Highly Spirited (Closed for Alexavious and Ravenloft)

[Alexavious]

Hands on my throat, slender yet strong.

The vicious wild eyes, bulging with hate and anger.

Panic filling me, my fingers heavy as I struggled to breath, fumbling limply at the wrists that held me.

He was there. I could see him, standing coldly by her shoulder. Did he not love me? Would he not help me?

My mouth gapes, a gasp with no air. Cold steel puncturing my abdomen, a sharp icy pain.

His hand gripped the weapon, the other on my shoulder. I could feel him squeeze the muscle, a parting gift, an apology?

Falling now. Endlessly. Into my new home. The last light shrinking into the distance until total blackness.

It was an endless dream, a cycle I had repeated every night for the past two years. The memory of my death, haunted me as much as I haunted the house where my body lay. Every time I closed my eyes and let my thoughts drift, I once again felt that tightness around my neck and the knife in my stomach. The better days were when I kept myself busy and my mind active, not easy to achieve when you can't touch or feel anything. To start with, I had just focused on my new situation.

The biggest change? I could fly! Well, sort of. Since I no longer had a body, my consciousness was freely floating and I simply wanted to go in a direction and I did. It actually took quite a bit of practice, my mind kept thinking I had legs and I would often find myself trying to walk instead. It helped that I could move through objects, walls, ceilings and floors. At first I thought I had no limits and that I was suddenly free to travel the world. I had so many places I had longed to visit, so many things that he had promised we would see. Those dreams had been quickly crushed when I wanted to see how high I could go and found myself in some sort of bubble. It wasn't quite like an invisible wall but more like a tether that stretched the further away I got from the house. I didn't think I'd ever experience pain again but that is the only feeling I can liken it too. After roughly fifteen to twenty metres away from the house, the tether grew tighter and tighter till I was forced to retreat.

So I was stuck here, trapped in a house in the middle of no-where. I was upset about that for a long time. I would scream at the top of my voice, thrash against my leash until the pain was more that I could bare. Eventually I calmed, though I wasn't sure how much time had passed. Instead, I began to explore my new home in a new light. The house was actually fascinating, despite its dilapidated appearance. Five floors including the attic and the basement, each with multiple spacious rooms. I didn't like the basement though, the darkness down there was somehow oppressive. The one time I did try to venture down, it felt like the opposite of the barrier outside. Something pulled at me, and the closer I got, the stronger the pull and the more fierce the pain.

Once I no longer had anything new to explore and I had grown weary of flight without feeling, that was when the dream really began to return. Instead, I found little jobs to complete. Counting all of leaves on the lawn, following the rats around and coming up with little stories about their lives, writing and singing new songs, anything I could do to fill the void of time. Many times, I sat just on the border of the basement, staring down into the dark abyss. Perhaps I was meant to go down there? Perhaps that was the end?

Perhaps that will be my end...?

 

[Ravenloft]

After two eight hour days worth of driving, Zoe and I were ready to for some time apart.

Some much needed time to go and art.

We were both pretty famous as painters, a lot like that other famous couple, Boris Vallejo and Julie Bell.

Only Zoe liked to paint nature scenes with hidden Fae creatures and such, while I focused on more erotic and ethereal scenes, of ghosts, demons and monsters.

We pulled up to our new home, a five story building straight out of a supernatural horror movie, my favorite kind of film.

Unfortunately, the closest thing I have ever come to experiencing anything even remotely supernatural was when I was a kid, staring up at the mid day sky, bored out of my mind, with a strong enough imagination that I dreamed myself up in the sky.

It felt pretty real at the time, but I've never been able to experience shit like that since.

I really like that chill that runs down my spine over a really good spooky movie though.

I've never perceived it as fear, just a thrill. That's the secret reason why I was so eager to buy this place, actually, I loved the idea of living in a place that felt like one of those houses in the movies.

It cost a fuck ton of money, though and there wasn't a single story of anyone ever going mad, dying or being killed here, in its entire history, and shit like that had to be disclosed, right? Still, I did some background history just to be sure, and the only thing out of the ordinary about the house was that it used to be some big wig record executive's private estate and recording studio, one of those odd fuckers that made every room wired for sound, like Prince or something.

All I wanted was a quiet, dark place to make more wickedly sexy art.

And a bed, a four post bed, with curtains and shit!

Shit, was I trying to recreate that Meatloaf song?

"Well hose me down with holy water! Look at that sexy beast, hun!" I exclaimed as I put our expensive as fuck SUV, with gull wing doors, into park in front of the gothic house.

Zoe just glanced up once and rolled her eyes and clicked her tongue.

Yeah, she hated it, but I loved it!

She would just have to deal, I guess.

It was an amazing house, needed some work of course, but that was part of the fun of buying a place like this!

Making it our own!

Perhaps this would be a new beginning for us!

 

[Alexavious]

Slowly, Zoe eased herself from the car. It seemed like every muscle was complaining all at once and she was ready for a hot bath, if this place even had hot running water. Normally she didn't mind long car rides, she had taken plenty when travelling the country but she supposed the excitement of the destination had something to do it. Her eyes travelled wordlessly from the rotten looking balcony to the vines creeping up the side of the building, no doubt invading the mortar and destroying the walls with damp. She didn't see a sexy beast, she saw a hole to throw money into. A step into squalor from a pretty comfortable suburban life.

She side-eyed her husband but he was too enraptured to notice, or care. At least he was happy, she thought softly. She inhaled and exhaled the clean country air and took a look about the woodland surrounding the house. Ok, there were obviously benefits to living here. She could just imagine sitting out there alone, painting those glorious trees and seeing all the little fairy homes that only the brush and canvas could find.

This place was all that Ethan had talked about for months, and while she understood that this was clearly a step that he needed to take, he had never seemed to reciprocate that understanding of how much it terrified her. Her parent's voices nagged at the back of her mind, her Father saying how crazy it was, her Mother telling her how to be a good wife... she missed them.

Maybe this would be a new start for them, but a start of what?

"The realtor said we should get the generator started as soon as we arrived." She reminded Ethan quietly.

---

A rumbling, a crunch of twigs and leaves and then silence followed by two bangs. It had been two years but I damn-well recognised the sound of a car. When I had awoken, the house was already empty and they had already left. No-one else had even ventured out this way, I remembered it was a bit of a drive to the nearest town and the grounds were fenced off to deter any ramblers so it was unlikely anyone would ever accidentally find the place.

I slipped upstairs and peered out of the attic window. It was odd, even though I knew they wouldn't be able to see me, hiding in the attic and peeping at them just felt like the right thing to do. A large fancy car was stopped outside and a couple were climbing out, looking up at the house and the surrounding grounds.

I immediately hated them. What were they doing here? Come to rub how gloriously happy and in love they are? How dare they. Didn't they know there was a murder here? Didn't they respect that? Of course I knew I was going over the top, no-one had ever come to investigate her and she was pretty sure when she was alive that she wouldn't have cared to visit a place where someone had died in. Who would have guessed that ghosts and spirits was a real thing?

 

[Ravenloft]

This would have been the perfect moment to look up at those attic windows and see a ghost looking down on us, I thought. "If only... If only shit like that actually happened.. To me... I wouldn't be so god damned bored all the fucking time." I muttered under my breath. Just then I looked up and thought I saw... Something? A shadow? Pft, always just a trick of the light, of course. Zoe reminded me to go start the generator, I nodded,

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it Zo-Zo..." I knew she hated it when I called her that, but it was kind of fun to get her riled up from time to time. I also knew she couldn't see the beauty of this old house, like I could, but that's why I dropped a fortune on fifty acres of land, so she could paint to her heart's content.

I had my thing, she had hers, it was a decent enough relationship, for the most part, and to be honest, I really did admire her work, and I think she liked mine, right?

I got the generator up and running and rushed to meet Zoe back at the SUV, to help bring in our luggage. "The mover's will be here tomorrow, so we are just going to have to be content with what's already in there, until then, it was left furnished, you know." I grinned, knowing that she was going to probably roll her eyes again. "Wonder if there's a four post bed with curtains in there, like the one Scrooge had?"

I lugged as much luggage up to the front doors in one trip as I humanly could, I never liked taking more than one or two trips. Old habits and all. Setting them down, I searched my pockets for the keys to the door. "Shit... I..." I looked up and Zoe was already dangling her set from one finger. "Forgot your keys, I know." She finished my statement for me. "Thanks babe." She might think I was a dipshit for blowing half our fortune on this place, but she sure had my back! "I owe you a hot bath and a fancy dinner, okay?"

"Just a bath, I'm not that hungry, hop to it, hunk." She flashed me a self satisfied smirk and I almost smacked her on the rear, but she skirted just out of reach. We knew each other too well. "As you wish." I whispered, as I snatched the keys away from her and opened the door for her. "You may enter." I added with a flourish, and she gave me a stately nod.

An hour later, she was enjoying a hot bubble bath and I was downstairs, about to go explore the basement, to scope out if I could find a good spot to set up my own private art studio down there, you know, for the spooky as fuck vibe?

 

[Alexavious]

The couple seemed so content, with cute nicknames, like someone had intentionally sent them here to hurt me. Their voices drifted up to my hiding place, muffled and distorted, like I was in a glass box. But did he just say... movers?! They weren't just some couple looking to explore an abandoned house, but they were going to live here! I was shocked, stunned even, oddly I could feel my heart racing despite I guess not really having a heart. It was such a strange sensation that it caught me in my tracks, placing a hand on my chest. Was that just my mind playing tricks on me? I had never noticed that before...

The couple entered and I watched them from every opportunity, hiding in the walls and in the shadows despite my invisibly ethereal nature. They were a curious couple, for as soon as they entered, they went about their own jobs, barely even talking. I zipped between them, fascinated and horrified that they defiled the place I had called home for so long.

I found myself in the bathroom as the woman, Zoe, was running the bath. The room filled with steam for the first time in years, swirls of mist magically twisting through the little light that filtered through the dirty window. Then she was undressing and I actually blushed, or at least I felt like I was. She was much more curvaceous than my petite frame, flawless pale flesh that only served to enflame my envy further.

I wanted to lash out, drive her away, make her so scared that she'd never wanted to come back. But it was at this moment that I felt a cold dread and a familiar pull. I knew exactly what had happened, the man had opened the basement door. Quickly I passed through the floors and could see that he stood on the threshold. The darkness pulled at me, urging me to enter, fall into oblivion....

 

[Ravenloft]

"Woah... What the fff-hell was that?!" I hissed, a sudden chill of cold coming over me. I took a step back, and the chill left me. "Wierd..." I reached my hand forward, and it was like sticking my hand into icy water. "Uh..." I yanked my hand back and peered at the empty space before me. "Hello? Is... Something there?" I turned my head to the side, this is exactly what I had been looking for, something strange and spooky. I felt excited, eager to discover something supernatural... Maybe... "Alright, lets science this shit!" I thought to myself. I rushed to the kitchen sink, which was right across the room from the basement door. "Shit... No cups... Fuck! Um..." I started searching cupboards and cabinets for anything that would hold water. Desperate to experiment, I found an old can of oven cleaner in the cupboard beneath the sink. I took the cap off and used it as a cup, filling it about half way with water.

Returning to the door, I set the little, make shift cup on the floor and toed it into the zone that had been freezing cold just a moment ago. I don't know what I was expecting, wait, no, I thought it would flash freeze, or something... But nothing happened. "Well, that was a let down... Hey, ghost, if you're there, stop teasing me and freeze the water or something!" I whispered under my breath, rubbing my temples, feeling absolutely retarded. "I want to believe..." I groaned to myself, in my best Duchovny impression. "Oh well, maybe next time..." I said aloud with a sigh of resignation, leaving the little cup where it was and stepping over it to head down into the basement.

I thought about things, about Zoe, this house, about how much I wished I could see, feel, hear something out of the ordinary. "This ordinary life, ugh!" I groused as I got to the bottom of the stairs. I though about Zoe, and how I had actually convinced myself that she really could see those fairy folk she painted. I envied her that power, real or imagined. But when she sat me down and told me to get my head out of my ass, and that nothing otherworldly actually existed... That stung. "It exists if I think it exists... Damn it!" I spat out loud, alone in the dark.

I know she meant well, and thought I was losing my grip on reality, so she felt she had to tell me she wasn't the wonderful, witchy woman I had imagined her to be. She was just flesh and blood, like the rest of us. That's probably when the heat went out of our relationship. I wanted mystery and fantasy, but she was grounded in reality, painting those scenes was just her... Hobby, turned profession. I couldn't fault her for that really, I did the same fucking thing. Painting what was in my head, the images that danced just behind my eyes. I guess I just thought there might be something to hers, because her work was just so damn brilliant, you would be forgiven to believe that they were photographic evidence of the fae realm.

"Okay... What have we got here..." I talked to myself, reaching out blindly for the pull cord for the single basement light. Finding the thin chain I pulled it till it clicked and a single, naked light bulb lit up right in front of me. "Oh jeeze!" I chirped, startled by the nearness and brightness of the damn thing. "Really good, Ethan, give yourself a heart attack why don't you!" I looked around, this place was pretty barren, there was like... Nothing here... Not even a very spooky vibe. "Needs some cob webs and a nice torture rack, or an iron maiden. Maybe a hunch back in the corner..." I joked to myself, rubbing by bare forearms, feeling the chill of the basement beginning to creep over me. "Temp seems about right... Hehehe! Nothing a light sweater can't fix." Why was I talking to myself so much? I couldn't quite shake this feeling that I was not completely alone.

"Now would be the perfect time to knock something over, or send a little red ball into the light, just please don't kill the light... Or me, please?" I whispered again, really kind of hoping that something would happen. I waited a good thirty seconds, holding my breath, but nothing happened. "Ethan, you're an idiot." I chided myself, laughing. "I should write a book: How to offend a ghost and make it ignore you!" At least I was keeping myself amused. I walked around the empty basement one more time to see if I noticed anything out of the ordinary, like a bricked up wall or a section of floor that looked as though it was covered with newer pavement. Anything to spark my morbid and seeking curiosity. Anything I could pick at to pretend my darker fantasies were real. "Real enough to me..." I grumbled, finding nothing of interest, I slumped my shoulders in a sort of defeat and made my way toward the steps.

 

[Alexavious]

The man stuck his hand inside me. I watched in horror as his whole hand disappeared through my chest. I knew I wasn't corporeal, I had watched my body as I had sunk down through the floors and walls but to see his wrist embedded into my torso was incredibly creepy. It brought a whole new level of realisation that I would have to mentally unpack at some point, but it also meant that in some way, he had sensed me. I wasn't just an observer, I could affect the world in some small way. It was a start at least.

"Hello? Is... Something there?"

"...Hi..." I tried, knowing he wouldn't hear me. I hadn't even been able to scare off birds let alone communicate to another person. But he was looking right at me (or through me anyway) but it felt like someone was seeing me for the first time in two whole years. Then he was rushing off and I actually darted to one side to let him past. I followed him about, drifting silently behind, curious as to what he could be doing. He suddenly seemed very animated and then he was off again back to the basement doorway.

I watched with a bemused smirk as he placed the container gingerly on the floor. I stared at it for a moment before frowning and looking back up at him. What... what was I meant to do? His crestfallen expression was actually quite cute and I couldn't help but let slip a little giggle. What a foolish man.

"...Hey, ghost, if you're there, stop teasing me and freeze the water or something!"

Freeze... the water... I bent down low and shrugged, sticking my finger 'into' the cup. Nothing happened. I focused hard, squinting my eyes and straining, trying to direct any willpower and energy into freezing the water. Could I feel my finger get wet or was that a trick of mind? In any case, the water didn't change. It didn't even seem to move.

"Sorry." I whispered back, staring at my finger as I rose back up. When I looked up, he was disappearing into the basement and my heart leapt into my mouth. I moved to the doorway but I could feel that drawing sensation, pulling me into the darkness and I could go no further. I could still hear the man moving about down there, grumbling and talking to himself. Was he mad?

And then there was light, for the first time I could see into the basement and it was... empty. There was nothing there but still I could feel it draw me down. Should I go? What would I find. The man was still grumbling, calling out as if I was a friend right beside him. I teetered on the edge of descending, even going so far to take the first step. Suddenly the pull was immense, almost whisking me 'off my feet'. Dread filled me and I threw myself backwards, clenching up into a tight ball with my head in my hands. There was a loud bang and when I finally unclenched, the basement door was shut and the pull had gone. Did I do that?

 

[Ravenloft]

"What the fuck?!" I swore, nearly jumping out of my skin as I made my way up the steps, just as the door to the kitchen literally slammed shut right in my face. "Are you fucking kidding me?!" I had given up on my 'Muldering', no, not the decaying kind, I meant what I said, Muldering, like from X-files. Yes, I just made that shit up, deal with it. But, once again, strange shit was happening. "Okay, seriously, if you want to talk, we are going to have to find a better way to communicate. I don't care if you have to possess an animal, just stop scaring the shit out of me, please?!" I shouted, a little sharply, but trying my damnedest to sound calm and reasonable. Pretending I was answering the unheard or unspoken question of 'how', I continued on, trying to open the door, but, of course, it was jammed. "Nice, real nice, you new at this or something? I don't know about the how, I'm no paranormal investigator here, just an artist with a wild imagination!" I was losing it a little, I admit I really did kind of want there to be a ghost, but I knew I was just losing my mind. "Get a grip, Ethan, there's a rational explanation for this..." I paused, wracking my brain for one. "Yeah, Other Ethan? Like what?" I asked myself aloud. Maybe I could make the ghost think I was nuts, that would teach it. Fight fire with fire.

Taking a deep breath, I opened my mouth, taking one last stab at sanity. "Zoe?" I called through the door. "Please tell me that was you, pranking me..." Silence, a chill down my spine, the hair on the back of my neck rising. I secretly dug it, this was exactly what I wanted, but I wasn't sure I should now. It was a little too real? "Zo-zo? You there? Hahah, you got me, good one. You kind of over did it, the door is stuck, you know." Again, not even a giggle. Swallowing back my mortal fear and anger, I went back into the place in my mind where I was most comfortable. "Look, I know I'm a little crazy, but I just want you to know, I'm not insane, I talk to myself, like, a lot, but that doesn't mean i'm completely mad here, i'm just eccentric, that's all. The gods honest truth... I'm lonely... I made a mistake, I convinced myself that my wife really could see things... I just wanted to be near someone who could... I never, in a million years, thought I might find it in myself to talk to... Something... Otherworldly."

I began to sink down in front of the door, I hadn't really even tried to force it open yet. "Maybe I really am insane... Zoe sure seems to think so, though she will never say so. At least I hope she never will. Polite, loveless space is better than nothing at all, I guess... Its a sort of unspoken, mutual respect, right?" I turned and leaned my back against the door and let out a half hearted chuckle. "Well, if I really have gone bat shit insane, than I might as well enjoy it, right? If you're really there, we need to find a way to talk, in dreams, write on mirrors, possess something, I don't care, just let me help you out, if I can. I'm already rich, so its not like I need to fuck with you by selling tickets to this place or anything. Whatever it is you think you need, I'm your guy, I've been waiting for this sort of thing all my life. I think I was born for it. If you don't believe me, just look at some of my art."

"My art!" I shot up to my feet and began putting my weight against the door. "I'll set some of my best out, for you to see. Maybe it will give you some ideas how you can try to talk to me!" I was excited, it was nuts, but many of my best works showed ways in which I figured this sort of thing would work. "Come on... Come! ON!" I growled under by breath, trying to get the door open, then I took a step back and threw my shoulder into it, just in time to stumble into the kitchen, as Zoe opened it from the other side. My forward stumble set her on her ass and I nearly fell on my face as well. It would seem we were in a comedy, not a ghost story at the moment. I skidded to the sink and braced myself, turned as casually as I could and we locked eyes.

Zoe began to squint suspiciously up at me. "Why the hell are you slamming doors down here? Honestly, Ethan, you can be such a..." I cut her off, giving her my most dashing smile. "Payne? I've heard that before. Would you believe I was just trying to get in the mood to paint?" I reached out my hand to help her up, we were husband and wife after all, even if we'd lost our intimacy years ago, I still didn't like to knock her on her ass like that. She just rolled her eyes and clucked her tongue. "Well, get yourself in the mood more quietly next time, its bad enough we have to live in this money pit... You don't have to bother me with your fake spooks and specters..." She grumbled, taking care to keep her towel, the only thing she was wearing, cinched tight, so I wouldn't get any ideas.

I nodded, penitently and gave her a stately bow and motioned for her to return to her evening without me. It wasn't anything hateful, there wasn't even enough feeling left between us, it would seem, for it to be anything but a bit of British humor anymore. She had her thing and I had mine. It was comfortable. The moment she was out of sight, I rushed to the van and brought in several of my personal favorites and set them out for... Whatever... To see.

I went from one to the next, calling out the titles I had given them.

"Behind the glass." My personal favorite, I really nailed it with that image, a girl behind the glass in a mirror looking out into a dark and empty room, there was a subtle, but beautiful butterfly/moth to the flame motif to it.

"Mist her." There was no actual depiction of a ghost in this one, just a simple bank of fog hanging over still water, with swirling faces hidden within it and in one corner, a space where the absence of the fog formed the shape of a woman.

Always women...

"Untitled..." This one, this one kind of haunted even me. A living woman, casting herself in tears upon a large stone in the middle of a grove, with three ghostly women reaching out to comfort her from behind the stone. I was not well versed at the time in anything to do with paganism, I just felt my way through painting it. I may have been stoned at the time... I can't remember. Anyway, that's when I started getting fan mail from all sorts of pagans asking me all sorts of interesting questions. Like I knew anything... I learned though, from them and from Zoe. It all made a lot of sense to me, scary sense.

"There are others, but I think that's a good start, for now..." I said, to myself, casting about, wondering what to do next, nothing was happening. "Yeah... I'm going to make myself a drink..." I whispered, rubbing my neck, feeling foolish. A short while later, I pulled a comfy seat into the middle of the room, surrounded at three points, in the center of my art, facing me. I sat down and sighed, strangely satisfied, and took a drink, waiting... For something, anything to happen.

 

[Alexavious]

Blinking, I stared at the door and then down to my hands. I could hear the man muttering behind the portal and the idea of 'possessing an animal' made my brow crinkle and my lips curl into a bemused smile. I moved forward and found that the wood was... hard. I placed my hand against the grainy door and it was solid! How?! It was the first substantial thing I had felt in two whole years. I was enraptured, having not realised how much I had missed feeling the world around me.

The man's shout out from the other side brought me back to the world. I placed my head to it to better hear him. He was... pouring his heart out to thin air? Bless him, I must have really startled him. Movement behind me brought my attention to see Zoe with a dark look on her face. She moved with purpose towards the door, to the point where I actually felt the need to dodge out the way as she simply opened it and suddenly the room was filled with bodies and limbs stumbling everywhere.

As the two conversed, I was finally able to place a name to the man. Ethan. Strange. The two didn't seem to be as... lovey-dovey... as I thought they would be. Perhaps my initial knee-jerk reaction that they were somehow here to rub their love in my dead face was wrong.

The two parted and the man darted off again. This time, it felt right to stay here in the Kitchen, though with the basement door open again I felt the ominous draw once more. Still, being close to the only thing I'd been able to manipulate since my death was comforting, even if I didn't know how I had done it.

Ethan returned with canvas after canvas and then actually went through them as if he were talking to me. On the one hand it was surprisingly sweet, on the other it was totally bonkers if she hadn't have known that she really was a spirit.

I was never really one for art, at least the drawn or painted kind. Though... he liked to take me to galleries on our "dates". I shuddered slightly as quickly cast those memories from my mind. Singing was really more my thing anyway, but I tried to focus on the image that Ethan was talking about. Behind the glass. It was beautiful, the girl was really life-like, her expression so sad and yet her eyes hopeful.

Mist her was more like how I felt, nothing but a shadow, perhaps just a remnant or whatever was left behind when I died. I couldn't bare to look at that one for too long. The last one was worse, the depiction of mourning and the sharp reminder that I had left my family behind. Did they cry? Did they even know I was dead? I couldn't reach out to them for comfort like the ghosts in the painting....

I planted myself in front of the first one, seeing myself in the girl. Unfortunately however, they afforded no inspiration as to how to communicate with Ethan. He looked so... despondent, sat staring at his art waiting for this mysterious entity to touch his life. Was he really that... desperate? I wanted to reach out to him, to perch on his armchair and pull his head into my lap. It wasn't even the stereotypical tortured artists soul because he moved about with such excitement and enthusiasm all the time but seeing him here just waiting was almost heart-breaking...

The best I could do was what I'd done before by accident, my 'coldness' as he had described it. Hopefully it was consistent that the spot I occupied was always slightly colder than the air around it. I sank to my knees in front of him, glancing over my shoulders at each of the paintings. Glass on my left (his right), Mist behind me and Untitled to my right (his left). Giving myself a little shrug, in quick succession I passed a digit through his right hand, his forehead and his left hand before 'merging' my whole hand with his right. I hoped it would somehow indicate my preference to the painting on his right, it was all I could think of doing.

 

[Ravenloft]

I gasped the moment I felt a chill pass through my right hand and froze. Another chill ran across my brow, and yet one more, over my left hand. I didn't dare move, my eyes grew as large as saucers in that moment. "H-hello?" I stammered, feeling a thrill and terror all at once. The only thing I dared move was my eyes! Glass, Mist and untitled, it was an acknowledgement of the placement of my art, clearly, or I was way more drunk than I felt.

Another chill! In my right hand, this time, much more intense! "Holy shit!" I yanked my hand away, because it had started to hurt, like shoving my hand into dry ice, or something. "Message recieved!" I whispered, with a stupid grin. In my heart, it was more than just an attempt at basic communication, it was confirmation of a whole other state of existance! "Holy fuck!" I exclaimed as about a million realizations struck me all at once. Instead of dread, I was filled with hope... And wonder. I had to learn more. I wasn't sure if I was bat shit insane, drunk off my ass, or actually given the gift of knowledge of the existence of an actual after life, whatever it was, I was hooked!

"Okay, you like Glass, me too! It's, honestly, my personal favorite!" I gushed, standing up, eager to continue this communication with the beyond, even if it was possible it was all in my intoxicated brain, or due to childhood trauma, or some other shard of madness that was working through my damaged brain... I didn't give a fuck at this moment in time!

"Okay, I have an idea! What if..." I ran back into the kitchen and retrieved an old, out of date bag of flour I had seen when I was searching for a cup to hold water, from before. "You clearly have some sort of power over, or connection to the basement door, so..." I grabbed the bag of flour and went to the door to the basement, took a hand full of flour and threw a puff of it against the door, making a small patch of white on the old mahogany surface. Immediately deciding that wasn't enough surface area, I cast at least a half a dozen more hand full of flour upon the door and took a step back, satisfied with the white, powdery coverage I had made. "Think of the flour as a sheet of paper taped to the door and your finger tip as a pen. If that was you slamming the door earlier, maybe you can write something in the flour now? Shit... If you even speak english... Fuck! I didn't even stop to think about that... Um... Can you understand English? Hmmm... Let me try..." I reached out and, using my best intuition, I made a peace symbol in one corner of the flour coated door. "I come in peace..." I said aloud, hoping I wasn't being completely retarded. Hopefully this wasn't the ghost of Allan Rickman, or something, who would probably mock me for being so simple minded.

 

[Alexavious]

Seeing Ethan's reaction, a genuine laugh slipped from my lips. Oh it felt so good to laugh. I giggled at the man as he leapt up out of his seat. Then he was off again, did this man ever stop? I floated along behind as he lead the way to the Kitchen. The door had been closed once more and the dark pull was muted, still I wasn't keen on being this close to that black pit. I raised an eyebrow as he went to work making what looked like a large white mess.

It looked just like... a canvas. Interesting. Ethan was still talking out to the room like I was a child and once again, it made me grin once more. As Ethan stepped to one side, I took a deep breath, or at least the facsimile of one and tried to focus. His assumption that I could control the door was a little misguided, it had entirely been by accident. Still, maybe he was right and this was where my connection was strongest.

I didn't know what to write, I was suddenly struck with incredibly shyness. Not something I was used to, being a singer in my previous life. I actually felt my hands clam up and my heart race, even though none of that was physically possible. With a trembling finger I reached out... and touched the door. It was still solid, but the flour... my finger just passed through the flour.

I felt my heart sink, disappointment and anger welling up. What was the point? Nothing was going to work and I couldn't very well communicate with just cold touches forever! He was going to give up too and then they'd leave and I'd be on my own again and it'd be forever and ever and ever...

With a frustrated scream I slammed my hand against the door, needing to feel that connection, the one string that tied me truly to this plane of existence, a fucking door! Bang! Flour puffed everywhere, forcing me to blink my eyes. When the white dust settled I looked back and there was a perfect imprint of my feminine hand, lightly traced in what remained of the flour on the door...

 

[Ravenloft]

I was holding my breath, my anticipation growing with each passing second. "Give it time... Give it time..." I whispered to myself, eager to see something, anything happen. I would have sat there, waiting all night if I had to, drinking, of course, but it only took maybe a minute or two, I think, I wasn't watching the time, my eyes were locked on the layer of flour I'd put on the door. Imagine if Zoe walked in on this? "Oh, its my latest piece, darling I call it Ghost in Winter!" She'd probably just roll her eye and walk on through at this point. Its not as if I haven't seen her sculpting spriggans in her mashed potatoes before. We are artists, that sort of madness comes with the territory. Most of the time, we just ignore the strange habits we both have.

I had slipped into my own thoughts for just a second when a sudden crack of sound snapped me to attention with a yelp of surprise. I put both hands over my mouth to keep from whooping in triumph as a puff of flour went everywhere, including my face and hair, dusting me with a fine powder. I barely blinked until I had to, just taking in the moment. I stared for, I don't know how long... At the delicate hand print that lingered dead center of the flour canvas.

"Thank you..." I whispered, dropping my hands from my lips. A normal person would be taking pictures of this, like a bastard, or a fool, thinking they could cash in on this poor spirit's... Trust? Desperation? I have no idea? I just know I'm anything but normal. "I have an idea." I began, walking up to the door once more. "Its the door, the door you can touch, duh, I added to it, you struck it hard enough to make that one spot shed the flour. I'm no scientist, but I get it, cant explain it, but It worked. We need to use the door... But only the smallest part of it so it stays intact. It's here for a reason, if you shut it, you want it shut, I'm sure." I was rambling on, aloud.

I stuck my hands out in front of me. "Okay! My right hand is positive, my left is negative. Anything else can mean you don't know. If my idea works, we won't need this rudimentary language for long. But we can make up a cool new language if it doesn't." My eyes lit up over that idea. "In fact..." I was excited again, I rushed back into the living room and got a pen. "I can write the alphabet on my arms and you can use your touch to indicate whole words! Not the best idea, cause that shit kind of hurt, but it's not like I haven't suffered for my art, so whats a little cold hurt me to help you out?"

I blinked a few times, this was either the coolest thing I would ever do, or the dumbest. I shrugged and began marking letters along my left arm, in as careful of a script as I could manage, while I was slightly buzzed on spiced wine. "So, my right hand is still yes and my left is no, but if you want to talk, I will listen. Just don't hurt me, okay?" Again, this was either really awesome, or really, really dumb.

It only took a minute for me to realize that this was going to be way more uncomfortable than just getting a few chills, my left arm only went up to G, as I was making sure that there was enough space between letters to know which one was being touched. I managed to fit up to N on my right. "Shit..." I sighed and shook my head. "Don't laugh, okay?" I took my shirt off and worked out the rest of the alphabet very sloppily across my chest and stomach. Its not that easy to write things at that angle, on yourself, while buzzed. I've got a good sense of humor though, so...

"Ready when you are." I said, taking another sip of my wine before resting my hands on the table I sat at with a pad of paper and my pen, closing my eyes so I could really focus on any sensation I might receive... From the beyond! OoooOOOOooo! I smirked to myself and licked my lips in anticipation. Was I getting off on this or what? Yeesh!

 

[Alexavious]

What the fuck! What was it with this door? As I was staring at what was definitely my hand print, Ethan had yet another idea and was off again. Glancing at him, I had to giggle. He looked more like a ghost now than I did, with a fine layer of white powder clinging to his hair and clothes. His words though, I began to panic as I thought he would suggest removing it. But somehow he seemed to understand, the door was important. I still didn't know why but I was definitely happier when it was shut.

I watched with rapt amusement as he excitedly explained his theory and began to write on his arm. It was certainly interesting, like a human Ouija board. But I had to laugh when the letters only went up to G, and then up to N on the other side. My eyes widened as the top came off and I had to admit I didn't relish the idea of touching a strange man's bare chest, even if it wasn't technically touching... though I also had to admit the man was in pretty good shape. Just like when I saw his other half bathing, a blush came to my cheeks.

This would be another amusing situation to try and explain should his wife come strolling through. Stood, bare chest with letters, some of which looked more like shaky arcane runes than the letter they were intended for, eyes shut, waiting... I stood before him, suddenly very nervous. Could this really work? Was I about to communicate to someone for the first time in years?

I moved to his left hand. He hadn't asked any questions so I needed to keep it simple. Carefully, I pointed a finger and stabbed at the H. The image of my finger disappearing through his palm was still unsettling, even with all the exploring and slipping through walls and objects. I proceeded carefully, making sure that each letter was written down correctly before moving onto the next. It was time consuming for such a small amount of talk but it was something. The double L was tricky. At first, it seemed like Ethan didn't feel the second time I pushed through the same spot and time ticked by before I was able to try again and get a reaction. I quickly followed up with the last letter, finally gingerly touching his pec muscle with another little giggle... HELLO

 

[Ravenloft]

"H, got that, E, L..." I grew colder and my teeth were beginning to chatter from more than just excitement. I was thinking things I didn't really want to think, like this being was about to just tell me it was in hell... I was NOT prepared for THAT! "H-E-L..." I must have repeated that over a dozen times, get more and more concerned each time, somewhere between wanting to sense another letter, other than another L... and... Well... Anything other than another L...

I eventually felt a second L and would have shot up and out of the room if it weren't for the sedative effect of the wonders of spiced wine... Making me linger long enough to feel a quick O on my chest... Letting out a sigh of relief, I couldn't help but say, aloud. "You know... You could have just texted 'hi'. I just about shit myself just now... Honestly!"

"Who are you talking to, Ethan?" Of course, OF COURSE! That was the moment Zoe walked into the room... Or had she been standing there for minutes? My spine about ripped out of my body in that moment! "Fucking hell!" I yelped, under my breath...

I had no idea how long she might have been in the room, and I was NOT prepared to explain any of this... "Myself, of course..." I tried to placate her with the most obvious answer I could give, without moving, hoping to GOD she didn't notice the writing on my arms OR that I was shirtless and... Shivering. I don't know if I just thought it, or was, somehow, whispering under my breath, but I know I was begging for some kind, any kind of distraction to keep Zoe from seeing just how insane I was acting, sitting shirtless in the living room, with half drunk scrawled letters down my arms and across my chest and stomach...

"Please, help me..." I mouthed soundlessly, hoping whatever it was, talking to me, understood lip reading. l was just about to lose my shit if Zoe had taken another step into the room. I knew that if she saw the empty bottle of wine, everything would collapse and there would be no way to explain myself without appearing as though I'd gone over the deep end, in her estimation.

 

[Alexavious]

Laughing loudly, I did a little jiggle dance and grinned foolishly. His reaction was everything I wanted and more, especially calling it texting. But my face dropped as that floating voice came through from the other room, snapping my head in that direction as if I had been caught with my hand in the cookie jar. For the first time, my heart went out to Ethan. So caught up in his excitement for speaking with me, neither of us had heard his wife approach and while I'm sure he could explain his way out of it, he shouldn't need to. A loving partner would be involved, even if they thought it wasn't real, there was fun to be had. It seemed Ethan and Zoe had long since lost the spark of fun.

I watched Ethan intently, wondering how he would react, so I easily caught his silent beg for help. But what could I do about it? I began to panic, scanning around the room, there was nothing, NOTHING! I could make her cold but would that stop her? Tears began welling up in my eyes, feeling like I was going to fail Ethan. Fleeting images of a horrible argument, and them leaving flashed across my eyes. I snapped my attention back to the door and could just see Zoe stepping around, a look of confusion on her face as she searched for her husband.

Before she could step into the room, total panic overwhelmed me and I just clenched my hands into my hair and screamed. For me, it was the loudest noise I think I'd ever made, in life or death. Tears streamed down my cheeks and I curled into a little ball and clenched my eyes shut. I had failed, I was useless, Ethan would hate me, they would just leave me and I'd be alone again forever.

There was a loud bang and the light suddenly vanished. The evening was drawing on, the sun low and since the room was on the east side of the house, the room was plunged into a very dim light. Zoe screamed herself as the light exploded, sending showers of glass scattering across the floor, stumbling backwards and putting her hand out to steady herself as she meets the wood of the doorway...

 

[Ravenloft]

With my eyes wide, I felt my whole body tense up in anticipation of this dreaded confrontation that I simply knew was about to happen... Then, there was a loud bang and a flash of electrical sparks just behind me. That... That actually calmed me... Because I knew, or at least I hoped I knew who, or what had caused it, did it to help me avoid the discovery of my potential insanity.

Zoe's scream put me a little on edge, but the distraction my new friend from the beyond had caused gave me the opportunity to get my shirt back on and the dim light that was left would have to be low enough to mask what few letters were still visible on my arms from easy notice. I could handle this, I knew I could, now. "Thank you..." I mouthed in the dim light, hoping that whatever it was that was there in the room with us could see, or feel my gratitude. If not now, than I would certainly make a point of expressing it in full, later.

Right now, I had to do something to smooth over the craziness of what just happened. I took my phone out of my pocket, unlocking it with my thumb, and turned on the flash light. "Yikes, that was quite a shock, now wasn't it, dear? Must have blown a fuse... I'll go check it out!" I still had my tenny's on, so I was in no danger from the cascade of broken glass. "Here. you can have my phone for light, love." I offered it to Zoe, Just as much to prove that I was not doing anything untoward over social media as to give her a torch to see by. "If only it were a boggard or a gremlin, but it's probably just bad wiring, not up to code..." I was being kind of an asshole, but not really, my artist's soul wished that the world she could make look so real was just as real as the world I had longed to exist was quickly turning out to be.

"Ethan?" Zoe sounded quite stricken. I turned to look at her, her face dimly lit by the screen of my phone. The play of light and shadow across her face made her look hauntingly beautiful and for a moment, I stared transfixed. "Ethan!" she snapped, realizing before I did just exactly what I was doing, using the haunting image of the moment to conceive another brilliant piece of art! Was I ever an asshole! "Sorry!" I lowered my eyes and bit my lip, ashamed, but not quite ashamed enough.

What was wrong with me? I thought to myself, leaving the room. "What the hell is wrong with me?" I muttered to myself as I stumbled my way through the house, until my eyes adjusted to the dim light. "Why am I always such a jackass to her? I really don't mean to be..." Safely out of earshot, I spoke a little louder to myself, secretly hoping that the entity which communicated with me was okay, and not only okay, but near enough to hear me.

"Shit..." I was at the basement door again, the fuse box was down there, of course. "I really hate to put you through this, but I have to go down there and see if the breaker tripped... Zoe won't relax unless I get the lights back on... Thank you for the distraction, you really saved my ass just now... That was not a confrontation I was prepared for tonight. I owe you big time."

I ducked down into the basement as quickly as I could and got the lights back on. There was this strange feeling in my gut, I really did not want to be down here alone, and intuition told me I was alone, it clicked in my mind, there was this sort of blanket aversion to the basement that wasn't within me before. Beads of sweat on my brown and my heart was beginning to race. I was quickly nearing panic. "What the fuck?" I whispered to myself, bolting for the stairs up just as soon as I had finished what I had to do. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, oh fuck." I gasped as I took the steps by two's and put the door between me and the basement once more. "Whew..." I pressed my back to the door and slid down it to my ass. "That was... Unpleasant... I think... I feel your dread of that place... How can I help?" I whispered, taking a moment to collect myself.

 

[Alexavious]

The silence that settled following the tinkling of glass was just as deafening, until Ethan's oddly comforting words broke it. I peeled back my fingers from my eyes to watch the interchange between the couple. Such an unusual couple, you could hardly tell they were married at all. Was it always like this? Was this what I had been destined too had things not gone so dreadfully wrong in my own pursuits? Surely not, but then considering what he had actually done to me along with his Wife, it might have been worse!

I quickly followed the retreating Ethan, wanting to reach out to him as he muttered away to himself. Perhaps I hadn't understood the exchange between them but I didn't understand how he could consider himself to be in the wrong. Surely a wife should at least tolerate the eccentricities of her partner, right?

I stopped rather quickly when I saw where Ethan was heading, the fucking basement again. As soon as the door swung open, that other-worldly pull called to me. The feeling was hard to place, somehow a physical pull like someone had put a rope around my waist, and a something mental. Like there was actually something wiling me to go down there, but who or what... and why...

But Ethan's sweet words made me smile, his genuine thoughts for my wellbeing even if he didn't know who or what I was touched my heart. When he returned, looking so flustered, I immediately went to him, wanting nothing more than to take him in my arms and embrace him, that look of fear I knew all too well. If I was somehow responsible as well for making him feel it too...

I wanted to tell him that it was ok, and to look for what was down there that was pulling me. There wasn't enough time to convey that, certainly not by poking letters on his body. It could wait, whatever it was. Instead, I reached out and squeezed the left hand, the negative. It might not make sense but it was all I could think of. He had already helped me in so many ways, before today I had never touched anything in the mortal world and I never thought I would again. Now I was slamming doors, making hand prints in flour, communicating by touch and breaking light bulbs with my screams. It felt like I had accomplished a lot.

Zoe appeared in the doorway with a frown on her face, the mostly empty bottle of wine swaying gently from side to side in one hand and Ethan's phone in the other, the light switched off now. She handed it back and placed the bottle down wordlessly. It was clear she wanted to say something, probably had a thousand thoughts bubbling away between the cold mask but instead she seemed to swallow them and momentarily there was pain behind those eyes. It didn't really seem like Ethan noticed and she was quick to cover it up by turning away.

"I'm heading up to bed. Try not to stay up too late, you've got a lot of work to do with this place."

With that she turned and left, with so much left unsaid.

 

[Ravenloft]

"Was that a negative to my help?" I was even more confused now. "There must be something I can do... Unfinished business... Anything... That feeling... I would not wish it on any..." Thankfully I was just whispering to myself, and the being who's fears I was sure I was feeling, when I noticed Zoe approaching, so I wasn't caught looking like even more of a mad man than I must already seem.

I looked up even as my heart sank at the sight of the nearly empty bottle. How could I have forgotten about such a damning piece of evidence? Not like I could really have done anything about it though. A litany of apologetic words rose from my lungs, but they all crashed into each other in my throat as I felt it tighten up at the sight of her frown. I tried to plead with her with only my eyes, as I had a million times before, knowing that if I tried to force even one word out, it would all come out wrong, and only make things worse.

Zoe handed me back my phone and sat the bottle down, i felt so numb, so pathetic. Like a robot, I turned my phone off and tucked it away in my pocket, hanging my head in defeat, there didn't seem to be anything I could do to make amends.

"I'm heading up to bed. Try not to stay up too late, you've got a lot of work to do with this place."

I closed my eyes, like a man condemned and took a slow, deep breath, nodding silently in reply, my throat so tight, that breath was nearly impossible.

After she was gone, and the seconds crawled by like eternities, I slowly relaxed, lifted my head, resting it against the door and opened my eyes to look around the empty room. "You still there?" I wispered into the darkness. If I couldn't do right by Zoe, than I was hell bent on doing something right and decent and true for... "What's your name, if you don't mind me asking?" I asked, softly smiling.

 

[Alexavious]

I stared after Zoe, not really seeing her as my mind was flying. Unfinished business? If only it were that simple. I wished I could just talk to you, it would have been so much easier, not that I really wanted to talk about my death. The dreams were bad enough, remembering how the one man I loved more than anything in the world stood idly by while his Wife wrapped her fingers around my throat and killed me. The thing is though, I didn't really care about revenge on them. I hurt, of course but it wasn't like I was out to do them any harm, for all I cared they could have each other. So what could be keeping me here?

Ethan's whispered words snapped me back to the room, and his question stunned me. My name? Oh! Of course! Not that I'd had any opportunity to tell him this far and it had been so long since I had need to use it that the idea was so surprising. It was harder now that he was wearing hi6s shirt again but I remembered where the L was from before. Unfortunately there was no way to be gentle but I tried to give him a little warning that it was about to happen by gently brushing my fingers across his cheek. It felt oddly... sensual and a wash of nerves rushed through me and I quickly moved on.

L
A
R
A... A... A! The delay in the letter pressing made the whole thing tricky but we go there in the end. It felt good to use my name again and I relished the thought of him speaking it. It was like a final confirmation that he knew I was real and he knew I was here.

 

[Ravenloft]

The cool whisper of a touch was oddly soothing to me as my face was probably red from the mixture of booze, fear and regret. I felt my breath hitch at the sensation, almost overwhelmingly happy to know that I wasn't alone. "There you are..." I whispered to my unseen company, relaxing more than I had in a long, long time. "Ell, ay, ar..." I almost blurted out Larry, but I just had this distinct feeling that this spirit was feminine, the hand print was so dainty, and just my gut was telling me so. "Lara? Well, it's nice to meet you Lara, I am going to do anything and everything I can to help you. I don't know how, or with what, but I feel the strongest urge to see that you get whatever it is you need to find peace." I vowed, lifting my hand out as if to touch Lara's invisible cheek, even if I had no idea where she might be in front of me. "First thing in the morning, I will figure out a way to give you a more efficient and tangible way to communicate... Maybe I could take a thin strip of wood from the bottom of the door and turn them into letter tiles, like scrabble pieces, and then... Oh! I could super glue them to a keyboard or something, then you could text me anything you wanted! Boy, am I a genius of the paranormal or what?!"

 

[Alexavious]

He was so sweet, beyond sweet even. Up till now, I had tried to keep my excitement in check. Clearly that hadn't been going so well judging by my outburst earlier but mentally, I had tried my best to keep a distance between the possibility of genuine interaction. But Ethan's heartfelt declaration filled me with a warmth I hadn't felt since I was alive and momentarily I completely forgot that I was this incorporeal entity and launched myself at him, almost expecting him to wrap his arms around me in a tight hug.

Obviously I passed right through him and when the reminder slammed down into my brain, I couldn't help but giggle. "Sorry!" I called, knowing he couldn't hear me.

A keyboard... with the door... would that even work? Was it the door itself or the barrier between whatever was lurking down there in the dark? I couldn't even begin to guess how any of this worked but the idea that I could easily communicate to him was enough of an excitement for me.

In the morning... yes, Ethan needed his rest. While I didn't think I needed sleep, I tried to keep to a normal routine. It felt right and perhaps contributed to keeping my sanity. Yes, in the morning then. I grinned once more at my new friend, still recovering from the icy shock I had just given him and wished him goodnight...

 

[Ravenloft]

I felt a wave of chill pass through my body, it was like right out of one of those paranormal investigation shows every cable channel filled their air time with at like 3 am. But... There was something else... Something more that I couldn't place, in the experience. Yes, it was a chill, but it was not something that filled me with dread, I felt... Excitement? And... The only way I could ever describe it, a heart felt sensation of gratitude? The feelings battered my insides as if they were my own, but somehow, I knew they had to have come from Lara. "I felt that..." I whispered, through shivering teeth, my eyes filled with tears, the feeling was so pure and real. "I felt what you feel... It was like the dread I felt in the basement... But only after... Your touch..."

The realization that there must be some sort of connection being formed lingered between us. "I am not afraid." I whispered with a soft smile and wiped my eyes on my sleeve. "I will help you in every way I can, I promise." I knew I was repeating myself, but I had to, I wanted to, I needed this new found purpose, just as much for myself as for Lara.

I got up and carried myself out to the couch, I was not prepared to push things with Zoe, I was content, all I needed was some sleep and then I would go out to some hardware store or something and get what I needed to help Lara finally have a voice in this world. I wonder how long she had dwelled here... I played out silly fantasies in my head that she might be hundreds of years old, but I wasn't about to assume anything... I wanted to know her, listen to her story.

 

[Alexavious]

Hands on my throat, slender yet strong.

The vicious wild eyes, bulging with hate and anger.

Panic filling me, my fingers heavy as I struggled to breath, fumbling limply at the wrists that held me.

He was there. I could see him, standing coldly by her shoulder.

My mouth gapes, a gasp with no air. Cold steel puncturing my abdomen, a sharp icy pain.

His hand gripped the weapon, the other on my shoulder. I could feel him squeeze the muscle, a parting gift, an apology?

Falling now. Endlessly. The last light shrinking into the distance until total blackness.

I came to consciousness once more. The images of the last moments of my life no longer filled me with dread and fear, only a lingering sadness. As I floated, an inch or so above the window seat in the attic, silent tears rolled down down the sides of my face and dripped off my ear into nothingness. Slowly, when the tears had stopped, I sat up and gazed out the window. The morning air was quiet and the surrounding woodland was still but a few birds flitting in the tree-tops.

The events of yesterday began to resurface in my mind, the new arrivals! Ethan! I didn't question the huge smile that rose to my lips at the thought of him, his kindness traversing the boundary to reach even me in my death. With a flash, I sunk through the floor and gleefully arrived in the master bedroom, wondering if Ethan would still be sleeping. What I saw filled my cheeks a glowing red that I was sure could nearly be seen in the realm of the living. Zoe was alone, there was no sign that Ethan had even been there, and Zoe was making full use of the alone time.

My mouth formed a little O of surprise and I tore my eyes away from the sight of Zoe rubbing herself, her slender body in the throws of solo pleasure. I couldn't help but wonder why, if she had those feelings, did she not go to her husband! Surely the tender touch of two was better than this? As if to answer my question, Zoe's breath quickened and then held tightly as she climaxed. I fled, feeling too intrusive on this moment, slipping through the floor to find where my new friend had gone.

I found him asleep on the couch and my heart went out to him. No-one deserved to feel so disconnected from their partner that they would rather sleep on a dusty couch. I floated closer and 'sat' cross-legged on the floor in front of him and waited...

 

[Ravenloft]

I remember slumping my way from the kitchen to the, still sparsely furnished living room area and only finding enough energy left to flop face down on the one couch that had been brought in. I was so mentally, physically and emotionally exhausted that I was out like a light. I dreamed... Slender hands on my neck, for the briefest of seconds the touch made me feel alive. I guess that's what happens to you when you don't know how to ask for it. When you constantly feel guilty about even thinking about being touched somehow.

Then, the press of the hands on my throat! I jerked awake with a gasp and froze for a moment, my faced mashed against an old, decorative throw pillow, my cheek probably had the imprint of the fabric emblazoned upon it, but I didn't care, I let out a sharp breath and tasted the stale booze in my mouth, yeah, won't be doing that again any time soon... Ugh!

I sat up and looked around the disturbing shock of the dream still with me. I ran it over and over in my mind. "Lara? Are you still here?" I whispered, barely loud enough for myself to hear, for fear of being overheard by Zoe. And again, I was struck by guilt. But this was important, I had to know if my guess was right. Had I been given a glimpse of what happened to... How she might have been...

For a moment, I felt the lonesome house creaking on its old bones, or at least I imagined that's what I felt... And I felt like I was right where I belonged. Rubbing the sleep from my eyes and stretched my legs and let out a quiet sigh, so as not to disturb anybody... Zoe. I'd hate to wake her after having been such a shit to her last night.

She was probably just sleeping in up there, happy as could be, and I would never want to intrude on her slumber, she was quite peaceful and I liked seeing her that way.

I had this monumentally important thing I had to do, that I could tell no one, yeah... "Erotic ghost artist finally loses his mind and says its all really real, for realz!" They'd have a field day with that, and I'm sure no John Edward... They always say that the ones that really can, don't advertise it. So mum's the word!

"Lara?" I repeated, a little more loudly, like I thought she might be there. "I gotta go tell Zoe what I'm up to, I don't want her to think I rode off or something... Basic human decency, you know..." Was I talking to myself? OR to Lara? Yes?

I lingered on the couch, hoping for some sign, so I could stay and procrastinate... Or was I just lingering in the company of a ghost, a pleasant and playful one at that.

"Right-o! And off we go!" I exclaimed springing to my feet. "I will be back with the tools and the talent in a bit, don't you fret! Hmm... I wonder how big of a power sander or saw it would take to craft tiles... I think I might just hit some resale shops for an old word processor or something... So many ideas... Argh!" I was climbing the steps as I quietly pondered aloud what I was thinking.

I paused my musing at the door to Zoe's bedroom and knocked gently. "Hey hun, I've got to go to the hardware store to pick up some stuff to work on the house..." I was about to ask if she wanted to ride along, but my throat tightened up and I paused, silent, hoping for some reply.

I thought I might have heard Zoe's breath hitch but I wasn't sure. "Oh, okay, I'm heading to the shower... Hun." I closed my eyes and nodded slowly, all she needed was some space... Right? "Would you like me to bring you back anything? That coffee you like?" I offered, in a surprisingly calm voice. "No thank you hun, I just want to enjoy a nice long shower and go walk in the woods today. I don't want to be in your way while you work on the house."

All reasonable thinks, certainly, but they all felt like going through the motions...

What were we even doing to each other?

I went back downstairs and got in the SUV, doing my damndest to keep my throat from closing up and my chest from bursting open. Gotta be strong, you know.

 

[Alexavious]

Ethan's sudden jump awake actually startled me, a little squeak escaping my lips, my hand pressing against my chest when the phantom beating raced. I started to giggle but the expression on your face caused the laughter to die, must have been a rough dream. I know all about them! The brief flash of pain just made me want to reach out to you all the more. I almost did, I could have easily responded when you called my name. Something held me back though, perhaps just embarrassment at being caught lurking around while you slept maybe? Or the lingering shame of having intruded into your wife's personal time.

Ethan was lingering though, waiting for me. Just when I decided I would get his attention, he was up, forcing another squeal of surprise from me as he bounded off the sofa unexpectedly. As I recovered yet again, it only dawned on me that he was heading upstairs. My eyes widened and I raced after him.

I caught up with him on the stairs, and my hand hovered a few inches over your shoulder as again something held me back. This time I knew what it was. I wanted Ethan to walk in there, to interrupt his wife, it served her right for excluding him. Then a twinge of jealousy came from no-where! It knotted up inside my stomach and radiated a sort-of sick feeling. The idea that he might go in and then be included in the love-making, which as husband and wife, he had every right to do... why did that bother me so much?

Fortunately, for both of us, you paused at the door. The urge to stick my head on the other side and see her expression was immense but I resisted. Instead I followed Ethan back downstairs, frowning slightly at just how uncharacteristically quiet he was being. I reached the car before I realised I wouldn't be able to follow so instead I just watched him drive away.

Standing out there on the driveway, I decided that I didn't want to go back into the house while Zoe was... showering. I wasn't sure how long passed but eventually, the sound of the door opening behind me drew my attention. Zoe, slightly damp chestnut hair and a flush look to her cheeks, stepped out with a small bag thrown over one shoulder and a camera held in delicate fingers. She walked off with purpose between the trees and also vanished out of view.

Alone. Again. The restrictive nature of my tether to this world had never felt more prominent. Still, at least I could return to the house with the fear of hearing that unsettling buzzing sound...