Keepers

Reality Change

"I must be hearing things again," I think as I direct my gaze back down at the book. After frantically looking around, I had found that nothing has changed in this room. There's no animals, there's no other humans. I swear, did I overlook something? No, stop it. You're just going crazy.

Wait, there it is again! I can hear a faint purr. It could just be my breathing that's freaking me out but I don't have a cold and I'm not congested. All of a sudden I realize the warmth on my back. Was that there before? I don't remember anything warm on my back from before.

I look back at how I got here... I grabbed the book on the counter after starting to feel bad for neglecting it for so long. Then I laid down on the couch. Nope, nothing warm. All the dots start to connect in my mind. Purring, warmth... is there a cat on my back? I don't recall owning one. Oh, maybe it's my roommate's cat. Wait, that couldn't be. His cat died a week ago...

Slowly, I turn my head around. I quickly bound to my feet and scanned the area where I used to lay. Well I'll be damned. Not believing what I'm seeing I rub my eyes. There's a floating cat on my couch. Almost as if I'm still there and it's happily napping on my back. Only... I'm here, and it's in the air. The cat blinks and registers my form. After a few seconds, the cat looks down and quickly sits on the couch. The right way, at least with gravity and all. It lowers it's head as if in embarrassment.

"Are you alright May?" Zander says from his doorway.

"Uh... Are you sure your cat died? Cause rather I'm hallucinating - "

"Oh my, what are you doing in here Shadow?!" Zander hisses as the cat zips into his room.

My best friend since my senior year in highschool. How could he lie to me? I remember giving that very cat a funeral! It should have been decaying underground by now.

"How in the hell..." I start muttering.

"Calm down, here lets sit down," He nudges my waist as a gesture to sit down. "We need to talk. So..."

I take the invitation and sit down criss cross applesauce. I never did learn what the actual name for this seating position is called.

Trying to grasp for words he takes a deep breath. "How do I put this... May, you can see dead beings now."

Returning his sly look with a skeptical one, I sigh, "Are you sure this isn't another prank? I mean, the googly eyes on everything in the fridge was hilarious, but this isn't."

"I swear on beemo this isn't a joke." He says.

"Your lucky stuffed elephant? I didn't think this was that serious. Well... I'm still struggling to believe you but let's say this is true. How the hell did this happen? I couldn't see dead things before."

"Uh... It usually depends on the person but it mostly clicks when you have a reality change." Seeing the confused look on my face he clarifies, "Reality is just your perspective on life. "Reality change" just means that your look on life somehow changed."

Sitting up straight, I look him in the eye. How... when did I start looking at things differently? How did I change? Was it an event, or something little like a thought? Putting a halt to the rush of questions hitting my brain I feel a weight sink in my lap. Wait no, it's the cat again. As if confirming my beliefs, the cat looks up at me with the same emerald green eyes I remember looking into for all these years. The same eyes I'd see poke out from Zander's bed covers when I'd visit his room. This is it, I can see dead things now.

"Wow... well in that case, it's nice to see you again shadow." I tell the cat. Looking at Zander now I say, "What do you think changed my perspective on life?"

"I honestly don't know, I was born with this ability so I don't know exactly what it's like to have such a sudden change like this in your life. I've met someone with a similar coming as yours, and looking back on that all I can think of saying is that this is for you to figure out." Zander fans his legs out on the couch and lays his head on my leg.

Realizing something, I blurt out, "Then is that why you weren't sad when shadow died?" Feeling a bit weirded out now I place shadow down on Zander's abdomen.

"Glad you don't think I'm heartless anymore. Well, at least when it comes to this cat." He says, petting the cat. "I love her so much. If she didn't show up in my room after that incident I would have sobbed for weeks."

"Happy to hear that you're in love with your cat." I giggle. "Speaking of, how come she isn't... you know, transparent or whatever?"

"Wanderers, dead beings as we call them, definitely aren't what the media portrays them to be. In movies, ghosts can be translucent, levitating, and or you can walk through them. Wanderers are like us, but... well.... Dead." Zander passes shadow back into my lap and flips unto his stomach.

Yawning, I ask, "Does 'we' count as everyone who can see wanderers?"

"Yes"

"And what do you call those people? I mean, people like us?" I ask.

"We're called Keepers. We watch over the wanderers."

Putting the cat on his back I take on the same position in front of him, elbows on the couch, palms on my cheeks, facing him. The cat jumps over our heads and gracefully lands on my lower back. Man I'm really starting to have a sense of deja vu. As the purring starts, perfectly accommodating to my deja vu, I lay my head down on the couch.

"I'm glad that we share the same secret now. It feels like there's this big release off my shoulders. I've always hated keeping things from you." Zander pats my head, "Won'tcha look at the time, it's getting pretty late isn't it?"

"I didn't realize. At least tomorrow is Sunday. That means I don't have any homework." I smile, "Hey, do you want to visit the cemetery tomorrow? If I wake up and find out this all isn't just another one of my weird dreams that is."

"Wow, you really aren't scared easily are you? This whole thing doesn't seem to be affecting you much. In that case, I'd love to. It's been awhile since I've visited Halligou. He is your favorite author isn't he?" Zander says.

I look up with wide eyes to take in his amused look. "The James Halligou?! You can't be serious. I knew he lived around here, but was he really buried in the cemetery here? I'm going to be pissed if you're messing with me" I warn him with one of my signature glares.

Laughing, he waves my glare away. Which would have hurt if I wasn't so excited.

Sitting up, he says, " Of course not. I wouldn't joke about something like this. What do you say we head out after breakfast in the morning?"

Smothering him in a hug, I say, "Deal!"