Slave: The Ghost of Cambria - Book Two

Chapter Eleven

"So, what's your story?" Elaine asked when Kristen as she reached for the short latte that had been placed atop the café table between them.

To Kristen's joy, there was a Starbucks located in the lobby of the Target department store. It was a lucky bit of converged commercialism that provided a highly-visible public setting to quell the hesitant woman's apparent concerns about being approached by a nut job.

"I think my house is haunted," answered Kristen pointedly.

"Oh," Elaine's eyes widened. "What have you seen?"

"Before I tell you, let me first say that I'm a clinical psychologist," Kristen revealed. "I'm a doctor who regularly works with patients suffering from various types of mental disorders, many of which produce hallucinations and delusions that I must help them overcome and survive. I'm telling you this, so you understand when I say that I'm a verified skeptic about anything to do with the supernatural. Until a couple weeks ago, you and I would never have had this conversation.

"Okay, that's cool," Elaine shrugged. "I realize we run a paranormal talk show, but I'm also reasonably skeptical about all of the stuff we discuss. It's often that very skepticism that fuels our comedy on the show. But I still force myself to remain open to the stories and ideas we present."

"I guess I need you to teach me how you do that," admitted Kristen. "My father raised me within a strictly scientific viewpoint that demands a concentrated level of scientific evidence even to admit that gravity is the reason tree leaves fall to the ground. There's never been room in my life for ghosts, spirits, or demons. Certainly, none of the things I'm about to share with you."

"I love that," Elaine smiled. "If something's happened that can make you, of all people, question what you know, I'm extremely interested in what you have to say."

Elaine reached for her small blue suede handbag and pulled out her cell phone.

"Do you mind if I record this?" she asked. "I won't play it on the air, or anything. I just don't want to forget anything you tell me."

"Sure, I do the same thing at my job," agreed Kristen. "Let's just call me Krissy - that's what my dad called me. I'm not going to tell you my real name. You're not going to get me to let my guard down to that extent."

"Fair enough," offered Elaine, and she searched through her cell phone screens for the voice recording app. "Okay, I'm sure I've got this bad boy going right, and I'll lay it here on the table between us."

The woman drew back when the phone was positioned on the flat surface between their beverages and looked up without a word, ready to hear Kristen's story.

"There's a ghost named Valon who speaks to me through my dreams. He comes to me each time I fall asleep in my house. If my dog is in the room with me, I wake up before the climax of the dream. But if I'm alone, the dreams resolve with sexual intercourse with the ghost."

"Holy shit!" Elaine's eyebrows raised. "When did this start happening?"

"My father passed away last month, so I've been up in Cambria preparing to sell his house - organizing a renovation to get a better sale price. Since the week I arrived, I've had erotic dreams almost every time I've gone to sleep, usually about a boyfriend. But near the end of each dream, I realize I'm dreaming. That's when the boyfriend becomes a stranger I've never met before."

"That's the ghost? You called him Valon?" asked Elaine.

"Exactly," Kristen verified. "And when I wake up, Valon is lying beside me, looking as real to my eyes as you do at this very moment. And then, after a few moments, he vanishes right before my eyes."