Trickster

CHILDERMAS (continued).

"Bra-vo! I see that you´re really taking this Thousand business pretty seriously Adrian, no doubt about it you´ll be getting far with that..."

"It´s you again, little girl, welcome back!" That sweet and eerie voice could only belong to Caroline. This time she looked different; she wore a black dress and she had a wreath covered with white withered roses. As usual, the room grew horribly cold and I wasn´t prepared for the occassion; I was kinda hoping that alcohol would help me make it through.

"YES IT´S ME! Did you like the spiral heart?"

"Which one?" I asked timidly.

"The one that´s on the locket, of course!"

"I don´t recall that spiral being there, only the message behind it, I unraveled it, so if you have any more riddles for me, let me know."

"Never mind,  she´ll find IT."

"What about IT?"

"It meant everything to me! It creates a labyrinth, doesn´t it? Funny how you can get lost in it..."

"For crying out loud, what do you know about love? What were you, like ten when you died?"

"Just as much as you do. Tell me, you haven´t forgotten the one who scarred you...I can see that you still think about her every now and then."

"Who the Hell are you talking about?" I felt a sudden chill running down my spine.

"The raven haired girl in the painting," and she walked across the room pointing at the portrait which was covered in a large black cloth. Not Lisa, not now.

"Why do you keep it and who is she? From what I can tell she came from the same town as you?"

"You know it ain´t any of your business to go around sneaking into people´s private lives just like that!"

"Aren´t you going to tell who she is?"

"For a ghost you´re very alive, did you know that? And very nosy too."

"I could help you find her..."

I felt for a second there as though she was poking my dark side, well, one of the many I could probably have.

"No thanks! I appreciate your gift which came out of the blue, but you´re doing me any more favors finding an ex-girlfriend."

"She seems like she liked these things you laugh about now, what others can´t explain..."

"Yes, she did, but I hated her for that."

"Then you didn´t hate her at all, you hate the fact of being a seer!"

"Look, I,  I´m just trying to cooperate with IT, what else do you want from me?"

"The other girl interferes..."

"Who? Are you talking about Edith? Is that why you wanted me to give her the locket? You better stay away from her, missy or else..."

"What? You can´t kill me, I´m dead, remember?"

"I have never been good at obeying people and I´m certainly not gonna take orders from dead ones..."

She sat on the ground as she felt somewhat tortured by my harsh words. Her wide eyes moved me as they started to look cloudy.

"Do you think it´s easy for me to have a gift and not being able to use to save others?!" she protested. "NO ONE LISTENED TO ME, no one did that night of the fire, and it sure was big. Mother never believed me, she really did care about me when she could, but, but...she never got it, the gift of mine."

"Oh, c´mon now, don´t cry; it´s not a curse, in fact I´ll use to help others."

"Well, good luck with that, if you achieve that, then you´ll be able to set me free."

"And how long do you suppose that´s gonna take? A year, two, maybe?"

"No, much less than that. Wait until all of your paintings are sold. The Thousand will be able to see you through them and when that happens your visions will be shared with them."

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean? Caroline!"

She vanished again and now I saw myself back in the dining room; I had too much wine, Edith was fast asleep and it was around...3:15 AM, damn this ungodly hour!