Spirit Guide

The dancefloor was packed! Shouldn’t have been a surprise for a Saturday night. This was THE club to be at for electronica dance music, light shows, and drinks. The beat, the bass, was so strong you could feel it through your body. It gave a sense of euphoria just from the music. Drinks were plenty, and surrounded by others to enjoy, it didn’t matter if you danced alone, with a group, or met new people.

Jer watched as she waited to get a drink. An invisible wave seemed to move the crowd up and down with the music. Everyone’s head and body bouncing in perfect time, expressions caught in flashes of light. A hand touched her arm, she looked. “Malibu and coke”, she responded to the touch of the bar tender. Quick with the drink, Jer handed off the cash and bobbed back towards the crowd.

Finding a place to lean against the stage, she bobbed along to the beat. Her friends had yet to show, and she wasn’t quite ready to hop into a new group. The night was young though, who knew what it would bring?

Oli had been watching Jer from the balcony. Her third drink in an hour, he thought. If Oli had sensations, he would have felt his stomach turn as he understood why he had been sent to help Jer. As he watched, her friends showed up, and the drinks really started to flow. Shots, mixers, more shots. She felt comfortable drinking to excess with this group, it was clear. Oli wasn’t sure he’d call them friends. They didn’t seem to hold good intentions. They encouraged Jer to keep drinking, keep taking shots, dance with and on and flirt with strangers. Encouraging her to really be ‘the life of the party’.

That’s the last shot I can watch her take Oli thought a few hours later. He made his way to where Jer had been at the bar below. “Water please” he asked in an even tone.

“Don’t make a mess” was the reply he got.

It’s not for me. It’s for her! He thought snidely Once I find her again.

A glint from an earring caught his eye. Jer was being pulled by the waist, seemingly against her will. Oli made his way in the direction she was being pulled, and stopped behind the guy. The guy bumped into Oli, and as he turned pulled Jer sending her toppling into another group of strangers.

“Thank you for bringing me my date. I was just thinking it’s time to go” Oli said flatly.

Jer caught Oli’s eye, looked him up and down, then decided he was less of a threat than the guy who dragged her across the dancefloor. “Here, I got you water for the walk like you asked.” he said.

She straightened up and accepted the water “Thanks dear! Sorry I have to go!” she said thinking she’d ditch this new guy as soon as he turned his back. “Let’s get our coats”

“Yes, let’s” Oli said, taking Jer’s hand. She felt chills. Chills in a way she had only heard and read about. She suddenly felt very sick to her stomach. “Jer, you’ve had enough to drink tonight. I’ve requested you to not be served anything other than water. SO, even if you don’t leave now, you are done drinking for the night” Oli stated in a serious tone.

“You what!? How dare you! You come in here and ruin my fun and you just expect me to leave with you?! NOT HAPPENING!” Jer turned to go back to her friends, but the other guy was there waiting with a satisfied smile. “Walk out with me, and then we are going opposite ways. This place was starting to suck anyway.” Jer sputtered out defeated.

Oli walked Jer out, as she asked, and turned the opposite way as she went to find her car. I can’t stop any of her actions, but I wish I could he thought as he drifted down the sidewalk.

Jer found her car, and made her way home. The anger had killed the buzz she had going. 3 stoplights, 3 right turns, 6 miles she thought, and partly muttered out loud. It had become her mantra for getting home after drinking. If she paid attention to the stoplights and to the turns, the 6-mile drive was easy.

Oli paced the dark outline of the parking lot, waiting for Jer. He knew he couldn’t talk to her anymore tonight, but at least he’d know she was safe. Finally, her headlights scanned over where he was. She pulled into her space, and just sat. As Oli was getting ready to go check on her against his better thoughts, she got out, walked over to a bush, and puked. This was clearly a regular habit as she sighed, and made her way inside her apartment. She’ll be fine til morning.

Jer woke the next morning, and immediately wanted to be back asleep. Her head pounded, her stomach hurt, and her throat was raw. Slowly sitting up, she reached for the water on the side table. After a few gulps, she searched the drawer for the ibuprofen, and gulped a couple down with more water. She stood, and as she did so, the world around her spun. ‘I gotta get some food’ she thought as she walked towards the kitchen, leaning on the wall for support. Eggs and toast with butter and some sausage links worked best for her hangover. The eggs made the bread rich and soft, and the butter and eggs fats helped soak up the alcohol. As she ate, she thought about what to do with the day. She scrolled through her pictures from last night, looking for the right one to post to Facebook to brag about being out at the club and the awesome time she had. Apparently it was very hard to take a good picture last night she thought as she went to set her phone down, a face in the background caught her attention. The guy who cut me off? And he’s staring right at me?!

She remembered the chills she had felt when he took her hand “No. It couldn’t be,” she said stunned. “No. Looking at me is a coincidence. I took a lot of pictures. The flash probably caught his attention. And the chills, probably just my drunk brain being happy to have a hand to hold. I need a shower. Let’s move on with the day,” she sputtered out to herself. She stood, put her dishes in the sink and went to get ready for a day out of the house.

Oli had been floating across the grass when he saw Jer. He set his feet on the ground despite being transparent. This wasn’t the time to try to confront her, but I need to follow her. He went to her car, and sat in the back seat. Wherever she goes, I’ll go.

Jer shivered as she climbed into her car. Bit colder than I’d thought it’d be she thought as she turned the heat up, and drove out of the lot. To start her day on the town, she went to Target. There was nothing she really needed, but who doesn’t like a good Target shop?

Oli hung out in the car when they arrived, what would he need at Target? Plus, Target was a harmless place.

Jer came back an hour later with a small bag she tossed in the back while looking at her phone. Who could I text right now to hang out? She had her club friends, but they weren’t daytime friends. She had classmates, but they weren’t her friends. Her cousins? But they wouldn’t want to hang.

I need a coffee, she finally agreed with herself, unable to think of anyone to join her.

At Burnt Out Beans, Jer ordered her normal latte, a sugar cookie, and some soup. She waited for her coffee, then found a table while she waited for her food. She opened Facebook and began scrolling her homepage. She was lost in thoughts of how everyone else looked like they were having so much fun when the sharp “JER!” of her food being ready shook her back to reality.

Oli decided this was the time to try again to connect with Jer. He had been there in life, looking at this phone, not sure who to call. The loneliness you feel in that moment is so deep, it’s hard to have hope. Oli waved to the barista, and pointed towards Jer as he walked in, so they’d know he wasn’t just taking up space. It’s weird to be a ghost. Like a second-class citizen. He frowned.

“Hi Jer. I’m Oli. We met last night. Can I sit down?” he tried for a weak smile.

Jer looked up with wild eyes. The guy from last night? “How did you find me?! Why are you here?”

“If I can sit, I can explain it. But it’s a bit of a conversation. Perhaps to put your mind at ease, I’m a ghost. I’m not here to do harm.”

Jer’s face drained of all color as Oli smiled at the end of his sentence. She looked at the chair, back to Oli, back to the chair. “Were you in my car this morning?”

“Ah… yes. Please try to keep your voice down. I’m going to sit now.”

“I couldn’t see you in my car, but it felt unusually cold. Like now, but now I can see you. How are you moving the chair? WHY WERE YOU IN MY PICTURE?!”

“All good questions.” Oli answered without missing a beat thinking this would help calm Jer, “As a mentor ghost, I can be seen or unseen. I can interact with some objects. But I cannot cause destruction or chaos. The picture, well. I was visible, and you captured it.”

Jer’s mind reeled with the new information. How could this be? Other people talked about having ghosts visit them, but surely that wasn’t real, was it?

“I guess not many people know about us coexisting. It’s better than just floating in purgatory though” Oli mused “at least there’s something to do”.

“Why are you here?!” Jer repeated coolly.

“Because I had a similar life story to yours, and I am to mentor you to a better place.”

“My life is fine! I don’t need you!”

“Careful what you say. I could get sent…”

“No! I’m fine. Everything is fine. I don’t need a ghost to help me.” Jer sputtered

“Alright. You did it.” Oli said, looking distressed and despairing. “Goodbye”.

Oli blinked out of existence. The room felt warmer, Jer could hear the clatter of dishes, and the chatter of customers. She took a deep breath. That was weird. She opened her phone.

“How to get a ghost mentor” she typed into google. 78 results.

‘When you need help in life…’

‘when you are going down a bad path…’

‘Ghosts are sent so you don’t repeat their…’

She clicked on the last one. Mistakes. ‘Ghosts are sent so you don’t repeat their mistakes.’ What mistakes was she making? She was happy, right? A normal college student, figuring it out? She had mindlessly continued to scroll the article while lost in her thoughts. “ghosts can be dismissed if the human says their problem is complete.” Her heart tinged. She had sent Oli away without giving him a chance to explain anything.

“How to get a ghost back” a new Google search.

‘You cannot recall a ghost’ all 50 results said the same thing. Ghosts were sent to people, people could not request ghosts.

Jer sighed. Oli was sent to help her because he had made mistakes, and now he was gone, and she had no idea what he was there for. Or, rather, she didn’t want to look at the reason he was there. After all, it’s what helped her cope in life.

Oli landed at the check in counter, shoulders slumped “I’m back, I failed” he muttered.

“Back to the queue until we find a match then,” the clerk answered.

Oli wandered off. Purgatory existed in the same space as the human realm, but with an energy barrier between the two. He wandered down to his favorite park, sat on his bench, and watched the ducks circle around the pond. His wife had this bench placed in his memory. In life, he also enjoyed watching the ducks. How long would he be at the bench this time, would his wife stop by? There were no markers of time in purgatory. The sun didn’t rise and set here. Just flat light left over from the human realm.

Some time later, his watch buzzed “Report to mentor counter” Another chance to help someone he thought to himself.

“You’re going to help a girl named Jer”

“This is a joke.”

“Nope. She’s got a drinking problem, you had a drinking problem. Similar reasons. Do you accept?”

“She sent me back already.”

“And she’s been trying to find you again, despite having learned humans can’t request ghosts.”

Oli sighed, bumped his watch to the transporter, and said “I accept”

He was whisked back to the same club as the first time.

There was Jer, dancing, losing her balance, friends pushing her into the stage. Trapping her hip to hip. Oli walked down to the dancefloor, tapped her friend on the shoulder, and gruffly asked to dance with Jer. The friend backed off, and Jer slumped on the stage before righting herself.

“Hello Jer. Wanna dance?”

“Can you?”

Oli rolled his eyes. “Yes,” and he proceeded to do the vogue.

“Actually, I think I want to go”

Oli’s face sank.

“Let’s get some food.”

Oli gave a nod of agreement. Jer said goodbye to her friends, and tugged Oli out of the club, down to Greasy Spoon, the late-night eatery.

“I thought people couldn’t request ghosts”, Jer said after ordering.

“You seem surprisingly sober despite what I just saw at the club”

“Oh, very drunk, just also very focused”

“You can’t, but you still have a problem, and I am still the neighborhood drunk ghost. And, they could see you were looking for me.”

Jer blushed. “Well. You nudged me… and I suppose I felt bad for preemptively sending you back. Did you get in trouble?”

“No, it doesn’t work like that. But I am glad you wanted me back. What else is on your mind?”

“This cheese burger!” Jer said excitedly as the food was set down in front of her.

Oli chuckled, “Alright. Cheese burgers it is. I always liked mine with bacon.” They both smiled.

“Can you really help me with the drinking?” Jer asked, halfway through her burger.

“I can only do my best, but I’ve helped others” Oli answered with a reassuring smile.

-6 months later-

“Oli! Oli! Come sit with me!” Jer caught Oli’s eye and gave him a pouty demanding face. Oli pointed to himself with his eyebrows raised, then relaxed into a little laugh and smiled as he made his way to the seat she had saved.

“Oli, this is Stacey Mark, Jack, Sabrina, and Kate. They are all fans of the author!” each had nodded or waved as their name was said.

“Wonderful! It’s nice to meet all of you. I’ve heard so much. I’m looking forward to the reading as well.” Oli said as he sat.

The reading and Q&A section passed, Oli watched Jer and how she interacted with her friends. They laughed and sighed. Caught their breath, and stifled giggles. She was on her journey back to a happy life. He had mentored her through going to therapy, finding new hobbies, making new friends. And now, it was paying off. Jer turned, smile in her eyes. The glints of hope and life and warmth very obvious. Oli gave a smile back.

As Oli walked Jer to her car, he started softly, “It’s time Jer. I’ve helped you with what I was sent here to do.”

“No! I’m not ready to say goodbye!” Jer protested.

“It’s not goodbye forever, more like bye for now. Now that we are connected, if you have a problem in the future, I’m the first choice for you.”

“I still don’t want to say goodbye.”

“Aww Jer. Cheer up. I’ll have to haunt you otherwise” Oli teased, “I’ll be there in spirit with you and your friends” he laughed at his own pun.

Jer sighed, a lump formed in her throat. “Alright, I suppose this was to come eventually. Thank you for your help.” she said, tears slowly sliding down her cheeks, “Bye for now Oli.”

“Bye for now Jer”

Oli shimmered like a mirage for a moment, then disappeared.

Jer took a moment to catch her breath and recompose herself. She finished the walk to her car, and found a framed photo on the hood.

          “Remember, there’s always new experiences to have.

           And you are one choice away from changing your life.”

                               -Oli

He was right. He’d always be there.

She wiped the tears away, and drove home. Glad to be on this new path.