Andy

My brisk steps down the hall echo no matter how lightly I try to walk. The walls are painted a deep burgundy color and the ceiling is a faded gold. There’s more of that deep black furniture lining the halls, topped with ornate vases of fake roses and calla lilies.

I know I’ve found my way back to the main entrance when I hear the muffled conversations of the funeral-goers. I nudge the big doors open a bit and poke my head in.

Atop the stage Andy stands, still speaking quietly to the invisible girl. I take a deep breath and slip into the room, keeping my head down, moving towards the stage at a steady pace.

Everyone is dressed in black, and some are dabbing their eyes with tissues. A few mourning eyes meet mine and watch me in confusion as I make my way towards the front.

I hesitate a few feet from the stage, looking up at Andy, completely distracted, back to me. I can’t get to him without making a scene. If everyone sees the unfamiliar face running up on the stage next to the coffin, that’s definitely not going to settle well.

I grit my teeth a bit and look around myself for prying eyes. I meet a teary pair of blue ones looking back at me. She’s a woman in her forties with deep red hair, pulled back in a strict bun with a fishnet vale covering her forehead and eyes. It’s pinned into place with a black rose fascinator.

I can't seem to avoid her gaze now. Icy, pale blue irises follow me, commanding my attention, rimmed in running black eyeliner. She doesn't ever move, but somehow it feels like she is a loathing shadow hot on my trail. I freeze up, unable to decide what I am doing. Here I am wearing neutral colors - a far cry from the interesting fashion ensomble they've put together for today. Her gaze drifts down to take in my drab school clothing, and she speaks.

“I don’t believe we’ve met.” She says, her voice breezy like a low whisper, while being deep and commanding and very feminine - similar to how women spoke in the fifties, their voice laced with formal sophistication.

Her hand reaches for me and I stare down at it like a fool for a moment. Black lace gloves match the rest of her get up with long, pointed black nails poking from the end. I extend my own hand and introduce myself with a look of confusion on my face.

“Why are you here, if I might ask? Did you know my daughter, Ree?”

“Oh... No, ma’am, I’m sorry. I did not know her. I’m a bit lost, actually...”

Her eyes are wise and sharp, judging every detail of my face before I can even blink, and I can tell that she’s already made her mind up about me, but luckily, it doesn’t look like she has written me off completely.

“It’s a shame,” She murmurs, seeming to never blink as she does. Her black, smudged makeup distracting me. “You have the same aura as her... My dear Ree.”

I look to my left up on the stage and stifle a gasp. The girl from the photos stands there, facing Andy, her hands in his while he explains in a hushed tone the ins and outs of what is about to happen. He spreads his arms, raising hers, mimicking the wings of an angel. His face is kind and encouraging as he speaks, and she looks more at ease now. I blink and redirect my attention to her presumed mother.

“Your daughter... Ree? She will be okay, I can promise you that.”

She winces and breaks her strong, judging demeanor for the first time. “She’s dead, she’ll never be fine.”

“I’m a bit of an expert on these things.” I sigh, fumbling with my hands. “If I can tell you anything to put you at ease, it’s that. She’ll be fine in everything that comes after.”

Her eyes widen slightly like I’ve just told her the most fascinating thing ever, and she takes a half a step towards me. “How do you know?”

“You may not believe me,” I explain in a low voice, avoiding the prying ears leaning too close to our conversation. “But I am best friends with one of the deceased.”

“Really?”

surprisingly, there’s no doubt in her eyes.

“I hope you take comfort in knowing that he’s up there now, explaining everything to her and giving her options. He doesn’t want anyone else to go through the same things he’s had to.”

“What... What is your friend’s name?”

“Andy.”

I don’t know what it is about this woman that has me bursting open with personal details that I wouldn’t even give to Elizabeth, but there’s something about her that feels trustworthy and I feel like I can confide in her. A sparkle of recognition follows in her eyes and she nods quickly.

“Is he that boy from a few weeks ago?”

She hooks her gloved hand over my elbow and casually tows me away from the heart of the party to a more secluded area to the right of the stage space. Cold blue eyes analyze my face and wait for me to speak.

“He is.” I nod, sighing fondly. “I don’t know why he chose me to come after and befriend - but he did. We never knew each other before this.” I gesture around us briefly.

“Surely having a ‘special’ friend like that hasn’t made your life easier, hm?”

I look at her face, and she still carries that authoritativeaura from before, standing straight with her shoulders back.

“Actually, no, it hasn’t.” I smile in embarrassment. “In fact, it’s one of those things that have gone wrong that brought us here today.”

She nods slowly and looks to the stage. “How do you see them? Is it a talent?”

“No, they can choose who sees them.” I look up on the stage and see Andy is finishing up his explanation. Ree hugs him tightly, and pulls back, looking nervous, but reassured.

“Can I?”

I pause, and look up, and back to her. “Let me see what I can do, okay?”

She nods, and lets go of my arm, allowing me to walk to the steps of the stage. I look up and call Andy’s name in a hushed voice. After calling twice, he looks down at me and smiles proudly at his accomplishment.

“Hey, can you both come down here?”

Andy nods and gestures for Ree to go first, then he follows her down. Ree steps off the stairs and sees her mother. The sadness cast in her eyes is agonizing.

“Andy, this is Ree’s mother. She’d like to meet you and speak with Ree.” I tell him in a hushed whisper, tugging him aside.

He nods, then becomes confused. “What did you tell her?”

“The usual stuff.” I shrug.

He looks around. “We should go somewhere out of sight, then...”

He leads us to the backstage space behind the stage and closes the door. Ree’s mother is hesitant, but the curiosity in her eyes is undeniable.

“Okay, first, there are some basic guidelines to this... You have to keep this quiet, and you must understand that this is not a permanent solution, okay? Ree is still free to choose as she pleases - may that be staying here as a guardian, or crossing over. You will have the opportunity to speak with your daughter, but everything beyond that cannot be guaranteed.” I explain to her mother, trying to deliver the news as politely as I can without upsetting her. Telling a parent that they can never have back their child is undoubtedly one of the worst things possible.

She nods in agreement, her expression firm and determined. I don’t understand what it is about her specifically that makes me both sympathize for her, and feel inspired by her strength. Even dressed in her black lace mourning clothes, I can see that beneath it she is a strong woman, probably someone in a high business position.

I look from Andy, to Ree, to her, and I feel like there’s a very unpleasant backstory to all of this. Something that went down between Ree and her mother.

Her mother's unyielding strength rubs me wrong, in a way... Like it was the reason her daughter is now in a box. I grit my teeth together in frustrated concentration and sigh, “Okay, firstly, I’ll introduce you to Andy, and he can explain the odds and ends...”

I gesture towards him and he winces in concentration. There’s no visual signals to indicate that he is now fully visible to her, but judging from her startled gasp, she sees him now, too.

At first her eyes are widened in shock, then she steps forward and reaches towards him, expecting her hands to pass through him like a projection. When the palm of her black lace glove settles firm on his icy chest, her breath audibly hitches and she stares him down for several long, silent seconds.

Andy offers her a half wave of reassurance to prove further that he is real.

I look to Ree and she’s looking at her mother, and is wringing her hands nervously. She has long blonde hair with brown roots and green eyes glowing twice as bright in her afterlife state. She’s pretty short in comparison to Andy, but a little taller than me. She wears a pair of faded blue bell bottom jeans and a white blouse.

This factor shouldn’t have hit me so hard, but it did once I remembered why she would be wearing that, and why any spirit is dressed so casually after death... It’s the clothes she died in.

“Alright, well, I don’t really have an introduction for this... I mean, there is no way to prepare people for things like this.”

I nod in agreement, “When we first met, I had a panic attack.”

He jabs a thumb in my direction. “I showed up in her room during a thunder storm.”

“I think that scared me more than a ghost being in my room. I turned around this creep is just standing there.” I send him a pointed look. “Anyways, all we can tell you is, don’t freak out, this is normal.”

I look her in the eyes as I explain, and she looks from me to Andy twice, still trying to figure out if this is some sort of magic trick.

Andy turns towards Ree and touches her shoulder, shielding her from a view of her mother while he explains in a hushed tone what to do.

“Are you ready?”

She nods, and steps towards her mother, standing within arms-reach, and squeezes her eyes shut.

“Imagine yourself. See yourself standing here in your spirit form. See yourself splitting in two and becoming two separate beings. Imagine a living body as one, and a spirit as the other. Concentrate on it, Ree... Concentrate.”

Her brow twitches in concentration as she tries with all her might to become visible.

“I can’t do it!” She huffs in frustration, turning towards Andy. “I tried all the steps but it’s not working!”

“Okay,” Andy says, putting his hands on her shoulders, gaining her full attention. “We’re going to try again. Close your eyes and imagine this room and everything in it. Familiarize yourself with your surroundings, first. What does the room feel like? What is the atmosphere?”

“It’s tense... And excited.” She speaks, concentrating on the task. “The air is dry and smells dusty. I can smell my Mother’s rose bud perfume and the alcohol on her breath.” She winces.

“I see myself, now...” She shrugs slightly, “Am I doing this right?”

“Yeah, just imagine yourself exactly where you are and everyone else in the room. Think of it as watching it like a movie where you just see the characters and you’re from a third-person point of view.”

She nods, and keeps trying. “I see everyone and am concentrating on it... But I can’t feel anything.”

He sighs, and pulls away, dropping his arms. “I don’t know what else to do.” He murmurs.

Ree’s mother is becoming flustered and impatient, frequently shifting her weight from one foot to the other. “Well? Is it working?”

I look back at the two and Ree is in tears now, angry and frustrated. “I’m sorry, Mom...” She sobs. Andy hugs her and explains quietly what else can be done. I look to her mother and shake my head. “I’m sorry, it’s not working... Ree apologizes.”

“Right...” Her frown deepens and she reaches into her purse and pulls out a silver flask, taking a long, merciless swig from it. “Well, it was all in good effort, I suppose. Not every day you see someone appear out of thin air.” She sends a pointed look at Andy, and tosses the flask back into her purse and takes a deep breath. “Anyways, I appreciate the effort... But I really must be getting back to the guests.”

She pushes past me and exits the small backstage room, leaving us three behind. I look at Ree, then at Andy and sigh. “What else can we do?”

He shrugs.

Ree pulls away from the hug she’d been crushing him in and wiped her eyes. “Please don’t let me get in the way of your plans... I appreciate the effort, even if it didn’t work.”

Andy frowns and looks at me, then back down at Ree. “We can keep trying. We got it to work once, remember? Ash can see you right now. All we have to do is open it again so your mother can.”

Ree frowns in uncertainty and takes a step back. “I’m not sure I want my mother to see me.”

“What do you mean?”

“I love her, of course, but it’s that stubborn, tough-love thing she has that has always made having a close relationship with her nearly impossible... In fact, it’s why I’m dead today.” She deadpans, looking at the ground with angry, hurt tears forming in her eyes. “She just wouldn’t... Agh, nevermind.”

“What? You can tell us.” Andy encourages her, taking the role as mentor.

She sighs and looks up at him “You’re nice, you’re both so nice. Why can’t more people be like you?” is all she says.

Me and Andy exchange looks of concern and wait for her to elaborate. “I’ve got a decision to make, right? I think my mind is all made up.” She grits her teeth and paces in the small space the room allowed.

“You understand everything, right?”

She nods.

Andy sighs, reaching up to push his hair off his forehead, looking emotionally drained at this point. “Is there anything else I can help you with? Are you sure you don’t want to try it again?”

Ree shakes her head, looking more confident in her answer now than before. “No... I’m fine. I appreciate your efforts, though...”

She comes close to him one last time to hug him tightly around the ribs, thanking him again before pulling away.

“I’ll be fine, I swear.” She tells him when he stubbornly refuses to leave the room. He wrings his hands together and takes a step back, turning and reaching for the door, and letting himself out without another word. I look towards Ree one last time before following him out, and she is smiling sadly at me.

“Look after each other, okay? Sometimes all you need to keep going is just one person who believes you can.”

I maintain eye contact for three seconds and nod slowly. “Thanks... Be careful.” I offer her a small smile, and excuse myself.

I just feel guilty, now... I ramped up her mother and got her excited for a fantastic show that she’d never see. I told her she could see her daughter and didn’t even think of the consequences. Sure, I proved myself to not be totally insane by showing her Andy; but that’s worth next to nothing if I can’t give her what she wanted.

There’s a short staircase that leads up from the backstage room and comes up alongside the stage. I get to the top and immediately meet the teary eyes of Ree’s mother, glaring me down, and pointing a finger at me, telling the tall man at her side all about me.

“Uh oh.” I mutter, scanning the crowd for Andy. “Time to get the hell out of dodge.”

The man starts to approach me, but he has to step around all the people in his way to get to me. I use this to my advantage and walk briskly down the front of the stage where no one is standing. It takes a lot to keep my cool and not sprint out of there in fear of being caught and interrogated.

“Andy?” I hiss under my breath, trying not to catch the attention of the people near me. I look up onto the stage, and sure enough, he is there, staring down into the open coffin.

“Andy!” I say again, slightly louder, catching his attention this time. He turns to look at me with dead tired eyes.

“We’ve gotta go!” I jab my finger in the direction of the man barreling towards me mercilessly.

He snaps out of his reverie and jogs down the stage steps, standing near the blind corner of the stage. “Come to me, duck down behind here and we’ll get out of here ninja-style.”

I nod and keep up my steady pace, but now I can hear the heavy footsteps approaching and I know that I don’t have much time left. I take those last few steps and whip around the corner of the stage sharply, bumping into Andy. He grabs onto my arms and braces me close to him while we make our invisible escape.

I look back and watch the thug thunder around the corner of the stage, expecting to find me there, but instead all he found was an empty corner and no sign of where I had gone.

I laugh under my breath, and turn again, jogging out of the room, and shutting those heavy doors behind us.

“Well, chalk that experience up on the list.” I sigh, pausing to catch my breath, “Crashing a funeral.”

He laughs tiredly, and nods, “Yeah... It’s up there. It’s a much different experience when it isn’t your own.”

“So what happens to her now?...” I break the awkward silence after several seconds and he frowns a bit, straightening his back. “It’s her decision. It’s out of my hands.” He shrugs, but does look bothered.

“Do you ever wish that you’d passed over?” I wonder idly, and I see a flicker of hurt in his eyes. “I don’t mean that as in ‘do you regret staying’ I mean it as ‘do you ever wonder what might’ve happened if you had?’.”

He thinks about it for a moment and shrugs. “Kind of, I guess... I mean, I am curious as to what might’ve happened if I had. Like would there be some grand ending? Would I stroll down that long, dark tunnel to the light and walk out into a cloud-filled world with golden pathways and everyone I loved flying around in white robes with grins on their faces? Or would it be more modest? Like this world, except without death and loss... And instead of waiting for people to be born there, you wait for them to cross over and join you in the perfect world where there is no guilt and no pain. That’s the kind of Heaven I would enjoy.”

He thinks about it a bit more, pausing in the hall. “No, not really. I haven’t regretted a day since my funeral. I think I made the right choice.”

We lock eye contact for several seconds and I nod.

“Well, it’s time to get back to fighting demons, I suppose...”

“Oh yeah, what became of your adventure?”

“I accidentally found the priest.”

“Well great! We’re off to a perfect start. Where’s the water?”

“See, that’s the problem... He’s chosen to withold the water until I can prove that there are spiritual beings around me to defend and defend myself from. He refuses to give it up until I can provide adequate evidence.”

Andy groans, slamming his palms against his face and burying himself in his hands. “Agh! No more reveals! No more ghost-talk! I’m tired!”

“I know, but if we don’t get that water, there won’t be any [i[you left to be tired, so let’s get a move on.”

He grumbles, but complies. “We’re not doing the twenty-question ghost-prep again, are we?”

I shake my head and narrow my eyes at the hall ahead of us as we make our way to the office. “No. That man deserves nothing more and nothing less than a good old-fashioned scare. He was ready to call an institution to pick me up!”

“What did you tell him?”

“I said that there were evil things after me... And dark things in the woods behind my house. The usual.”

“And you wonder why he wanted to have you committed...” He chuckles under his breath.

I gesture towards the door when we arrive. “Let’s both walk in there, then we can just have you flicker on and off like a light and hopefully that’ll be enough. I’m not in the mood for a grand entrance.”

“Me neither.” He shakes his head, “I’ve had my fill of theatrics for one day.”

I knock on the door three times to let him know we’re coming in, then push the door open.

“It’s rude to not wait for entry to be okayed.” He snips at me as soon as I set foot in his quant little post-gothic London office. I sigh, “Is there anything else I can do to disappoint you, Father?”

He shuts his trap and folds his hands on his desk, watching us enter and shut the door behind us.

“Well? Who is this? He certainly doesn’t look like a spirit to me, much less the special one you initially described.” He raises an eyebrow judgingly at us both while he looks Andy over from head to toe. When he doesn’t get the information he seeks just by looking, he scoots his chair back and gets up to approach us.

He circles Andy, hand on his chin thoughtfully, taking in the small details of his chosen wardrobe that had him creasing his brow in concern and looking like he would be holding a cross to Andy and scream “THE POWER OF CHRIST COMPELS YOU” in his face.

“Would you like to get your camera out and snap some pics while you’re at it?” Andy quips in annoyance, gaining a brief glance from the priest as he continues to make his rounds. “We can do some ‘exotic’ photos, if that’s what you’re into.” He follows up his statement with a wiggle of his brow, and it makes the priest groan and wave his hand dismissively at him. “Enough of that.”

“You sure, Father? Some full-on Rose-and-Jack-painting-scene-from-the-Titanic photos would look awfully nice on your walls.”

“I have never seen Titanic.” He replies curtly, stopping his stroll to glare over at Andy, his patience running thin. I smack Andy’s upper arm and shoot him a look. As hilarious as it is that he’s giving him a hard time, the last thing we need is to piss him off and bruise his ego so he won’t help us.

“Father? Remember how I told you the spirits can choose who see them? That’s what he is doing right now. You’re in the ‘bubble’.”

“Highly unlikely,” He says nonchalantly, more interested in the upside down cross tattoo on Andy’s right bicep than the task at hand. The disapproving look on his face is priceless. “If spirits could be visible to any old bloke they choose, the power and finalism of death would not be so great; only a temporary issue in what should be a permanent sentence.”

“Actually, Father,” Andy begins, donning his crooked smile, “When we expose ourselves to too many people at once, our soul grows tired and we must rest. Like a rechargeable battery, we can’t go for hours on end. Because of this major set-back, most of us just don’t do the visibility thing.”

It seems as though everything we are telling him is going through one ear and right out the other.

“Still, there would be a select few to fight that law, I am sure.” He replies with a bland tone of confidence.

“Alright...” Andy shrugs, squeezing his eyes shut and blinking out of existence.

A long pause followed where Father Disbelief simply stared down at the patch in the plush red carpet where Andy had been standing only thirty seconds earlier. Nothing seemed to click right away and no lights were going off. His expression was mildly shocked until Andy tapped on his shoulder, causing him to violently spin around to find him there.

“You can call it magic, or witchcraft,” He disappears again and reappears sitting in his big leather computer chair at his desk with his feet up on his mess of papers. “or simply a trick of the mind. But you can’t deny the fact that this cannot be explained through logic nor religion. What you see before you is real, and touchable. I am here, and I- your humble ghostly servant - am asking for your help with our predicament.”

For once, the priest doesn’t have any witty responses or quips to deny the vibrant display of evidence before him.

“I am Ash’s Earthly guardian, but there are some things I either can’t guard her from, or fully defend her and her family from... So as you can imagine, having some of that magic H20 would make a world of difference.”

“G- Guardian? Aren’t guardian angels holy beings?” He dares to speak, and to this, Andy raises his eyebrows.

“Father, I am no angel. I am no holy being. In fact, the things I did as a living, breathing man may have been enough to send me to Hell had I not stayed as a guardian. But I can assure you one thing I am, and one thing you can put all your faith into. I am uncompromisingly loyal. I will give my very last breath for those I protect.”

Notes

This story is almost TWO YEARS OLD!
I've never remained dedicated to a story this long, so I'm definitely marking it up as a personal achievement. Also, the original document I had saved on my computer was getting so long it was having issues loading and frequently crashed (oh boy) so I started a part 2 file and it's much more snappy.

Shiva - The Antlers

Thank you Merelan for reading!!!