it. It might have been an easier, non-violent ghost, but I’d done it.

Ryan found me there, and he wrapped his arms around my waist.

“You were incredible,” he whispered into my neck.

“Couldn’t have done it without you,” I said, leaning into him and swaying in place. He lowered us to the floor until I was sitting sideways in his lap, my ear pressed to his chest.

“How are you feeling?”

I took stock of myself before answering.

“Weird,” I said, because that was the best word I could think of.

Ryan chuckled, making me bounce against him. “So business as usual?”

I smacked my palm against his chest weakly. “Shut up,” I said. “I don’t know. I feel less…empty than before? Like…remember how I told you there was a pull in my gut that made me want to help?”

“Yeah?”

“Well, it’s almost like the rope that used to pull me loosened. Like the empty space got filled. I feel shaky and tired and sad and exhilarated all at the same time.”