The Flames

Chapter Five

When Uncle Rich got back to me, I wasn't thrilled with the news. The secretary at the police station said the soonest she could squeeze him in was two weeks away. There would be more fires by then, more pain and death, more indifference. I shook my head, disbelieving. It was like they didn't even care, or didn't believe him. You'd think they would be following any leads that they could get. Even if we didn't have any real leads. Wow, I thought, Luke was right. This is hopeless.

I felt like I had no options left. That was, until Uncle Rich suggested that we contact a medium.

"No. Not a chance," I replied stubbornly. "It could still be just a coincidence or a hallucination. Nothing has been proven."

We were in my bedroom, and Luke had come along and brought his laptop. Now he spoke, "Um...Cole? I think you should see this." He slid it over to me. He had been researching Celia, and this is what he found:

January thirtieth, 2013 

The Miracle Baby Who Died Twice 

On May fifteenth,2009, Celia Gardener was the only survivor in a car fire with her mother and older brother, David. She was two years old at the time. Now, four years later, there has been an accidental fire at the elementary school that she attended, Taylor Elementary. Thankfully, most everyone got out unscathed. Six-year-old Celia, was one of the two casualties, having been in the restroom at the time of evacuation. Her remaining family had her funeral arranged for the seventeenth of this month, and they wanted it stated that she would be buried in her favorite outfit.

Pictures enclosed.

I clicked the link, which brought me to an online album of photos. They were all just ordinary pictures. I looked at David's face, and remembered my friend. I zoomed in on Celia's face in one of them. I had been almost hoping that I wouldn't know her face. I stared at the picture of the blonde toddler with a sweet smile I'd know anywhere. I kept looking through the photos.

After a few clicks, the photos now showed only Celia and Mr. Gardener. I found one where she was wearing her favorite dress with shiny black shoes and blue hair ribbons. She was no longer smiling and his smile was forced.

To Luke, this was solid proof that I had been seeing the spirit of Celia Gardener. I, however, saw lots of holes.

"I could have just seen a picture of her before and don't recall, and I saw her as a hallucination after the deli fire. It could've been a girl who looked like her, and she ran away before they saw she was there. Maybe she was a real little girl, and she died from smoke inhalation later that day. Who knows for sure?"

"I've seen her too, remember? I know for sure. You're not saying I'm a liar, are you?" he retorted.

"No. Sorry."

"So what do you think now? About the medium?" asked Uncle Rich.

Reluctantly, I said, "Okay, but if they tell me I have some kind of 'special ability' to speak with spirits, I'm out."

"Fair enough," he responded. So in order for me to figure out this whole "ghost" thing, I had to wait for my uncle to contact a woman who is convinced she can speak with spirits. Great.