The Light That Guides You Home

Chapter 6

She ran to the kitchen to grab the phone before the caller could hang up. She wanted to talk to someone, anyone, just to hear another human voice. Snatching it up, she nearly shouted into the receiver.

"Hello?"

"Laura, are you ok? You sound out of breath. I didn't wake you, did I?", came a deep, male voice. It took her several seconds to realize who she was speaking to.

"Dr. Evans!" Exactly the person she needed to talk to. "No, I mean yes, well, I was up earlier but something happened and I dozed off, so you kind of woke me. Anyway, I'm up now. I'm sorry, I'm rambling, aren't I? I called your office last night because I really need to see you as soon as you have an appointment available. I'm afraid something's wrong with me."

"Laura, I can tell by your voice that something is upsetting you. First of all, I want you to try to stay calm. I'll make time to see you later this morning and we'll figure out what's going on. I'm sure there's nothing really wrong with you.", he replied. "How long has this been happening? Have you been having the nightmares again?"

"Just a few days, and not really. Well, yes, but this time they're different. I've been seeing Lisa and my parents in my dreams the last few nights." The doctor's soothing voice was already beginning to have a calming effect on her nerves, and she could feel her heart rate returning to normal.

"Ok. Look, I have an appointment in a few minutes. Why don't you come to my office at 11. We can talk more then."

"That would be great. Thanks Doctor, I'll see you then."

She hung up and looked at the clock on the wall. It was 9:45, so she'd slept for a couple of hours. She needed the rest, but was now aware of aches and pains all over her body from sleeping on the hard floor curled up the way she had. She found some Tylenol in the kitchen and swallowed a couple with the ice cold remains of her coffee from earlier that morning. Then she called Ben but got his voice mail, so she left a message telling him that she had an appointment with Dr. Evans at 11, and might be late meeting him for lunch.

Feeling better now that she knew she'd be seeing her therapist soon, she felt ready to deal with that wine stain one more time. One last time, she promised herself. If it didn't come out this time, she was going to hire a professional to come in and take care of it. That would have been the smart thing to do from the start. She walked back to the den but then hesitated in the doorway. The thought of going back into the room and possibly being confronted by her sister's ghost made her stomach clench and her pulse race. This is ridiculous, she told herself. There's nothing in there that is going to hurt you. What you saw before was just an hallucination, brought on by too little sleep after taking those pills. It must have been. Even if there was such a thing as ghosts, there's no reason Lisa would start haunting your house now when she's never done it before. Bracing herself as if she expected to be physically attacked, she took one big step into the room and looked around.

Seeing nothing out of place, she began to relax again. See, she thought, everything is fine. You just imagined the room changing, and Lisa being here. She knew the water in the steamer would have to be replaced once again since it would be cold by now, but decided to treat the stain and let it soak while she went to get the hot water. She took another step into the room and picked up the spray bottle of carpet cleaner that she had dropped during the episode earlier. One more step took her to the edge of the desk, and the faint, nearly invisible pinkish stain. Unsure whether to feel relief that the stain wasn't magically reappearing, or dismay that she was seeing even more things that weren't there, she sprayed carpet cleaner on the spot, grabbed her laptop from the desk, and then left the room. She collected her purse and keys from the kitchen table, and put on a jacket. She needed a change of scenery. The air outside was crisp and cool, and smelled just faintly of burning leaves. The nearly perfect autumn day seemed so far removed from the events of last night and this morning that she couldn't help but smile. She'd drive into town and take her laptop to the library where she could write for a while before heading to Dr. Evans' office.