Dodgers been at school for a couple months now and he hasn't shown signs of friendship with the other children. Ava, his teacher sent him home yesterday with a note requesting that we talk about Dodgers behavior.
I sat on an old wooden bench, lined up against the wall in the school's hallway, waiting. A dainty ring inside the room marked the end of the school day. Children scuffled around inside, the stools screeching against the wooden floor, and the muffled noise of large books slammed shut followed by a burst of children from the classroom door. They kept pouring from the room, seeming as an endless stream. The crowd lessened, and I was left in the hallway with Dodger. He greeted me with a faint smile.
"Mrs. Ember, can I please have a word with you alone?" Ava stood halfway into the doorway to her classroom beckoning for me to come in with a wave of her hand.
I commanded Dodger to stay as I would a dog.
Inside the classroom I searched for an adult sized chair but the room was without. I grabbed a child's sized seat and sat down. The chair groaned underneath me. This was ridiculous, how was I to be taken seriously when my focus was on balancing my body on the balls of my feet? I feared the wooden legs would snap in half if I put all my weight on it. The teacher has seen many adults place their weight on this poor child-sized seat, she should have at least one adult chair.
"I have to talk to you about Dodgers conduct towards the other children. He doesn't seem to act as a normal child should..." The chair creaked at the hinges, I placed less weight on it. This was more taxing than standing. "…He tends to awkwardly push them away at times with these weird stories..." I shifted again to relieve my aching muscles and the chair bent to my weight. "Mrs. Ember, Dodger is scaring the other children with his stories about 'the other people.'"
I stopped caring about the little chair and focused on her.
"Other people?" I hoped I heard incorrectly.
"He scared the children into believing that there is a monster in the bathroom. He is very detailed about this creature."
"How?"
"They are... colorful, and disturbing. He says, 'It's a hunchback monster with long bloodied claws and a sideways mouth waiting in a dark corner for its prey.'" She winced as she quoted Dodger.
I was in shock, I couldn't speak. What could I say: 'Yes, I've known all along?'
What am I even doing to help Dodger through this? I was hoping the apparitions, hallucinations, or whatever it was, had calmed down a bit. After the night when the cadaverous form in the bedroom appeared Dodger hasn't brought it up again, and I haven't seen anything either. I've read books, hundreds upon hundreds of books. Nothing comes close to describing what we were seeing. How could I seek help when this has never happened to anyone?
"Children are inspired by their role models. Is there something in your house that imprints his mind with these ideas and images?" She said with judgement.
"Are you accusing me of telling Dodger horror stories?" She held up her hands in protest although it was clear it was her allegation.
"Mrs. Ember I didn't say that, I'm concerned. Something is scaring him and he's taking it out on the other children. Maybe talking it over with him, figure out where he's getting these disturbing images from. It will help solve this dilemma."
You're a teacher of mathematics and history, not a teacher for parenting, keep your profession to yourself and I'll be the mom. I prevailed in biting my tongue, she didn't receive my harsh words. What she heard was:
"I'll have a talk with him."
I exited the room without a friendly goodbye.
Our walk home was dreary. Dodger hadn't spoken, and he didn't skip as he walked. I should be talking to him, it's now or never. It was best to bring this up without Daniel or my mother trying to interfere.
"Dodger." The ole 'call out their name sensitively to catch their attention' tone. He faced my direction with the 'oh damn, we're about to have a talk' expression.
"Do you know why the teacher wanted to speak with me today?" He hung his head. I believe that clarified it.
"Dodger, the people you see. Others can't see them."
"You see them?" I knew this was going to come back and haunt me. His hand slipped out of mine as he stopped walking. His head hung lower casting a grim shadow over his face.
"I have seen them, but I'm the only one who has. You promised me you wouldn't talk about them with other people." Dodgers fist made small circles around his eyes, he sniffled and tears made a little puddle before his toes.
"Why are you crying?" I said softly. My heart ached for him.
"I got you in trouble with the teacher." I was moved by his tenderness, he cared about me and that meant the world to me. I squeezed him into my body and chuckled at the thought of how cute he was.
"I'm not in trouble and neither are you." We obstructed the street, but we paid no mind to the people pushing by. We hugged it out until Dodger stopped sobbing and smiled his bright saw-toothed grin.
With his hand snuggled in my own we headed to the safety of our home, but safe is far from what I felt.
"Why didn't you tell me that you saw them at school?" I continued our conversation.
"Can't you see them all?" He asked. His head tilted to the side as he moved his ear in my direction.
"Them all?" My question caused Dodger to frown.
"I thought you could see all of them. Mae, they're everywhere." I didn't feel comforted, I wish I never asked. A sensation tingled in my spine and my neck couldn't stop cranking around to look behind me.
Home was no more comforting than the jam-packed streets of dirty homeless men trying to rub against me just to get their jollies. Home felt threatening to me, something watched with beady eyes from the corners of the apartment, it pried into my personal life. Dodger could see the unseen, but are they real or a figment of his imagination? And why would I be seeing portions of his imagination? I must know the answers or else the darkness will haunt me forever.
~~
I woke bright and early before the Alpha sun. I left Dodger in my mother's care knowing Daniel wasn't home, he's probably passed out at a hotel from drinking and gambling again. I headed back to the cathedral's library shivering with horrid anxiety. I craved Ade'cer's guidance.
"Ade'cer!" I called out his name to a big pile of books thinking he would pop up like a weasel.
"Who calls my name?" I turned, Ade'cer seemed out of place amongst sorted out books cleanly placed on shelfs. "Oh, miss Ember!"
"Please, call me Mae." I smiled not because I was happy to see him, but happy to know that questions would be answered.
"Can we speak in private, please?" He nodded, I followed his silent footsteps to the back of the library. As we progressed down the narrow alley of bookshelves candelabras became the source of light instead of chandeliers. The light dimmed, and dust covered more layers of dust adding a daunting appearance to the cathedral. I was hoping we could have gone somewhere more pleasant.
He sat me down in an area fenced off by shelves. There were three old forgotten chairs with maroon cushioning that had a gray blanket of dust covering it. Ade'er sat on a chair opposite of my own, he plopped into his seat and a cloud of dust burst from the fabric. I sneezed to relieve a tickle nose. The dust was disturbed again and swirled even higher in the air.
"I apologize, I'm usually the only one that cleans the back areas. The library is too large for one monk."
"Dust doesn't bother you?" I rubbed my nose, then sneezed again. He hasn't sneezed at all.
"I guess I've become immune to it." He smiled. "Now, this isn't about your demon friend, is it?" He joked with a snort in his snicker. I chuckled nervously to lighten the dreary mood.
"Actually, it's not about the same demon per se... I'm curious, main symptoms of a possession are well known, but are seeing things like apparitions a symptom?" I decided to stand and paced as I talked. I didn't want to disrupt any more dust.
"If it is a symptom it's news to me." He said while fiddling with his glasses.
"What would cause a ghost to appear?" calling it a ghost made it sounds less threatening. Saying "ghosts" sparked my imagination to think of white billowy sheets that go 'OOooooOOHhhHHH' in the night, a mere children's story. I avoided using 'hallucination' and 'apparition' so it doesn't sound like I went into a forest and ate odd shaped mushrooms and now I'm seeing funny shapes.
"Mental illness." He said with bluntness.
"Excuse me? I don't fully understand."
"You were a priestess, correct?"
For a second I had forgotten my lie from last visit. I nodded, I had no idea where he was taking this conversation.
"The god and goddess created the underworld to keep the dead, dead and separated from the living. This includes ghosts, ghouls, zombies, whatever people can think of that involves the reanimation of souls and spirits or walking rotting bodies. Maybe necromancy could explain the apparitions or ghosts, but the promise of the god and goddess is that they cut off that magical connection to the underworld so our souls can rest in peace and move on without being meddled with. The only explanation to seeing ghosts," He hyphenates 'ghosts' with his fingers. "or apparitions is by being mentally unstable, seeing things that aren't there. Or, necromancy but the last necromancer was Saryn Vail and his books disappeared when he was demonized." He shrugged his shoulders a couple times and waved his hands around in unison with his words to express emotion, almost as if the motions themselves said 'It's as simple as pie' better than his words. It was almost insulting. "Ghosts, ghouls, etc. are what? They are the untreated souls of the god and goddesses' children. To see a ghost or a ghoul is blasphemy against their promise to take care of our souls after death."
"So that's it? Mentally unstable, there isn't another explanation like the dead have found a way to live amongst us?" I sounded very silly, I couldn't think of a better explanation but I highly doubted that what Dodger and I both saw were hallucinations caused by a mental illness. It wasn't just a sight, when they were near I could feel them deep inside my soul.
"You doubt the Godius and Goddessas promise?" He interrogated me with squinty eyes.
"That's not what I said," I said in defense, he was twisting my words. "Has there been any other case when someone claimed to see the dead?"
"Dead? You said ghosts."
"I don't know what it was, whether it was an apparition or a ghost or something dead."
"You saw it?" He said whilst holding up his hand to 'hush' me. I let my guard down.
"I didn't say that." He squinted at me in denial. I needed to change the subject without straying from the actual point. If his answer to the question is mental illness than making him believe I'm insane could get me locked up in the asylum. "Has there ever been any sightings of the living dead?"
"No, there has not been. Only the rantings and ravings of lunatics."
"Thank you, Ade'cer. That's all I needed to know." Just as last time, as I began to walk away Ade'cer spoke.
"If you ever need any more information let me know. I'm an open book." I smiled in his direction hoping I could convince him that 'all was well'.
Before I left the Cathedral, I considered the bulletin board hoping to find any news or leads I could follow. The Cathedrals bulletin board wasn't as big as the town squares and the hot topics were all religious. I scanned the entire board twice then three times until a small piece of paper containing pictures of a mansion with barred windows peeked my interest. The bottom portion of this paper was covered by an event calendar that held priority over it. I unpinned the calendar and covered something of less interest to me.
"Help needed for the Marnettie Mental Institute."
The only explanation to seeing ghosts or apparitions is by being mentally unstable, so Ade'cer claimed. This is where they house the victims to insanity. My best option for answers is through this institution. I read further into the article and something else caught my attention.
"Twenty-three silver coins a week." That'll leave Daniel and I with enough money towards other necessities and giving us hope to living debt free again.
The institution was less than a mile away from the cathedral in the opposite direction of town. I needed to make this stop today or else I wouldn't have the opportunity for another week. I grabbed the paper hoping they still needed help and headed down the road with my dark green cloak wrapped around my shoulders.
I was determined to find answers without being further insulted.