Chapter 52: A wonderful new world!

Nadia

I didn’t know where to start. How did I tell him that I had seen Gillian?! I didn’t even understand it myself. I sighed deeply as I curled up beside him and looked at the fire blazing in front of us. We didn’t need the fire in the fireplace in our room, but I loved the calm atmosphere it created.

“I saw Gillian.” I blurted out, and even my eyes widened as I realized how I blurted it out.

“Wait? What?” Lucca looked confused, and I took a deep breath before explaining exactly what happened. He patiently sat there listening while a multitude of emotions flickered in his eyes. One of which I was sure was that I had gone crazy!

“It had to have been a dream, right? I mean, we killed all the ghosts.” I shrugged when I finally finished. Lucca took a moment to process what I had just said while he got up to pour us some drinks. When he returned, he sighed deeply.

“Well, I don’t think it was. I mean, you’ve heard the rumours. There are a few people who have experienced similar things since we put the bench there. It’s almost as if the bench anchored some of the spirits to us.” He shrugged and I felt like smacking him. Great! So, all that told me was that I wasn’t the only crazy person! I leaned back into Lucca’s arms as my mind rambled on and on.

Maybe I really saw Gillian. Maybe we actually spoke … I tried to remember what he said, but I was still in shock about it. By the time we went to bed, I still couldn’t remember. Rolling around, I finally gave up trying to sleep and checked on the kids. I was in the kitchen getting some warm milk when I finally remembered!

“No, my dear. It is happening, and you didn’t kill all of us. You just killed the ones who had revealed themselves and were attacking you. The rest of us have been hanging around here and there and everywhere. We only want peace and when you killed the leader, we were released from his bonds.” What did he mean? Did they see the war? I wondered if I had stayed longer if the conversation had continued. I remember jumping up from the bench. What if you could only talk to them while you were sitting there?

“Gillian?” My voice echoed through the empty kitchen as my eyes shot from one side to the other in search of his ghost! When nothing happened, I breathed a sigh of relief and decided that you could only talk to the ghosts when you were sitting on the bench. After I finished my milk, I went back to bed and finally fell asleep. I was up before the sunrise and as soon as Lucca showed signs of life, I started rambling.

“I think you can only speak to the ghosts when you are seated on the bench. When can we go back? I want to test my theory.” His laughter made me feel a little hurt, but I didn’t show it. He agreed that we could go back there in the next day or two, which, according to me, couldn’t go by fast enough. We had been away from home for over a week.

It took some doing, but Lucca rearranged our schedules and, as promised, two days later, we had left the kids with my parents and were on our way back to the old dragon kingdom. As soon as we arrived, I was ready to go back to the bench, but Lucca wanted us to wait until morning. I felt like I was going to crawl out of my own skin with excitement and didn’t sleep a damn wink.

I wondered if Lucca would be able to see his old friend or if only certain people could speak to the ghosts. When Lucca finally got up, it felt as if he was moving purposefully slowly to agitate me and I nearly ran to the bench when we eventually made it there. I promptly plopped my butt down and looked around, but there was nothing. No sign of Gillian. I sighed, feeling sad instantly.

What if it was a one-time thing and I wouldn’t be able to see him again?! I was just about to get up when Lucca sat down beside me and within seconds Gillian appeared! I was positively beaming the moment the two old friends started to talk! Lucca looked so happy to see his old friend, and they caught up on what Gillian thought of the new country and what we had done.

It was a huge relief to know that he was happy that things worked out the way they did, and he was pleased with what we had done for everyone after the war. I needed to ask my questions, but I didn’t want to interrupt the happy reunion. When it seemed as though they were all caught up, I grinned and bombarded Gillian with my questions.

“Okay, okay. One question at a time!” Gillian laughed and Lucca looked amused. He answered my questions one by one and things made more sense. The bench was the anchor for the ghosts. The emotions that were shared in this very spot when we had our memorial opened the portal for them to join us here. You had to be seated on the couch to speak to them.

Most ghosts can come through and speak to their loved ones and friends. A few had completely disappeared, one being the leader of the ghosts. According to Gillian, he disappeared into a black burning hole in the ground on the day I killed him and nobody has seen him since. That comment opened an entirely new set of questions and Lucca cried with laughter.

I wanted to know what it looked like where they were and if the ghosts could all see each other. I mean, they no longer had a home of their own. What did their new home look like?