THE EMPATH

HAUNTING

"It is just this one tiny little thing I would have wanted to do before you know..." the ghost said. I looked around and there were like eight others talking endlessly. I hated that they all had pretty serious reasons to come back and ask for help, I also hated that I could not just turn them away as I had never been good at turning people down. "Look, guys, I wish I could help all of you, hell! I always wish I could save the world, but you know what, we can't always get what we want. There are so many of you here right now and there is just one of me. I also have an unfinished job to do tonight if I want to make it home in time for my friend's funeral tomorrow. I am sorry but you have to let me be. After all, some of you have already been dead for more years than I have been alive," I answered hoping they would leave me alone to catch some sleep. I had just gotten back home after a long night of making Ross disappear and I was soo tired. All I wanted was some food, a cold shower, and hours of sleep. I still had one more entry to close on my book, and I only had one night to do so. Furthermore, I didn't expect it to go smoothly as Eddy was already on high alert. I had walked through the door as usual expecting no one as the two ghosts still around were arguing over my head. Ross's victims had already found peace and they had moved back to their world. I tossed the keys into the bowl but they got suspended mid-air. That was about when I looked around the room just to be met by at least thirteen spirits. For the next two hours, I had to listen to them tell me what "tiny favors" they needed from me.

I wished there was a way to make them see reason and leave me alone but no matter what I told them, they still kept begging and some even promised to pay me for my service. At that moment, I had no idea what form of payment dead people could make but I had no time to think about it. Listening to them made me five times more exhausted and infinite times more hungry. In the end, I promised to help them one at a time, and just when I thought I had closed my workbook for the holidays, I had thirteen more entries added. The bond that was supposed to give them assurance that I planned on keeping my word, was all of them haunting me. I knew I was in for a rough ride but it was too late to do anything about it. I had a busy day ahead and I only planned on taking a three hours nap. The only benefit that came with being haunted by fifteen ghosts, was the fact that they all had special abilities, and combined, they made me a perfect breakfast and deed all the house chores so I could be well-rested for the long day ahead. I laid down to sleep and again, due to the haunting, I had the weirdest, coldest dreams ever. I woke up three hours later cold as ice and in a house full of deafening noises. Keeping my sanity intact around two ghosts was hard, but imagine what I had to do about fifteen winnings, arguing, fighting spirits? I needed lemons for my throat, that was for sure.

My first stop was at this old man's apartment on the other side of the city. His wife was the first one to present her favor and I was there to grant it. She didn't want me to do much though. "Just go and tell my Paul to look under the brown ugly lamp," she had told me. She had died quite unexpectedly about two weeks before and left her sick husband all by himself. She however knew how to help him and all she needed was to communicate with him. I had to catch a bus since I had returned the van and the ride had taken up some more time than I would have preferred. I knocked on the door softly a couple of times before old Paul could answer. He welcomed me and I walked in even though I had no intentions to. I just figured he would find it hard to understand me so I thought explaining to him slowly would move things along. "Paul, I am here because Hilder sent me..." I started but before I could finish, he started talking. "Oooh good, another one of you crazy seers here to rub it on my face...did she tell you that everything is going to be okay? Did she appear to you in a flash of light which is how you know that she is in heaven? Listen, boy, I am sick, lonely, tired, and broke. You would be of help if you brought with you some cash I could use to buy these drugs," he said handing me a prescription. His face was slowly folding into a mixture of pain and anger and I could feel the hot flashes of both physical and emotional pain he was going through. "I am not a seer Mr. Paul, I am just a guy who is trying to keep his promise. Hear me out first and then get mad at me later," I said that time taking a seat as I realized I was going to be doing more talking than I had expected. I felt so stupid explaining myself but I had to do it if I wanted to get rid of the ghosts.

After twenty minutes of endless explaining from my side and endless cursing from Paul, he finally decided to look under the ugly lamp. Sure enough, there was a note that read, "Dear Paul, I am sorry that I had to keep this from you for all these years, I just knew that someday you were going to need help and I may not be there to give it to you. Behind this note, Are all the details about my life insurance and other bank details. I had a feeling you would need the money more than I would, but I also knew you wouldn't understand which is why I kept it from you. Love Hilder." His face lit up like a Christmas tree for a moment but then the smile was replaced by a sad face with a river of tears. He embraced me and thanked me for the help. He also asked me to tell her that he was grateful and that he couldn't wait to see her again. "That is one down, twelve more to go," I said as I watched her disappear. The next one on the list was a twelve years old girl who wanted me to give her twin brother one last hug for her and convince him to accept his pending kidney transplant. The two had been born as conjoined twins and on the day they were separated which was about a month before, she didn't make it. Her brother however did live but he needed a kidney. The doctors had not realized that his kidneys were weak and the two had relied on her's to survive.

When he woke up and found that his sister was gone, all he wanted was to join her and so he refused to sign the consent forms. All I had to do was convince him that his sister would love it if he lived a lfulfillingling life for the both of them. "This is easy," I said as walked into S.T Consolata level four hospital. My fear of hospitals was the one thing I could never seem to get rid of, I hated everything that even closely resembled them as they brought me so much pain. There was always someone in unbearable pain and the moment I walked close to them, their pain would immediately be transferred to me. Then of course there were the emotionally hurt family and friends and that would top itself with all the vibes of despair and fear. After a short stay at the hospital, I always went hdrainednned and confused and I hated that with all my being. As I walked through the gates, the first wave of emotional pain hit me. It was coming from a grieving family and I didn't need to be told that they had just lost someone dear to them. I felt my feet grow cold and a lump form at the back of my throat. I swallowed hard, clenched my fists, and walked in reminding myself that I had to do it. It took me a while to get to the ward where Luke was and I had to wait for a little while for his dad to get out so I could go in. "Hello Luke, my name is Vicky and I am here because an angel sent me. Do you believe in angels?" He was twelve years and that card was not the best to play but I had nothing better. "Maybe, I don't know...what do you want?" The kid was convinced that I had been sent by his parents to convince him to accept the transplant and he was not boarding. His mind was all set. I could feel that he blamed himself for his sister's death and I had just found a new card.

"I know how you feel Luke. You see, almost two years ago, my two friends got really hurt and they died. I was there when it all happened but I was not fast enough to save them. I blamed myself for their deaths but someone made me understand that it was not my fault. I am here to make you see that it was not your fault either," I said and by then his full attention was toward me. "But it was, I was the one who kept complaining that having her joined to me was not working for us. I was the one who wanted to be like other normal boys my age and I pushed her into asking for surgery...it was all my fault. You should know that because you are an "angel" right?' his eyes turned red and pain moved up his spine and stomach and I felt it too. "I am not an angel Luke, your sister is and she sent me to hug you, and tell you that you have to accept the kidney. She wants you to live a long long life and have many kids and name one of them after her...and grow old and wrinkly with your kids and their kids... and a dog named squishy..." His sister was whispering in my years making me say all those crazy stuff and the boy thought I was going crazy there for a moment. "Stacey is dead, there is no way she could have sent you," he said and I had no comeback. "Say, Pimpy swear, to him," Stacey whispered and I did it. "Wo! how did you know that?" Luke asked. "Your sister just told me to tell you that right now," I answered knowing then that he was hyped to know more. For the next few minutes, there was an exchange between them through me, and with every bit of it, Luke's emotional pain and tension lowered and so did mine. He had believed me at last and he was willing to go ahead with the transplant. The two would have loved to keep going but the dad came back and I had to go. One last hug as was the deal, and Stacey was gone.

I walked out of the hospital glad that part was over and I even smiled to myself. I never knew it would feel all that good to ease people's pain. I looked at my watch and realized it was almost time for me to get to work and I was still an hour away from the house. I looked for a quiet empty space where I could talk to the ghosts without looking crazy. I explained to them that I had to put a hold back from granting their favors. I explained to them that I had another urgent matter to attend to and as expected, I had to waste a little bit more time explaining to them as they didn't want to understand. In the end, they were all on board and they even offered to help me so that I could be done as soon as possible. I had a lot to do in such a short time and it felt like I had already failed even before I had started. However, with thirteen ghosts ready to help me, things moved along much faster. Say like for example when I got to the car rental to get a new van, Oscar worked up some magic to keep the attendant from getting my real name so he ended up writing his own crap. Alice was there to help steal the old files that prove I was ever there. It felt good to have a helpful bunch but that was only when they were not busy tearing my eardrums up with their ghost stories. I would have loved to know what the other side was like but none of them was willing to talk about that. No human was ever supposed to know about the land of spirits until they were spirits and I understood that.

Three hours later, I was waiting outside Eddy's house. He was not home yet but I knew he would be soon as I was following his every move on my computer. He believed that Ross was the killer and that he had gone into hiding. Eddy planned on making sure that Ross didn't get away and he was working overtime trying to find him. Bob was still unconscious in the hospital and that meant my secret was safe for the moment. I however still had to come up with a way to deal with him as I feared he would tell on me when he felt better. So far, he was the only member of the crew I had not killed yet and was not planning to. He may have been involved with the wrong crowd and all, but I knew then that he was not a bad guy. All he needed was a chance to right his wrongs and as for his punishment, all the memories of what he had seen while working with the crew was enough. I knew they would haunt him all his days. For the moment, I was focused on angry Eddy. I could not wait any longer to get my hands on him. I had thousands of different ways to kill him. It was a shame that I could only choose one since he only had one life.