Shards of Black Glass

Finding Truth

Saira's POV

Zak avoids me for the rest of the day. I don't see a single hair on his head when Jae and I eat lunch, nor when I sit in the lobby, writing on my laptop and listening to the murmur of the people around me.

    With the van packed and everyone ready to leave, we set off for Miss Andromeda's Bar under the faint rays of moonlight. Once there, we unpack and set up. Zak avoids me as much as he can, and never looks at me. Apparently, the telling of my darkest secret was too much for the man who hunted ghosts and got attacked by demons for a living.

    We roll outside the bar's front door, and Zak gives his introduction. Andy is there to lock us in, as is custom in the Paranormeon Crew. As she locks the glass door, she smiles at me. I glare right back at her, and turn to walk to nerve center in the near blackness of the bar that I broke into as a teenager.

    In nerve center, we gather equipment and break off into pairs like last time. I'm with Mark, and we go to the back courtyard to start. Mark stands in the middle of the yard, an EVP recorder in his hand, while I lean against the fence and film him.

    All is quiet, even the street, when Mark starts asking questions. I close my eyes, and try to keep my hands from shaking in the cold autumn night air. A wind blows overhead, but no trees are around so the wind's blow is fruitless. I hear cars horns in the distance, and can see the lights of the street behind my closed eyelids.

    "Why are you in this world?... What is your name?... Where do you go after this life?" Mark asks, waiting after every question. I perk my ears, hoping for a sound, a voice, a whisper. But the night is silent, and Mark stops the recording after a while. I open my eyes and walk over to him, where he plays the recording. After listening all the way through, we hear nothing out of the ordinary.

    Mark sighs, and says, "I felt no energy whatsoever while I was doing that. Maybe you could ask some questions this time, since the ghosts seem to know you here." I smirk, and grab the recorder out of his hand. 

I click on, and stand as still as I can. After a few moments, I ask, "Forest Truth, are you still here?... If you are, please come speak with me. We left things a little too soon during our last conversation. Where are you?"

    I feel a strange sense of vertigo as I look around the courtyard through my IR camera. Wind whistles above, the sound echoing across the taller buildings surrounding us. I tag the sound, and wait a few more seconds before speaking. "Forest, the last time we spoke, you said that you were getting tired of this life. You told me you contemplated suicide. You said that it would be in the place where you got your first kiss, because you're sentimental like that. Why did you do it, Forest? Why did you let go? You must know that Chenelle tried to find you. The cops had to break the news to her. How do you feel about that? How do you feel knowing that the girl you loved wanted to be with you as much as you wanted to leave? How, Forest?" Mark is quiet behind me, not saying a word as I quit speaking.

    The wind blows again, this time harder. I smirk, and say, "Are you doing this, Forest? Are you creating this gale as a sign that you still live in the land of the ghosts? Speak into this little red dot, and let me know what you think about the world now that you have left it." An energy swept through me as the last word left my mouth, and I see a white silhouette of a man standing before me. The man's eyes become clear, and the deep, dark, almost-black gray color of his irises remind me of storm clouds bringing snow. Light blue streaks through the storm-gray like lightning; this is Forest.

    "Hello, my friend. Been a long time, Blizzard," he says as the rest of him resolves. Blizzard, a nickname he gave me during college. Chenelle's boyfriend, and one of the closest friends I ever had. "Hey, Forest. Why did you do it? Why leave us?" I ask, oblivious to Mark, who is filming me with a bewildered expression as I talk to air. I remember the ghost from the Wiza Hotel, and what he said about ghosts not appearing on camera if they don't want to.