The Mist of Moningsbury

Chapter Seven

The next day it was raining. A warm, soft rain that fell with a gentle patter on the roof of the little shelter. Suzan and another gardener, Lucy, had been tending to the vegetables when they felt the first drizzle land on their heads, and they took to the little wooden shelter nestled in the corner. It had a conical roof and a low wooden bench against the only wall at the back, a spiral of bricks making the floor beneath their feet. Lucy fished out her phone and checked the weather app. The rain was going to last.

"I'm going to head back to the staff room for a while until this stops, you coming with?"

"No thanks Lucy. I think I'll stay here."

Lucy gave her an odd look before saying "Suit yourself." She held her jacket over her head and dashed outside, making a little scream as she inevitably got wet, leaving the walled garden empty. Apart from Suzan.

She leant back against the wood, listening to the calming droplets and finally letting herself think about the day before. She was still reeling from it. As small as it was, when she stepped into her new house that night she had crept around every corner, fearful she might come across another spectre. Thankfully she hadn't. The scariest thing to happen that night was an ominous tapping coming from one of the upstairs rooms. Sneaking in on her tiptoes, knees bent and brandishing a rolling pin, she discovered it was a crow pecking away on the window. Knocking her fist against the glass, she soon scared it away.

She pulled out her phone and messaged Ezra.

'You free?'

'Yeah no tours till 2, where r u'

'Im hiding in the veg patch'

'Find you in a min'

She sat there and waited. She needed to talk to someone. Not knowing how many people she had seen today that were actually real, Ezra felt reliable. Solid for sure. He seemed to be the only one who really believed she might actually be seeing ghosts. Just when she thought she was no longer mad, she might be worse than she could have imagined.

It wasn't long before she saw Ezra jogging through the open gate, umbrella in hand. He sat down next to her with a thump, folding the wet umbrella and lying it on the floor between them.

"So, how are you today?" he asked. Despite the umbrella, the rain had still caught his carefully styled curly hair, although it evidently hadn't dampened his cheerfulness.

She took a deep breath, "I think I believe you. About seeing ghosts."

"Well, a flying candle is hard evidence to deny."

She tried to suppress a smile, "He knocked it over with his hat."

"It still scared the life out of me." He chuckled.

"I don't know what to do Ezra."

He leant back against the wooden boards and folded his arms. "Well, I know what I would do."

"And what's that?" she leaned forward intently.

"I'd find them and talk to them. Make friends of course! How often do you get to hear their actual stories?"

Suzan looked out towards the rain, "I suppose..."

"Unless they look really scary. I didn't think of that. Did Matt look handsome or terrifying?"

"He looked human." She said, finding herself light hearted. Ezra seemed to bring a certain kind of positivity to every situation.

"Handsome then. I've seen a picture of him. Yes, it was in black and white but boy, was he good lookin'."