Fiction | Short Story | Fascinate Me Fiction

Haunted Hearts

A Fiction About Embracing Love’s Ghostly Presence

The thunder rolled around in the skies. It had been raining for hours now. It had rained like this that day as well.

As I preened through while driving, I tried to stuff that memory from my head. The visibility was so poor and with kids in the car, I was trying to keep calm and not put my freak on.

“Mommy, the roads are flooded too. I don’t think we will have school today.” my seven-year-old daughter Misha said while drawing on her foggy windows.

On cue, my phone dinged with a text from the school alert. The school was closed. Crap!

I needed to figure out a babysitter now. I was frustrated as I turned the car towards the house.

The orchestra of the rain was now louder. I used to feel raindrops as a soothing music, but that night had made it a painful noise. Again, I brought my mind to my kids, as I opened the garage door.

The kids dragged the bags to the house inside. They loved going to school, so they were not that excited to have to stay at home, getting no screen time on weekdays. It made my heart sad. We used to have so much fun. Now I was angry and non-communicative all the time. I was losing my kids. I was losing my mind.

I was losing myself after I lost him.

“You know what? I am going to call work and say our roads are flooded and our internet is down. So I can’t come to work or work from home. And we will watch movies, and make popcorn. Let’s make a fort.”

“You’re going to lie to your boss?” my kindergartner Jash asked, with his eyes wide open.

“Yes. I want to be on the naughty list.” I tickled him, while I texted my office.

They both laughed, and the tiny bodies suddenly were filled with adrenaline. I went to help them to get the blanket for our fort when there was a loud noise in the living room. We ran to check it out.

There was a hole in the ceiling as the water gushed down. I could see the rain falling in. My heart stopped as I got goosebumps all over. No. no. I cannot do this. What should I do? Where will I go? I felt myself vibrating, with stress, anticipation, and with the need to protect my kids.

Suddenly, there was silence. The rain stopped. An eerie stillness engulfed me. I then realized both my kids were holding my hands, standing as still as possible.

Keep calm. Keep calm. I said to myself over and over, as the three of us went to my bedroom.

“How about you guys play in my room, and I will sit in the bathtub for a little while. I want to clear my head a little. Can Mama have some space?” I asked, trying to hide the desperation, the need to hide and sob.

Misha hugged my legs and said, “I will bring toys for Jash and we will play on your bed.”

My baby was suddenly so aware, always stepping up for me since her dad passed away in a road accident on a wretched rainy day. Our lives changed but I was so thankful for her.

I started filling the tub with hot water, as I stripped myself out of my work clothes. The water hitting the tub made enough noise to drown my sobs away. These were the times I felt undone. These were the times I felt I could not breathe anymore. These were the times I felt why it was not me, instead of him.

I sat in the hot water, my skin scalding but I needed that pain. I stared at the bathroom wall tiles, making eyes and a mouth from the tile design. The more I stared at it, the more the face evolved. I blinked, and the face formed was of Jason. I looked at it lovingly, and then sent a flying kiss, saying, “I miss you.”

“I miss you too.” The face spoke. Jason spoke.

I do not believe in spirits or ghosts or anything supernatural. I am a scientist at the Top Pharmaceutical company. Science is my religion. But the face spoke to me.

I could feel a cold freezing air encapsulating me, even though I sat in the hot water.

I blinked and carefully looked at it, “Jason. If you are here, tell me you love me.” I was desperate.

“I love you.” the face said, with the kindness that only Jason had.

My whole world stopped at that moment, while all my floodgates opened. I cried as I stared at him.

“Look at me. Listen to me. Pack your bags. Take all the important documents of you, and of kids. Rest all the documents and copies are in our shared drive. Leave the house now. Drive while there is still light and don’t stop till you are at least three cities away. I will always watch over you. Now go.” and the face slowly dissolved.

I felt a push from the tub, as the water drained on its own. My blood seemed frozen, and my limbs were not in my control.

What just happened?

Again I felt a push, propelling me to get out of the tub. Was I hallucinating? I stopped my medication a long time ago so I could focus on kids.

Another sharp jab near my ribs and before I knew it, I said,” Stop Jason. It is not funny.”

Jason used to do that. Poking me, tickling me, always around me. He is still doing that. Is he though?

The hot water from the bathtub had steamed up all the bathroom mirrors. As I looked into the mirror, figuring out my reality, a word started forming on the mirror.

“Sanjh, Go Now. PLEASE!!!”

The three exclamation marks. I was breathing hard when I jumped out of my skin with a knock on the door.

Misha burst in through the door but stopped in her tracks as she stared at the mirror.

Then she looked at me.

“Did you see him too?” Misha asked, her eyes brimming with tears.

I was bewildered.

“Daddy said we have to go now. Come.” And she grabbed a towel-clad me into the closet. She found my weekend bag and nudged me slowly mouthing “Pack.”

I absentmindedly packed some necessities and clothes. I dressed up in my denim and grabbed a sweatshirt of Jason. His smell was still there.

I came out to see Misha had packed for herself and her brother in a duffel bag. Both were holding their blankets and their favorite toy.

I forced myself as I went to grab the documents and grabbed my wedding photo, the photo of us four, and gave one last look at the house.

I was unsure of what I was doing but we three embarked on a journey to nowhere.

After a hundred and fifty miles, when we crossed the border of the nearest state, my body felt alert. I wasn’t driving anymore. I felt I was being driven. We stopped at a hotel and the three of us made a blanket fort.

The next morning, while we ate breakfast in our beds, I clicked the TV to watch the news.

“ The city flooded and the mudslides caused huge destruction. 100 people are still missing while the whole neighborhood near Cherry Hill has been wiped out. This kind of destruction was last seen during Katrina.”

I started trembling and rocking back and forth. I could feel Misha standing very still next to me.

“Daddy saved us.” She said, as she slowly put her tiny hands in mine.

I sighed, with tears, with love, “Yes, he did that”.

Fascinate Me Fiction has me writing fiction. So far I am enjoying writing about the supernatural. Let me know your feedback.