The Voice

The Plea

                                                     T h e   P l e a

Okay, so he wasn't entirely invisible. But I could see straight through him. I took a step back, unable to form a coherent thought, much less words. How could I see through him? Quickly I looked around for a projector or something that was casting this image. I found nothing.

"Yes, hello?" He said, waving at me to get my attention. "You can see and hear me, correct?" He asked. I opened my mouth dumbly.

"You're invisible." I exclaimed, my hand moving to point at his shimmering torso. He looked at me with a scowl.

"Obviously I'm not, if you can see me." He said. I snapped my mouth shut and just stared at him. Was he a ghost? Was I being haunted? Who would want to haunt me? But what if it's not a ghost at all, what if I'm just crazy?

"Oh, God, I'm schizophrenic." I said, my voice flat. That's it. I had to be. One ticket for the crazy train, all aboard.

"Don't be so daft." He said, with a wave of his hand. I let out a shaky laugh. Either a ghost or a figment of my imagination was telling me not to be daft, and I didn't know which scenario I preferred. "What's your name?" He asked me.

"Moira." I answered. "Moira Blake." So he was probably a ghost. I mean, if my mind had created him, he would've already known me. Right? "What's yours?" I asked, at a loss for anything else.

"I'm Callum O'Brien." He answered with a small smile. "Now, Moira, can you tell me where to find Siobhan O'Brien?" He asked this as if it was as simple as asking for directions. But I'd never heard the name before.

"I don't know who that is." I said. Callum's face grew sad.

"Are you sure?" He asked. I nodded. He let out a big sigh and began to pace. "Okay, well, the spell was tricky. It may have gotten the location wrong. And it's not like I really know how this is supposed to work; I mean it's forbidden for a reason." He was rambling and I took that time to begin to walk a huge circle around him. "But if only one person can see me, and she's seeing me, I need her." He looked up to where I had been standing and then turned to see me slinking away. "Wait, I need you!" He called. I let out a nervous laugh.

"That's nice." I said. "And I feel really bad that you're a ghost and all, but I can't help you. Go to the other side, go into the light. I've gotta go to work." With that, I turned around and ran, ignoring his voice calling after me.

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About an hour later, I was arranging jewellery beneath the glass counter at the front of the boutique. Mel, my boss, came over to me in a rush.

"Moira, could you please take care of the clothes in the back? The rack is full and Jayma is busy with customers." She said. "I'll finish with this." I nodded and walked towards the back. Mel was a nice boss. A little rude sometimes when I wore clothes she didn't like, but it was to be expected. We were supposed to be a fashion boutique, so we all had to look sharp. The only thing Mel didn't do, was put clothing back on their racks.

When I got to the changing rooms, I saw that indeed, the rack was full. I sighed and grabbed as many hangers as I could, before setting off to put them back in their places. I had only put back a few dresses when I felt a cold wind on the back of my neck.

"Moira." I turned around sharply, dropping the clothes I'd been holding. Nothing was there. I bent to pick them up and when I stood straight again, I saw him again. Callum. Still pretty much invisible. I let out a shriek and then turned around slowly. Mel, Jayma, and all the customers were looking at me like I'd grown another head.

"Spider." I told them. They all nodded, understanding, and I turned back to Callum. "What are you doing here? You can't be here, leave."

"No, Moira." He said simply. "I need your help, and I don't have a lot of time."

"I'm sorry that you're a ghost, it sucks." I said. "But I really am not the one to help you."

"You're the only one who can see me." Callum said. "Who else can help me?" I sighed, and turned away, continuing to put the clothes back on their racks. "Listen, I just want you to help me find someone."

"The Siobhan chick?" I asked. He nodded. "I've never heard of her, sorry. Now, could you just go into the light and leave me alone?"

"Moira, I'm not dead." Callum said. I pursed my lips and looked at him.

"You're almost invisible." I said. "And I refuse to be schizophrenic, so you have to be a ghost. When you've eliminated the impossible, whatever's left, however unlikely, is the truth."

"You just terribly misquoted." He said, shaking his head.

"I was paraphrasing!" I exclaimed, walking away from him. I got another armful of clothes from the rack and set off to return them to their places.

"I'm not a ghost, Moira." Callum said. "I'm an astral projection." I stayed silent as a customer weaved her way through the racks close to me. After she had gone away, I turned and looked Callum in the eye.

"Astral projection?" I asked. "Like you're body is somewhere, but your consciousness is somewhere else?" Callum nodded.

"Exactly." He answered with a smile.

"Well, then." I began. "Un-astral yourself and go find Siobhan on your own." He groaned and followed me as I walked to different racks, putting the clothes back.

"Look, I'm astral projecting through time." He said. "If I 'un-astral' myself, the Siobhan I'm looking for won't exist."

"You time traveled?" I asked, my voice doubtful. He nodded and gave me a look that begged me to believe him. I sighed. "Why is this Siobhan chick so important to you, anyways? She your girlfriend?"

"She's my daughter." He said. I put some clothes on a rack and then paused. That plucked at the heart strings. "I just want to see how she is."

"You're astral projecting to the future to see your daughter?" I asked lightly. He nodded. I shoved myself away from the rack and spun around to face him. "Why can't you just wait for the future like the rest of us?" I asked, crossing my arms.

"I don't have a future." Callum answered solemnly. I lifted my brow questioningly. "I have cancer. All I want, Moira, is to see if my baby girl grew up happy without me." Something deep inside of me urged me to help the half-invisible man before me. He must've noticed my hesitation because slowly, he pressed on. "I don't know why, Moira, but you're the only one who can see or hear me."

"That pretty much sucks." I said with a dry laugh.

"Moira, you are the only person in the world who can help me." Callum said, his voice pleading. I sighed, and shook my head.

"Fine." I said. He looked as surprised as I felt by my answer. "Let's go."