Shifting Read online

  “That’s absolutely appalling, Jae,” breathed Meghan.

  “Yes, it is,” he agreed.

  The twins now understood Billie’s actions the previous day, too. The woman in the photo: she had not seen her in eleven years. The picture was getting clearer.

  “No wonder they don’t trust anyone,” sent Meghan to Colin.

  “The words, welcome to Hell come to mind!” he declared. She had never heard her brother use such a strong word.

  Outside of the wagon, the sky was darker and the foggy air smelled stale. There were trees, but they were leafless and dead.

  “Is there a way, Jae, to at least keep in contact with the other groups?” asked Colin, hesitantly.

  “We do leave messages behind. Problem is, sometimes another Svoda group may not get them for months, or years.” Jae stopped at a small stone bridge. Two tall dead trees grew up out of the bridge, and the stream bed below had long dried up. With the exception of a few Svoda Gypsies (who couldn’t take their eyes off the twins) the town was deserted. They crossed the bridge, and so far, Grimble did not prove impressive. The buildings were empty and run down. Nothing looked open for business. Then, as they stepped off the bridge, silvery shadows formed, some floating in the air.

  Without any warning, one such shadow floated right by Colin’s face.

  “Was that a ghost?” asked Meghan.

  22

  “That’s why it’s a little hard to explain,” laughed Jae, seeing their faces. “Grimble is a ghost town,” he explained. All at once, silvery essences floated into and out of walls, buildings, and even the ground. Some you could see straight through and some looked like they were alive.

  Yet you could tell they were dead, as their movements flowed easily across the ground and their bodies shimmered as they did so.

  “This isn’t like any other ghost town I’ve ever seen,” said Colin, coming around. “This is impressive!”

  “Oh, I think one of them touched me,” whined Meghan. Jae and Colin broke into amused laughter.

  “It does take a bit of getting use to,” said Jae. “But don’t worry, the worst it can do is leave you feeling the cold, creepiness of death.”

  Colin continued laughing at Meghan until he felt the rush of something icy against his skin. A ghost floated up out of the ground on the exact spot Colin stood. It bellowed something about getting out of the way, and flew off.

  “Not so pleasant, is it?” chided Meghan.

  “C’mon. Something I wanna show you guys,” said Jae. They jogged a few buildings down and stopped at the least colorful candy shop the twins had ever seen. Each item was black, gray, or some other version of that color. “Wait here,” said Jae, racing inside.

  A group of ghost children had gathered outside of the shop, arguing. Jae exited the store handing the twins a black piece of soft candy. “Watch,” he said, nodding toward the arguing ghost children.

  A few of the ghosts were daring another ghost to try a certain kind of candy, which he did not want to do. Eventually, he caved. Seconds later, he was no longer a ghost, but a living boy! He ran crazily, not believing he was alive again. Seeing the living Colin, Meghan and Jae, he rushed over, rubbing his hands over their faces.

  “I can feel things again.” As instantaneously as he had transformed into the living boy, he changed back into the ghostly boy. His smile faded and he went back into the candy store, exiting with a pocketful of the candy.

  “Was that supposed to be funny?” asked Meghan, equally troubled and stunned by what she had witnessed.

  “No, that wasn’t. He’s probably new here. The older ones are teasing him.”

  “What are we holding?” asked Colin cautiously.

  Jae popped a piece into his mouth, grinning smugly. The twins watched as his body dissolved into a ghostly image.

  “It only lasts about thirty seconds,” he yelled down to the twins, floating higher and higher into the air. “But it’s like nothing else you’ve ever tried!” Meghan didn’t wait. She popped hers in and closed her eyes, hard, as if expecting something to explode. She transformed and floated past Jae, on his way down.

  “This is so cool,” she shouted. “Colin, try it! It doesn’t hurt or anything.” Not wanting to be outdone by Meghan he popped his in. Colin changed and passed his sister as she descended to the ground. He drifted to the rooftop. Feeling unstable, he grabbed the building.

  23

  A cloaked figure stood atop the roof. The figure held a leaf in its hand, speaking to it. A distressed female voice replied back, seemingly out of the leaf.

  “We’re not ready yet. I hope it’s not too soon for them to be there.”

  “I think we can use the situation to our advantage,” argued the cloaked figure; it was a man’s voice. He was cut off by the female voice.

  “Behind you!”

  The cloaked man turned, eyeing Colin, who let go of the roof and pointed himself downward.

  Halfway down he began to change back, and plunged toward the ground. Meghan closed her eyes, having no desire to watch her brother fall. Jae, thinking smartly, used magic to slow him.

  He landed with a soft thud. Meghan and Jae scurried to his side.

  “Are you all right?”

  Colin rubbed his neck.

  “I think so.”

  “That was too close,” said Jae, relieved. “If you’d gotten injured, mom’d never let us have ghost candy again.”

  Colin’s thoughts strayed to the man on the roof.

  “Jae, is there a safe place to talk around here?” he blurted out.

  “There’s a pub not many Svoda visit. Why?”

  “Let’s just go there,” replied Colin.

  Meghan and Jae eyed Colin questioningly. As they entered the pub, the twins and Jae caught an adult aged ghost peeking around a corner. Was he spying on them? The ghost, noticing he’d been caught, floated away.

  Jae scoped out a table near the back. One lone member of the Svoda was working behind the counter, alongside a pretty ghost waitress. Jae bought three tonics and returned to the twins.

  “They like it when we come here. They need living people to do work for them sometimes, for when other living people happen to travel through.”

  “Other living people travel through the doorways, too?” questioned Meghan.

  “On occasion,” he answered.

  Colin, impatient, interrupted.

  “Is it for sure safe to talk?” he asked Jae.

  “What’s up?” inquired Meghan, extremely curious. Colin waited for Jae to answer.

  “As long as we’re quiet, yeah, it’s fine.”

  “I saw something strange on the roof of the candy shop.”

  “I knew something was up,” retorted Meghan. “Otherwise you’d have never stayed up there that long.”

  Colin ignored her and continued.

  “There was someone in a cloak on the roof, talking into a leaf that he held in his hand.”

  “What were they talking about?” asked Jae, unfazed by Colin’s news.

  “All I heard was something about not being ready and hoping it’s not too soon for them to be there.”

  “Them?” questioned Meghan.

  “The only them being discussed at the moment is you two,” said Jae.

  24

  The twins grew distraught. Colin sent a thought to his sister.

  “Are we safe here? Should we stay?”

  “Where would we go?”

  Jae interrupted their thoughts.

  “How strange, too, that he used a leaf. That’s definitely magical.”

  “Plus, I think it was the leaf that caught me looking.”

  Jae spit out his tonic.

  “You were caught!”

  “Yes, but only for a second because I started falling.”

  “What should we do, Jae?” asked Meghan, panicking.

  “I have no idea. But if it was you they were talking about, and then they caught you spying…” Another thought dawned on Colin.
/>   “Um, Jae. I don’t understand how it all works, but is there any way we could use a leaf to try and reach our uncle?”

  Meghan perked up, but Jae promptly smothered the idea.

  “We do use leaves to send messages, but only in the same world we are in. I’ve never heard of any way to gather enough magical energy to send one to another world, never mind figure out how it would get there.”

  The twins resigned again in defeat.

  “So who could the guy on the roof have been talking to?” wondered Meghan.

  “It would have to be someone in Grimble,” Jae told them. The topic ended as from the corner of her eye, Meghan noticed that the spying ghost was back, hiding in a corner.

  “How bizarre. I’ve never known a ghost to spy before,” said Jae, who shook his head, adding,

  “Excitement seems to follow you two!”

  The trio decided to test the ghost. They left the pub and trekked slowly, to see if it followed.

  “Where do all these ghosts come from, Jae?” asked Colin as they walked.

  “Best I understand it Grimble is a waiting room of sorts. I guess this is where they come if they have unfinished business to attend to after they die. Grimble is set aside though, for those with some tie to the magical world.”

  “Some of these ghosts have died recently, then?” said Meghan.

  “If we died, is this where we would come?” asked Colin, catching on to Meghan’s train of thought.

  “I never thought about it,” answered Jae. “I suppose it’s possible, but there are other places like Grimble. It’s not the only afterlife ghost town.” Jae finally caught on to what the twins were hoping, but dashed that hope straightaway.

  “I’m sure if your uncle were here, he’d have made himself known.”

  “If there are so few magical people, how come there are so many ghosts?” asked Colin.

  “I guess you’ll find out soon enough that the Svoda are not the only remaining magical clan.

  We’re one of the biggest, but there are many others.” Jae then pointed out, “We’re definitely being followed.” Jae motioned for them to take a path leading into the woods.

  “Why are you following us?” Jae demanded, confronting the ghost. The pale face of a young man smiled at them, floating closer. The trio backed up, unsure of the ghost’s intent.

  25

  “It’s really you,” he aimed his words at the twins. “I’ve waited such a long time, let me look at you.”

  “I think you’ve mistaken us for someone else,” stammered Colin. “We’re not supposed to be here, you see.”

  “Who says you’re not supposed to be here? You’re here aren’t you? I’ve been waiting a long time, so if you don’t mind, I would like to speak to the two of you, alone.”

  “Why?” asked Meghan.

  “The short version, I have a message for you.”

  “A message for us! Is it from our uncle? Is he here? Was he here?” begged Meghan.

  “Arnon? Why do you ask this?” pressed the ghost.

  “How do you know his name?” Meghan asked impatiently.

  “I am afraid we have gotten off on the wrong foot,” sighed the ghost.

  “Spying didn’t help,” chided Jae.

  “I am not here to harm you, and anyways, that wouldn’t be possible, since the magic of ghosts doesn’t work on the magic of the living.”

  “I’d forgotten that,” said Jae. He said to the twins, “Stay and get your message. I’ll wait in town. You can find me when you’re done.”

  “We don’t mind if you stay Jae,” insisted Colin, unsure he wanted to be alone with this ghost.

  “No, it’s okay. The message is not for me. Besides, you can always tell me later, if you want.” Jae left them alone with the unfamiliar ghost.

  “I must ask, what has befallen Arnon?”

  Meghan decided she wanted answers first.

  “What gives you the right to know?”

  The ghost asked them to sit on a bench nearby. He then floated to their eye level, the lower part of his body disappearing into the ground.

  “My name is Eddy. Arnon is my brother.”

  The twins were speechless, and for some uncontrollable reason, Meghan fought off tears.

  Eddy took out a piece of the ghost candy.

  “I’ve been saving this for a special occasion. They say ghosts can get addicted to the feeling of being alive again. He put the candy in his mouth and there before them was their newfound uncle, alive and breathing. His unshaven face chuckled.

  “Oh. How strange a feeling.”

  Colin wondered why they had never seen any pictures of him, and was about to ask when Eddy interrupted.

  “How about, before I change back, a quick hug from my…” before he could finish they were in his arms.

  It was the best feeling either of them had felt since their whole nightmare had begun. Almost as soon as it started, their uncle’s body began to fade beneath them. The twins had so many questions that they were not sure where to start. Meghan began, firstly, by telling them about Uncle Arnon’s unknown fate.

  “I can at least say that I have not seen Arnon here, so that at least can give us hope that he has survived. However…”

  26

  The twins understood that Eddy knew no more than they.

  “Does any of this surprise you, Uncle Eddy?” Colin was happy to say the word uncle again.

  “No, nothing surprises me with your story.”

  “Not even the magic or the Scratchers?” asked Colin.

  “Not even those,” Uncle Eddy replied. “Which leads me to why I am here.” The twins listened eagerly.

  “May I see your book, Colin? The one you’re hiding under your sweater?” Colin was nervous to take it out, but obliged. He held it up for his uncle to see; being a ghost, he could not touch it.

  “Pristine condition, marvelous news!” he exclaimed.

  “Can you tell us what this book is, Uncle Eddy?” asked Colin.

  “Yes. But not here or now.”

  “When?” pleaded Meghan, happy they would see their unfamiliar relative again.

  “We’ll start tomorrow. We have much to do and not much time to do it in!”

  “How will we find you? I hope we’ll be allowed to come to Grimble again,” said Meghan.

  “I think that with your good behavior today, they will allow you out of their sight while the other children are in school.”

  “Good behavior?” croaked Colin, recalling the ghost candy incident. He retold the tale to their uncle.

  “That’s an odd tale, but don’t fret. It’s likely it had nothing at all to do with the two of you.” Eddy didn’t look like he believed his own words. “My best advice is to be mindful of your actions, and do your best not to make any enemies.”

  “We’ll try, but I don’t know about the Svoda,” said Meghan, rolling her eyes.

  “They may not be trusting yet, but give them time, and no reason not to, and you’ll be fine.”

  “Somehow, I think by us just being, we could get into trouble with the Svoda,” added Colin.

  Eddy made a move as to pat Colin on the shoulder but his ghostly hand sifted right through.

  Colin shuddered.

  “Sorry!” Eddy said. “I have not interacted with living people in a few years now. I am also afraid our meeting for today must end.”

  The twins groaned.

  “No worries, I’m not going anywhere yet!”

  “Would you like to meet our friend Jae? We’re staying with his family.”

  “Do you trust this boy? Because I must admit, for reasons I will not currently explain, I must remain a secret from your gracious hosts.”

  “Jae would never tell if we asked him not to,” answered Colin.

  “Our secrets keep adding up,” noted Meghan.

  “Perhaps they do, but all for good reason,” acknowledged Eddy.

  Colin raced away and was back a minute later with Jae.

  “This i
s our Uncle Eddy,” introduced Colin.

  Jae broke into a bewildered smile.

  “You’re kidding! That’s amazing.”

  Eddy then bid them farewell.

  27

  “Meet me here tomorrow,” he said, as he vanished into the woods.

  The trio departed Grimble, crossing the bridge and heading back toward Bedgewood Harbor.

  “I’ve never seen that before,” said Jae in disbelief. “All the other ghosts I’ve met have unfinished business in other places, but never have I seen one waiting for their business to arrive here.”

  “Whatever the case, I can’t wait until tomorrow,” said Colin. Meghan agreed. It was one bright spot, in a seemingly not too bright future. Her mind strayed to when they would have to say goodbye and move on. Colin caught the thought.

  “Why couldn’t we stay here with Uncle Eddy?” he suggested. “Why not wait here for the doorway to reopen?”

  “I hadn’t thought of that. We should ask him, when the moment is right.” Jae could not get over the twins’ uncle staying behind in the after life, waiting for them to arrive.

  “He wants to see us as much as possible,” said Meghan.

  “At least you’ll have something to do while I’m at school.” It was exactly what the twins wanted to hear.

  “I think we should keep him a secret,” suggested Meghan, hoping they were not pushing their luck.

  “You’re probably right,” agreed Jae. “Gets easier to break the rules once you’ve already done it, huh?” he added in a low, insinuating voice.

  The twins unfortunately agreed.

  “Still,” worried Meghan, “it’s like we are teetering on the edge of complete destruction.” That evening, as the twins headed for bed, each noticed a small package on their pillows.

  Hearing each other find a similar package they glanced out of their curtains.

  “Wonder what these are?” Meghan sent to Colin, who opened his.

  “It’s a notepad,” he sent back to her. Meghan’s package was the same and a horrible thought struck her.

  “School! They’re gonna make us go to school,” she cried out, afraid they would have to stand up their uncle. Colin came close to agreeing, until something slipped out of his notepad.