The Incubus

Chapter 7, Scene 5

'So you're really considering moving out?' Tanya asked. Normally she would have been ecstatic about the idea. She would immediately offer up her spare bedroom and would elaborate on how much fun they would have living together. Her actual reaction was more serious.

Rebecca nodded.

'Does Justin know?' she asked and slowed the car to a stop in the parking spot in front of Rebecca's home.

'He knows that I'm thinking about it,' Rebecca said. 'He just doesn't know that I'm actually going to follow through with it.'

'This is serious, isn't it?'

Rebecca took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. 'He's changed,' she said. 'I can't keep up with him anymore.'

'What do you mean?'

'It's hard to explain,' Rebecca said. 'Since the miscarriage he's been so distant. You know about the longer hours he works. It's almost as if he doesn't want to come home anymore. And then there's the part where he doesn't believe or support me about the strange happenings in the apartment.'

'What exactly is going on in there?'

'Nothing,' Rebecca said. 'You'd only think I'm crazy too.'

'Nonsense!' Tanya said. 'Just because Justin is too blind to see something is going on, doesn't mean that I am too.

Rebecca wondered if she should tell Tanya. She figured that it could do no harm to try. 'I see things in the corner of my eye. Shapes standing there, looking at me. I see shapes outside my bathroom window. The light fixture fell down and almost crashed on my head.' She paused for a moment. 'You know, now that I'm saying it out loud, I can understand why Justin would think that I'm crazy.'

'Stop talking like that!' Tanya rebuked her friend. 'You're not nuts!'

'Well, I sure sound like I am; believing in the unbelievable.'

'If that is an indication of insanity,' Tanya said, 'then we are all insane.'

Rebecca looked at her friend. 'Why? What do you mean?'

'You remember Timmy?'

'Little Timmy that got attacked by the dog?'

Tanya nodded. 'Well, apparently he died the other day.'

Rebecca held her hand to her mouth. 'Oh no...'

'The insane part about it,' Tanya said, 'is that it turned out that he's not actually dead.'

'Wait. Is he dead or not?'

'He's not dead.' Tanya said. 'He was dead. But not anymore.'

Rebecca still didn't understand. 'How did he...what happened?'

'From what I heard, the kid died. Some guy just walked into the hospital and brought the boy back to life.'

'You're joking, right?'

'Nope,' Tanya said. 'It's been all over the news this past week. There's a case of fraud being investigated against the parents.'

'That's terrible,' Rebecca said. 'Who was the guy?'

'That's the strangest part of the story,' Tanya said. 'The parents claim that they can't remember his name or even remember what he looked like. That's why they're being investigated. According to a nurse, she saw the man every other day, but also can't seem to remember his name or even some of his basic facial features.'

'And little Timmy is better?'

'Not even so much as a scar on his face,' Tanya said. 'And that's exactly the point that I'm trying to make.'

'You are?'

'Strange and unexplainable things happen around us every single day. Just because Justin is too blind to see it doesn't mean it's not there. My personal opinion is that moving out might not be such a bad idea.'

Rebecca bit her lip and nodded. She knew that despite Tanya's grudge against Justin, she spoke the truth. Moving out might just be the best option after all.