"Gh-gh-gh-" Something utterly wrong with me. First off, I'm stuttering. Second, I'm in the arms of a 'gh-gh-ghost!'
Before I could exhale, his nose was at my neck and he inhaled deeply before whispering. "Sunripe raspberries is your appealing aroma, maid-eena."
His voice. It's so... alive. Not raspy, not ludicrous or paper-scratchy. It was actually smooth, baritone, and pleasantly sharp. I was taken aback, but alas, my arms were cramping. What do you do when a ghost is holding you intimately in a public library?! I've asked myself that question every day since I was twelve.
Not. Really.
"Heh," I chuckled back, trying not to let my eyebrows reach the ceiling. "Er," my face was heating up, and his hands were leaving scorch marks on my back. I was highly aware that his body was that of a man's, about thirty years old, and his skin was cream milk and elastic. Admiring his 'back to life' self, I suddenly got angry at my ghost. If he could come to life this easily and this fully then what does he have me running around for? I was madly insulted, not for him playing tricks on me, but for me turning into his gullible 'maid-eena'.
"Hey," I cried out in frustration and nudged him. "Why do you have me running after useless objects when you're here, healthy and alive, already?"
"Tsk tsk tsk," He clicked his teeth and murmured something in what sounded French, Latin, and Gaelic combined. "I'm only here for a moment, so while I am I think I'll hold you."
"Eh?" I elongated that sound for a few seconds while the right side of my lip went up along with my right eyebrow. "I'm not helping a perverted ghost-"
"Ghost?" Ronald's annoying voice crashed into my me from the right side.
My head flipped over towards him and I panicked for a split second before chuckling slyly. "Roleplaying," I replied instantly with a keen smile. "Prince Casper and Wendy."
Prince Casper and Wendy? Oh that's ridiculous, but play along...
"Roleplaying in the middle of a library, man, you sure are weird-" Ronald rolled his eyes and walked off.
Thud.
I cried out in pain, the wind knocked out of me as my ass did an elephant plop onto the hard carpet. "Da hell," I muttered. I was just given my wish in a harsh manner, dropped like an unwanted paper rag. I was about to retort angrily at Mr. Ghost when my lips were stunned into Biting-Apple-Mode. Mr. Ghost's brows were knitted in confusion and he was searching his surroundings as if he were lost.
"Err... you alright?" I asked. I'm the one sitting on the ground with a bruised derriere...
Mr. Ghost's reaction to my voice was shocking to say the least. His gaze shot to me and he looked at me as if I were familiar, yet still a stranger. It was like experiencing amnesia of the mind, but not with the eyes.
"Have we met?" He asked. This time it was not Mr. Ghost talking. I realized then the man Mr. Ghost had ... 'possessed' looked almost exactly like him!
"Erm, just now." I answered with half a smile.
His eyes narrowed, as if just noticing I was on the floor. He held out his hand like a friendly gesture, "Let me help you up."
No perverted intentions in his eyes or gesture, I took his hand without hesitation. "Thanks," I smiled. I stood and sucked in the gasp when stabbing pain shot through the back of my right thigh. My cheeks flushed from dizziness though the smile on my face remained.
"What am I doing here?" The confused man asked, talking more to himself than to me.
"To ski." I retorted sarcastically.
The man chuckled and I blushed, realizing how brazen I had sounded. My good ole casual self shining through when a man needing desperate help asks me an innocent question. "Most men come to the library to check out books, not the ladies. But I've come to do the latter." ...
A brick slammed into my mind, eyes popping wide at the sly grin on Mr. Ghost's face. He had returned! And so easily! "What are you doing, using this man as your host?" I replied, aggravated.
"It's so easy-"
"That's not fair. I'm wrackign my brain to help you gather all these useless objects for you to 'pass on'-"
Mr. Ghost cut me off with a chuckle that chilled my spine into icicles. "I have no intention to 'pass on', Maid-eena."
Snake shivers curled down my neck and into my stomach. I was suddenly startled. Since Mr. Ghost didn't want to 'pass on', did he want to possess this man for good and stay here?! "Im' not going to help you-" I replied hastily, then shutting up when I realized 'confused man' had returned. 'Mr. Ghost, I oughta slap your ectoplasm jaw!'
"It's alright, I can't assume that anyone would. Good day." The man nodded at me and turned to walk away.
'Wait!' I wanted to shout out, but something made me hesitate. It was fear... A flashback hit me like a tidal wave, and took me back to my elementary days when I had chased a boy who had avoided me.
7 years old...
There's laughing, chiding, cheerful playing. Me and Jordan ran circles around the gathered desks, trying to tag and tug each other as much as possible. Even though he was a year older and four inches taller, I was still pretty fast and energetic for a girl. All I had on my mind was whether I could get away from Jordan or not. And all the teacher had on her mind was to give me and Jordan 'Red Cards'.
"Jordan, kkk, put a 10 Red Card in your name-slot then sit down quietly!" The teacher shouted coldly.
Immediately I clammed up as Jordan and I made our way to the wall with all the students names and 'pockets' for red cards. There were only three students with red cards, mine Jordan's, and another one of Jordan's friends, Robin. I frowned at the 5 already in our pockets, which meant when recess came I had to stay inside for 5 minutes. Now I had to put the 10 minute card in. Since recess is only 15 minutes long, I would barely get to go outside. I was saddened, but Jordan and I giggled at each other while we put the red cards in our pockets.
8 years old... The beginning of 3rd grade...
Jordan, why did you leave me?
He's standing in the school office, telling the secretary that he wants to change classes. He's no longer in my class...
"Don't you want to go to class with me?" I asked him.
"Yeah, but I want to be in Robin's class." Jordan replied.
Somehow, in my heart, I knew that wasn't the whole truth... All that third year Jordan and I never played together again. Still to this day I don't know what truly separated our compatible hearts.
I'm glad no one caught me spacing out in the library. Everyone in the library was subject to spacing out, or simply staring at a book, so I was not out of the norm. I tried to shake that painful memory out of my mind and headed to the cafe for the date. I stopped outside almost forgetting that Liz was coming too. I had spaced out for so long I had only been waiting a minute outside the library when Liz showed up.
Liz? Wait, why did I just think of Lisa as Liz?
"Lisa makes me sizzle, so she's my Liz." Wow, I had totally forgotten that my brother called her that... I had been eavesdropping once when she came over. Accidentally of course. Now I really looked at Lisa differently now. My brother's first love was Liz, but it was one-sided. He had never told her how he felt, and when he stopped tutoring their relationship sort of just crumbled.
"Hey," Lisa smiled and looped her handbag over one shoulder. "Ready to go?"
"Yeah, " I answered absent-mindly. We walked to the cafe together while I let Lisa chat about anything.
...20 minutes later...
Lisa and I sat at the cafe sipping two ice teas and nibbling on crackers. It was your normal cafe with booths, bar stools, and the aroma of coffee and fried potatoes always in the air.
"What about the english term "I'll give you a ring?" Lisa asked. This was probably her thirtieth question concerning my calamity.
"Tome of Rings..." I said it over again. "Phone book? He wants me to call him? Da hell..."
"Wow, it's a riddle for his phone number." Lisa laughed. "Sounds like a hacker sending codes."
"Sphht, that's retarded." I muttered, but somehang it 'rang' true. "Fine I'll check the phonebook but for what?"
"Well, what other clues did your friend give you?"
"Sun-bird, aqua, and lilies."
"Aw lilies... a water flower, so that and aqua tie right in."
"And sun-bird is phoenix," I quickly added.
Lisa nodded. "Yeah..." She remained silent in thought for a minute before lighting up. "Have you heard of 'The Golden Lotus'?"
"No," I breathed out, that name struck a hot chord in me. "But why does it sound familiar?"
"It's Egyptian lore." Lisa rubbed her lips as if remembering. "That story has all your friend's clues except the phone book."
"Tell me," I exclaimed, surprised at my own eagerness.
Lisa smiled. "I might get some wrong but I read it in the library some time ago... It goes something like this.
There were two woman under the Sun God Ra... To maidens rowing in a river, or was it a lake? One had a gift in her hair, a beloved 'Golden Lotus'. The other maiden accidentally knocks the lotus from the girl's hair into the water with her oar. The Lotus maiden cries out, devastated. She tells the Pharaoh her sorrows, and the Pharaoh fetches his magician to return the Golden Lotus back to the maiden. The magician removes the middle of the lake and stacks that water onto the side of the lake, magically... So they may see to the bottom. The bottom of the lake is now dry and there lies the Golden Lotus. The maiden jumps from the royal boat and cries out happily, placing the Golden Lotus back into her hair. Now all the golden maidens who row on the Nile at sunset sing a song about the Golden Lotus."
"Wow, is that true?" I breathed out, entranced by the mysticism of this nigh strange story...
"Probably," Lisa shrugged. "The water lily is popular in Egypt. There was a 1300 year old water lily seed found that could still germinate."
"Wow, that's old!"
"Yeah, the oldest seed ever found to germinate." Lisa sipped her tea while I was left gazing in awe.
"So... just like a seed," I concluded. 'He's resting like a seed in wait, wanting me to find him and plant him so he may come forth and grow? He has fallen into ashes and wishes to rise again, like the Phoenix? Then what does that have to do with a phonebook?' I groaned aloud and placed my forehead on my crossed arms on the table. "I hate this silly type of riddles. Give me straight-forward anyday."
"Maybe he just wants to see if you'll try." Lisa guessed.
I looked up. "What, really?"
"Yeah... maybe he doesn't want you to solve it. It's one of those "The journey is worth more than the end" sort of thing?"
"Oh this is just a bunch of assuming nonsense. I'm just gonna ask him."
"Cool, when do I meet him?"
"Er, never!" I blurted out.
Lisa scoffed with narrowed eyes. "Why not?" Her inquisitive face was returning. The kind of look that said 'I'm ready to ply open the lock and read all your secrets'.
I squirmed inside. "He lives in England." I lied with a fake saddened sigh.
"Who does?"
Petrified, I turned to see who the sunshine was that turned me to stone.