A Spirit's Touch

Four. The Slightest Touch

It was finally Saturday, the day Judith was counting down towards. She finally had some much needed company arriving. Being alone in the house since Monday was starting to somewhat grate in her.

She was in the shower with three more hours to spare before the scheduled eleven AM visit.

Judith had the water at a steaming temperature. Partly because she was starting to get annoyed with the sudden cold spots that would come and go in the house.

The glass walls surrounding the shower had misted over and the steam made it difficult to see outside of the square cubicle.

To her side, the water sliding down the glass paused ever so slightly and changed angles before falling again. The running drops all followed the same pattern as if the path was now blocked and stream formed to the side of the blockage.

There was something pressing against the glass inside the cubicle next to Judith although she did not notice anything odd straightaway.

Judith suddenly turned her position to face the affected glass and the water was released just as quickly.

She reached down for the shower gel but as she stood upright again she tensed up. A small chill briefly caught the back of her neck and a faint breeze brushed past her ear like someone was gently blowing on her.

Her mind was screaming at her to respond, to freeze with fear. On the outside Judith did little to respond and overcame her tense terror. She was finally in a good mood and was not going to let this overcome her.

She began humming to herself and hurried up the process of scrubbing her body so she could get the hell out of there.

I knew Poltergeist wasn't the ideal film to watch alone on a Thursday night, Judith thought as she walked back to the bedroom wrapped in a towel.

Indeed it was not the best movie to watch as since then her thoughts became irrational, every slight noise she heard struck the possibility that she could be living in a haunted house.

The feeling that she was being touched while she slept never went away and a couple of times she woke up to a vivid dream of being fondled.

Pull yourself together, woman, she told herself. Now was not the time to be thinking of ghosts.

Judith dried her hair and dressed quickly, avoiding any sudden cold spots was the plan while in a towel.

With two hours still to spare Judith made coffee and sat in the front room. She turned on Netflix to watch a random show.

She was more interested in catching up on reading but felt a little uncomfortable with no background noise and the strange going ons in the house.

Pet Sematary did not feel appropriate at the moment but Judith was a sucker for a good horror story.

It could have been another hour before all Judith knew but she was so invested in the novel that she did not notice the slight breeze above her head until it fell upon the sleeves of her shirt.

She rolled her head backwards and removed her glasses, a break was needed she thought but, Just one more page, you're near the end of the chapter, Judith.

It was then that she knew something was not right. The air around her forehead was colder and it seemed to press against her clothes, causing goosebumps to prick at the fabric.

The cold spot grew wider and Judith began to feel it pulsate, like breath on her neck. She paused, stared at the page in front of her. Fear halted her from any movement.

Is someone there? She asked, although unaware not out loud. She felt paralysed, unable to move.

The cold energy surrounded her like a blanket but it provided no comfort. Almost like a shroud she began to feel the air become heavy like a weight bearing down on her.

Then Judith felt it, a hand pressed against her arm; gripped her sleeve with intent and stroked down her forearm and brushed against her own hand.

Judith screamed in terror, "Fuck!" She flung her book to the floor and jumped to her feet. She ran out into the hall and slammed the door behind her.

Momentarily she pressed her back against the door before sliding down into a seating position, bringing her knees up to her face.

"What the hell was that?" She began sobbing. "I can't be here, I need to get out," she cried aloud. Tears formed. She rubbed her eyes and realised she left her glasses behind.

She tried to change her anxious mind into more abrupt positive thoughts, I don't need to go, that thing does.

With a new determination, Judith stood up and pushed open the door. "Hello?" She called, "Who's in here?"

There was no answer, Obviously, Judith frowned, she did not know why she expected one.

The room was exactly how she left it in her frightened dash, as in it was nothing at all like how she left it. This made Judith very cautious and afraid.

Her blanket was carefully folded on the sofa and her glasses and the book she was reading were placed very neatly on the small coffee table. The mug from her last coffee was gone and Judith suspected she'd find it in the kitchen sink.

"Who's there?" She finally had the courage to ask again, "Who's there?" She asked louder.

"Judith, its me!" Came a sudden muffled voice.

"Jesus Christ!" Judith cried as she nearly jumped out of her own skin. She turned on her heels and was about to run before she saw a familiar face in the window. Her heart skipped a beat.

"Are you ok? Open the door!" Rose stood in the garden staring through the window.

"Sorry!" Judith replied. "Coming!" She went to the front door and unlocked it to invite her friend inside.

Relief swept over like a wave, finally a chance to be normal. If this all happened to be in her mind then a date with her closest friend would surely take her mind of it.

Whether or not she wanted to tell Rose about the strange occurrences was yet to be decided.

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Word count- 4695