7. THE OTHER SIDE
'Meet you on the other side ...'
He could see her face as clear as day as he moved from lying on his left side to be on his right, pulling the duvet up over his shoulders as he turned. Her long blonde hair draped over each of her shoulders and that smell, her perfume, a scent he will never forget, a scent that almost took him back in time to that summer, a summer now more than half his life ago, a summer being one he spent in the company of Cecilia.
'... I will be waiting.'
Colin opened his eyes and for a second or two he was sure that the smell of that perfume was such that it must be on something extremely close by, though that could not be possible, could it? Though he would never and had never forgotten Cecilia, Colin had no idea why all of a sudden, he was thinking of her. For a moment he assumed it had something to do with his gift, however he soon dismissed that thought but not before pondering the words that she had spoken.
Having embraced his ability only recently, as in easing into it over a couple of years or so, Colin's life had changed and changed a lot, in a good positive way too. He was making money from it even though he never asked for such, nor had he set any sort of price for his services. Having helped aid others to connect with a loved one from beyond had become somewhat of a pleasure, whereas before it certainly had been troublesome.
He is no longer struggling to find and hold down work, and this is something being a lot off of anyone's back. Whenever what he received was in any way substantial, Colin was always sure to leave an anonymous donation to some cause or other which would seriously benefit from it.
With his gift being what it is Colin does not drive. Imagine what a ghostly distraction might cause in any situation where he is in control of an automobile. Luck does side with Colin as for the many acquaintances he has, usually ensures that he is not left stuck for a lift when he needs to get from one place to another, and especially during times when time itself is of importance. There are those he has aided with contacting the other side who are also only too happy to lend a hand to Colin each and every time he may need such a hand or were to ask for one.
Besides cars are not his thing, vehicles in general are not his thing. He'd rather not use them if he didn't need to. And with everyday kinda work, work most everyone else does, being out of the way or taken at times he may need to or want to do depending on the specifics, getting in or out, on or off, vehicles in general are something done on a mostly need to basis.
There is this specific time where Colin is sitting in the passenger seat of a jeep going not so quickly along a quiet motorway late one evening in particular, Colin would become distracted by noise coming from behind. He couldn't really see anything through the jeep's mirrors, so Colin turned to get a decent view of what was coming. Another vehicle was approaching at great speed with the horn blowing frantically as if its driver was intent on gaining the attention of what was ahead of it.
'Is everything OK?' asked Colin's companion.
'I don't know' was all that Colin could say in reply.
The speeding vehicle soon overtook the jeep. It did not get too far ahead before its erratic movement caused it to catch upon itself and spin multiple times before coming to a halt upside down and off to the left side of the road.
'Pull over' says Colin loudly.
'What?'
'Pull over, quick.'
By the time the jeep had stopped it had moved a couple hundred meters past where the other vehicle had finished up. Colin got out and began to make his way back to the crash. There was one person lying out on the road, a young lady who looked somewhat familiar, and there were two others still inside the overturned vehicle. Colin's companion came out of the jeep and approached.
'Everything alright Colin?'
'You don't see any of this, do you?'
'Any of what?'
'I thought as much ...'
Becoming increasingly confused, Colin turned towards the young lady who was lying out on the road. She began to move slowly and soon made it to her feet. She looked dirty and hurt and there was a lot of blood on her person. She stared directly at Colin and reached out with her right arm.
'Help me' she said, 'please come and help us.'
Another vehicle was approaching. Its lights shone bright. It was also heading directly straight at where this young lady stood, and at this point, she stood a good ten feet or so away from Colin.
'Watch ... watch it ... get out of the way' says Colin, his voice started out quietly before finishing loudly though it didn't matter.
The oncoming vehicle didn't just hit the lady; it passed right through her and when it had passed where she stood, she was no longer there. The lady had vanished. So too, did the overturned vehicle and its occupants. What exactly it was that Colin had just witnessed left him unsure. He knew the lady he had seen, and her companions, were already dead, long dead at that too, but he still couldn't help but feel a panic when another vehicle made its way to where her ghost stood.
Still, there is confusion, there is something more than a little off about all this. Was it an accident that had already happened? If so, then why was it being shown to him? How could he possibly help the deceased if they just vanish without allowing him to do anything at all? This could also be an event yet to occur. Such a thing like this has come to Colin on at least a couple of occasions in the past, leaving him nothing to do about it even if he wanted to involve himself. Anyhow, all that Colin could do at this point was or is to go about his own business as if nothing occurred at all.
All this did bring back the horrible memories of the crash he had been in, the same crash his mother had lost her life in ... such being the larger part of why he dislikes vehicles of any kind. It may not be easy to shake those thoughts though to get on with things he must put the past right back there where it belongs. How quick time does go by all the same. By this moment in time Colin's mother had been lost to him for a little over twenty-two years. Indeed, time does pass quickly.
When Colin next lay down to sleep, it would not and did not take long for him to slip into a dream world. The dream experience on this occasion would bring with it the memories of the time he had spent with a lovely young lady by the bane of Cecilia. Once more the scent of her perfume returned. The scent being so strong that it made the dream appear to be very real.
The two sat on a blanket in the middle of a park on a bright and warm summer day. Colin could feel the heat in the sun upon his face and he could also feel a slight cool breeze and he watched Cecilia's hair fall in front of her face after she had brushed it to the side with her right hand.
'I am looking forward to seeing you again soon. We have been waiting for you,' said Cecilia, once again brushing her hair back with her right hand.
'What is that?' asks Colin, slightly confused by what Cecilia said. 'Sure, we are here together right now. Is that not a good thing? And what do you mean by we?'
'You actually think we are in a park right now? Colin you are asleep and dreaming. This moment is not a real one. It is not even a memory.'
'What? ...'
Before Colin had a chance to think, he awoke and in that waking moment he heard Cecilia's voice quietly echo 'see you soon.'
'What the hell is going on?' Colin says to himself as he sat up and to one side of his bed, rubbing his face.
Inspired by his recent dreams, Colin would make his way back to the town he grew up in. It was the move that he and his mother had made that brought distance between himself and Cecilia all those years ago. What would the chances be that Cecilia would still be living there in his former hometown?
It may seem like a long shot, but Colin felt that he had to at least try and find her. It had been a long time since he last walked up the garden path to the house where she had lived and there is where he found himself, in many ways a very different person to what he was the last time he was there.
A lady with long dark curly hair answered the door. Colin recognized Cecilia's sister Natalia, so he thought he was off to a good start. If Natalia is here, then surely in some way or another he can reconnect with Cecilia.
'Hello Natalia. It is good to see you.'
Natalia stared at the man before her for a moment before speaking.
'I am sorry. Can I help you?'
'Oh, forgive me please. My name is Colin. I dated your sister one summer a long time ago.'
'Right, oh yes, I remember. Can I help you or something?'
'I was wondering if Cecilia was around or if you can tell me of how I might be able to contact her.'
'You can't ... contact her that is, I am sorry to inform you that she has passed away.'
'W-what? When?'
'Motor accident almost two years ago now, the car she had been in overturned and had thrown her from it. I was told that she would have died instantly.'
How strange this was to hear, especially with what he had been through himself, not only recently but in the past too. It took a second or two for things to register with him.
'That would explain a couple of things' spoke Colin to himself as he turned away from Natalia.
'What does that mean?' she asked upon hearing his mumbles.
'Oh nothing, I am sorry to have bothered you and very sorry to hear of your loss. Thank you for your time.'
Colin stood for a moment then began to move slowly while seemingly being lost within his own world. Natalia looked at him for a second or three before beginning to close the door slowly, being unsure as to if she should say something else or not. The sound of the door closing brought Colin back to reality. It is obvious to him now, that in one way or another Cecilia had visited him. Her spirit had come to him more than once and he could not tell she had passed on, even though she more or less referenced or illuded to it.
Strange, Colin could only wonder as to why she did not make a more direct visit or even visit him a lot sooner. And what did she mean by ... we? Had that lady ghost from not all so long ago, on the motorway, been Cecilia? It had been twenty years since he had last seen her, and that ghost did seem familiar ... her hair was different and indeed, she was older. Is that enough for him not to be completely sure?
It had been such a long time since Colin had last been back to the town he grew up in, so he thought he would stay a while. He was in no rush to go anywhere anytime soon. The day was bright, the sun was out, and it was quite warm with a slight cool breeze flowing against him, so Colin took a leisurely stroll over towards the house he had grown up in before making his way down to the village.
He was amazed to see the old candy store he used to love going to as a child was still in town and still open. It looked just exactly as he remembered it; well, it seemed a little smaller though doesn't everything seem bigger when you're a child? Colin was an adult when he moved away from this town but still, he hadn't been in that store all too often in the years before he moved on.
For a moment or two, standing outside this store took Colin back to when he was just ten years old. Standing almost in the same exact position he is now, a ten-year-old Colin turns to an elderly lady standing to his right as she spoke to him.
'Are you going inside young man?'
'I sure am. I am going to get myself some ice-cream.'
'Good for you. Could you kindly do me a favour?'
Little Colin nodded. Entering the store, he quickly approached the counter.
'Good afternoon, Mister Peters.'
'Good afternoon young man, how can I help you?'
'I would like a big ice-cream please.'
'Sure, and how is it that a young man like you has come to know my name?'
'Your mom told me, and she told me to tell you that you should be wearing your glasses.'
'Oh, she did now, did she?'
'Yep, and she told me that your first name is Patrick and that her first name is Elisabeth.'
Mister Peters handed over the ice-cream he had put together for the boy and Colin paid for it.
'Thank you' spoke Colin before beginning to make his way to the store exit, he turned waved and said 'bye'.
'Goodbye' spoke Mister Peters in amazement as he watched the boy leave, after which he went to go get his glasses. From that point on, Mister Peters was rarely without those glasses of his.
Back to the present and away from reliving an old memory, Colin entered the store and would be somewhat surprised to see a familiar face behind the counter.
'Good afternoon, Mister Peters, it is nice to see you again.'
Mister Peters had to think for a moment, and he done so while instinctively moving his glasses up along his nose. He had aged well; the years had been kind to him. Colin thought that the store owner must be in his seventies by now though to look at him you wouldn't think it.
'Colin? Good to see you again young man.'
'Good to see you too sir, and good to see you have those glasses on as well.'
'Can't see a darn thing without them, you haven't been talking to my mother again, have you?'
'No, no. It has been quite some time since I last saw her outside the store.'
'What has you back in town?'
'Oh, been looking for an old friend.'
'Your friend is no longer here?'
'In more ways than one, unfortunately.'
'Sorry to hear that, so is there anything I can help you with?'
'Actually, I would love to get myself one of those big ice-creams I used to come in here for many moons ago.'
'Sure.'
Mister Peters attended to the ice-cream and soon handed it to Colin.
'Not quite so big as I remember it' spoke Colin with a smile.
'Everything seems so much bigger to a child.'
'Indeed.'
Colin turned slightly and before he could continue to speak, he would be met by the stock of a shot gun full on in the face. It not just knocked him down to the floor, but it knocked him out too. Here in this moment, the store had somewhat come under siege. A lone gunman had come to rob the store of whatever he could get. The gunman was quick to aim the shotgun at Mister Peters.
'Careful old man or I will be forced to hurt you too. Slowly open and empty the register then place the money on the counter.'
Mister Peters did what he was asked and then stepped back. The assailant took the money and filled his pockets, before he too took a step backwards. Lifting the gun and taking aim, it looked like stealing money wasn't enough to satisfy the gunman who had a balaclava on to hide his identity. Having come to, Colin intervened and tackled the much larger man. After a matter of only seconds, the gun went off.
A bright white light surrounded Colin, almost blinding him. When it subsided Colin found himself standing on grass right in the center of that park from before, the park where he remembered having been with Cecilia, whether or not the place is actually real, well ..., and fairly soon a young lady with long blonde hair approaches him.
'Cecilia? What is happening? What is going on?'
Cecilia looked age right in front of Colin from what she was when they had last been together to what she would look like if she were alive now, or more precisely at the time of her death. Yeah, that did match to the ghostly apparition and accident he had witnessed not all so long ago. As Colin knows only so well by now, in death ... appearances do not necessarily have to be exactly what they once were, especially in relation to time of death. If someone so happened to be ninety-years-old when they die, then their ghost does not necessarily need to appear as a ninety-years-old.
'Hello Colin. It is so good to get to have a more formal chat with you. Before you ask anything else, I should tell you that you are unfortunately ... dead. Don't be worried or frightened as it is not yet your time.'
Colin just looked confused as he listened to what Cecilia had to say.
'You should know that there is a darkness, something truly destructive, and it is coming for you. You have caught its attention. This is why I have been coming to you. That of course, and to tell you I have loved you; I do love you always and forever.'
Eyes met and stared when Cecilia walked right up to Colin, his confusion growing by the second. She placed her lips on his. Colin was surprised by how real this moment felt. He can't be dead, but maybe he is, strange things do tend to happen to him.
Cecilia took a few steps backwards, smiling as she did so, and then she vanished. 'We'll be waiting ...'
Colin's surroundings quickly darkened. He could hear a marching crunch sound coming from a distance and to his right side, slowly and softly at first. This sound got louder and louder and Colin could soon see something large approach; just what it was or is that is approaching, Colin has no idea.
Is this the darkness Cecilia was speaking of? Why hadn't she told him more? And why did she vanish? A tugging sensation from behind would grow and prevent Colin finding out what it was that was coming his way.
Awaking in a bed Colin would ask 'Where am I?'
'Do not try to move Colin, you have been hurt' spoke a friendly voice.
The voice belonged to Natalia, Cecilia's sister. She had been at Colin's bedside since she had heard about the attempted robbery. For some reason or another, she felt as if she needed to be right where she currently is. Two days had passed since that incident in the shop.
'You were shot, doctors say that you are and will be fine' continued Natalia.
'... And what about Mister Peters?'
'He is fine and completely unhurt, thankfully. If you hadn't had been there ...'
Of course, hearing that news of Mister Peters provided great relief for Colin. For him Cecilia may have been the one who got away so despite his pain and discomfort it did feel good to have Natalia at his bedside. There had been something; whatever kind of feeling which had compelled her to be just where it is that has come to be, Colin in some way could feel it too.
All this is a warning, maybe more than one warning, of what is to come. Whatever is coming there is time, maybe not much of it though any and all threats are not entirely immanent.
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