Riiinggg.
Isabella was calling. Josh picked up the call.
"Where are you? We're about to have our dinner. Your dad said you did not come to work."
"Mom, I'm just around, hanging out with friends. I won't be long."
"I trust you son."
"Yes mom."
She hung up.
The three were in the banquet hall. Then, they climbed up the spiral staircase, carrying penlights and flashlights as the caretaker had shut off all the lights. Along the corridor to Josh's bedroom, something glinted in the dark. They came closer to the object to see better—a candle floated! Hurriedly, they jumped, clung to each other like toads.
It was Jan who first came back to himself; then, he boldly addressed the spirit, "Who are you?"
There was no reply.
The candle dropped on the floor. The three tried to beat each other to Josh's bedroom. Then, they were laughing like little kids, more to take the jitters away. When they had thought to have relieved themselves of momentary fear, they lay on the bed, covered themselves with a wide blanket. They'd decided to sleep in one bed. Their heads bobbed up every now and then from under the flannel cover. They couldn't sleep, not yet. They were trying to feel if the ghost was still present.
So, they were looking for me. Find me.
Then, I let a few papers slipped from a desk and let it float in the dark.
"Look at those papers," Josh whispered.
"I can see," Fr. Robert answered.
Jan wasn't talking.
"Don't try to scare him Jan, or he'll be gone again." Josh said.
Jan was quiet. There was a deafening silence.
The papers whizzed in the air as the three kept staring, mesmerized into looking at the phantom that wasn't at all making himself or herself appear or visible even with their ghost catcher, not a slightest thin hair, if there ever was. In a little while, the papers had fallen gently, one by one.
When they turned the light on, they were surprised to find the papers neatly arranged on the desk.
"That was cute," Josh mumbled.
"Yes."
"Yes."
The three closed their eyes and forced themselves to sleep, but they couldn't.
As they reached their REM stage, they saw another candle afloat in the dark.
"Shush…" Fr. Robert looked at Jan; slowly he groped for his eyeglasses that was on the side-table and put it on; this time, his hands were a little shaky. They slipped off their bed and followed the flicker of light. It went past the bedroom, walked them through and then out of the mansion, onto the lake where on the side a palindrome portal sparkled brightly.
The three friends looked at each other; asked whether they would come inside the opening. Then, they walked slowly; hesitant. The palindrome was like a black hole. Once they stepped on its ridge which whirled like the events horizon, it moved rapidly and they were sucked into its core. They had to shut their eyes for a while as they couldn't stand the gravity inside. Wait, they hadn't weight at all. They were floating in space. A few seconds passed and they were toppled on a grass land; appalled to see where they were. They heard dogs howling. A deja entendu. Where could they possibly be?
The three shook off the dust and weed residues on their shirts and pants. Then, they were looking at a woman standing close by.
"Who are you?" Fr. Robert asked the woman.
The woman looked around her. "Where am I?" She, too, was filled with grass and dust. She looked at the three men and very soon came to realize that she was staring at those three faces in that big house. Her mouth agape, she proclaimed in a loud voice: "I am free!" and raised her arms to heaven.
The ghost-busters looked at each other. They were wondering. Who is this woman? They did a rewind of what happened. They were in the big house; drowsed themselves to sleep when they saw a candle afloat in the wind and the tiny thing led them on to a portal.
Then, Jan exclaimed: "I knew it!" His eyes widened.
"… l'esprit at the mansion."
Josh and Fr. Robert were stupefied but thought that Jan was right. They were looking at him. Like the soothsayer, they, too, were excited. After all, the lady was pretty.
"Where are you going?" asked Fr. Robert curiously.
The woman was examining herself. She frowned, trying to comprehend things, shook her head in disbelief. Then, she looked at them with a blank expression on her face. Right, she heard the question. Suddenly, it dawned on her that she had no one in her life. Poor lady! She paused as they looked at her.
Fr. Robert was staring at her with a look of concern. After a while, he, too, was in deep thought. "You might as well come with us if you don't know where you are going."
She nodded. She recognized Fr. Robert. "Aren't you the priest?"
Fr. Robert was surprised that she knew. "Yes. How do you know?" His forehead wrinkled.
She shrugged her shoulders off, dismissing the question. She didn't want that they might be frightened if she told the truth.
"It is too risky to be alone in this kind of place, don't you think so?"
She nodded.
They all walked quietly.