The Man Who Caught Lightning.

November 15th 2020
8:00pm
"You're literally insane, why won't you get it through your thick skull, mom is dead, John left because of how stupid you're acting, you have no job, and your other children won't talk to you, dad just please come back to reality" Umi said standing in front of the door.
His dad wasn't paying attention, instead, his focus was on the quick flashes of lightning.
"Shhhh... Umi, can you feel it, the hair that rises on your arm every time the lightning flashes, your mother's trying to reach me Umi, she's come again" Umi's father said walking towards him.
"Dad... she's not here, she's gone, mom is gone, if you don't stop this, then you'll be gone" Umi said.
"No, you see, when your mother died, I saw her at her funeral, yes, I saw her, I felt her, not in the casket, but in the sky. The storm brought her to me, when the lightning struck her headstone, I saw her, she was there." Umi's father said beginning to slowly approach the window. He grabbed a mason jar that had a small stone inside. "I've caught lightning before, I have proof, I've seen the city in the sky, I've heard her call my name when the thunder roars, she misses me Umi" Umi's father said.
Now fighting back tears, Umi was speechless, the words that he wanted to say wouldn't come out, he tried to stand guard at the door, but his legs began to tremble. "Damn, damn, damn, why won't you listen to me Pa, I need you, please just stop, please" Umi said as his tears began to race down his face.
Umi's father then began to walk to Umi, mason jar still in his grip. "It's ok Umi, now that you're here, you can see her too, you can see May again, you can be happy" he said as his hand gently touched the right side of his son's face. With the feeling of grief overpowering him, Umi found himself stuck down on the ground, tears streaming down his face, unable to breath, no thoughts, just the sound of the door opening, and rain rushing in.
"May, May, I'm here honey, I'm here darling, show me you're here my love" Umi's father began to say.
Umi managed to turn around to see his father walking out towards the street. Still unable to move, he just watched, a quick flash of lighting took out the neighbor's mailbox, "Pa" Umi cried out, but his father ignored him.
"Ok May, I'm ready for you love" he said opening the Mason jar.
The thunder began to charge, the rain slowed down, and in a second, he wasn't there, "No, no, no, no, Pa come back, where are you, come back" Umi cried crawling out in the rain. Another flash of lightning struck, throwing Umi across the lawn, "pa" Umi groaned in pain. Umi looked into the sky, lightning ran above the clouds, to his far right laid the jar with a piece of his mother's headstone, and to the left was a man he once called father.
February 18th 2022
11:59am
"The dreams started again, Monday, when the storm hit, I woke up in the middle of it, and I, I couldn't move, I was cold, I felt wet, I could feel every hair on my body" Umi said.
"What happened after?" Dr. Wiseman asked.
"I felt him again, I saw wet footprints by my bed the next morning, and the rock, the rock wasn't in the jar" Umi said with a blank stare into Dr. Wiseman's eyes.
"You felt him? Your father?" Dr. Wiseman asked.
"No, my father died long ago, I don't know who he was" Umi said.
"Was he the man that was struck by the lightning?" Dr. Wiseman asked.
"Yes, it was him, I thought he died, but he keeps coming back, I keep seeing him" Umi said, his eyes beginning to tear.
"Why won't you acknowledge him as your father? Is he not your father?" Dr. Wiseman asked, his pencil now ready to run across his notepad.
"My father died the same day my mother was buried, before the first storm, after that, he was gone, and someone else took over" Umi said wiping his face.
"Why won't you accept the fact that he is your father?" Dr. Wiseman asked.
3:36pm
"The end is near my fellow humans, repent now, pray for forgiveness, the rains will flood the world once more" a man with a sign that read 'he's coming 2022" yelled outside of Danny's donut.
"Another day, another reason to question reality" Umi said to himself walking past the man.
"The sky's gray" Jade said waling up behind Umi.
"Isn't it always? It is to me" Umi said taking off his headphones.
"Woah there Cloudy with a chance of depression, it won't rain today unless you want it to, but don't, kind of want to go to the park and take pictures" Jade said.
"The park's the other way, how'd you end up here?" Umi asked her.
"Well, I was talking to Crazy Carl about how Noah could of fit two of every dinosaur on his arc when I saw you walk right past me" Jade said.
"His name is Carl, I understand his pain" Umi said stopping in front of the bus stop.
"Well... what are you doing tonight wink wink" Jade asked.
"I actually made plans, I'm going to dress up all nice, then watch a sad movie and eat ice cream, like every night" Umi said taking out his bus pass.
"I could use a camera man, or just someone there to talk to so I won't look crazy" Jade said.
"Crazy? Look at Carl, you can't get any crazier than that, unless of course you keep winking, seriously, it looked like there was a bug in your eye" Umi smiled.
"There's that beautiful smile, it's been years since I've seen it, yeah it's a little dusty, but hey, at least I know you're still capable of it" Jade laughed.
"Look I can't help you with the photos but I can destroy you in imessage games, also, please stop sending me voice messages in that bad British accent" Umi said.
"Bloody hell burv, I don't know what you're talking about" Jade smiled, giving Umi a hug right before the bus opened it's doors.
"I will see you later, ask John if he can help you out, he has a new camera and he's testing out his new editing software" Umi said asked the bus began to pull off.
7:11pm
"Package for Umi Johnson" someone said while knocking on the door.
Once Umi opened the door, there was no one there but a package from the shipping company 'Fast Traveler'. "I didn't order anything, this must be one of those prank videos" Umi said closing the door, leaving the package by the door.
While flipping through the channels on his tv, he then began to wonder, what was that package.
"Ok self listen up, it could be a bomb or it could be movie tickets to see Rehtom, either way, I'll be surprised, but I haven't ordered anything in weeks. And it didn't have anyone's name on it but mines, what if it's from the future? It possibly could be, does that mean I survive another midlife crisis?" Umi said talking to himself while walking towards the door.
He arrived at the door, hesitating, he reached for the door knob but then grabbed his hand, "No hand, bad hand, it could really be a really really short person inside, or it could be a puppy, wait if it's a puppy then it's suffocating inside" Umi said to himself, ripping the door open, "lil Woo John Wayne Christian Bellmont, I will save you" he said reaching for the box.
Pacing back and forth, the box now on his coffee table, Umi came to the conclusion that there was no dog inside. "Ok, if it was a bomb, I would be dead right now" Umi said approaching the box, he then knocked on the box, "if you're a bomb, say nothing" he said jumping back three feet, landing in a fighting pose. There was nothing but silence, until his phone began to ring, startled, he jumped out of the pose and flew to his phone.
"Hey, Jade what's up? How are the pictures coming along?" Umi asked.
There was no response, just deep breathing, Umi looked at the phone to see that there was no caller id. "What am I in? Scream? Bro, delete my number and find a better hobby" Umi said.
"Open the box" a muffled voice said.
"Wha- dad? Who the hell is this? Who the fuck are you" Umi yelled.
"Open the box Umi, please open the box so you can see her too" the man said.
"May says she misses you Umi, you have to come" the man said but Umi froze, his feelings now rushing through his mind, the line then went dead.
February 19th 2022
2:02am
"Umi, Umi help me, please come" a voice echoed through the hallway.
Quickly, Umi jumped out of bed, wanting to help but fear began to hold him back as he realized he lived alone.
"Who's in here?" he asked, grabbing his metal baseball bat. A door then slammed downstairs, "whoever's in here, I have a gun" he said opening his door slowly.
"Umi help me" a woman's voice cried.
"Mo- mom? No this is another dream, I can't save you" he said stepping out of his room slowly.
"But I'm here, with Nez and Rain and your father, go get him Marc" Umi's mother said, her voice echoing up the stairs.
Before Umi could do anything, someone began walking up the stairs, lights flashing through the stairway, yellow, red, white, blue, orange lights bounced off of the walls.
"This is a dream please stop, please go away, you're not him, you're not real, Nez and Rain are still alive, please just leave me" Umi stuttered as the shadowed figure reached the top of the stairway.
Without thinking, Umi slammed the door, he finally gained control of his body, "Please just leave me alone, I did nothing to you" he cried, back against the door.
He could feel the footsteps approaching, then they stopped, Umi could still see the light from underneath his door, suddenly, doorknob began to twist and turn, pounding on the door and stomping on the floor made Umi fell down, back still against the door. "Dad please, dad, I'm sorry, you can leave, I don't want to go" Umi cried.
The pounding stopped, and the light faded away, but the hairs on his arms were still screaming for him to run. He slowly crawled away from the door, wishing, hoping, praying that it was over. Once he got the foot of his bed, he turned around, his back to the bed, now facing the door. "Mama, Papa, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry, I should've done more, I tried my best" Umi said.
"Your best wasn't good enough, a voice from behind him whispered. Arms from underneath the bed reached out and latched onto him, his room door then broke open, wood flying everywhere. Standing in the doorway was the man that was buried, "I'm sorry, please I can't save you, I can't" Umi said closing his eyes, tears leaping from his eyelids to escape the horror. When he opened his eyes, the figure was pointing at the mason jar with a piece of his mother's headstone inside, "I can't" Umi whispered.
2:05am
Gasping for air, Umi found himself on the floor, baseball bat tightly gripped, he looked over at the mason jar but it was gone. "I'm losing my shit, I'm going insane" he said to himself. He got up and immediately checked the time, "Two in the morning, I can't take this anymore" he said walking over to the door which seemed to be safe. "It was just a dream, nothing more" he said walking out of his room.
"What is this" Umi asked himself, the box was open, on the table were old vcr tapes, cassette tapes, photos an old vcr and a key with a note attached to it.
"I didn't open this, I'm officially going crazy, I'm going to be sidewalk buddies with crazy carl and argue over pieces of donuts from Danny's donuts" Umi said making sure his front door is locked, it was, but the knob was went, and there were footprints by the welcome mat, wet footprints.
"Ok, conscious, this is a good time for you to tell me that I shouldn't do this, I shouldn't go down this rabbit hole" Umi said aloud.
"That or I can finally get to the root of my insanity, I'm tired, every night, the same damn nightmare, the same damn dream, I can't do this" he said staring at the table, then stepping back.
The hair on his arms began to rise, his phone began ringing again, 'don't answer it' he told himself, but it was too late, the phone was already in his hand, "Unknown number" it read.
"Listen, I don't know what kind of magic shit you're doing but I don't know who the hell you are so please, leave me alone" he said, there was nothing but silence on the other side. "I know you can hear me, I don't know who you are so please, leave me alone" Umi cried, then the line went dead.
10:36am
"The dream, it felt so real, I'm losing my mind doc, I don't want to watch the tapes but there's this voice in my head that's telling me that I need to watch them" Umi said.
"And you're sure none of your friends are playing tricks on you? Have you been drinking and taking medication?" Dr. Wiseman asked.
"No, none of that, I don't believe in the supernatural but something weird is happening" Umi said.
"Could you be feeling guilty for your fathers death? All of this seems to circle back to him, we should talk about this tomorrow, my 10:40am appointment is about to begin" Dr.Wiseman said.
"Before you go, take this card, go to that location, it's another therapist, she had a patient similar to what you're going through, she could help more" Dr. Wiseman said, handing Umi a card.
12:48pm
"So, should I gather my ghost hunting equipment so we can catch little Casper?" Jade joked.
"Jade, I'm serious, the shit that's happening to me is weird, I'm literally going insane, it's draining me mentally and emotionally, something is going on and I don't know what to do" Umi said.
"First, eat your donut, that squirrel is eyeing it, second, try to go to the place on the card, then draw a pentagram on your floor and perform an exorcism," Jade said, taking a bite of her donut.
"I'm not even hungry anymore, I just want a good night's sleep, is that too much to ask for?" Umi said, throwing his donut towards the squirrel.
"What if you had a night watch, I don't work tomorrow, I could come over and make sure nothing bad happens to you, unless I get attacked, then every window will be my exit" Jade said.
"I live on the fourth floor, you'll either die or break your legs," Umi said.
"Every exit," Jade said looking directly into Umi's eyes.
"So what now? What should I do? Buy cameras to put in the house? Call Ed and Lorraine? I can't run from this, it'll just follow me" Umi said.
"One step at a time, listen, I gotta go finish some things, I'll be at your house by seven tonight, have snacks, maybe the ghost is hungry," Jade said grabbing her backpack.
"I'll see you later," Umi said.
5:17pm
"Seems like you got some weird shit happening in your life, what you're describing isn't normal, by the way, I'm Dr. Christen Thompson" the lady said, reaching her hand out.
Umi shook her hand but Christen just looked at him, "I was reaching for my pen" Dr. Thompson said, pulling her arm back.
"Doctor Wiseman said that you had a patient that went through something like this, how did you solve his troubles?" Umi asked.
"I didn't, I could only give him advice and my opinion as to what could help him get better. In the end, he didn't take that advice, he believed that there's a multiverse out there and that there were other versions of him out there trying to communicate to him. He said that he would get memories of their lives, he would start speaking in different languages and  have different moods with each visit." Dr. Thompson said.
"What happened to him? Was there another universe or did he come to his senses?" Umi asked.
"I don't know, one day he just vanished, without a trace, I've called and sent emails but had no luck. The strangest thing is that when I spoke to the manager at the apartment he stayed in, he claimed there was no one renovating that apartment. So, I can only hope that he got better" Dr. Thompson said.
"So, what you're saying is I'm going to disappear without a trace?" Umi said standing up.
"That's all up to you, your cases are too similar, it seems that your guilt is driving you crazy, only you can change your future. But be careful, maybe there is some spirit coming at you, I'm not in your shoes so I can't tell you what to do exactly, plus I'm not your therapist so I don't know you fully" Dr. Thompson said.
"And if you were, if you were my therapist, would you recommend watching the tapes, trying to get to the end of all of this?" Umi asked, grabbing his bag.
Dr. Thompson wrote something on her notebook then looked at Umi, "I'd say approach the situation carefully, if you are being haunted then you will need help, sadly, I can't provide ghost busting, but if you are causing this yourself, then I'd recommend coming to terms with your fathers death, and accept that you couldn't have prevented it" Dr. Thompson said.
7:10pm
"She basically said that I can only fix my situation, so it was a waste of my time, pass me the cookie dough," Umi said, reaching his hand out.
"At least she didn't charge you, and what was up with the other guy? He didn't even mention a name?" Jade asked, handing Umi the cookie dough.
"Not even a letter, I think he might be crazier than me, talking about a multiverse, shit, let me live in one where I'm rich and famous" Umi laughed.
"Rich and famous, what are the odds of that happening?" Jade laughed.
"I'm pretty sure if there were another universe out there, another version of me would be here trying to kill me-" Umi began but then he froze then looked at Jade. They both then started laughing, "I think that's already happening with the whole ghost shit" Umi cried out laughing.
"The movie's almost over, what do you want to watch next?" Jade asked, grabbing the remote. She then turned around to see the box on the table, "I wasn't going to bring this up but, what are those?" Jade asked, pointing at the box.
"A bunch of videos of my dad I think, yeah, he came from the multiverse to give me those," Umi said, eating a spoonful of cookie dough.
"We should watch them, I mean, Umi's dad, if we shouldn't watch them, give us a sign" Jade said standing up then pausing, "Nothing" she said, then proceeding to the table. "Have you noticed the tapes have dates on them? What was your dad even researching?" Jade asked, holding up two tapes dating back five years ago.
"Honestly, I don't know, he never brought them up, if he did, I didn't listen to him," Umi said, turning around to look at her.
"Well, go make the popcorn, I'll set up this VCR and put the tapes in order by date," Jade said, taking out the VCR.
7:30pm
"It seems like the first tape dates back to February 14th of 2015, that's Valentine's Day" Jade said, putting the tape inside the VCR.
"Yeah, that's also the day my mom died," Umi said quietly.
"We can skip it if you want, in fact, we don't have to watch these if you don't want to, pretty sure my mom has videos of me when I was a little thicker and clumsy, we can put funny music behind the videos and watch them" Jade laughed.
"No, it's ok, we have to remember, we're doing this to find out why I'm being haunted," Umi said, pressing play.
*February 14th 2015*
"This is day one, you're physically not here, but I can still feel you," Marc said, putting his left hand on his right shoulder, smiling a little. "May, I know you're still here, with me, I can still smell your sweet perfume, I can see your shadows in the hall and in the kitchen, I won't let go of you, not now" Marc said, glancing at the window.
"Did you see that," he said, as a flash of lightning lit the room, "You're here aren't you my love, yesterday when you died, there was a lightning storm right after you passed, was that you? Is this your way of telling me that you're still here?" Marc smiled. Another flash of lightning lit the room, Marc jumped out of his chair, arms in the air, "you're here May, I knew it, you'll always be here for me, won't you" he said, reaching his hands out, as if he was going in for a hug. Marc then looked at the camera, "I'm not crazy, you saw it right?" He said looking at the camera, "You saw it, Umi" he said, then the tape went off.
*Present day*
"What the fuck was that?" Jade asked, holding popcorn up to her mouth.
Umi sat in silence for a second, "I... I don't know, how the hell did he know I was watching the tape? And why did he look directly at me?" Umi said, finger still on the off button of the remote.
"I would say that it was a coincidence, but like, how did he know you were watching the tapes, we gotta finish it Umi," Jade said, snatching the remote from Umi.
*February 14th 2015*
"Umi my son, this might seem crazy, but your mother, she's still here with us, your siblings may be dealing with this horribly, but you, you're the strong one, that's why I'm sending you this tape, or tapes" Marc said, sitting back down.
"Most people believe in Heaven or Hell or both, what if i told you there was more out there, I don't know yet, but if my theory's right, there might be an in between" Marc said taking out a notebook.
"It may look like I'm going crazy, but I'm not, I just want my wife back," Marc said then he turned the tape off.
*Present day*
"Ok, so that doesn't really explain anything really, I mean, sorry to say this but he's acting a little delusional, maybe it's just greif" Jade said.
Umi looked at her then at the box of tapes on the table, "The tapes started when my mom died, there might be a tape before my dad died" Umi said walking over to the tapes. "November 15th 2020, this is the day he died, why does he have a tape for this day? Who the hell processed it?" Umi asked.
"I don't think it's a good idea to watch the tape, I think we should just leave it alone," Jade said worriedly.
"Jade, I hear you, but no," he said, placing the tape inside the VCR, "I don't want to become like him, but to keep from going crazy, I need answers," Umi said, starting the tape.
*November 15th 2020*
"She's coming, she's coming, today's the day my love, today is the day we finally come together, after five long years, I will finally be able to feel your soft skin, hear your sweet voice, oh I've missed you so much" Marc sang, as he danced around the room.
"Umi, Nez and Rain won't understand, so I'll need you to explain to them why I must go, are you sitting down? You need to sit down for this" Marc said, grabbing a chair and his notebook.
"Now, knowing you, you probably watched the first tape then skipped down to this one, I wouldn't blame you, I look crazy. Over these five years, I've ran tests, experiments, researched different religions to come to an answer, I've seen countless therapists, talked to gypsies and people that dabble in magic. All roads leading nowhere, I did get few answers but none were too helpful, now what I'm going to say next will blow your mind, there's this thing called the multiverse, it's real Umi, it's real and I can prove it son," Marc said, showing pictures in his notebook.
"Images of me and your mother, but that's impossible, look at the date, I took these with her last week Umi, after five years, I've managed to finally reach her, but something's not right, I fear that this obsession has awoken something" he said closing the notebook.
"Let me start from the beginning, when you sleep, your soul or conciseness, whichever you prefer, leaves your body and goes of on adventures, you're probably saying, 'you're talking about dreams' but that's it, our dreams are just us setting off on what are hearts urn for" Marc said, walking over to a box.
"Death is nothing but an everlasting dream, and there are creatures, or things, that aren't very nice. Your mother told me that they're like parasites, and they'll leech off of your soul's energy, I fear that I've been infected. My love for your mother is the only thing keeping me alive right now. These dark beast will latch onto your darkest desires or your worst fears and drive you to insanity, which is why I need you to forgive yourself for what I'm about to do" he said picking up the mason jar with the headstone piece inside.
"I think, when a person's close to death, that is when these dark parasites can be seen, so, today is when I get close to death. I know I've been acting crazy, but I've done it so we won't be too close, so my death won't hurt as much, so I won't burden you, it's stupid I know, and I'm sorry for what I've put you through, but these parasites are draining me, one morning I almost murdered you, they've taken my memories, it's hard for me to dream, death is the only way out, and i have to show you, plus they just took away the McRib, so I have no will to live anymore" Marc laughed. He then grabbed the camera and set it by the window, pulling up the blinds, the rain and lightning was now visible. "Don't think if this as a goodbye, think of this as an "I will see you soon" and remember that no matter what, I'll always be with you my son, I love you" and with that, Marc could be heard opening the door, a quick pause as if he looked back, then the door closed.