Goodbye

“Alex, come on. You promised me a date to the movies. I told you I didn’t want to do this again,” Silvia whined, tugging on my arm. She shivered. The chilly October night made her breath fog in front of her.

“We will,” I assured her. “But first we do this.” I held up the Ouija board I had tucked inside my coat jacket. “You haven’t stopped complaining about it since we met, and who better to help you face your fears than your own boyfriend.” I smiled at her, taking her hand in mine. She gave me a look of hesitation in return, biting the tip of her red painted thumbnail, but followed as I stepped through the rusted cemetery gates.

“It’s just, do we have to do it here? And at night? This place gives me the creeps,” she said.

It wasn’t that bad. In the darkness, the place had a rather tranquil feeling. The full moon overhead drenched the faded gray tombstones in an almost ethereal glow. There was no sound of speeding cars or the rumble of a train going by. It was nice, albeit a little somber. It was a graveyard after all.

“We’re here to connect with spirits,” I argued. “You’ll be fine. Don’t worry. You’re here with me.” I gave her hand a comforting squeeze.

“You sure? I know this thing is supposed to be just a silly toy, but last time, I swear the planchet moved on its own.” She kept close to me as we walked down the old gravel path.

“Yeah?” I answered skeptically.

“I mean it Alex. Something was there with me. I stopped right then and threw the board away, but… I think whatever it was followed me home.”

“You stopped without saying Goodbye?” I asked, with a quirk of my eyebrow.

“What?” Silvia answered. “What does that matter?”

“You have to say Goodbye, Silv. It’s like the number one rule: you always say Goodbye before ending a session; otherwise, its not really over. It doesn't matter if you get rid of the board or not. Of course a ghost is following you. Probably more than one actually.”

“You do?” Silva’s voice dropped to a hushed tone. She looked like a deer in the headlights. 

I burst out laughing. “I’m kidding! That’s just a crock and bull story the makers of this thing dreamt up to scare people. It’s a joke. Now come on, let’s do this. Over there looks like a good spot.”

“The mausoleum?” Silvia balked.

“Yeah, why not? What better place to talk to ghosts. Besides, its better than sitting on the cold grass outside,” I replied. She was making this harder than it needed to be.

“I don’t know, Alex. We’re gonna miss the movie. We really can’t do this some other time?”

The way she peered up at me nearly made me give in. She dressed cute tonight in her black knit sweater and jean pencil skirt. A rosy hue blossomed over her cheeks. Gosh, I was lucky to call her mine, and I intended to keep it that way. This ghost thing had to end. “We’re not leaving until this irrational fear is behind you. I don’t want to hear another word about ghosts or apparitions after this,” I said in a stern voice.

She chewed her bottom lip, glancing around the rows of headstones. Finally, with a deep sigh, she relented. “Fine.”

The mausoleum was one of the smaller ones that dotted the cemetery grounds, and one of the older ones too; those who rested within all but forgotten if not for their names etched into the granite. I sat on the floor in the center of the chamber with the shelves of coffins to my back. Silvia took a seat across from me just inside the doorway we left open, using the moonlight to illuminate the board I laid flat between us.

Placing both our fingers on the planchet, I closed my eyes and said, “Hello. We’ve come to connect with the spirits of this place. Are you with us?”

My eyes snapped open as the planchet glided over the answer Yes.

Silvia’s breathing picked up. "This isn't funny, Alex. I know its you moving the thing just to scare me."

"It's not me, I swear." I protested. I returned my attention to the board and asked, "are you the one who's been following Silvia?'

The planchet circled for a few seconds before landing on Yes again.

I watched Silvia’s hand start to tremble, her fingers bone white from the cold.

“You need to stop,” I called out.

Creepingly slow, the planchet moved to No.

Silvia looked at me with fear in her eyes. Her whole body was shaking now. “Let's stop. It's just the wind from outside that's all. We can still catch the movie if we leave now.” I moved my hand over hers, pressing her fingers to the planchet. It’s almost over. We’d be done in a second.

“What do you want with her?” I asked.

The planchet moved again. S-T-A-Y

“You want her to stay here with you?” I asked aimlessly to the blackened void at my back.

Yes

“Yes,” Silvia muttered. Her gaze held on the planchet for a moment longer, then she recoiled from my grasp, scooting away from me. Her foot slipped on the smooth stone floor, kicking the board as I swiped the planchet into my hand. “I’m done, Alex. I don’t want to do this anymore. Let’s go home.”

My lips curled upwards in an insidious smile. “Oh, Silvia, that's not going to happen,” I said.

Silvia’s face turned pale. Her beautiful brown doe eyes were as wide as saucers as she stared back at me in terror. “Wh-what do you mean, Alex? Wh-why can’t we go home?” she stammered.

She started to pull herself closer to the door, but it was too late.

“Because you never said Goodbye.” I snapped the planchet in half as the mausoleum doors slammed shut. “And now you never will.”