Rare Sight

Chapter One

Joe stopped at the entrance to the pedestrian subway.

“Gran – wait,” he said.

“What is it, love? You’re as white as a sheet.”

The subway was creepy at the best of times – a dismal, stinking tunnel with a faulty light that always flickered and cast long, wavering shadows on the walls. But today, it seemed worse than usual. Joe squinted into the gloom, convinced his eyes were playing tricks on him. The tunnel was full of figures who were entering from the far end, turning left and walking into the wall. There was no door for them to pass through, but somehow they were disappearing as soon as they touched the concrete side of the tunnel. “Gran…”

“It’s OK – it’s just a bit dark because one of the bulbs has gone. Come on.”

“No, Gran. Wait.”

She looked him in the eyes, and hesitated before she spoke. “You can see them, can’t you, Joe?”

“See what, Gran?”

“The spirits.”

“Spirits? You mean… those people are ghosts?”

She smiled. “Well, I don’t know any living people who can walk through walls, do you?”

“But… what are they doing here?”

His gran shrugged. “What they always do – this is their primary passing-place. They come to seek out people they have lost or wronged, to find peace so they can move on.”

“Move on where, Gran? What do you mean?”

She beckoned for him to follow her, back the way they had come, where she found a park bench and patted the seat next to her. He sank down and let her put her arm round him.

“Listen, Joe, your mum made me promise never to mention the spirits, unless it turned out you had the gift.”

His eyes hurt with tears that were trying to come out. “What gift? What are you talking about?”

“The gift of seeing the spirits. Oh, don’t look so miserable – it’s not a bad thing.”

“I can suddenly see ghosts all over the place and you’re telling me it’s not a bad thing?”

His gran looked down at her hands and twisted the ring on her finger so that its stone caught the sun and shot out sparks of light.

“It’s a shock the first time, I know it is... But it’s exciting, too. You can see something none of your friends can see.”

“But I don’t want to see ghosts. I want to be normal.”

“Shhh.” She stood up. “Come on – we’ll go home the long way round, avoiding the tunnel.”

He felt bad, knowing his gran got tired if she had to walk far, but there was no way he was going back in that dark passageway, with all those ghosts walking past.

Half-way back to his gran’s, a man with a moustache winked at them and his gran nodded a hello without words.

“Gran, was that… another one?”

“Yes, Joe. You’ll get used to them soon enough.”

Later, when his mum came to collect him, his gran called her into the kitchen.

“Oh, there you are, Joe,” said his gran, as she was closing the door. “Just give us a minute or two, would you? Your mum and I need to have a chat.”

He went out to the car and tried the doors. They weren’t locked, so he climbed into the driver’s seat and pretended he was racing round a rally track. In the darkness, with his breath misting up the windscreen, it took him a moment to realise he was being watched. The watcher was a girl, and Joe was sure she was another one – a “spirit” as his gran had called them.