A Little Bite of Magic Goes a Long Way (BxB)

8 ~ Matt

I woke up to a strange and mildly alarming sight.

Pete was standing beside the bed, his apparition casting a faint bluish-white glow over my side of the room.

When I'd seen him in the 'Veil,' he'd looked almost solid, practically indistinguishable from a real person. Well, besides the black-hole eyes.

Now, it was very clear that he was a ghost. I could see through him, and he flickered now and then, blinking in and out of existence like an interrupted projection.

"Pete!" I whispered, sitting up. The fancy watch-gadget Ben had bought me last Christmas told me it was just after 3 in the morning, and Ben himself was snoring softly at my side.

Pete raised a long, pale finger to his thin lips and then gestured for me to follow him.

I jumped up and obeyed, following his spectral glow from the bedroom, down the hall, and then all the way downstairs to the museum.

Pete stopped beside the pedestal displaying the bowling ball to which his spirit was bound, and stroked the green marbled surface of the old sphere with ghostly fingers.

"Pete!" I whispered again. "I can see you!"

I was so excited, I felt tempted to give him a hug, but I wasn't sure he was substantial enough for that.

He showed me his dentist's nightmare of a smile. "Yes, I know."

"Why haven't I seen you since you, er, helped me?" I asked. "Were you on vacation? Can you leave the house, for that matter? Where do you go?"

He held up his hand and I fell silent, waiting for him to speak.

"I have been here," he said. "Although it is far easier to reveal myself to one with a gift such as yours, it still requires energy. Arranging our first...meeting...took quite a bit, and I've been recharging since."

"Oh. Is that like sleeping for you? Or are you aware all the time? I think I would miss sleeping," I added. "What do you miss, Pete?"

A curious expression crossed his gaunt features, and I realized that I might have asked an insensitive question.

"Oh gosh, sorry. I guess you miss everything, huh?"

"Not everything," he said, and chuckled.

I always thought 'chuckle' was the creepiest word for a laugh, and Pete reinforced my belief. His sounded like a bunch of small stones covered in slime being gently rattled around in a cup.

"But, to business, before my energy is gone once more. I witness all things in this house, friend Matt."

"Oh," I said. "Er...all things?"

He lifted a thin, spectral shoulder. "If I choose. Most of the...doings...of the living do not interest me, but occasionally, I find it useful to...observe. For example, the unfortunate conversation you overheard."

"Oh. That."

I'd been trying not to think about it, not to hear Ben's voice on repeat in my head.

"You did not hear all that there was to hear," Pete went on, as though reading my mind.

"I heard enough," I said.

Pete shook his head. "The whole truth is more than you know."

Great. Ben and his dad had probably agreed on the whole laundry list of my faults. If only I'd stuck around for that.

"For the sake of your happiness, you should discover it," he pressed.

I sighed. "I don't know, Pete. Espionage isn't really my strong suit."