Tears in the Veil

[slippedhalo]

Tears in the Veil (open)

Rowan Churchyard had lived alone most of the last decade. It was more a matter of necessity than choice. Inheriting the house with the disembodied voices from her old, eccentric, great aunt ...Rowan's mum, Tara May, a working class, single mother, had moved into the big, old, creepy place rumoured to be haunted when young Rowan had been just eight years old. They'd left the city and a small apartment they'd been sharing for over two years with a boyfriend of Tara's whom they'd left the day after discovering he was married and had three kids on the other side of town. They'd spent about a month living in one of those motels most mums would be aghast to bring a kid to but it was all they could afford until contact with family led them to great aunt Iris and her empty house. If Tara didn't always wait for disaster to strike before calling her family she would have found out sooner that her favourite Auntie had passed away and left her a house.

It was later that year after the move that Tara was diagnosed with an aggressive form of bone cancer. She was in and out of treatment between hospital, hospice, home, and back to hospice, off and on for a long nine years thereafter.

Rowan became an orphan at age seventeen. Tara May had died in her favourite armchair watching a rerun of 'Doctor Who' on an unseasonably cold day in June. This left the precocious yet quiet teen alone to take care of a big, creepy, empty house and the heavily wooded, four acres of sadly unkempt property. She'd hated the house for the strange things which always seemed to happen to her in and around it. The house was haunted, no doubt about it. But, Rowan avoided certain places, the cemetary, the woods, the basement, the attic annex...because those were the places she had heard the worst of the voices coming from. Little Sarah Walker and her Gramps were ok, though. Grammy was fine too as long as she had the kitchen to herself in the mid afternoon and before six in the morning. Otherwise, she'd get pissed off and throw things around at intruders.

Grammy even flipped the breakfast table over once when Tara had awoken at around five and went into the kitchen to geta glass of water. The incident had freaked both mother and child out. Tara had no explanation for it. It may have been the only time Rowan could tell her mother had experienced the ghosts in the house. But, unlike her oblivious mother, Rowan had always been able to see and hear these spirits. She lived around the various spirits from eight years old onward. It had made her withdrawn and quiet to realize she could see and hear things Nobody else could. At school she was barely noticed, a living ghost in her own right, she only spoke when directly addressed. She observed other's keenly but had no playmates or friends. She only played with the ghost of Sarah. But, as a twenty-six year old woman now she didn't play with little Sarah anymore, though, the child kept showing up and following her around, asking her to play.

Rowan worked at the local Burger King, in the back where nobody cared if she didn't talk much, and for fun she painted landscapes sold at local arts and craft fairs.

Not interested in people and in anyone finding out about her crazy life was hard with the face and body she'd been bestowed by her maker. Rowan was someone who was fit looking but didn't have to diet or work out to keep her body nice. Her honey brown hair was a pretty contrast to her large, sky blue eyes (inherited from her father?) and full, sensual lips. She looked made for love affairs her mind and personality would be totally unsuited for thus far in this life. A sexy wallflower is about as incongruous a waste as a well carved chocolate teacup. But, there she was anyway.

Rowan was reluctant to work in the garden at her property, specifically, cutting the huge lawn, a hot, sweaty job with a small machine handed down from the crazy great aunt...no fun when one of your allergies is cut grass...

She was an itchy eyed, hanky mask wearing mess when an unknown truck came around, pulling up the long driveway and parking beside the front porch, and stopped her in her tracks. She didn't know anybody so she was hardly expecting a visitor. Who could this be?

Stepping away from the mower, Rowan wiped sweat from her brow and took the handkerchief away from her face, letting it hang down around her neck as she approached the truck and interloper with wary curiosity. "Hello?" she called.

ooc: Who's here?
Thread is open to serious writers interested in the paranormal, good story telling, and possible romance.

 

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*Bump*
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Ooc: Still looking for writing partners.

 

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[wombat9966]

Nathan had been watching over Rowan ever since her mother had died. Before that he had watched over her and before that he had watched over her Aunt Iris. He was now bound to their line and was to be their spiritual protector for the next ten generations or until the line died out. He was bequeathed to whoever his charge told him on their deathbed or their firstborn.

Just how this came about was really his own fault. He had been a gangster in the early part of the 1900's and had made a living working for the kings of New York. He had been a strong arm man and enforcer back in the days when guns were hard to come by and men used their fists and knives to sort out their problems. Nathan was very good at his job being an ex circus strong man who had also learned a thing or two from the knife juggler. He had quickly risen in the ranks and become one of his gangs top enforcers and a feared member.

The trouble all started when he was given the wrong address by a rival in the gang. He had busted in the door and threatened the owner as usual, but the sap had pulled a knife and he had been forced to defend himself and ended up killing him. That's when his family had come home. Now Nathan knew his target had no family and knew he had been set up. He saw red because he may be a thug but he was no murderer. He apologized to the lady and offered to put things right with her and hunted down the member who had given him the wrong information and brought him before her getting him to confess his crime to her. He then asked her what to do with him and she in her grief ordered him killed. Nathan did just that and hung him in the public square as a warning to his rivals.

From then on he took care of the family and made sure they were looked after, but two years later he was killed. However such was his promise that he came back and little things began to happen around the house. Bread and milk would appear on the doorstep. Things would repair themselves and would be thieves fled in terror saying something had thrown them around. Soon people knew to treat the family with the same respect they had when Nathan was alive. Iris was the little Girl then and she started to see him so he stayed with her throughout her life.

Now he watched over Rowan from the woods. Iris had bought this house because she was a sensitive and she had felt all the activity here. Nathan couldn't stand it. Oh he didn't mind the little girl Sarah and often played with her, but the crazy old woman in the kitchen and the other ones in the house drove him nuts, so he preferred to stay outside. Still there were a few ghosts out here as well. There were the ones in the cemetery that liked to complain about how life was better in the old days. They were pretty harmless, but that civil war horseman took things too far chasing him around all the time and the little kids. There were three small children aged about 5 or 6 that were stuck inside the cemeteries limits. Normally they played hide and seek or ball games that he would sometimes join in, but whenever the horseman was around they retreated as best they could into their graves.

One thing most humans didn't understand, one ghost could harm another ghost and it did hurt. All those old battlefield ghostly reenactments that people saw and thought were fun to sometimes observe were not fun for the ghosts. They were reliving their deaths over again with all the pain involved. Nathan was lucky in that way. He was a conscious ghost that had a purpose after death. So far his job had been easy. Rowan had stayed in the house and kept to herself. He had only had to fix a few things and he was pretty sure she hadn't even noticed. Oh he knew she was sensitive enough to see ghosts, he had seen her play with Sarah when she had been younger, but he was sure she was trying to ignore them now she was older and that suited him fine. If she didn't find anyone then he would be free that much sooner. Of course he would look after her to the best of his abilities but that didn't mean he had to find her a mate.

His head snapped up as he heard the sound of tires on the gravel driveway. Now who could this be. No one ever came out to the 'Haunted House'. Well he would just have to wait and see and if it was someone threatening his charge they would be sorry they ever stepped foot on the property.

 

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Sarah stood on tiptoe at the window, curious to see who the stranger was. They almost never got visitors. It was always so boring!

Granny and Grandad were someplace else so she'd gone up to feed the "beast" locked in eternal chains in the attic...He made scary animal noises but she'd learned long ago he was just a boy born with lots of things wrong who was not treated right at all and that made him worse. There was a time, maybe hundreds of years ago, she wasn't sure about time, it blurred all quick and fuzzy and yet stayed the same all at once...but long ago he used to terrify her. That was back during the living times. When she was a child her jacks and cloth dolly were the best toys ever...Now, children play games she can't comprehend with objects alien to her senses... But, he couldn't hurt her now that she had no real body to kill so she was much less afraid of him in her current state than she used to be back when horses pulled carriages and lamps held flames, not lightning.

Rowan had always been scared of the noises in the attic. Sarah had never been able to show her the little room near the front, then, with all the nice toys... mostly busted up and turned into new abominable creations by the beast boy when he'd been alive and locked up there all the time. Rowan had never seen the room Sarah now would go to at times to hide or to "feed" the beast. If she found something broken she thought he'd like to play with she often brought it up to him and left it for him to repair or create something new with if he so wished. It made him sort of happy and when he was happy he would stay in his room without the noises or fussing.

He was using his toenails to pry apart a rotary telephone from its casings while Sarah observed the stranger outside talking to Rowan. Rowan looked bewildered, guarded, nothing got her to smile hardly at all anymore, to Sarah's dismay. Her once playmate was all grown up and serious, and boring...Sarah regarded the stranger...Would Rowan like to perhaps keep him around? Maybe she could use another living soul around for company, a person in this realm and everything. Maybe he could be her Prince Charming!... Sarah looked at his hands. No glass slipper like in Cinderella. She frowned.

Then, something astonishing happened. He looked up at the window and locked eyes with Sarah. He.Saw.Her.
With a shocked gasp Sarah quickly moved away from the window.

He had seen her! But, only Iris and Rowan had ever been able to properly see her since her death!
What did it mean that this man could?

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew had been traveling for awhile now. He was a scout for a television show called 'Haunting's'. It was a new show just starting up following in the footsteps of all the other paranormal hit TV shows going around. Matthew thought they had missed the boat on this one as they popularity had been waning but who was he to say no to a steady paying job.

His actual job was to take all the rumors they had of local haunted sites and houses and then go out and see if it would make for good TV. He was chosen because the rumor around the station was that he was good at debunking places quicker than the experts and finding really good spots. The truth was Matthew was a sensitive. He had been able to sense and see ghosts since the moment he was born. He had played with a friendly nurse from the 18th century when he was a baby and a pair of ghost kids growing up. His parents had moved from town to town and everywhere he had found at least one ghost. Some friendly, some not but he had seen them all.

Now he was at this house because of all the rumors they had received. It looked pretty plain but he had never let that fool him and as soon as he got out of the car he started to sense something. He saw the lady trying to cut the grass and immediately he knew of one way he could maybe get a foot in the door. Walking towards her he smiled. " Hi there my names Matthew. Matthew Dunn. I work for a TV company and we are doing a show about haunted places. The rumors say your place is one of them. I was wondering if you would be interested in letting me have a little look around. We would be willing to pay you a thousand dollars just for looking and if we find anything and want to use your house on our show then you can expect to earn at least ten times that. I know it will be a big imposition for you letting me trapse through your house and all, so while I do why don't I do some chores around the house at the same time. Sort of pay my way for being in your way and all."

He smiled again and looked around at her place, this time checking out her house as well. Looking up he looked into a window and spied a little girl looking out at them. He was about to wave when she ducked back. A shy one he guessed. He turned back to woman. "Oh I am sorry I didn't know you had a daughter. Why don't you invite her out and we can discuss it all together. I don't want her to feel left out."

 

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Rowan studied the man who'd introduced self as Matthew Dunn while he talked. He looked around her age, well, not much older than thirty if he even was that old. He was kind of good looking but not in the annoyingly obvious ways like actors on the TV, but definitely cuter than the guys at work. He seemed so confident and self assured as he told her about the haunting show he worked for and how he wanted to investigate her home...

"People say my house is haunted? Who? Nobody's come around here except the mailman in years." Rowan asked after listening to the initial spiel. She shook his hand weakly and gave her name, her thoughts now wrapping around the notion of her privacy broken by the likes of a television show...and the money...the money could be good...The roof could use redoing soon, extra money would be helpful in getting that done soon...

She watched his eyes venture from her face to look around the big, old house. She followed his eyes as movement in the attic window caught her attention and she was surprised to see he'd looked up to the same very spot where she saw Sarah looking out at them. But, of course, Rowan knew sh e could see Sarah but he'd see nothing, perhaps just sense the movement of the curtain...Then he shocked Rowan by indicating the girl ghost in the window and mistaking her for Rowan's living daughter.

Rowan's jaw dropped. The color drained from her face and her blue eyes went huge as she looked into Matthew's eyes for the very first time, "You SAW her?!" Her mouth went dry and she found herself wringing her hands. How does one handle her first meeting with another person who was able to see thinhabitants like she did. The confirmation that she was right all along and not crazy was already quite overwhelming and led Rowan to pace a moment before finally letting her knees buckle to sit down on the porch steps. He followed her with a confused expression on his face.
Once more, they locked eyes and she conveyed the years of loneliness in being the only living being in a house full of all manner of paranormal occurrences and asked, "You...You can see them?"

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew was confused by her reaction at first. What had he done to upset her. Maybe she was hiding her child away from an abusive EX or something. When she sat down on the porch he followed her wondering if there was something he could do for her or some way he could reassure her he wouldn't tell anyone about her. He would keep her secret if that was what she wanted.

That's when he saw her eyes and knew what he must have seen and why her reaction had been so violent. They were like looking into his own almost 10 years ago at age 18. He had finally found another sensitive who although they hadn't been able to see ghost's like he could, could actually hear them and sense their presence. It was like a drowning man being given a life ring. You just knew you were no longer crazy. All those things you had been seeing and hearing for so many years that no one else could and they had all told you you were crazy about, here was someone else telling you you weren't and they could back it up.

"You...You can see them?", She asked him and Matthew nodded back. "It was a little girl. I don't know her exact age but I would say between 6 and 8 years old dressed in a skirt. Plus I know she is not the only one you have on your property is she. As soon as I got out of my car I could tell this place was a hotbed of activity. Look Rowan I won't lie to you. I am what is called a sensitive. I can see and hear ghost's. I have done it since I was born. Truth to tell most ghost's are harmless and are actually fun to be around, I mean they are just like people. Still just like people you get your jerks. I take it you have a few of them here by your reaction." He could tell just by the energy of the place and the lands that there had to be more than one Jerk in this place.

"Look I can help you out a little if you will let me. For one thing I can reassure you that your not alone in the world. That should bring you a little peace of mind right there. I can also give you a website that is run by a good friend of mine. It is password protected and only true sensitives are allowed to access it. You will be amazed how many of us there actually are, but if you are like me we are actually pretty rare. Not too many people can actually see, hear, and interact with ghost's no matter what." He smiled at her "Maybe not a great thing to learn but at least we are special huh."

"The second thing is if you agree to let me at least look around you can have that thousand dollars and considering the level of haunting in this place I can easily get a bonus and get that bumped up. I can get the grounds included etc so maybe another 1 or 2 thousand dollars just for looking. At the same time we can give your place a good going over together and you can tell me what you see, and I can tell you what I see and we can compare the two. Or to make sure I am not making it up we can write it down together and then compare notes so you can see I am not lying. Of course I will have to do the televisions tests as well. You know those emp tests and heat tests and sound tests etc. Maybe set up some cameras overnight. So what do you think?"

 

[slippedhalo]

She tried slowing down her breathing as he made his proposal. It sounded reasonable enough. Why was part of her still scared to let him in?

"I can do that, I think. I'm not sure I'd like my house on TV though, I don't need that kind of attention but, I'll think about it while you sort the rest out...How many days and nights? Just you, right?" she asked, rising to her feet and leading him to the front door. "Do you, by the way, cut grass, in exchange for a homemade supper, perhaps? I'm allergic to the grass, hence the bank robber effect." She joked shyly, showing how the handkerchief had been over her face.

Opening the door she saw granny scatter out of the living room and head into the kitchen. Rowan gulped and said, "There's seriously times the kitchen is a bit...hostile, though. Late afternoon or early morning snacks don't happen around here unless one wants to risk granny throwing things at you. She hates being interrupted. But, if you're patient she leaves presents sometimes. I've come home from work to find homemade lasagna cooking in the oven, or stew on the hub, and the day's dishes all washed and sitting on the drying rack. She's stressful to live with but can be kind if her space is respected."

He had seen the form leaving the room too. Rowan felt chuffed to have someone to share this with. She nearly half smiled at his caution in approaching the kitchen door.

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew had seen the old lady vanish into the kitchen and considering Rowan had told him she lived alone he knew she must be another one of her ghosts. As they made their way towards the kitchen he was a bit anxious about entering it. After all Rowan had been living with these ghosts for quite some time now and he was the intruder. It was always a bit of a gamble to enter any place there was a ghost for him. Once they realized he could see and hear them their responses generally became intense. Some tried to make him leave while others became intensely curious about him. He hoped because they were used to living with Rowan that the ghosts here would be more understanding.

As they entered he looked for her again but she had disappeared. Maybe she was shy or she just did not want to be seen by him yet. "I know the feeling. I have lived with a few ghosts myself. Still if you respect their wishes they normally respect you. After all they are just trying to live their lives if you will pardon the pun," he smiled.

"As for the amount of time I will need, normally I would take about three days to investigate a house, but I need to investigate the grounds as well so it might take me about a week. Of course during that time I can cut your lawns for you and do any odd jobs around your house that need doing. You would be amazed at how many things I know how to do. I have had a lot of jobs during my life. It is amazing how many times you can be fired if the boss thinks your crazy for talking to imaginary friends," he chuckled.

 

[slippedhalo]

Rowan poured lemonade for herself and a glass for her guest. Handing it to him, she announced, "Lemonade, freshly squeezed. Granny makes a pitcher every day as long as I keep providing the lemons and sugar."

She looked around, then indicated it was OK to take a seat at the round, oak table and she sat too. "I've never had a real house guest before. There's bedrooms enough, though. I think my mother's old room would be nice for you. Or, perhaps you'd prefer Aunt Iris's old room. It doesn't have the en suite bathroom like my mother's and mine have but it's in a better location in the house to avoid the...um...screaming and noises which come from the attic most nights."

With a visible shudder Rowan raised her glass to her lips, downing what was left of her lemonade. She folded her hands on the table beside the sweating empty glass, staring at her hands as she wrung them. "There are places in this house I won't visit. You may if you wish but I won't join you. The attic annex is one of them. The noises and smells from there... it's too much for me." Her eyes welled up. "I know, it's cowardly. But...I can't. "

"The other two rooms have been turned into my office and paint studio...off limits, please, as is my bedroom. I do need some space of my own...and the other extra room is a sort of home gym which I don't mind sharing. The house and grounds are yours to explore except for my two rooms. I'll help in any way I can." Rowan said.

Rising, she told him where the laundry area was at the back of the attached garage where tools often went missing for months or years at a time, where upstairs he could find towels and linens, and asked, "Would you like me to show you around?"

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew grinned. It looked like he had passed the first test. He drunk his glass of lemonade and smacked his lips. Whoever she was, this Granny made one heck of a jug of lemonade. He looked around but he still didn't see her so he just raised his glass. "First I have to thank Granny is it. This has got to be the finest glass of lemonade I have ever had, and no I am not just saying that to try and butter you up. I have had some in places that claim they are the best but whatever you do the balance of sweet to tart is just right."

Looking at Rowan he smiled. "As for allowing me to stay, thank you very much. I will take your mother's old room if you don't mind. Screaming and noises don't bother me much any more. Hey maybe I can even find out what they are all about for you. Sometimes it is just a ghost who is trapped and needs help moving on, but yes sometimes it is one of those jerks we talked about earlier. Don't worry though I do have a few tricks up my sleeve to deal with them as well."

He nodded as she explained which rooms were off limits. "Totally understandable, after all a person does need some privacy and I hope the ghosts respect that as well. I will take you up on the home gym offer as well. I don't get too much exercise on the road so I like to work out when I can."

Matthew jumped at her offer to show him around. "If you wouldn't mind. At the same time you can tell me what sort of activity I can expect and when it would be okay or not advisable to go near the area. Like no going into the kitchen early in the morning or late in the afternoon. Maybe I can get Granny to tell me why that is. Anyway a tour would be great," he smiled. "Oh at the same time you could show me any little jobs you need doing as well and I can tell you if I can handle them or not."

 

[slippedhalo]

Rowan gave the house tour. It was rather big for one living person, the living room was large and furnished in old fashioned looking furniture. The most modern addition being a nine year old television set with a digital cable receiver and the corner sewing machine table now housed a small laptop computer and modem.

The kitchen he had seen. In the floor was a hatch and ladder down to the cellar. Then, there was a formal dining room equipped for eight but it was obviously not in use for many years. Off of the kitchen was a little pantry where they carefully made their way past a freezing cold ball of light hiding behind a shelf of canned fruit...and checked out the garage.

To avoid granny or whomever had made the pantry feel so unwelcoming, they walked down the driveway and around to the front porch again, this time continuing their tour upstairs. Upstairs were five bedrooms, two of them en suite, a deluxe bathroom at the end of the hallway flanked by a closet on the right and the door to the stairway leading to the attic on the left.

During the tour Rowan explained that mostly little handy man tasks might be needed all around in places. She wasn't the best at repairs. The gardening was hard on her with her allergies so help with that would be good and help around the house would just generally be nice, whatever he thought he could do. "I think tomorrow will be weird. I've got to work 8 to 4. But, I can get breakfast and dinner sorted for us. You'd be on your own for lunch, though...Can I trust you here alone?"

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew looked her in the eye. "No actually. I thought while you were gone I would rob you blind and then disappear without a trace." He kept looking at her with a very serious look on his face but then he couldn't hold it any longer and he began to laugh long and hard.
"I'm sorry Rowan I just couldn't resist it. Yes I will be fine tomorrow. I have a lot to do. I have to put up some of my sensors in the house in the safe areas you have indicated and I will also put them up in the cemetery and the woods. That will at least give me some data to show the producers of the show hopefully. I will also be calling them and getting our legal department to add your grounds to our standard contract. It might take them a day or two to fax it to me and then once you sign it they can write you a check or wire transfer you the money."

He looked at the house and then the grounds. "Besides if I am lucky I might get to chat with Sarah or Granny tomorrow, but I will definitely finish off your lawns for you. So you can see I have Enough to keep me busy for the whole day."

 

[slippedhalo]

She didn't share in his laughter at her expense. She hated being laughed at. Rowan turned away and tried changing the subject so she wouldn't start reliving schoolyard teasing.

"Oh, and don't be alarmed by the rocking chair on the porch if it moves on it's own. Sometimes we see him sometimes just feel him there and smell his pipe. That's Sarah's Grandad." Rowan explained.

She turned back to face Matthew, "I was laughed at a lot as a kid...I don't like how that feels." She said sharply.

He followed her back outside and she pointed to the lawn mower. "I'll leave that there for you to finish at your earliest convenience. It goes into the garage when you're done. I'm going up to paint for a while. I'll have dinner ready around six. You don't have special dietary restrictions, do you?" She asked, already back to the door and heading inside.

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew realized he had stuffed up. He had only meant to lighten the mood not make her think he was making jokes at her expense. He rushed after her and caught up to her just before she could slip inside. He grabbed her arm lightly, Just enough to stop her but not firm enough that she couldn't easily tug it out of his grip.

"I'm sorry Rowan. I was not making fun of you honest. It was just a stupid joke to try and lighten the mood. I know what it is like to be teased as a kid. How many times did you move? My dad was a traveling fix it guy for a business firm. If they had a problem at one of their plants or factories dad would be called in. We could be in Colorado for six months then Florida for two years. Actually I think the longest we ever stayed in one place was 13 months but you get the picture. Dad was good and well paid so we were well off, don't get me wrong, but do you know how many schools have ghosts in them? 100% as far as I can tell because every school I went to had at least one and as soon as they knew I could see and talk to them they wouldn't shut up. Most of them had committed suicide there and now regretted it. Of course if you are caught talking to a ghost what do other kids think. You are a freak or just crazy. It also didn't help when your new friends helped out by pushing them away or throwing furniture at them. Of course that could be funny sometimes," he smiled.

"What I am trying to say is I know what it is like to be laughed at and I try not to do it to anyone. So I am sorry if I made you feel bad Rowan. It was not my intention." He let his hand drop and began walking towards the end of the porch. "Oh and as for special needs, no I don't need any. I will eat anything put in front of me with gratitude thank you kindly."

 

[slippedhalo]

Rowan simply nodded, headed inside and quickly up to her studio where she could relax a little bit and Let her mind wander to nowhere with her brush and paints on hand. She needed to relax for a few minutes alone, to gather her thoughts, or maybe a half hour to get some of her latest work finished up...perhaps an hour...

Her painting this time had been a beach landscape but after an hour of wandering thoughts about various things, including Matthew's sudden appearance in her life and it had made the landscape turn strange and dream-like, the sky no longer a blue and light grey but a corner changed into a purple black starry sky littered with apparitions hidden amongst constellations and whirls of stars...

Her watch beeped. Five-thirty, time to get started on dinner. As she washed her hands she felt Sarah enter the room. " You know I don't like anyone in here." Rowan said to her out loud.

Sarah regarded the new painting seriously, "Hmm. Different. I like change."

"What's up?" Rowan asked, climbing out of her paint splattered overalls and putting her jeans back on before leaving the room, closing the door behind her, Sarah following by walking right through it as she followed Rowan, her auburn ringlets bouncing on her little shoulders as she skipped behind her grown friend.

"Rowan, who is that man? Is he moving in? Is he your prince? He's handsome! Is he as nice as he looks? He saw me! Do you think he'd help me with a puzzle if I asked him to? Do you like him, Rowan? I could help if you want to court him. Girls can court boy's nowadays. I saw it on your television..."

Rowan interrupted, "Sarah, stop! Slow down! We just met. I hardly know him. He's... he's actually here to learn more about you."

"Me?"

Rowan chuckled as they made their way down the stairs. " Not just you, all spirits around here.You could help him find and talk to them. He"d like your help. You have my permission to help him."

Sarah was all excited now, hopping up and down. "When?!"

Rowan actually passed Mthew on her way and nodded yo Sarah, "Right now. Sarah, Matthew. There, you've been introduced. Now Sarah, you can keep him busy while I make dinner."

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew had watched Rowan go inside and had sat at the end of the porch for ten minutes. He had waited to see if the old man would show up but no hint of any pipe smoke assaulted his nostrils. He looked out at the abandoned lawn mower and sighed. He knew he had disappointed Rowan and he needed to do something for her to make it up to her. He was going to wait until tomorrow but he still had a few hours to kill and there was no time like the present.

He walked over and grabbed the handles of the push mower and continued from where she had stopped. It was a tough job and he was soon covered in sweat but there was something therapeutic about pushing it around the yard. It took him awhile but he finished the front yard and cleaned the mower down and put it away in the shed. Then he washed up under the outside tap before heading inside.

He did not realize how late it had gotten until he saw rowan heading down the stairs. Beside her was the little girl he had spotted in the window. He smiled and Rowan passed him on her way to the kitchen. "Right now. Sarah, Matthew. There, you've been introduced. Now Sarah, you can keep him busy while I make dinner."

Matthew smiled at Sarah. "Hi, nice to meet you. Guess you don't get many visitors that can actually see you huh. Well I can and I have to say you are a beautiful looking girl. Now what would you like to do or show me so I don't get in Rowan's way." He talked to her normally and not like a little kid. After all she was actually way older than him.

Sarah giggled and clapped her hands. " I love that you can see me. I have never had a visitor that could see me before. Are you staying here for awhile? Do you want me to show you around? I know everyone that is here. I can introduce you. As long as you are with me most of them will be happy to talk with you, well the ones that talk anyway. Oh and will you play with me while you stay here too?"

Matthew smiled wide at her. Sarah was just a big bundle of energy, typical of a kid her age actually. "I would be happy to play with you whenever I am not busy Sarah, and I would love it if you would show me around the place. I can tell you are just the person I need to introduce me to everyone. You must tell me what I need to know about them though so I don't make any mistakes. I really don't like to make anyone angry in their own homes."

Matthew knelt down and motioned her over so that they were really close together. He then whispered to her, "I think I may be in the bad books with Rowan. Do you know anything I could do that would cheer her up and get me into her good books?"

 

[slippedhalo]

Sarah nodded conspiratorially, her curls bouncing. She leaned in close enough that her big brown eyes actually sparkled in Matthew's sight. "Just be...very, very kind. And, listen well because she's kind of shy so when she talks it really means something to her not to be talked over or ignored or laughed at...Oh...I know! She's never ever ordered food delivery before but we once had a whole discussion about it while watching people on television who'd ordered pizza...She always thought it to be too pathetic for one person to do all alone but I suspect she's always wanted to, you know, with a friend who could help her eat it, Chinese, or pizza, sushi, Greek...I don't even think the type matters but she always looks a little sad when movie and TV friends order food and play games or watch junk together...She's never had that kind of thing. I could help you set it up as a nice surprise for her when she comes home from work tomorrow! " She added, "Today, maybe just be extra nice. I bet I could help you find flowers to give her. My Granny liked it when Grandad would give her flowers. I don't remember if my mommy liked...but Granny likes them. I think lots of ladies like things like that because it takes time and thought to get some."

Sarah checked over her shoulder to be certain the person on question wasn't there to hear. Then added, "She's terribly lonely, Matthew. She doesn't deserve to be so sad. It's our fault for making her stressed and self conscious... I hope you stay a long time, Matthew. Somebody with her gifts for a friend is so perfect! You're easy on the eyes too. I can say so, Had I lived I'd be old enough to be your granny."

Sarah looked at the equipment Matthew spread throughout the house as she showed him around, asking what each thing did and letting him test it on her, staring too closely into multispectrum video recorders and giving her name or singing and dancing in spinning pirouettes so her skirt would fly around and around in graceful circles, amazing herself with the sight of it.

"When you have all your ghost proof will you leave us forever and never come back again? I think that would be sad." Said Sarah to a voice recorder which delighted her to hear played back. The mood lightened once more, she danced around again, talking endlessly about anything but herself or her own reason for being there.

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew chuckled with her. "Oh I know that Sarah. It's why I never talk down to ghost's, especially the child ones. Most of them are way older than me and people generally forget that as soon as they see how young they look."

Matthew told Sarah he would be right back and walked out to his car and gathered up some of his equipment. He figured he might as well put some of the small stuff in now and while Sarah was in a happy mood perhaps she would even help him by showing off for the cameras and voice recorders.

As he brought them in her eyes had widened and she had immediately wanted to know what they were. "Well these are some of the tools that people who can't see you like Rowan and I can, use to prove you are actually there. It sounds silly I know but to a normal person they find it hard to see or hear you. I am sure you have had a few people like that here before." Sarah nodded her head sadly. "Well with this stuff I hope to capture your image and maybe your voice. The silly thing is I always hear it and see you no matter what so I take it to people and see if they can hear and see anything before I send it off. Normally it is the person who's place it is but in this case that is going to be impossible too. Rowan is just like me so she will definitely see and hear everything. I might just have to play it over the phone to my producer and see if she hears anything."

He looked at Sarah as she stared at all the machines. "Hey Sarah, how would you like to help me out," he asked. Sarah clapped her hands and danced around.
"What do I have to do?" she asked happily.
Matthew smiled and picked up the full spectrum camera first. "Okay this one is going to try to record you. It will be like making you you appear like one of the people on the TV you watch with Rowan," he explained. "So all I want you to do is just dance around and have some fun. I will try to record you and we will see if it can capture your image."
Sarah clapped her hands and began to dance around, twirling and jumping and making funny faces. It was all Matthew could do not to laugh. He always had to remember he was only supposed to see ghostly figures not full on figures like he did.

"Great Sarah. Now how about we record your voice on this tape recorder." At the same time he got some EMF readings as she came closer and temperature readings. She recorded her message and they listened to it back and Sarah was excited to hear her voice come out of the machine.

"Now I should put some in the rest of the house as well. Are there any spots where I may put them that will be acceptable to everyone or the people that use that space Sarah. I don't want my equipment broken but at the same time I don't want to offend anyone or get in their personnel space."

Sarah smiled. "I knew you were a good person. Come I will show you were you can put a few of them so you can get some readings and not be in the way." Sarah led him upstairs to the corridor and pointed to a few spots. Matthew installed a camera, an EMF detector, a Heat sensor and a Recording device. All could be activated remotely so he would turn them on when he went to bed or went out. Sarah told him it only became busy when no one was around. She also said he could install some in the kitchen but to never have them running in the morning or early afternoon.

He looked at her and sighed. "You know what has always bothered me about situations like this. I really would like to give you a hug right now but I know it is impossible, but I tell you what I will do. I will give you an entire afternoon of us just doing whatever you want. Play games, go for a walk, sit and talk, whatever you want. I like to pay my debts Sarah and besides I can tell it will be fun to be with you as well."

"As for Rowan I do believe I can order us some food. I just need to find out her favorite style first before I order it. Maybe I can do it tomorrow after she has been at work. I think it will be good to treat her after she has been working hard. Me staying here, well I am here for at least a week and we will have to see after that. I will of course follow all your advice and if you give me any more I will take it to heart."

Matthew grinned at her and shrugged his shoulders. "Well it looks like we still have some time until dinner. Perhaps you could take me outside and show me the kind of flowers she likes and I can pick the for her and we can give them to her before tea time. Or better yet we could set the table and have them in a vase on the table when she comes to sit down."

 

[slippedhalo]

Sarah skipped ahead of Matthew to the front door, and through it. He had to go through the cumbersome motions of physically opening the object, stepping through, and closing it behind him. At times like that the child ghost felt lucky no such limits held her back.

Waiting for him outside with a smile, she skipped further onward, leading him toward the flower fields she and Rowan loved most, close to the woods where a family plot for a long forgotten family lie just an acre beyond the trees.

"These flowers are nice. So many colors! You could pick a bunch of pretty ones for Rowan here." Sarah insisted.

She looked up and saw one of the children who almost never talk but giggle a lot playing hide and seek with his brothers in the woods and that man, the protector guy who Granny always mistook for dad and got scared and angry at...He came out to watch Matthew picking flowers. Sarah waved. "Matthew, do you see all of them as well as you see me?" she asked.

That put an odd expression on Protector Guy's face.

 

[wombat9966]

Nathan

Nathan watched Sarah come dancing out of the front door and head toward the wild flower patch near the woods. He was not worried and actually smiled at the young girls antics. He knew she normally came out this way with Rowan and they chatted while his charge picked wildflowers so although he was a little surprised to see her by herself he thought nothing of it.

Then he heard the front door and saw the man who had driven up earlier in the day. His face lost it's smile and became thoughtful. This man had been here all day and he wondered just what was going on. He had arrived in his car and talked with Rowan before going inside then returning outside and finishing cutting her lawn for her. No one had ever done that before and now here he was coming out of the house again and heading the same way Sarah was going.

He stepped out of the woods a little way and watched the man approach behind Sarah. Behind him he could hear the boys playing hide and seek in the woods and he turned to watch them as they giggled and ran between the trees. Turning back he saw Sarah waving at him then she called back to the man who was picking wild flowers. "Matthew, do you see all of them as well as you see me?"
Nathans eyes went wide. What had she just said. Could he be the same as Rowan. The man, what had Sarah called him, Matthew, looked up and looked right at him and then behind him. "Oh sure Sarah. There are a few boys playing hide and seek and having fun and a man that looks like an early century gangster. For some reason he doesn't seem to pleased to see me." The man looked at him and waved. "Hi my names Matthew. I will be staying here for awhile and chatting with any ghosts that want to."

Nathan was shocked. What were the odds of another sensitive turning up here. He would have to think about this. He was looking forward to moving on so he should really chase this guy away so he would be able to go to his hard earned rest. On the other hand he was supposed to protect his charge and if he let her die alone was he really protecting her. If this man was another sensitive perhaps he could learn to live here and Rowan could definitely fall in love with someone like him as long as he was not a jerk.

Nathan waved back then faded back into the woods. He would have to think long and hard about how he wanted to handle this situation. For now he would just keep a close eye on this Matthew character and make sure he was on the up and up.

 

[slippedhalo]

Sarah shrugged, "I guess he doesn't like being seen." She concluded. "Granny doesn't. She's not like she used to be. I think sometimes people get emotional about being...you know, dead."

Once Matthew had a nice bunch of flowers they followed the boys and she thought she spotted Matthew recording her playing hide and seek with them. Loud bangs and gunfire filled the air soon. All the ghost children fled and found places to hide for real and not just for fun as the Revolutionary War army men, trapped in the reliving of the same battle repeatedly, took over the landscape.

Slowly, carefully, so as not to get in the way of the battle, Sarah moved towards Matthew, her eyes huge with real fear. "We should get back...not safe here right now. " she warned.

Once they were closer to the house again she explained, "Ghosts can cause other ghosts pain. We stay out of their battle. It only happens again and again...and we could get hurt by them if caught in the crossfire or if their illusion of the time they think they're in is broken. It's best to give the soldiers a wide berth. "

She sat on the bottom porch step. "I hate war. It breaks people."

She brightened when she remembered the flowers. "Let's set the table now."

 

[wombat9966]

Matthew

Matthew followed behind Sarah as she skipped towards the flowers. It was amazing that she could claim to be older than his grandmother in one breath then act so much like a little girl in the next. Still it was good to see her happy and he walked with a large smile on his face.

She led him to a small field near the woods where mounds of wildflowers were growing."These flowers are nice. So many colors! You could pick a bunch of pretty ones for Rowan here." Sarah insisted He nodded and began to pick a nice bunch, making sure he got a good mix of all the colors and different flowers growing here. He was only halfway through when he heard Sarah call to him again.

"Matthew, do you see all of them as well as you see me?" Matthew looked up and glanced towards the woods. He saw the children playing hide and seek and a man looking like a very old style gangster looking at him from just outside of the woods. "Oh sure Sarah. There are a few boys playing hide and seek and having fun and a man that looks like an early century gangster. For some reason he doesn't seem to pleased to see me." He waved at the man and smiled. "Hi my names Matthew. I will be staying here for awhile and chatting with any ghosts that want to."

Matthew watched as the man waved at him and silently faded back into the woods. "Well I guess he won't be talking to me any time soon then," he smiled at Sarah. He went back to picking flowers and soon had a nice bunch. He began to walk back inside whistling a little tune. "I am going to set the table and put these in a vase. Do you think you could show me where everything is Sarah? I would like to have everything ready so I could surprise Rowan."