The Search for Salvation

“I never knew how to make my father happy. Everything I did seemed to just piss him off and he never showed me that he trusted me. I guess he had a point there.” I adjusted in my chair and continued.

“See, he died thirteen years ago and I'm the one to blame. It happened on a rainy day that made your eyelids heavy and your head pound from the changing pressure. The storm came out from nowhere and made the house we were working on unstable. The foundation cracked and shifted. I tried to tell him about it. He wouldn't listen. Annabelle, the ghost that lived there, moved a few things to try to freak him out so he'd leave. But nothing worked. I stormed out of the house mad. I went and sat in the construction truck… it was then that the thunderous sound on the house scared the hell out of me. I tried to get in there... I still can hear his cries for help. By the time the others came back from lunch, he was dead.”

“So, why do you still blame yourself, Brett?” Dr. D asked, as he chewed on his gum. The sound always annoyed me.

“Because, if I had just been able to get him to trust me, like Rick, then he'd still be alive.”

“Rick is your brother?”

“Yeah, from his first marriage.” I could hear him scribbling on a piece of paper with a pencil. The way the lead scratched along the smooth surface told me he was using shorthand.

“Now, tell me more about….” A beeping noise sounded and made him stop talking to me. He moved from his chair to the table.

“Looks like you have a visitor.” The smell of Japanese cherry caressed my noise and I inhaled deeply.

“Hello, Ms. Darcy.” I said and got up from the chair.

“Please call me Beth and how did you know it was me?” She walked into the room and I felt the vibration from her stilettos hitting the floor.

“I have had over ten years to learn how to use all my other senses to navigate through life. Your perfume is one giveaway.” I smiled and pulled out my cane. I heard her heels clicking on the floor and her skirt fluttering as she moved in the room. My heart skipped a beat as I felt heat from her body close to my leg.

“Would you like some help out?” Her voice was filled with warmth and concern for me. My mood quickly turned when I felt her hand on my arm. She would never see me as more than just that “blind guy” she meets at her father’s office.

“I am fine, but thank you for your concern. If you will excuse me,” I said as I moved around her and towards the door. My head hurt and I needed a cigarette.

“Just be careful out there. I heard you are leaving today to go to Missouri. Something to do with the eclipse tomorrow. It’s going to be a madhouse, from what the news reporter said.”

“I’ve got Mort and Daniel coming with me. I should be fine,” I said with a note of annoyance in my voice and left the room. I hated to be curt with Beth, but her genuine compassion for my well-being was too much to handle. There was more to life than being blind for me. Not many knew about my abilities and I had to keep it that way. If I was ever going to find my father and get his forgiveness, I had to stay out of the psychiatric ward just a little longer. The next few hours would either bring me closure or tear the rest of my world apart.

*****************************************************

“We are packed and ready to go,” Daniel’s gruff voice called from the front room. I willed myself out of bed and made my way to the living room.

“It's about time, slacker. Mort, let's go.” I held out my hand and felt for the harness attached to my eye-seeing dog. His nails clicked on the hardwood floors as he came up to my side and sat next to me.

“Who is the slacker, butthead? How is it I get wrangled into this trip with you? Why am I always….”

“Shut it, D. You are my best friend and my PAID caretaker. Besides, how many hotties have you gotten because of me?” I raised my eyebrow, waiting for a response. He just sighed and opened the door.

“After you, your highness…and Brett.” I smiled at him, knowing full well he was being an ass because he cared. No other person would call me out like him, nor knew almost everything about me.

“Thanks, Robin.”

“Does that make you Daredevil?” I stuck my tongue out at him. He chuckled as we made our way to the waiting limo. He helped me in and we made our way to the highway.

The ride to the airport was draining as we passed several historical districts in my hometown of New Orleans. No matter how much I focused, I could still hear the faint whispers of the dead coming from everywhere around me.

I got a bottle of water from Daniel and took my medicine. Once it kicked in, I was able to silence the voices from both the dead and the living. From what I have learned from books and other “gifted” people, I am rare for a medium. Not only could I hear and communicate with the dead, but I can also sense others' emotions. Once I became blind from a car accident, my other senses kicked into overdrive and made my life a nightmare.

“Once we get to Kansas City, we have a meeting with a group of paranormal….”

“Are you kidding me? What in the world made you think that I would meet another one of those crazy groups?”

“They sent me a few pictures and some audio from a residential property.”

“Maybe after the eclipse. I have to focus on….”

“Your dad?”

“Yeah,” I said as I rubbed my temples as we arrived at the airport. The next few hours made me nervous. I plugged in my headphones and let the soothing sound of Celtic instrumental music lull me to sleep.

When we arrived in Kansas City, I could sense a shift in the air and knew the eclipse was going to be unlike any of the other events I have attended. My anxiety mounted as we rushed through the crowds of tourists and professionals towards the exit. I felt a rush of heat as we moved from the air conditioned terminal to the awaiting limo. The smell of stale pizza and beer was immediately replaced by an intoxicating smell of lemon, apple, jasmine, rose and amber.

“You will have to excuse me, but who are you and what is that amazing perfume you are wearing?” I asked as I slid into the seat with Mort beside me.

“Hi. I’m Margaret,” the husky voice whispered into my ear.

“Another one?” Daniel asked quietly. This meant our new lady friend was dead. I rubbed my temple and sighed.

“Don’t worry about me. I’m not here for any favors. I just heard that a medium was going to be in town and I wanted to say hi. Besides, you will be meeting many of my friends at the eclipse. Many of us have decided to cross over at that time.”

“Good to know,” I murmured quietly. Her perfume made me long for my last girlfriend, Cora. She wore something similar and it made my heart hurt. I held my chest and closed my eyes. I could see her flowing amber hair and glittering green eyes. Her smile always made me forget how much I missed my family. But, I lost her when I lost my sight so many years ago. I sighed.

“We will be at the hotel in a few minutes. I will check in, and we can get you to the room to rest. I know tomorrow is going to be a big day for you. They said we should be in their city park by about 11 a.m. if we want a good view. I don’t know if I can find anything private-”

“It’s fine. I will just need you to cover for me if anyone sees me acting weird. That’s all.” I smiled as the car stopped. We made our way to the room, and I fell into bed. Daniel ordered food and we chilled in the hotel room. I know my bud wanted to go out, but I couldn’t. My body, mind, and soul needed to rest before the big day.

“Goodnight, Brett. See you in the morning.” Those were the last words I remembered hearing before the sound of the alarm woke me at 9 a.m. the next day.

I rolled over and forced my body to get out of bed. Mort guided me to the bathroom and I got ready for the day. Daniel handed me a cup of coffee and I savored the taste of the special brew we always travel with, while Mort ate his breakfast. The way he crunched his food was comforting, as it was a constant sound that reminded me that he was there. My mind was swirling with questions about the day ahead when my head started to pound.

“Son…” a whispering voice made the hair stand up on my arm. I move my head from side-to-side trying to detect where the voice came from. Mort whined and rubbed up against my leg.

“Lay down,” Daniel's voice sounded far away as my mind went blank and the world became silent.

“Brett.” I heard my name and tried to sit up, but felt a weight pressing down on me and it had fur.

“Mort, I’m fine buddy. You can get off me now.” I moved his hairy body off me and sat up.

“Another one?” Daniel took my arm and helped me off the floor. I straightened my tie and sighed.

“It sounded like him,” I said as I tried to keep my mind closed to the spirits around me. Their presence seems to zap his energy faster each time. I didn’t have any warning before this fainting spell. My mind was reeling from hearing my father’s voice. Or was it? There were times I had dealt with tricksters. Many of them would be classified as demons and the last time dealing with one left me in a coma for three days.

I knew I didn’t have time for that today, so I said a quick prayer to steel myself against any dark forces in that area. I started to look around and realized the vale between the living and the dead was extremely thin. Then it hit me.

“It’s starting already,” I said. “Even though we still have a few hours before the event itself, I can see the haze of their presence around me.”

“Is your dad here?” Daniel’s voice seemed hollow to his ears. He looked towards where his friend was standing and could see an outline of his aura as usual during these events.

“I’m not sure, but your aura is different from the last time I saw it. It’s not as strong and the color... Daniel are you sick?”

“That’s nothing for you to worry about right now, Brett. We can discuss that later.” His aura was walking away from me and my heart raced. My friend was sick and I had no idea for how long or with what disease.

“But…”

“I’m not talking about it right now. After the event, I can tell you everything. Now is not the time for you to be worrying about me. You’ve chased this notion of clearing the air with your father for over a decade now. You’ve traveled the world and back again on the money from your settlement and I will not be the one that gets in the way of finding peace in your life. You are a brother to me. The one thing that will make me feel better is seeing you finally happy.” I saw his aura change and I could tell he was smiling.

“I promise after today, whether I talk to him or not, I will be done with this and we can start a new journey. We will get you well and go find some beautiful women to marry.”

“You, marry? I thought… never mind. I like this new you. I’m holding you to it, too. I want someone to grow old with, besides you and Mort.” I felt his arms around me in a bro hug. I hugged him back. It was time to finish this story. ********************************************************

“Hunny, could you get me my cane?” I put my hand on Mandy’s arm and squeezed gently. Her honeysuckle perfume filled my nose as she pressed herself against me.

“I will if you promise me not to be out so late this time,” she whispered in my ear and made me smile.

“I promise, my love. This time we will come home before two a.m.” I felt her sweetly pinch my arm.

“I guess that’s better than nothing.”

“Oh, and can you keep an eye on Mort. I don’t think he will be any help tonight. His cataracts are getting worse. He almost ran me into a parked car yesterday.”

“Sure. Please be careful. Since you started this crazy paranormal group, you haven’t been sleeping well.”

“I know, but I can help a lot of people and I promised Daniel….” I couldn’t finish the sentence. I found the one thing I had sought for so long but lost someone I could never replace. I felt Mandy’s hand on my face, wiping away the tears from my cheek. She kissed me gently and put her arms around me.

“If you can find peace for others, I guess that’s the best you can do,” she said as she handed me my cane.

“It is….for now. I love you. I will see you later, beautiful.” I kissed her soft lips and headed out to continue my search.