A Soul For A Soul

Chapter 5

I heard a shrill scream, "great, Annabel's home". Damn this girl could scream. Someone should cast her for a role in a Hollywood movie. She literally tried to block my ear drums.
Or better yet, take her to the hospital cause she looked like she had seen a ghost. Oh! silly me, I am a ghost ha!

"Who are you? and how did you get in here?" she asked slowly backing up from me and picking up the her bat from her closet.

"Great this ought to be fun" I thought. " First off, calm down My name is Rebi, I was sent here to help you" I replied.

"Get out of here I have a bat and I'm not afraid to use it" she stuttered.

"Annabel, calm down ok, you can't hurt me". Well i hope, wait can she hurt me? no, no she can't in the movies no one can right? Snapping myself out of it, I turned to continue my sentence but she stopped me.

She put her hand up like she was trying to pause me she started pacing then began " wait hold up, how do you know my name?"

"Ha" I sighed " I already told you, I was sent here to help you".

"help me with what?" she asked.

"Something about you being sad and depressed and you having to make a choice".Even I do not know but how would I explain it to her.

She looked down at the bat in her hands and back up at me "what are you? And why are you glowing?" She asked. She genuinely looked scared.

"I'm a ghost" I replied. It felt weird and foreign in my ears. A ghost. I guess there's a first time for everything huh?

She looked like she didn't believe me. I mean I couldn't blame her if I were she I wouldn't believe me too.

"Prove it" she dared me. Ha! prove it? How dare she ask me to prove it. Even I didn't know if I could prove it. How was i supposed to then?

I used the first thing I could think of i concentrated on the bat on her hands flicked my fingers, it disappeared from her hands and reappeared in my hands. Cool! If I thought Annabel wasn't already scared, Well she was now, she went pale immediately and her eyes bulged. " How..did you do that?" She asked.

"For the love of God Annabel, I'm a ghost. I already told you that". I face-palmed try to keep up.

"A ghost.." she struggled to say.

I affirmed it that I really was a ghost and thought I should usher her to sit down. She would need it.

I stood up from the bed slowly and started walking towards her.

"No, get away from me!" she yelled, falling to the floor and putting her face in between her legs. She began hyperventilating.

I got scared. How was I supposed to handle this? Then I remembered when I used to hyperventilate and my mom would hug me tight, kiss my hair, rub my back and whisper soothing words in my ears.

I had a flashback of the time I had a mental breakdown at school. I never had a lot of friends in school and I was always bullied because of my glasses, and the fact that I was actually smart. I didn't know that was such a bad thing.

That day, my predators pushed me inside a dark locker room and locked the door. My best friend Eliza had found me. She tried everything but couldn't get me to calm down only my mom could. She freaked out and called my mom. Luckily, my house was just 10 minutes away from the school so my mom came running.

My mom saw me rocking back and forth hugging myself and breathing heavily.

She immediately crouched down and gathered me in her arms." She whispered in my ears "Rebi, Mama's here" those three simple words always had the ability to make me feel better and safe.

"Take a deep breath",she instructed and I did "great, now breath out" she continued.

We repeated that process together until my breathing returned to normal. Still holding me close she started humming a tune "hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm hmm" it was from my favorite nursery rhyme hush little baby.

I missed those moments but this wasn't about me now and I had to focus on Annabel. I took breath and spoke as calmly as I could.

"Annabel?" I called "Annabel, calm down. I'm not here to hurt you, I only want to help" I said crouching next to her. "I promise. Take a deep breath. Breathe in.. ,breathe out.".

She started calming down a bit and I was relieved "that's it you're doing it, good girl". I started humming the song my mom used to sing to me and I could see her calming down.
She finally calmed down slowly bringing down her legs and turning to meet me.

She stared at me and asked. "Where did you learn to do that?"

"Oh, my mom used to do that for me" I replied.

She only nodded. After a few minutes of eery silence, she finally spoke up. "What's your name again?"

"Rebi" I answered.

She looked like she was in deep concentration. "Rebi?" Testing it out on her tongue. "That's a strange name, I've never heard it before, what does it mean?".

"Miracle, it means miracle. My name might be strange but it's tied down to my birth".

"How did you die?" She asked and I physically winced.

I didn't want to talk about that. Sensing my distress, she said "You don't have to talk about it".

She was right I didn't have to talk about it but I needed to, for her to be able to trust me so I could help her.

So I even though I wanted to keep quiet, I opened my mouth and said "no, it's fine" big lie! "I died in a fire".

She gasped. "I'm sorry" and she genuinely sounded sorry like she understood.

I wonder if, as if answering my questions she said
"I lost my dad a few days ago. I watched him die and I couldn't do anything about it. My dad was battling with Leukemia but he received treatment and he got better. He took several tests and they said he was cured but he relapsed a few months ago and he didn't tell anyone about it.

  He only told my mom and made her swear not to tell me. His treatments were always so expensive and we didn't have enough money to take care of him properly, so he didn't tell me because, he knew I already worked three jobs and he didn't want me to look for another one.

I watched gradually as his life was slowly leaving him. Bit by bit, everyday but anytime I asked him if he was good, he always smiled and said of "course of pumpkin! I'm as healthy as a horse ain't nobody can get healthier than this".

I didn't believe him. Anytime I offered to take him to the doctors, he wouldn't agree and I didn't know what to do anymore.

One day, we were alone in the house. My mom had a night shift at the hotel she works at and left him in my care. We were talking and laughing as I was making dinner then I remembered that there wasn't any cheese at home for what I was making.

I picked up my bag and I told my dad to help me watch the food on the stove and headed to the store. On coming back from the store, nothing could have prepared me for what I saw.

I found my dad on the floor convulsing. I panicked, rushed over to his side and I called for an ambulance. I knelt there, helpless, not knowing what to do.

Before the ambulance came, he stopped convulsing and he looked like he was trying to tell me something I brought my ears close to his mouth but all I could hear was a faint sound of an "I love you" . then his body went still.

He stopped breathing. I haven't stopped blaming myself since then I've had so many what ifs.

Why did I leave him alone? Why couldn't I have worked more jobs and tried harder for him to get treatment?

He was my everything and ain't no way Heaven would have needed him more than I do". She said as she broke down in tears. This girl really was broken and I would do everything in my power to help her.