Ghosts of Halloweens Past

Chapter 7

It went eerily quiet in the graveyard. The wind died, the clouds stopped moving, time itself halted. Nick and Eddie spun around slowly, surveying the stillness. Jade didn't blink, all the spirits seemed like statues plastered to the ground. "What's happening?" Nick asked. Eddie had no answer, but before he could say anything, time resumed and Jade hurried over to Nick's side.

"Did it work?" Nick asked, to Jade, to Eddie, to anyone that could sense it.

"I...I don't know," Eddie answered. Nothing looked or felt different. Other than that strange freeze in time, nothing seemed to have happened at all.

Jade placed her hand on Abigail's tomb. "I don't feel it anymore." She shared a glance with Nick, and then with Rose.

If the curse was lifted, why were they still here?

Eddie closed the book, his head bent low. "I'm sorry. Maybe it's too late for us."

With a gentle tickle under Nick's chin, Rose motioned for Eddie to look at her. "Don't be discouraged yet. You did your best. Maybe it just takes some time."

Jade took the book back from Eddie and held out a satchel of herbs in her palm. "Ready?" she asked.

Both Nick and Eddie nodded their head. Jade lit the satchel on fire and chanted a spell. The scent of sage, rosemary and thyme surrounded them and Nick's world went black.

—

When Nick came to, his breath caught. He was staring up at Jade's bright purple hair, illuminated slightly by the moonlight cascading through the tree branches. The light made a halo around her wide brimmed hat. She looked like an angel.

"Am I dead?" he asked.

"No, but you might've passed out for a minute," Jade said, sitting back on her knees.

Nick slowly raised himself up onto his elbows. Eddie's spirit was slumped against the side of his own tomb, looking defeated and lost.

Rose knelt beside Jade and Nick and smiled. "That was incredibly brave, Nick."

Nick shrugged, "Well, I have you to thank for that."

Her eyebrows lifted, her hand pressed gently to her chest. "Me?"

Nick nodded. "I figured he'd be more likely to break the curse if he felt understood. You showed me what being understood feels like. And maybe a little of your impulsiveness rubbed off on me," he shrugged. Rose giggled.

Nick held out his hand, letting it linger just above Rose's. She lifted hers, grazing her fingers across Nick's. A chill ran up his arm, making his hairs stand on end and bumps rise against his skin, but that was all he felt. A faint whisper of a touch, a passing chill. His heart ached. He had never known her when she was alive, had never felt her hand in his, but their souls had been intertwined sharing a body for the past 48 hours. Being without her now felt strange and...lonely.

"Rose," Jade motioned to further into the graveyard where the moonlight beamed down, bright and concentrated. At first it was a small sliver but it grew and grew until it looked like a grand archway of light.

Rose stood, gaping in awe. The other spirits wandered towards it and disappeared into the light. They had done it. The curse really was broken, and they could cross over, finally.

"Eddie!" she shouted, beaming with the widest grin. He looked up and over, standing slowly as realization set in.

Rose turned towards Nick and Jade, her eyes shimmering. If she was human they would've been filled with tears. "Thank you, both," she said, her voice wavering. "I couldn't have done it without you. I am so grateful."

"Thank you, Rose, for accidentally possessing me," Nick said. Rose giggled again, but they both knew he was serious. He was happy to help her move on, but he would miss her, really, really miss her, and he told her so. She knew already, because she would miss him, too.

They walked towards the archway and it seemed like hours before they reached it. Nick both wanted her to go, be happy and free, and wanted her to stay. Rose both wanted to stay and wanted to begin a new life in a new body. This is what she had wanted from the start but it was hard to ignore the ache that missing Nick would leave behind.

They just stared at each other, memorizing each other's face, each word they had spoken to each other, every shared moment of laughter until it became too much.

"Go," Nick said, "In case there is a time limit on this thing."

She looked back at Eddie standing at the edge of the light. A voice rang from the other side. "Eddie, Eddie."

Eddie smiled, "It's Sarah," he said, his eyes shimmering bright, "she waited."

She turned back to Nick. "Goodbye, Nick Foster. Be well."

"Goodbye, Rose Goodwin. I hope we meet again someday."

Rose smiled and headed towards the light. She watched as Eddie crossed over to be reunited with Sarah for the first time in over 300 years. Taking one last look back at Nick and Jade, she stepped into the archway and disappeared.

The beam of light shrunk and vanished into thin air, as though it had never been there at all.

—

"So what brings you here, Mr. Foster?" Dr. Amy Steifvater said.

Nick fidgeted with his hands in the armchair across from her. She held a notepad on her lap, and her loose curls were neatly tucked back into a clip. Her demeanor was warm, approachable, and confident. He felt comfortable enough talking to her, he just didn't know where to start.

"Well, recently I lost my friend Rose," he said, flexing his hands and placing them palm side down onto his legs, attempting to keep them calm.

"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. Were you two close?" she said, scribbling a quick note on her pad.

"I hadn't known her long but we did grow fairly close pretty quickly," he tapped his leg, then stopped when he realized.

"Was she a romantic partner or interest?"

"No, no, nothing like that. But because of her I met my current girlfriend, Jade. Well, I'd met her before but I saw her again because of Rose. I wouldn't have otherwise. Anyway," we waved away his tangent, "I've had anxiety for...well as long as I can remember. And Rose made me realize how much it was holding me back from living my life. So, that's why I'm here."

"Okay. Well, I'm glad you're here. If you'd like we can start from the beginning?"

Nick closed his eyes and let go of the emotion he had been burying for twenty five years. He brought up memories of his mother berating him, her throwing dishes at his father during arguments, his father leaving, crying himself to sleep when he felt like it was his fault his father left. He remembered when his sister told him his best friend was dead, killed in a car accident by a drunk driver at sixteen. His teachers telling him he would never amount to anything if he didn't try harder when he was putting in his all, his boss telling him he was a piece of shit when he made a mistake, walking in on Chelsea wrapped up with another man on the day he was going to ask her to marry him.

He became a mess, a blubbering mess at that, but he finally started talking.