The Medium Kid

Chapter 19

"Paranoia," Alfie said when Morlen didn't reply to him, only hardened against the couch and clenched his fists, unable to latch his dominance around the medium. "At first, I was sure it was just a dream. I knew what was real. I saw so many things that my mind had made up; I started to see the difference between a hallucination and reality. But this- this I was so sure was a dream, until I saw him do it again with my own eyes." Alfie stopped and frowned. "Who's he?" Looking up, Morlen was staring out of the window, so Alfie looked up to Koda who was staring at the journal.

"I don't know."

Alfie then turned to Enya. Her eyes had glossed over. She was lost in memories until he snapped his fingers, tugging on her attention. "Who's he?" he asked again.

Enya glanced at her husband, then at her son. Her lip twitched as if she was holding something back. "Just read the journal."

Alfie sighed and held the book closer to his face. He usually wore reading glasses, but today he hadn't even thought to bring them. He could feel Koda burning his side with a warmth that was welcomed. Every so often, he felt the twitch in the muscles of his arm that rested against him. Alfie wanted to fantasise about a time where they were comfortable and knew each other like they had been close for years, and sitting this way was as natural to them as breathing, but now was not the time.

"It was small at first," Alfie continued to read Enya's writing out loud. "I would feel it at night, the horrible fear that something wasn't right and by morning, it was gone. Then things would start dying. Fresh flowers would be dead by the afternoon, even if I bought them that very morning. But still, in the back of my mind, I thought it couldn't be real." Alfie was frowning to himself. He didn't understand, but he pressed on. "How do I know if it's not just all in my head? Morlen commented on the flowers and said I should stop buying them. He didn't believe me when I said they died within hours after being in the house. He said I was delusional. Maybe I am."

"I never noticed them," Koda said quietly, not wanting to disturb the silence in between Alfie's voice. "The flowers, she rarely bought them."

"I bought them all the time," Enya said, seating herself on the table in front of her son. She rested a gentle hand on Koda's knee, and he scratched at the denim as if he felt her touching him.

Alfie looked back down to the paper. There was only one more line left to read on that page. His heart shrank, and his throat seized up. "Something is not right," he read. "Death is close, I can feel it, whether it's my death or something much worse. I might be delusional, but my emotions are genuine. Something dark is here, I know it." Alfie stared until the words blurred on the page. "Your mother should have written horrors."

Koda's body softened against him. Alfie didn't realise he wasn't relaxed until it happened. "It's pretty dark, and it only gets stranger from there," Koda sighed.

"If it only gets even more unbelievable, why do you believe what she's saying?" Alfie asked, and Morlen shifted against the cushions.

"Koda said it gets strange, not unbelievable. You need to read it, medium; then you can tell us what you think. You talk to ghosts for a living. If you don't believe it, then I really have lost my mind."

Alfie was surprised by the subtle softness in his voice. Even Morlen's eyes were smoothed at the edges. Morlen seemed to change quickly, just like Koda did. Grief affected them in similar ways.

"I'll keep reading." Alfie held back his attitude this time. With only five minutes of observation, Alfie could tell that Morlen was someone who made an imprint on the lives of those around him in a negative way. His aura irritated his own like washing up liquid in a bowl full of oil. Alfie was the oil and Morlen was the soap, breaking him apart and trying to dominate his space. Though, Morlen was a grieving husband. The medium had to respect his sensitivity and brush it off as mourning. "Also, Enya is still here if you want to talk with her?"