Terra the Ghost Girl - Chapter Five

Chapter Five

I woke up with a start in a hospital bed. I didn't know where I was at first, and confusion swept over me. Just as I was about to become frantic, I heard a voice that calmed my nerves somewhat.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake," my mother said. She was sitting to the left of the bed in a small chair. She slowly reached down and grabbed my hand. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"

"What... happened?" I asked, my mind foggy. But I hadn't forgotten what happened; I just didn't want to believe it had been real.

Suddenly, another voice came from the other side of the bed. "You just passed out all of a sudden at lunch yesterday. We were all so worried."

Startled, I quickly looked to my right. Sitting in a chair across from Mom was none other than Rosa. My eyes grew wild, but I managed to keep my panic in check as I attempted to assess the situation. She seemed to be back to her normal self. I looked back at my mom, just to make sure that time was still moving. Slowly, I turned to face Rosa once again. She still seemed to be her usual self.

"I passed out?" I asked cautiously.

"Yeah. We were talking like we normally do, when all of a sudden, you just fell out of your chair," Rosa answered.

I needed proof. "What was the last thing either of us said before I blacked out?"

"Well... I was telling you how I don't know a lot of people because of all the extra school I have to do..."

It took me a second to believe her, but after a moment I allowed myself to relax. Was I just having a dream? I let out a sigh of relief.

But then again, Terra hadn't said anything. Was she waiting for everyone else to leave? Or... did it really happen, and she was just waiting for an opportunity to possess someone again!? I could feel the panic returning at that thought, so I shoved it away. I looked around the room, but I didn't see her anywhere. If she was here, she was hiding her thoughts pretty well. I decided not to think about it for now.

"Mom," I asked, "did the doctor say anything about why I might've just fainted like that?"

"Well," she began slowly, "they said it was probably caused by a high amount of stress." She paused, a worried look on her face. "Izzy, is there anything... going on at school?"

Oh, something went on, alright. Then again, that could have been a dream. I couldn't think of anything else that could cause me enough stress that I would faint, though. "Nothing comes to mind," I said, being perfectly honest. "I'm not being bullied or anything..."

This didn't seem to satisfy her, but she seemed to know that further prying wouldn't bear any fruit. "Well, alright. Just remember, if anything, anything, ever happens, you can come talk to me about it. Alright?"

"Alright, Mom," I said, thinking her to be overprotective. I knew she was just looking out for me as a mother, but it was always awkward hearing her say that sort of thing out loud.

"Okay," she finished. "Well, the doctor said you should just have ice for now since you might be in shock, but I'm going to get some dinner for Rosa and I. Okay?"

"Oh... okay."

She smiled and squeezed my hand as she got up and walked to the other side of the room. "And don't do anything funny while I'm gone, you two!" She winked as she closed the door

"Uhg!"

"Wh-what!?" Rosa exclaimed as her face turned red.

We were left in silence for a while. Before long, Rosa regained her composure and began speaking again.

"Izzy," she said a bit more quietly than normal. "Um... I'm not trying to pry or anything, but... is it something you can't tell your mother?"

I thought for a moment. At this point, I was pretty sure I had been dreaming. So if the dream wasn't what caused me to faint from stress... well, it was entirely feasible that the subject of such a nightmare, Terra, was what was causing me stress. I couldn't argue that her very existence wasn't a huge source of stress for me constantly. But of course, I couldn't tell anyone that I had ghost following me around all day. They'd think I was crazy. So the answer to Rosa's question was yes, but I couldn't very well tell her, either. So I told her I really didn't know what could have caused it.

"Really?" she asked.

"Yes, really."

She was silent for a while. She stared off into space to her side as if there was something there she could see that I couldn't. I looked at her face. Her blonde hair looked clean and soft. It curled around her plump, cute cheeks, accenting her features. Her blue eyes were large, innocent. I could see a certain sparkle in them, that glimmer of life that only added more to her beauty.

I was pulled from my reverie when she suddenly began speaking again without turning to look at me.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said.

"Sure. What is it?" I replied, looking away from her, feeling embarrassed that I had been staring.

"Well, I was just wondering this, but..." She paused for a moment. "Do you... know a girl named Terra?"

My mind froze. "How do you know that name?"

"...So you know her?"

I looked at her. She looked a little pale, but her expression seemed torn. It couldn't be. There was no way she could know about Terra. It had to be a coincidence.

"I know a Terra... Why? What's it to you?"

She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I think I know what caused you so much stress," she said. No way... No way. No way!

Then, I saw her. She slowly faded into visibility behind Rosa. She didn't look crazy and mangled, though. She didn't even look to be mad or emotionless. In fact, she looked as worried as Rosa and Mom had looked.

But that wasn't all I saw. With Terra, something else faded into my vision. It came out from her chest somehow, and extended outwards. It was a chain.

And the other end was in Rosa.

"Izzy," she said in her echoing voice, "I'm scared."

"Me too," Rosa chimed in. "What does it mean?"

I couldn't believe it. Rosa could 'perceive' Terra. And Terra was chained to Rosa somehow.

"She told me everything about you two," Rosa continued. "About how she loved you and linked to you and everything."

"It's strange since I'm a ghost, but I blacked out at the same time you did, Izzy. I heard you ask me what I thought, and then, when I woke up..." She trailed off, touching the chain protruding from the center of her chest.

"I... don't know what to say..." I answered. This was the worst-case scenario. Somebody had found out about Terra. She knew everything; not just that Terra was a ghost who followed me around, but even the details, like how she was linked to me, and our history, about how she was my imaginary girlfriend. Neither girl spoke, so I did. "You must think I'm some kind of pervert or something. Having an imaginary girlfriend... I'm such a scumbag."

"No you're not..." Rosa said.

This surprised me. "Really? You don't think it's strange?" She shook her head.

"No. In fact, I understand perfectly. I mean, I never had an imaginary boyfriend, but... I know what it's like to be lonely."

"Oh... But... You must have had someone, right? Your parents, at least. Mine are usually gone all day."

She shook her head again. "Izzy... You don't understand." It was then that I realized that she had tears in her eyes. "I didn't want to scare you away by telling you something like this, but... You're the first friend I've ever had."

I'd had no idea it was that bad for her. I was her very first friend? Ever in her life? I suddenly felt as though I could cry with her. I looked up at Terra. She seemed as shocked as I was to be hearing this for the first time. The image of Terra's face, crazy and mangled, entered my mind for the briefest of moments. But the ghost I saw before me looked as if such a thing would be completely beyond her. I've always known her to be one like that. But the fact that she blacked out at the same time I did, and the fact that she didn't remember possessing Rosa, shed a new light on the supernatural event I witnessed. I still couldn't say whether it was real or not, but at the very least I was sure that it wasn't "my" Terra. Not the one I know.

Just then, my mother re-entered the room with a tray full of food. She had tears in her eyes as well.

"I'm sorry," she said as she placed the tray down on the nearby table. "I only heard the very last part. Oh, Rosa, you poor thing." She knelt down and hugged her tightly.

So she had only heard the last thing Rosa had said? Well, I hardly think she would take any talk of ghosts at face value, even if she had heard. I imagined her suddenly giving me a sharp look and screaming, "WHO'S TERRA!?" in a shrill, crazy, 'overprotective mom' voice. The thought scared me a little more than I thought it would, so I didn't entertain it any further.

"Izzy, make sure you be a good friend to her, okay?"

As if there was any way I could leave her alone now. "Absolutely."

I was released from the hospital later that night. I had still felt like I was in a bit of a daze, though. Terra had somehow linked to Rosa, but it was different from when she was linked to me or the house. There was some sort of chain binding her to Rosa. Neither of us had any idea what the chain meant or how it could have happened, but the fact remained that she had indeed been linked to Rosa.

I've failed to mention this previously, but once a ghost links to something – or someone – they unlink from any previous things the ghost had been linked to. And once they have been linked to a certain thing, they can only be where that particular thing is. When she had first died, Terra had linked with the house, so she couldn't leave or go anywhere else. Once I moved in and started talking to her, she had ended up linking to me. And since she was linked to me, she had to go wherever I went; much as I wished she could, there was no way for her to stay home while I went to school or anything like that. Where I was, she was. That's just how it works.

But now, she was linked to Rosa, not me. And because she's linked to Rosa, she can only be wherever Rosa is, and Rosa is able to see and speak to Terra. On top of that, I can only still see her because I have some sort of innate spiritual talent or something. That's what allowed me to see and speak to her in the first place, when I thought she was just a figment of my imagination. After all, she was linked to the house at first, not me, so I otherwise shouldn't have been able to see or hear her at all.

It was strange lying in bed alone, knowing Terra wouldn't be trying to lie next to me. Even though she had no body, I could feel her as a sort of cool breeze whenever she touched me. It felt too warm under the covers without that familiar breeze against me. As my parents slept, I crept into the hall and turned the air conditioner down to sixty-seven degrees. As soon as the cool air had filled my room and permeated the covers, I finally felt able to relax, and soon fell asleep.