Frizzy haired and overweight, sixteen year old Elizabeth Summers hears ghosts. She also reads people's auras and sees when something bad is headed their way. Unfortunately, she can't choose which ghosts visit her psychic hotline or when her paranorm...
The next morning, Julia calls upstairs as I'm getting dressed. "Lizzy, something's come for you in the mail!" Arriving downstairs, I see a large, expensive box sitting on the dining room table. The brown paper it was wrapped in lies in a heap on the floor. Coming out of the kitchen, my grandmother wipes her hands on a dish towel and smiles at me. "Open it. I think you're going to like your present." She's wearing a smug, pleased expression on her face, reminding me of the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland.
Inside the box, I find a magical, deep pink prom dress. "It's beautiful!" I manage. I feel tears start in my eyes, my throat is tight with emotion.
Like Cinderella's fairy godmother, Julia takes over guiding me through getting ready for the dance. She comes over and gives me a squeeze and laughs incredulously. "Did you think I was going to let you wear one of my outdated Gone With TheWind dresses to your first prom?" I shake my head in the negative, although I did believe she wanted me to wear one of those moth eaten gowns.
"I'm so happy to have such a beautiful dress for the prom. Thank you." I hug her and trying to put out of my mind what I've just read in the diary.
She holds up the glittering dress, admiring the vibrant color. "It's same style dress Marilyn Monroe wore in Some Like It Hot. You're going to look beautiful in it."
Later that evening, after I try on the dress, she gets out her sewing things. She adjusts the fabric where it needs to be taken in. "See, I knew you'd lost weight. You went down a size." She nods, happily as she concentrates on the dress. Bending over her sewing machine, hands flying, she hums, contentedly. After she alters the dress, she's not finished getting me ready for the prom. Out of her varnished jewelry box, she triumphantly pulls out a beautiful silver chain and a pair of pink crystal earrings. "Now we need stockings and matching slippers so you can go to the ball!"
"Dance," I correct her. My heart does a little flip thinking of seeing Dylan.
"The last thing we need is a Marilyn Monroe wig." She grabs her purse. Let's go to the mall before it closes. Julia's happy of any excuse to go to shopping. Mid stride she stops, purse in hand, and stares at the table. Inadvertently, I left Sarah's diary on the table. Picking it up, Julia asks me, "What is this?"
I don't understand why she seems upset. "That's mom's diary."
Her face goes white. "I know it's your mother's diary. Where did you find it?"
"It was up in the attic." Unsettled by her reaction, I try to reassure her. "Julia, what's wrong? It's just a diary."
She looks at me with dread. "No, it's not. It's more than a diary. It's Sarah's grimoire. After she started writing this, she became mentally ill."
Gently, I take the book from her hands. " It's just a book, Julia. It has no power over anyone." I hesitate, "Unless you believe it does."
She looks startled, then regains her composure, with a sigh. "Yes, you're right Lizzy. I'm sorry. "I was just surprised to see it. After your mother died, I never wanted to see that thing again."
"Don't worry, it's not going to hurt anyone." Darting upstairs, I hide the book out of sight, in my dresser. Hurriedly, I grab my things, then run back down stairs to accompany Julia to the mall.
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Thank you for reading!👻
This chapter is dedicated to kv_wilson and her wonderful use of Gaelic dialect in her amazing story, Spiritborne.
