For Always (book one)

Chapter 1: Livers

Beau 

I never thought I'd be excited to see a snake headin' my way. Yet, here I sit on my tree stump, waitin' with anticipation. As he slithers closer, I slowly move toward him, anxious to see which one of us will get to strike first. It's sad that this is probably gonna be the highlight of my day.

He spots me, hissin the usual warnin' that would send most men runnin'. I jump in front of him, causin' him to strike. When his bite doesn't make contact with anything, he stops and looks straight at me, probably ponderin' his sanity. I move slower, not wantin' to frighten him, and lay down on the ground, blockin' his path to the river. He slowly moves forward, flickin' his tongue out at me. When he gets close enough to realize his tongue ain't makin' contact with nothin', he moves on—right through me.

It always feels weird to have another livin' thing take up the same space as me. Like when it storms and ya don't make it outta the fields quick enough and your hair starts to stand up on end. It's an odd feelin'.

I've often wondered what animals are thinkin' when they encounter me. They can obviously see me, but that's about it. The most fun I've had since my death, as far as animals are concerned, was with a skunk. I think it sprayed me so much that I emptied out its stink tank. But just like the rest, it moved on after a while.

I have the most fun with those that I like to call livers—people who are lucky enough to still be alive. I'm jealous of livers and like to annoy 'em whenever I get the chance, which is almost never. Since my family had to move away after my pa died, not many livers have come around.

There was this one family, a husband and wife, who I grew rather fond of. They had money and brought all sorts of odd things with 'em that I'd never seen—lights, bathtubs, outhouses inside the house, and strangest of all, boxes that ya could hear livers talkin' out of. Sometimes, I'd make their lights and talkin' boxes turn off and on, which usually made the wife scream out loud. Scarin' the dickens outta that woman, which made her husband think she'd gone insane, wasn't nice, I know, but it provided me with the only interaction with livers that I was capable of. I eventually decided to scare her husband, too. They moved out after that. A couple of families came and went, but none ever stayed. I believe word of my presence got out after a while 'cause my home stayed empty for a long time. That's when Nellie Reed moved in.

When she first came to look at the house, I didn't pay her no mind. Livers would look, probably out of curiosity, but usually never returned, so I was a bit shocked when I saw her movin' in. Either she was very brave or just plain crazy. I'd soon find out that she's a little bit of both.

Nellie's first night in the house, she seemed on edge... like she knew somebody was watchin' her. I didn't wanna scare her right off the bat, so I just continued to spy.

She was a small lady, maybe in her late sixties, with long grey hair that was pulled into a braid on each side, which reminded me of how my little sisters used to wear their hair. She wore a long, brightly printed dress that flowed out around her when she danced, which she did quite a bit. She wore eyeglasses, but they had no rims and were slightly tinted a violet color. She was the oddest liver I'd ever seen.

That night, I waited in her room for her while she got ready for bed. I stood by the window lookin' out at the river that I still had a love/hate relationship with. Lost in thought, I didn't hear her comin' up behind me. When I did, I quickly moved so she wouldn't go through me as she opened up the window, which flooded the room with sounds of frogs and crickets. I'd always loved the sounds of summer.

As she turned around to head towards her bed, she stopped, lookin' like she'd forgot somethin'. Then she turned towards me, lookin' straight in my direction, and said, "I know you're here. I've felt ya followin' me all day. I know you're just curious, but it's startin' to freak me out just a bit. Please leave so I can sleep in private." And with a slight smile, she turned and got into bed.