Echoes

Part 24

         After breakfast Zoe insisted upon watching Giselle for an hour or two. "You need to relax," she told me. As impossible as I thought that was, I did give it an honest try. I went to my bedroom and sprawled out on my bed, trying to enjoy my pink comforter. I had ditched it for a navy one once Asher had moved in, and had returned to it when he left. I loved it and had missed it, having it back was certainly one of the plus sides of being single again. I turned on some music on my phone, but it wasn't long before it was interrupted by my ring tone. I picked it up to see who was calling. I rolled my eyes. It was Asher. How wonderful. What the hell could he possibly want? I answered the phone to find out.

"What?" I asked.

"What are you up to?"

"Trying really hard to relax," I said, hoping he would get the implication that he was not a part of that.

"Are you still rancid levels of pissed at me?" he asked.

I considered telling him that I knew just how full of shit he was related to what he'd said about how casual and meaningless he and Michele's relationship was, but I thought better of it. I didn't want him to know I cared so much.

"What do you think?" I demanded. "Yeah, I'm pissed. But I'm over screaming, shouting, and threatening to cut off appendages because you simply aren't worth the blood pressure spike."

"Ouch," was his seemingly genuine reply.

I shook my head. How could he possibly be hurt by anything I said to him? It wasn't as if he cared, not enough to be hurt by me, that was for damn sure.

"Well, does that mean you can stand me long enough to take Giselle on a short visit to my Uncle Rick's house?"

"A visit," I repeated, thinking as I spoke.

"Yeah. Michele won't be there," he added. "Obviously."

"I'll think about it," I said. "I might have plans. If not, then, yeah, we'll do that."

"Plans?" he asked. "With who?"

"What, you think you and hoe bag are the only people I have to hang out with?" I asked.

"Shira, come on," he said, his tone verging on pleading.

"I'm just saying," I replied. "Point is if things don't work out with Sam then I'll call you."

"Who the hell is Sam?" he demanded.

To my surprise, the sound of jealousy in his voice wasn't orgasmic the way I had thought it would be.

"He's a friend of mine," I replied.

"Wait, is that the guy who dropped you off that one time?" he asked.

"Yeah, actually," I replied.

"Seriously, Shira?" he asked. "You know he's just trying to get in your pants because he thinks you're freshly single and ultra vulnerable, right?"

"Well, he'll just have to get in them because I'm horny and moving on instead," I said.

Before he could respond, I added.

"This kind of thing really isn't your business anymore. I'll call you when I figure out what's going on."

With that, I hung the phone up. After that point, he started texting me. First it was just questions about Sam and things along the lines of 'I hope to God you're not ridiculous enough to have some guy you've known like three months around my kid'. I considered responding and reminding him that it was our kid, not just his, and that he needed to get over the fact that my life wasn't his business anymore and that he'd be better off focusing his attention on the guys around Michele. After all, she was clearly a slut with no sense of propriety and would probably fuck his Uncle Rick if she had the chance. But I didn't say that. I chose to ignore him instead.

I started researching my predicament the minute Zoe left for work. Giselle had been standing still in her walker in the middle of the living room, mesmerized by a popular kid's show, for the past twenty minutes. She didn't show signs of losing interest any time soon. I disliked the idea of having my child parked in front of a television for a prolonged period of time, but I had to do what I had to do. I swiftly took advantage of her preoccupation with the show and began looking into the Shadow Man. I discovered several new things just by focusing on the obvious theory that, whatever he was, he was feeding off of my emotions. I was led to several websites that dealt with the paranormal, and one in particular that had an article entitled 'energy vampires'. As ridiculous as the title sounded to me, the information contained seemed frighteningly applicable. It stated that paranormal entities such as Djinns, poltergeists, demons, Incubi, Succubae, and Shadow People fed off of energy to sustain themselves.

"Looks like Shadow Man was a more fitting name than I thought," I muttered to myself. When I came across the term before, there had been nothing about Shadow People feeding off of anything, only a small reference to the fact that they were sometimes classified as negative entities. I raised an eyebrow as I read further.

While Incubi and Succubi feed off of sexual energy, Djinns, poltergeists, demons, and shadow people feed off of negative energy and subsist almost exclusively on fear. Many are known to exacerbate situations or create new ones to bolster their nourishment. Most victims of these entities notice their trouble starts during a traumatic negative event or shortly thereafter. Many things may constitute such an event, but common ones include near death experiences and life-threatening accidents or injuries.

My jaw dropped. It all made sense now. Everything made sense. I had first seen this entity as I was going under for surgery, shortly after undergoing a difficult labor complete with tearing, an emergency C-section, and hemorrhaging. My life had never been in danger, but I hadn't entirely believed that at the time. In any case, I had been utterly petrified. Blood had flown forth from me at a rate I'd never seen before, terrible pain had wracked my body, and I had been scared to death of being anesthetized. Something that fed off of fear would probably feel right at home at a hospital. He had probably been waiting for someone he could latch onto, creeping through the hallways looking for his next meal. 

The article stated that children and those suffering from depression were particularly vulnerable to these soul-sucking entities, and I had certainly been depressed and anxious in the months leading up to Giselle's birth. I searched the site further to see if I could find any recommendations on ending this nightmare. The use of sage and various herbs near windows and doors was suggested as a means to keep the malevolence at bay. Several stones were suggested, the wearing of which was said to offer protection. 

I planned to employ every piece of advice that I possibly could, but what if it didn't work? I took a deep breath as I continued to scan the page. Eventually my eyes landed on a tab labeled "Contact Information". I clicked on it and was quickly greeted with a pop-up video featuring a woman with deep brown eyes, dreadlocks, and a sundress. She introduced herself as River Whitestone and promised that she could use her psychic and spiritual gifts to help anyone suffering from a spiritual crisis or haunting. She offered a free consultation.

 There was a time when I would have laughed at such claims and scoffed at the idea of consulting someone who claimed to be psychic about anything, but times had certainly changed. I needed to call this woman, she was the only one who I could reasonably expect to listen and help me without labeling me as crazy. I looked up for a moment and glanced at Giselle. She was still entranced by the television. 

I looked back to the webpage and stared for a moment at the phone number that flashed across the screen below the video. I glanced at the clock. It was well within the woman's business hours. As hesitant as I was to pick up the phone, I didn't see the logic in waiting to call her when I could do it now. I swallowed hard before picking up my cell phone and dialing the number. I headed towards the doorway between the hallway and the living room, staying far enough away to minimize my chance of disturbing Giselle yet close enough to keep an eye on her.