Series Book

3.8

Chapter 4: The Medium

Zayden had continuously shifted worlds more throughout the past week, and had become more proud of himself. Though the time spent in the living world had been short and unmeaningful, he was glad he had some sort of real connection with the world he had lived and loved in.

The constant worries about Ava plagued him every second of every day, but his constant attempts to shift into Ava's house again had proved to be failures. He wanted so badly to go back and make sure she was safe, but it had not been enough.

Now Zayden sit in the replica of town square, in front of his old bookshop that he had passed down to his son Alejandro. He wanted to get a glimpse of how his son had been doing, so he sat there for a while trying to get into the world.

It took a few tries, but eventually he had successfully entered the real town square. His body felt the warmth of the vibrant colors that the afterlife had needed but didn't have. It was still a feeling he could not describe.

He almost felt alive again.

The door to the bookstore had been closed, causing Zayden to groan. He was still not strong enough to open doors, and had to wait until someone would enter the store to be able to walk in.

The store had been in a hidden location that not many people would find, and only customers who regularly shopped there would be constant visitors. The location was the cheapest property, which came with benefits but also lacked the ability to attract attention.

When it proved that waiting would not get him anywhere and his time would be running out, he decided he should walk around. It had been a while since he had entered the small town square, it was a childhood memory he had always kept at the back of his head. Getting ice cream at Florean Fortescue's, the tea store that always gave free samples, and the-

"Medium." Zayden's eyes widened as he came to a realization.

As a child, him and Jeffery would go to Town Square and leave their parents to sight-see on their own. As a result, they came to some weird shops that their parents would not let them go into. Like the butcher shop whose window clearly showed the horrors inside, or the very adult stores that were hidden in plain sight.

One place in particular was one that Jeffery and Zayden had frequented was an apparent Medium who could seemingly speak to the dead. They would always dare each other to go inside, or call out the names of ghosts, but both were always scared to do either.

They had learned what a Medium was, and had asked their parents if they could go inside, but were always denied permission.

"Those are just scams, Zayden." Zayden's mother always told him, "Old bats trying to manipulate you for your money."

Since then, they had stopped going to the store knowing it was fake, but Zayden, now dead and desperate, would try anything at this point.

He ran past and through people (a benefit of being a ghost), to the Medium, hoping it would still be there. Indeed the store still stood, with a small sign that said "I can speak to your long lost love ones." and a larger one beneath it that said "Only $80 per half hourly sessions."

Zayden raised his eyebrows. It was quite a high price for just half an hour, which pushed his mother's theory that it was a scam for money. Nonetheless, Zayden walked inside, since the door had (thankfully) always been open.

Inside, he saw a man sitting at the table across from a young woman who was in tears. He had his hand on top of hers as he spoke, "And your husband wants you to know that he loves you very much, and how he misses spending Christmas with you."