Paranormal Agency BOOK 2 : THE FUNERAL HOME.

Alison got home around eight in the evening. Marissa had gotten off of work a little early at four and the two of them had gone out for drinks. She pulled the book and candle Marissa had given her out of her purse and set them on the coffee table in her living room. She was just about to sit down when she heard her name coming from outside her front door.

Dropping her purse on the ground, Alison went to the front door and opened it. Greg was floating above the porch. “Hey,” he called. “Can I come in?”

“Where’ve you been?”

“Busy,” he replied.

Alison motioned for him to come inside. “I was out with Marissa. She gave me some kind of meditation book from her store. I’m going to look at it.”

“That’s cool. I didn’t know you were into that kind of thing.”

“Yeah this isn’t really my kind of thing,” she commented. “I used to be into like… Ouija boards and stuff… but never metaphysical, spiritual bullshit like this. Guess I wanted to scare myself, not improve my aura.” She laughed awkwardly at her own words. Ouija boards. It had been so long since she had used one. To think she used to be obsessed with something that was so evil. She wondered if it was Ouija boards that had ruined her life.

Shaking the thought from her head, she sat on the couch, and picked up the book from the table.

“Mind if I join you?” Greg asked.

“Be my guest. Have a seat.”

Greg floated beside her, crossing his legs tailor-style in front of him. “Where do we start?”

“I don’t know yet.” She flipped to the first page. “Let’s see, something about getting to know your real self. Oh. This is just an intro.” She skipped a few more pages. “Okay, here it is. First, light the candle.” She shrugged. “That’s easy enough. I can do that.” She grasped at her lighter on the coffee table and used it to light the giant white candle Marissa had given to her. She glanced at the book again, skimming the page. “Next, I have to close my eyes and imagine myself that I’m in some kind of sacred space. What the hell is a sacred space?”

“I think it means you’re supposed to make some nice place up in your head and pretend you’re there.”

“What do you know about sacred spaces?” Alison joked.

“About as much as you. But it sounded good.”

“Well, here we go.” She closed her eyes and imagined herself in a grassy field. It was pretty and peaceful. Just how she liked it. She imagined herself standing in the center of the field, her eyes closed, taking in her surroundings. It was nice.

Then something strange happened. For a second, she almost thought she saw Marissa standing there with her.

Marissa?

And in Alison’s own head? How was that possible? Was this some kind of vision? It was like dreaming while she was awake. Alison had never had a vision in her mind like that before. It was almost frightening.

In Alison’s mind, she saw Marissa stamping a foot on the ground and screaming someone’s name loudly. There were tears in her eyes. Alison noticed that Marissa looked a little different. Her hair was shorter, cropped at only about an inch of length from her head, but it was definitely her. Alison tried to make out what her friend was saying.

Michael? Was she saying the name Michael? What was this?

She opened her eyes again. What was it that she seeing right now? What did it mean? “Greg. I have a problem,” she mumbled in disbelief. The image in her head had begun to fade and was disappearing completely. Marissa’s voice disappeared from Alison’s mind as well.

“What’s that?”

Alison glanced over at him and saw that he had also closed his eyes and looked as though he was imagining himself in some faraway place. “I just saw Marissa in my head and she looked pissed.”

“You’re a weirdo.”

“I’m not joking. I think I just saw something really important. What if it was some kind of warning?”

Greg made a face. “I don’t know, Alison. It was probably just your imagination running away with you.”

“Greg, I’m serious. It was really weird. I saw her calling out for someone.”

“Was she okay?”

“If by ‘fine’, you mean healthy, then yeah, she looked fine,” Alison replied. “But she looked kind of traumatized. I don’t know how to put it. She looked like she was upset about something. Do you think I should tell her about it?”

“Go for it,” Greg said, sounding bored about the whole thing. “If you want. But, to be honest, I really think you’re overreacting.”

“I’m going to call her,” Alison decided firmly. She grabbed her purse and fished out her cell phone. Then she dialed Marissa’s number.

“Hey, Alison,” Marissa chimed. “What’s up?”

“I was using that book you gave me and something weird happened,” Alison said.

“Did you find enlightenment?”

“Um, no. Not just yet. I saw you in my head. You looked mad about something. You were standing in the woods or something.”

“Oh, I love the woods! I love hiking too. You know how outdoorsy I am. The outdoors are kinda my thing. One with nature and all that.”

“That wasn’t my point. I was actually thinking maybe you should stay out of the woods,” Alison stated.

“What? Alison, what did you see exactly?”

“I just saw you in the woods and you looked upset. You were calling for some guy named Michael.”

“Really?” Marissa asked in surprise. “That’s funny. I don’t even know any Michaels.”

“How do you not know any Michaels? That’s like the most common name in the world.”

“Sorry,” Marissa said. “I just don’t.”

“I’m just saying, I understand, you love nature and all, but maybe you should take a break from the outdoors for a little awhile,” Alison continued. “It’d really put my mind at ease if you’d take my advice for now.”

“Oh, Alison. I go to the park to jog every day. How am I going to stay away from the outdoors? When I’m not working, I practically live outside.”

“Just humor me for a little while,” Alison begged. “Please. For just a little while?”

“All right, fine,” Marissa grumbled. “For how long?”

“For the rest of your life?”

“So, now I’m avoiding the outside world for the rest of my life, Alison? Can’t you be a little more realistic than that?”

“Fine,” Alison said, sighing loudly. She put a hand to her chin thoughtfully. She supposed they could compromise. “Two weeks,” she tried. “Just two weeks until I feel better about the whole thing.”

Marissa sounded annoyed. “I’ll do two weeks but that’s it. If I get fat though I’m blaming you. And to make this up to me, you’re going to come camping with me in two weeks too. We can invite Josh and Elizabeth if you want. I know you’ve been wanting to spend some time with him. It’ll be fun.”

“Wait? What?” Alison couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “I can’t do that.”

“Promise you’ll go camping with me or I’m not putting myself under house arrest for two weeks. Choose your poison, babe.”

Groaning, Alison nodded even though Marissa couldn’t see her. “Okay. I’ll go camping with you. But does Josh really have to come?”

“Yes, he does,” Marissa said cheerfully. “No ifs, ands, or buts about that. ’Kay, babe?”

“Sure.”

“Well, I gotta jump in the shower but I’ll talk to you later, okay? Make sure you call me. Looks like I’m going to be fat and bored for the next two weeks.”

“Great. I’m going to look over that book you gave me. G’night.”

“G’night,” Marissa said.

They hung up and Alison tossed her phone on the couch beside her. She looked over at Greg. At least Marissa had taken her seriously enough to listen to her. It made Alison feel a little better about the whole thing. “I warned her. She’s going to stay indoors for the next two weeks.”

“Geez, talk about overreacting,” Greg laughed. “I mean, Alison, I know you’re amazing and all, but since when do you see the future? I thought that was Marissa’s department.”

“You never know, right?” Alison said. She picked the book back off of the table and began to flip through it again. The jeans and white t-shirt she was wearing were starting to feel uncomfortable on her. She thought about showering and changing into some sweats. It might help relax her before she continued on her “spiritual journey.” “Better safe than sorry, I say,” she mumbled to herself.

“I suppose,” Greg agreed finally. “If you really feel that strongly about it.”

“Thank you,” Alison smiled. “I appreciate that.”