Spooky Tales...Part Last

...
"How is this possible?" Chayla wanted to sit down before her legs actually gave out on her and she collapsed in an undignified heap at Ben's feet.

He smiled at her and Chayla felt her heart race. "You have a special gift. A talent to commune with the spirits, and the gift of foresight."

"Forgive me, but that's old news, Ben." She laughed. The sound carried away from them, echoing across the rolling valley.

"Think about how you've used your gift," Ben prompted her.

She did. She couldn't count the number of spirits who'd communicated with their loved ones through her. There was the young widow, terrified to find herself alone with three small children, worried as to how they'd survive. By the time the woman left, she'd calmed down considerably and several weeks later, Chayla'd received a letter in the mail. 'All is as you said. He did take care of us.' Then there was the elderly woman who'd been terrified of death, yet yearning for it; her body was failing her and her husband had passed away a couple years previously, leaving her lonely and scared. Both husband and wife still liked to pop in and say hello to her to this day.

Foresight scared Chayla, so she'd made it a policy never to seek to use it just for the sake of using it, and never for personal gain.

"See?"

"Yes, but I don't understand."

Ben's expression turned sad. "Do you remember the drive up to the cabin?"

"Of course. I was driving up that insanely windy road after an hour driving on the expressway. That hairpin corner scares the heckadoodle out of me. I always take it slowly. This time, there was a four by four truck, and it ran right into me." Chayla trailed to a halt as the import of what she said sunk in.

"Am I dead?" She reached out, clutching at Ben's arm to steady herself.

"Yes. I did what I could to minimize your trauma."

"That's why I remember walking up to the house, seeing a spirit--- Wait. That was you, wasn't it?"

Ben nodded. He caught her when her legs finally gave. "It's okay. You've made the transition just fine. You're here, you're safe now, and free to experience this new plane of existence."

"How do you fit in to all of this?"

Ben's cheeks pinkened. "I've waited for you for a very long time. It's entirely up to you how I fit in to all this, but..."

Chayla managed a smile for him. "I think I'll be needing your help and expertise in this new plane."

"My pleasure."

A shiver coursed down Chayla's spine. She'd heard those words before, in that intonation and voice. And then her fears didn't matter any more. Recognition followed swiftly, erasing the effects of the previous shiver.

She'd finally found him.

Again.

The man of her dreams.

The End.