Jemma stopped when she saw Holly and her jaw dropped. “Oh, sorry!”
She turned on her heel and ran straight through the wall. I could hear Victoria’s stern words and Jemma’s apologies in the other room.
I was cringing, but when I turned back to Holly, she was smiling.
“How many spirits are here at Waratah?”
I was surprised that she wasn’t freaked out about it. “Um, there’s four. A mother and daughter that have been here for maybe a century, a guy who can’t remember who he was, and the girl that used to live in this room.”
Her eyes widened. “Kassandra?”
“Yes. Did you know her?”
“She and her sister, Piper, didn’t transfer from Mirrabooka, so I didn’t know them well.”
“Is her sister still missing?”
She nodded. “Yes. It’s so sad. Their parents must be so devastated.”
I didn’t know what to say. My heart ached for them, but there was nothing I could really do to help.
Holly shook her head and sniffed. “So, which spirit was in here just now? Was it Kassie?”
“No. Jemma. The little girl. She was only four when she died.”
The sadness swept across Holly’s face again. “That’s so young.”
I blinked against the sting of tears, then changed the subject. “One of the ghosts actually followed me here from Mirrabooka: the guy that has lost his memory.”
“Really? I didn’t know they could travel like that.”
“I didn’t either. Maybe it’s not normal, though. Two other spirits that I’d gotten to know pretty well tried to come with me too and they just disappeared out of the car.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “They were in the car with us?”
I lowered my head. “Yes. Sorry. I didn’t mean to scare you.”
“It’s okay.”
I felt guilty. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you.”
“No. It’s fine. It’s just unexpected, that’s all.”
I relaxed. “Okay.”
I told her about Mrs C and Mr J and how Jackson couldn’t remember his own name at first. It felt good to talk about it. Like a weight had lifted from my shoulders.
“And the other ghosts are still at Mirrabooka?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I’d been trying to get them to go see their families, so maybe they’ll finally do it and find whatever they need to do to cross over.”
“I really think you’d be great at helping people cross over. Like the Ghost Whisperer.”
“Nah. People will just think I’m crazy and want to put me back in Mirrabooka.”
“That’s a real risk, but we all know what’s going on and we can help you.”
A thought struck me. “Does Dr Calthorpe and Ms Grant still have to sign off that I’m not crazy before I can get out of here?”
She laughed. “No. We know you’re not crazy or delusional. You’re here to learn to control your magic. That’s it. Once you’ve done that, you can go home.” Relief seeped into my bones. “Of course, the official paperwork will have to say that you’re no longer delusional and are fit to go home. We can’t have any Normals knowing the truth.”
So there will still be people who think I lost it. There will be people who’ll treat me like that woman in the library did when she saw where I was living.
Well, let them. I didn’t care what some random thought of me. I knew the truth. I’d been worried about my own sanity for so long that, although the truth was beyond reality, it was still good to know that all of this was not just in my head and that I had people willing to help me deal with it.
Our conversation moved on to more normal things, like what else had been happening, and I told her about my job and how I was going with my lessons.
She was impressed. “You’ll be going home before you know it.”
“I hope so.”
I was angry at myself for how small and weak I sounded just saying those three words.
Holly leaned forward. “Don’t be down on yourself. You will learn. You’ll hone your skills. Then you can help people. Heal people with your magic. Even help people cross over with your Seer ability.”
She kept pushing for me to help others, but she didn’t know me well enough. “No. That’s not me. I’m not the ‘helping’ type. I just look after me. That’s what I’ve always had to do. I have my own problems to deal with.”
She fidgeted with the ring on her finger again. “Okay. I can understand.” She paused. “So, what is it that you really want? Magic can get you a lot of things.”
I brought my knees up and wrapped my arms around them. “All I want is to go back to my mum and my life and just be normal. So far, this magic and Seer ability has kept me away from that, so, you’re wrong.”
“You will get the things you want soon. You just have to be patient — oh, except the ‘normal life’ thing. That’s never gonna happen.” She looked down. “Sorry, but it’s true.”
Her mentioning healing people made me think. “Hey, did you heal me? Back at Mirrabooka when I cut my finger with the scissors?”
Her gaze met mine. “I was planning to help the process along because I could see how deep it was, but I didn’t get the chance. That was all you. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone heal that fast.”
She let that sink in. I’d been told that the more power someone had, the faster they healed. That couldn’t be me. I could barely lift things with my magic.
Holly stood up. “Well, I promised Kellie I’d catch up with her before I go, so I better get going.”
“Thanks for coming to visit.”
“My pleasure. I love seeing how all my ex-patients are going. It makes it all worth it, you know?”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
She leaned in and gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek and it warmed my insides. “Get well soon.”
We needed more people like Holly in this world.
As she left the room, the doorbell rang again and my heartbeat started to race, the smile fading from my face.
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Author's Note: Thank you all for your comments. Keep them coming. I’d love to know what you think of Maddie as a character.
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