The Burning Side

Chapter 4

"So what do we do now?" Bree asked Jason after a long silence.

"I don't know. I don't think there is anything we really can do. Strange things happen, but I don't think there's any reason to panic. Nothing else has happened," Jason said, his nonchalant attitude returning.

"What do you mean nothing else has happened? What about that creepy man painted in my mural? You and I both know, even if we didn't want to admit it before now, that no one could possibly create that shadow man by accident without noticing. I didn't paint him. He wasn't there when I got in the shower that day, but he was when you got home. Something happened in our bedroom within that hour.

"I also saw something in the basement right before we moved in. It was right after you told me you were ready to move into the house. I saw a burning head floating right in my face. It only lasted a split second, but I know I saw it. And I smelled it." Bree remembered the pungent odor that had filled her nostrils both that day and the day the shadow man had shown up. "So don't tell me nothing else has happened."

Jason absorbed her words quietly until she finished her tirade. Bree expected him to be shocked at her revelations, but all he said was, "Maybe this will be the end of it. I don't think we need to worry unless our furniture starts stacking itself and knives start flying at us. Everything is fine, Bree. Don't call the priest just yet."

She knew his humor was well-intended, but she felt mocked. She wished she hadn't told him about the basement incident. The fact that he had met this information with indifference made her feel like she was being silly about everything. Her face reddened.

"You do believe me, though, don't you? About the painting and the burning head?" Bree had to make sure his indifference wasn't due to disbelief.

"Of course I believe you! I just don't want to jump to any radical conclusions right now. I say we call it strange and move on. What else is there for us to do?"

Bree thought for a moment, but reluctantly arrived at the same conclusion. "You're right. I guess there really isn't anything we can do right now."

Jason and Bree didn't discuss the strange occurrences any further, and as Bree prepared dinner later that night, her mind began troubling over Jason's "do nothing" attitude. She wasn't the type of person who could easily let things go. She had finally admitted that she believed something out of the ordinary was taking place in their home, and she was ready to do something about it. But what? How do you retaliate against something you don't understand and can't definitively prove even exists? She didn't know how to explain the recent happenings, who or what was responsible, or what to do about it. This upset her. She felt like she was fighting someone or something for control of her own life, and she didn't know how to win.

Bree called her mother, Karen, after dinner. She made the call from upstairs, hoping for some privacy, as she wanted to share some of her feelings about the house without Jason overhearing. She was certain he'd had enough talk of the paranormal for today. Her mother was a little more open-minded about such things.

"Hello, Bree," Karen answered the phone. "How have you been?"

"Well...things have been interesting around here lately. The good news is that the piano got moved upstairs and I haven't seen any more mice. The bad news is that something else is becoming a problem." She told her mother about the burning head, the painted shadow man, and the phone call.

"Why didn't you tell me about any of this before now?" Karen wanted to know.

"I didn't want to overreact or make a big deal out of it, especially if it was nothing but my own imagination. But after Jason saw the caller ID anomaly after that weird phone call, I'm sure it isn't my imagination. I'm really worried about it. I'm even having nightmares about what's going on." Bree recounted her nightmare to her mother.