GHOST 👻 (A Paranormal Romance)

Secrets

I look at Julia dumbfounded. Could I have missed my grandmother being psychic? Did we cancel out each other's powers, like crossed electrical currents? Even worse, how could I have missed Julia being involved with Jerry! I think my sadness has somewhat blinded me to my grandmother's innate abilities. Thank goodness Dylan's pulled me back into a vibrant world of the living. I guess love empowers us to grow, making us see inner paths to our hearts. Perhaps, like invisible lay lines running over the earth.

Suddenly, Julia's face goes slack and her eyes seem to blank out. For a moment, I think she's overdosed on chocolate and alcohol. Concerned, I lean forward. "Julia, are you all right?" She doesn't answer, almost catatonic. She looks like she's been frozen by a ray gun. Frightened, I try to snap her out of her unnaturally silent state. "Julia!" I loudly call her name, then breathe a sigh of relief when her eyes come back into focus.

She looks over at me, a big smile crinkling up her eyes. "Jellybean!" She says with glee.

I stop breathing. That was the nickname my mother always called me! Amazed, I realize my mother, Sarah's spirit, is staring at me out of Julia's eyes.

"Mom? I whisper. "Is that you?"
It's a dumb question because it's obviously her. Julia's face is lit up and jovial like a teenager's, my mother's mannerisms mischievously playing over her face. I quickly try to pin down her intention. "Mom, what are you doing here?"

Julia/Sarah's mouth turns down in troubled concern. She almost has tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry I wasn't there for you." she says. "I miss you," she adds in a whisper. Instantly, I feel like I'm going to cry. My mother never talked to me like this when she was alive. Especially, during the last few years of her life. Now she's highjacking living bodies.

"It's all right mom." I try to console her. "I know how sad and lonely you were raising me by yourself." I look at her questioningly, "Why are you here, inside of grandma?"

She laughs. "Well, she bought all that damn chocolate, how could I resist." I can't help laughing with her. Besides her mood swings, my mother was a serious chocoholic when she was alive. "Seriously, what brought you here?"

She looks at me with love and concern. "I had to tell you so you'd understand. Julia doesn't have The Sight." It was me. I'm the one who jumped into her and tried to shoot Harlan. Don't encourage her to believe she's psychic. She has enough problems."

I silently agree, then I look at her questioningly. "Is Julia going to be alright?"

My mother laughs. "Yes, once I leave she won't remember anything." We hear footsteps in the hallway and my mother quickly says, "I had a diary. It's hidden in the floorboards of your bedroom. I want you to read it."

There's a knock on the door. Dylan's here. He pops his head in the room smiling brightly. "Hey Lizzy! How are you feeling?"

When I look back over at Julia she's eating another bon bon. My mother's gone.

Thank you for reading!👻