“I know you’re here, Andrea. Your energy is too strong to ignore. Is it really hard to understand that I want to be alone? Can’t you at least give me a moment with her?” I nodded at Kate’s grave before looking around hoping to see Andrea.
“What are you doing here?” I squinted when Henrietta appeared in front of me. She looked normal this time, and despite the old age, she looked very beautiful.
“I’m sorry, Nick, but watching you 24/7 is really necessary at this time.”
“Bullshit. My life is no longer in danger, Henrietta. I’m pretty sure Michael already knows that I am not a threat to him anymore. I am safe now. I’m better off without you and the rest of your guardians.”
“It’s not that simple,”
“Just leave me alone.”
“I wish I could, but I have to do my job.”
“Where’s Andrea? She’s a better babysitter than you are.”
“She requested me to take over her duties for the meantime. She cares so much about you and Kate, so she decided to stay away for a while. Andrea never experienced losing a love one. She said she had no idea on what you are going through. She was afraid she might say the wrong words and hurt you even more.”
“And you do?”
“My husband died in 1947. We were both just 46 years old. I endured sixteen lonely years without him. We might not be feeling the same intensity of pain because my husband left me with two children. They gave me the strength to move on.”
She looked at Kate’s grave. “You are lucky she believed you. You had the support that people like us wanted. I knew I could see spirits since I was thirteen years old. I was planning to tell my husband about my gift on the night of our wedding, but I couldn’t bring myself to say it. My instinct says he wouldn’t believe me. A month before our first anniversary, we went to visit his grandmother’s sister. She could tell right away that like her, I could interact with the spirits. She warned me not to tell my husband or anyone from their family. She was labeled as a crazy woman by all her relatives when she told them. On our way home, I asked my husband about it. He admitted that he doesn’t believe in such things, and he really thinks his grandmother was crazy. Since then I never talked about spirits. I did all my missions alone, and I was very careful not to get caught.”
I threw her a sideway glance but didn’t say anything. She took that as a cue to continue.
“When my husband died, he was a lost soul. He wasn’t ready to die and leave his family yet. He ignored the light when it appeared for him. I wanted to help him but he didn’t know about my gift. Everytime he talks to me, he would start off with ‘I know you can’t hear me but’, so I had to pretend that I couldn’t hear him. Imagine the pain I feel, Nick, everytime he tells me that he would stay and wait for me. I am person who helps spirit cross over because they don’t belong here anymore, but I couldn’t do anything for my husband.”
“What happened to him? Did he cross over already?”
“Jasper, a kindhearted boy like you, was assigned to him. My guardian warned me not to interfere with my husband’s case. Yes, Nick, you don’t just randomly meet ghosts. The guardians are carefully planning everything. But, yes, you’ve helped a lot of ghosts not assigned to you because you ignore no one. You have a really big heart.” She smiled like a mother proud of her son.
“Jasper did everything he could, but my husband was a very stubborn man. I got to talk to him through Jasper, and he insisted that he would wait for me. Jasper gave up on him, and we couldn’t blame the boy. He was just Nineteen years old.”
“So, he’s still here?”
“I don’t know. I did what I thought was best for him. I pushed him away hoping he would just cross over. I hope you don’t mind, Nick, but I don’t want to elaborate what happened that night. I could always ask my fellow guardians if he already crossed over, after all it has been more or less fifty years, but I chose not to. In a few years time, I will be done with my guardian duties and will cross over to the other side. I just hope he would be there, still waiting for me.” She said dreamily.
“Nick, when the time is right you will cross over, and Kate would be there waiting for you. I know it’s hard to continue living your life now, but you have to be strong. I respect your decision if you want nothing to do with us anymore, but the guardians would still be around to protect you. We will be forever grateful for all the help you’ve extended to us.”
I slightly nodded and offered her a half smile. She disappeared but I could still feel her presence around me.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Hey,”
“Hey, I didn’t know you are still here. I thought you left already.”
“Well, Baylee went to Kentucky for a two week vacation. My Mom organized a small concert for our church, and he wanted to participate.”
“That’s great.”
“Leighanne took this chance to meet up with her Wylee suppliers, so I thought to stay here for a couple more days. Hope that’s ok with you.”
“Sure, Brian. You can stay here for as long as you want.”
“Thank you.”
“No problem.”
“What are you doing?” He looked at the papers scattered in my desk.
“Writing a song,” I shrugged “This is the only way I know to release everything that’s in here.” I pointed at my left chest.
He nodded. “I haven’t seen you for two days, I hope you are not avoiding me.”
I shook my head. “I went to visit Kate and spent the whole day there.”
“I ordered pizza and picked up beers at the store. Want to join me?” I noticed that Brian instantly changes the subject to avoid anything that’s related to Kate.
“Sure.”
“I’ll be right back.”
“I was just wondering, Nick, did you ever speak to a ghost while you’re with me?” He started after finishing a slice of pizza.
“Of course. Remember when Baylee was hospitalized due to Kawasaki? That was the first time I stepped on a hospital after finding out about my gift. That was an experience I would never forget.”
Brian seemed interested in the story I was about to tell.
Author's Chapter Notes:
The Other Side of Nick Carter is nominated for the Best Story ended in 2012 category in BSB Fanfiction 2012 awards. I am also nominated as Best Author Fantasy/Supernatural in Felix awards. THANK YOU to whoever nominated me. This is greatly appreciated and means a lot to me. If you guys think that my story and I deserves to win, please vote for us.
Thank you to all the readers for your support, and for still reading this story.
Thank you to all the readers for your support, and for still reading this story.
