The Tampa Terror

Part 10: Gustav

"Nordin!"

Two men call my name simultaneously just as I start putting on my shirt. Lifting my head, I spot Cole Caufield and Carey Price in the doorway. They appear to be waiting for me.

"We need your help," Carey explains as I approach, then lowers his voice so that he is nearly whispering. "With Tom. We will talk to him, and hopefully, this will stop him from haunting us once and for all."

When I start to follow him, someone grabs my arm and stops me in my tracks. Startled, I turn and find myself staring into the concerned and slightly irritated eyes of Andrei Vasilevskiy, my teammate.

"Why are you helping them?" Andrei sneers. "They play for the enemy."

He's obviously still bitter about losing the game in overtime and missing a chance to sweep his way to a second Stanley Cup. I gently move his hand away from my arm and carefully place a comforting hand on his shoulder. Slowly, Andrei inhales, then exhales.

"Andrei," I wait for his eyes to focus on my own before continuing. "I know they are Canadiens members, but they are my friends. Also, they may have a way to prevent Tom from haunting us again. I am going now to discuss the details with them. It is nothing sinister, Andrei."

Vasilevskiy, who has now processed the situation entirely and has recognized his outburst, dips his head in embarrassment. "Sorry."

"You did nothing wrong," I assure him as he looks at the floor, ashamed. "Seriously, man. There is no need to be upset. Hopefully, I will soon have positive news to deliver to the team. Perhaps Tom will even be pacified before we leave for Florida tomorrow morning, but that is a monumental task to try to accomplish in a single night."

"My ghost friends reported that Tom is behaving nicely," Carey reminds me. "That last goal might not be as unachievable as you think it is."

"If we work together, I believe that we will be able to convince Tom to finally rest in peace," Cole, Carey's rookie teammate, adds hopefully.

The smile that Andrei offers all of us is a smile of relief. "Thank you three so much for using your unique abilities to try to save us all from this nightmare! That is so thoughtful and generous of you."

"It's our pleasure, Andrei," I smile back at my friend. "I will see you in the morning."

Cole, Carey, and I leave the visitor's dressing room. According to Carey, Tom is waiting for us in a large multipurpose room at the end of the hallway. The five ghosts from Carey's hometown are also there. However, they will not involve themselves in the conversation that Cole, Carey, and I will hopefully be having with Tom. The only reason that they will interrupt our conversation is if anybody comes to the illogical conclusion that acting violently towards one another will solve the problem.
Aware that I am still nervous around the spirit who tried to murder me four days ago, Cole and Carey stroll into the room before I do. In addition, they sit in chairs directly facing Tom, while I sit closer to the corner of the table and farther away from Tom.

"Hello, Mr. McAfee," Carey begins the meeting. "That is your name, correct?"

Tom nods in confirmation, so I assume that one of the other spirits told Carey about Tom's surname. Tom adjusts his position slightly.

"We are here for the sole purpose of communicating effectively with you and reaching some sort of agreement on which all of us can agree," Carey continues. Tom makes direct eye contact with me, and I try my hardest to not gasp or flinch. The ghost must see the uncomfortableness in my posture because he turns away, seemingly ashamed.

"Have you been told why I started haunting you all in the first place?" Tom asks Carey and the experienced goaltender nods.

"You were murdered while the two teams involved in this year's Stanley Cup championship competition were playing a game several years ago," Carey recalls perfectly. "I have been informed of that, Mr. McAfee. Let me be clear that the violent reaction of the man you accidentally bumped into was incredibly uncalled for. Also, you absolutely did not deserve to experience something so horrible."

"Thank you," Tom replies. He traces a thin scar on his cheek that I have never noticed before. "You can see that he cut me so badly that the scar from the injury even followed my soul to the afterlife."

"That's horrible," Carey sighs, unable to say much else. Although the Habs goaltender is relatively silent, Tom can tell that Carey's empathy is present and unexaggerated. Tom nods to show that he agrees with Carey's statement.

"It certainly is, but my feelings about what happened to me on the night of my perishing are no excuse for what I have done to your teams during this past week," Tom admits quietly. "I directed all the anger I let build up at you, which was wholly unnecessary and disrespectful. The five other ghosts in this room helped me recognize that I was coping with my trauma in an unhealthy manner. After that conversation, I reviewed everything I've done since this series began and recognized how much my actions have hurt you. My goal should not have been to get revenge on my murderer. Instead, it should have been to be a better person than him. How does trying to take another person's life make me any better than my killer?"

We remain silent because the words that have just been said by Tom have left us all speechless. It is challenging for most people to admit they were wrong and promise to change their ways, but that is precisely what Tom has just done. Furthermore, he has repeatedly stated his desire to cooperate with us, which leads me to believe that he is not misleading us.

The silence stretches on so long that it makes me uncomfortable, so I attempt to break it by sitting straight up and extending my hand toward Tom.

"I forgive you, Mr. McAfee," I declare. He glares at my hand suspiciously like it is a trap.

Tom looks slowly up at my face, blinking in disbelief. "I...I tried to kill you, though. How can you forgive me after I terrorized you like that?"

"I can forgive you because I understand why you did what you did," I explain calmly as he hesitantly reaches out, preparing to shake my hand. "This does not mean that your actions were excusable, but I understand that you were acting out of anger. I know that emotions can make people do crazy things. Therefore, I forgive you for attempting to murder me."

Tom finally makes up his mind and shakes my hand. Although he is transparent, his hand is solid, and I can shake it like I would shake the hand of a living person.

It reminds me that he was a living person just three years ago. He was a man with a family, friends, a well-paying job, and an enjoyable life. Knowing what I know now about what happened to him at that bar in 2018, I realize that perhaps Tom is not an evil monster after all.