Whispers of the Heart

Chapter One

Present Day...

Abigail Smith stood with her best friend, Christopher Prax, at the gate for his flight to Paris. She always knew that it would come to this. He talked about it for the last year; he was studying for his master's in art history, and his trip abroad was what he needed to fully understand what he loved. He would be gone for six months, but she was scared that he would fall in love with the city and never want to come back. She was overcome with tears, her long golden-brown hair a mess. She had run her hands through it constantly. Her tears were a constant stream down her face, droplets fell into her long full hair. She tried to talk without getting hysterical.

"Christopher," she sniffed, "don't forget me, okay," she said with a deep sigh.

Christopher pulled her into his arms, held her tight, and placed a hand on her head.

"Oh Abby, I could never forget you," he pulled her head from his shoulder and looked into her baby blue eyes, "You are my best friend and I love you. I will never be able to forget all the great times we've had together. I will try to write every day, okay? Please don't be sad, it makes it harder for me to go."

Abby just held him tighter as she nodded her head. Suddenly the announcer called on the loudspeakers, and he gathered up his bags. The two of them stood there for a few minutes, and then Christopher kissed Abby on her cheek and pulled away with hesitation. Abby stood there in tears, then called to Christopher just before he stepped onto the platform.

"Christopher!" He turned around and looked at her, "I love you!" tears formed.

Christopher smiled and moved his hand to his lips. He blew a kiss to her and smiled.

"Remember follow your dream!" He called.

Abby waved one last time, nodded her head, and watched Christopher disappear around the corridor to the plane. She felt a breeze flow through her hair and looked around, but did not see anything else move, she thought it was the air conditioner kicking on. She walked over to the window to watch the plane take off. As it moved down the runway a single tear rolled down her cheek. She waved and hoped that Christopher would see her and wave back. As the plane soared into the sky and disappeared, Abby made a wish that they would see each other again soon and whispered goodbye.

She wiped away the tear from her cheek and walked out of the airport and to her car. She pushed the button on her key chain, and the doors to her Ford GT Mustang Convertible unlocked. Abby looked up at the sky one more time then climbed inside and put the key into the ignition. With a heavy sigh, she turned the key, waited for the engine to turn over, then put it in reverse. Abby didn't want to spend any more time at that airport, so she sped out of the parking lot, and made her way towards the highway, to her home a few hours north of the airport.

The house stood high above the rest of the city, looking out over it all, the house seemed alive. With its high windows and tall doors, the house looked like it watched every one that went by. Abby drove up to the gate and pushed the code into the box on her left. The giant cast iron gate doors crept open, and Abby drove in. As they closed behind her, she drove up to the front door and turned off her car. She sat there for a few minutes before getting out, her fingers ran along the cherry red color of the Mustang, and she smiled.

She thought back to when she and Christopher had been at the dealership, arguing over what car to get. She chose the Mustang because she loved horses, and always wanted a car that was built like one, fast and strong, she also loved cherries, hence the color. She wiped a few more tears from her face, then walked up to the door and fumbled with the keys, before finding the one to let her in. With a turn of the knob, she pushed the door open and felt a rush of sadness come over her when she walked in and noticed how empty it seemed.

Abby and Chris had shared the house since both their parents died in a plane crash two years earlier. Without any other family to care for them, the courts made them legal adults at 16. They considered themselves siblings and so the living situation was perfect. Neither of them had any sort of relationship with anyone after their parents died, so they became even closer. Abby walked through the house remembering the last two years and the fun that they had together. More tears formed and she ran to her bedroom, throwing herself onto her bed, and cried hysterically. The next morning, she woke with a grumble from her stomach and the clothes she had on the day before.

"Oh man," she said as she looked at herself in the mirror, "now I have raccoon eyes."

She sighed and walked over to the bathtub and turned on the water. Her clothes were peeled off, then she checked to make sure the water was not scolding hot and turned the shower on. She climbed into the shower, then sighed as the steamy water hit her shoulders and then her back. She bent her head back so that the water soaked her hair and splashed her face. The hot water felt wonderful on her achy athletic body. Her tight muscles began to loosen up as the hot water soothed them.

The water ran down her slender curves and over her firm breasts. She grabbed the soap and began to lather her body, the soap moved around her tight peaks, and under her breasts. Suds formed over her body and fell into her small belly button. She ran the soap down her thighs and over her round ass, then down to her feet. She placed the soap back on the edge of the shower and turned, to allow the water to rinse off all the suds.

Her hand tilted the shower head, so the water could splash over her face, and she sighed, the heat of the water felt good. She washed her face and then shut the water off and stepped out of the tub. Abby grabbed her towel and wrapped her hair up. She stood in front of the steam-covered mirror and then ran her hand across it. She looked at her naked body and breathed deeply.

"Well, Abby, you're all alone now," she said to herself in a matter-of-fact tone.

She dried herself off and walked to her closet to get some clothes to put on. She stopped suddenly when she noticed that one of the drawers in her dresser was already open, she shrugged her shoulders, then grabbed a purple shirt-sweater from one drawer and a pair of jeans from another. After she put on her clothes she sat at the end of her bed and pulled on her sneakers.

She took another look at herself in the mirror, sighed deeply, and forced a smile on her face. Abby's stomach started to growl, and she realized she had not eaten anything since lunch the day before. She went downstairs, two at a time, and went into the kitchen. She fixed herself a microwave dinner and grabbed a Pepsi from the fridge.

She sipped her Pepsi as she walked into the living room and sat down on the couch. A photo album of her and Christopher lay on the coffee table in front of her. She grabbed it and fumbled through the pictures. They were of the two of them as they grew up; she tossed the pages as she looked at them, and she stopped at a picture from high school. It was of them at their senior prom. They had so much fun together.

When they were little, they promised each other that they would go to their senior prom together; they did, and they had the time of their life. To make it even more special the two were crowned prom King and Queen. They led the songs and showed off their dancing moves. Everyone always enjoyed seeing the two of them dance. She thumbed through other pictures, some of which were taken when Christopher and she were in the Stevenson Cemetery two years ago.

"Gawd that was awful," she said as she stopped at a photo that had a white mist over the top corner. She touched it with her delicate fingers and shuddered, as goose bumps formed along her arms.

So many things happened and so many memories were made together, Abby thought to herself and realized that even though Christopher was gone she still had her memories. Though that wasn't enough for her, she decided it would have to do. She stood up and walked to the front window and looked out at the clear sky.

"I'm not going to disappoint you, Christopher. I'm going after my dream, just like you are."

Abby went to her computer and began her search for where to begin her training to become a ghost hunter. That night in the cemetery, changed her some, ever since she'd experienced odd occurrences. She heard things that were not there, and always felt like something or someone was around her. She was determined to learn more about it and to understand it.