BROKEN BEGINNINGS

Chapter 5 - Phantoms in Broad Daylight

I blink my eyes open to splotches of watery early morning sun, snaking its way through the grime on the windowpanes. I roll over with a groan, looking around for my clock to see what time it is... I roll straight off the couch with a loud THUD.

I suddenly realize I fell asleep on the couch after Sarah left after tea last evening. With a sigh, I start to pick up, wrapping biscuits in cloth napkins and dumping long-cold tea into the sink, watching it trickle down the drain like liquid amber, slowly molding into perfect copper drops before falling into the dirt-crusted drain. The lead pipes gurgle, reminding me I still have to unclog it... from three months ago.

I throw a towel onto the counter, beside a square butcher knife buried in a splintered cutting board. A tiny knock wobbles toward me from the front door; I am absolutely certain it's not Sarah. She knocks with a purpose, expecting whoever is behind the door she knocks upon to fling it open instantly, a staff of twenty butlers and maids behind them, armed and ready to treat her like the princess she thinks she is.

I slog through the crumbling foyer, rubbing sleep from my eyes and trying to ignore the mixed smell of garlic and wet rat fur. As I reach for the brass knob, I notice an ominous shift in the dusty air.

Something's not right.

My fingertips brush the knob, and an electric shock shoots through my body, rushing through my blood and shaking my bones. With a sharp breath, I yank the doorknob as hard as I can, flinging the door open to face whatever beast is on the other side—

A skinny, red-haired girl stands innocently on the stoop.

"Hello miss," She chirps, seemingly oblivious to the fact I appeared ready to strangle her.

"Who are you?" I ask, befuddled at the fact someone other than Sarah would care enough to come and see me. Also, this girl is like, eight. She probably just got lost and assumed I was a friendly neighbor that could help her find her way back to Mummy.

"I'm Esme Ann. Nice to meet you!" The girl smiles, revealing a gap between her two front teeth.

"But I mean, who are you? Are you even real?"

Esme's face suddenly clouds. "Oh. You said it," She blubbers, tears starting to stream down her round face. "You asked it... You asked if I was... Real," She says, raising her face to me, sunlight catching the shining waterfalls of her tears like prisms, casting rainbows across the weeded lawn; the last word soaring like a dove, out of her mouth and into the grey sky above us, finally free.

Then, Esme begins to change.

The roots of her hair grey, falling out in wispy patches. Decay eats away at her young face, her bones becoming exposed. Not even the bones last long, though. Within seconds, they crumble to dust, leaving a small pile of sand where the child once stood.

Then, from the dust, a small silver-blue sphere of light floats toward me. I, of course, am backing up as fast as I can. My heel catches the door frame and I jolt back, crashing into the foyer and smashing my head against the marble floor.

Then, the world goes black.

Hazy sun dances across my sore eyes, and I blink. This must be how mangoes feel when they hit the ground after falling out of a tree, I think. Then I realize mangoes don't have feelings and that I am obviously hallucinating.

"Are you okay, miss?" A sweet voice says out of nowhere.

I yelp and flail backwards. Maybe I really am hallucinating, I think. Then I see Esme's spirit hovering over me, the source of her voice.

"You took that better than most, you know."

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT!" I scream at her.

"Well, if a human asks a spirit in human form if they're real or really exist, it will cause them to revert back to a ghost." Esme calmly explained, curling a ginger braid around her finger. "Most people just go mad after seeing the transformation. You handled it rather well."

I simply stare at her, too shocked to speak.

Then over Esme's shoulder, I see Sarah coming up the hill in a flurry. Esme looks to see what caught my attention and lets out a fearful squeak. She darts towards the rafters of the manor.

"Hey, where are you going?" I call out to her, desperate not to lose her.

Esme's brown eyes shine down to me through the darkness. "Beware. The ones closest are the wicked and the ones furthest are your refuge. The time is coming when all truth is revealed. When all fate it met."

Then, Esme is gone.