Protector of Souls

Being from a small town in Puerto Rico, it didn't take much to get my best friend, Sakura, and I entertained.  The carnival rolled into town and the normally vacant lot filled with large green tents and colorful attractions.  The most popular ride was the Ferris wheel because of the stunning view it provided. 

Ever since grade school, Sakura knew all of my secrets and I enjoyed teasing her about her strange quirks.  We shared many laughs, cried over inconsiderate boyfriends, and argued about inane things like which one of us would get married first.

On the serious side, we never ridiculed one another about our biggest fears, but we always jumped on the opportunity to face our inner demons and conquer them together.

Sakura confessed that she saw shadows, and if she could shower with her clothes on, she would.  When her large brown eyes opened wide and her ears moved, I knew that she sensed something evil watching her.  So I did my best to comfort her.  Sometimes a simple squeeze of her hand reassured that she was not alone.

As for me, I'm afraid of heights. 

"Come on Meredith let's get on the Ferris wheel."

Sakura's mischievous smirk lasted only a second for she quickly replaced it with a toddler's pout.  Her lower lip exposed, and her huge eyes softened, as if she were about to cry.

The one predictable thing about being a high school teenager was that we never backed out of a challenge. 

"You think I won't go up there?"

She grabbed my hand and said, "Come on, I won't let anything happen to you."

Sakura embraced me and steered us to the ride.  As the people boarded, we waited in our seat.  Trying to distract me from the fact that our car kept rising, Sakura kissed my cold cheek.

"What was that for?"

She ignored my question and began pointing out the glorious colorful lights that surrounded the carnival.  The higher we rose, the more spectacular the scene.  I thought that I would close my eyes but as the wheel stood still with us at its peak, my fear lessoned somewhat. 
         
Sakura's sudden silence caused me to look at her.  She gripped my hand tight and appeared to stare at the only red tent in the carnival.  Her eyes were wide open and her ears wiggled. 
"Oh no, is he watching you again?"

She didn't move but her grip tightened.

"Breathe.  Sakura Breathe!"

The wheel began to move and this time it was I who began to point out details.

When we got off the ride I began to laugh.  At first it was a short laugh, but when she frowned, I pointed at the wrinkles on her forehead and said, "Clown!"

She punched my shoulder.  Then she grabbed my neck and pretended to strangle me.

Without realizing, we wandered over to the red tent.  It had a large white stripe across the center and a curtain made of plastic emerald beads hung at the entrance.  The sign outside read, Spiritual Adviser.

I beamed, "I dare you get your fortune told."

Sakura smiled and led me inside.  The tiny space featured a cluttered area lit with multiple colored candles.  A cinnamon and strawberry scent attacked our nostrils.  A large round table covered with a burgundy cloth featured a crystalline orb on its center.  Four white plastic chairs surrounded the table.  Sitting in one of them, a large old lady, complete with a red tunic and an old fashioned red and blue polka-dot dress faced us with her glassy stare.

I smiled at the old lady but she seemed to either be in deep meditation, blind, or dead.  She reminded me of a wax museum figure.

Sakura, the brave one, waved at the old lady. "Hello, are you awake?"

At last, the woman moved her head and gestured for us to sit.

"We've never done this before." Sakura said.

The fortune teller ignored her and stared at me.

"Uh, I'm the one that's having my fortune told." Sakura waved at her again.

In robotic fashion, the woman turned to Sakura and said, "You are not alone."

Sakura looked at me and smiled, "Duh!"
Never changing her facial expression, the woman continued, "You are in danger."

The old lady knew how to get our attention.

"If you want to know more, it'll cost twenty dollars."

Sakura smiled, "Nice gimmick lady."

She placed a twenty dollar bill on the table.  Then, a legion of hideous wormlike creatures surrounded the bill and tucked it into her large bra.  We sat dumbfounded when we realized that the old lady had ridiculously disgusting long fingernails.

"Everywhere you go, you are being watched.  He follows you during the day and stalks you at night, even when you sleep."

Sakura sat mesmerized by the woman's revelation.

"Who's watching her?" I asked.

"I only know that he is pure evil."  The woman gave me a look of familiarity.  "Your eyes..."

"Excuse me?"

"You can see."

I didn't know how she knew about Sakura's obsession over being watched, but I was even more clueless about the obvious inference.

"Are you a psychic?  Hello, I'm not blind.  Of course I can see."

"No, you can see the invisible world," she said, "every time you glimpse it, your fear closes the door."

Sakura saw that I trembled while the lady spoke and said, "Let's get out of here."

The old lady put her wrist over my hand, her long nails sprayed about the table.  "Meredith, you must save your friend but to do so, you must leave the door open."

"What door?" Sakura asked, "How did you know her name?"

My red hair stuck to my face, the aroma of the candles reeked of rotted meat.  I got up, grabbed Sakura, and ran out of the tent.

That night, as I lay in bed, I felt as if I was flying.  My destination was Sakura's bedroom, half a mile away.

From my vantage point, I saw her sleeping, her body soaked on the damp pink linen.  We both feared darkness so I was not surprised that she slept with the lights on.

The mere fact that I had left my body did not occupy my thoughts at the time.  My preoccupation with Sakura took precedence over what was happening to me.  For that night, the door did open in spite of my wishes.

As I floated over Sakura, her dreams opened in the form of a transparent cloud of mist.  In it, she walked alone on a beach.  Instead of a bikini, she wore a black knee-high dress.  The full moon's glare bounced off the waves, casting shadows throughout.

At a distance, a dark form increased its pace, narrowing the gap between them.  Sakura was well aware of an evil entity following close behind.  Summoning the courage to look back, she saw the stalker dressed in black.  Although she could not see his face, she felt the sharp sting of his stare.

The more she picked up the pace, the more the stalker gained ground.  Sakura pressed forward.  First, the sand remained under her feet but with every stride, it began to engulf her.  The dark sand covered her ankles, then her shins, then her knees.  She felt as if she were drowning in quicksand.

Just when the shadow loomed over her, she heard a raspy voice say, "I'm here for you, my Sweet."

Sakura's screams caused me to race to my room.  Instead of floating above her body, I stared at my own tiny figure.  My crimson hair caressed the Minnie Mouse pillow while my black eyes looked like two pools of darkness, reflecting the horror of this invisible world.

Although my best friend needed me, I was helpless and stuck in my own creep show.  I decided to concentrate and envisioned myself reentering my body but instead, a vacuum pulled me out of my window and back to Sakura's bedroom.

This time Sakura sat on her bed, her face covered with tears.  Her mother prepared tea in the kitchen, fetched sleeping pills, and began to grind them into her drink.

Sensing a panic attack, Sakura struggled to breathe.  Just as she was about to regain control her book bag floated from her desk and dropped to the floor.

"Meredith! Where are you?"

My heart sank.  I wanted to tell her that she was not alone but I had no body, no voice. 

A noise broke through the thick layer of dread that hung over her.  Sakura's cell phone vibrated then rang, but before she could pick it up, it raised high above her head, flipped open and landed by her feet.

"Meredith?" She whispered, praying that it was me.

Allowing hope to win against her better judgment, she lifted the phone to her ear.

"Hello, my Sweet."

Sakura grabbed her throat gasping for air until she collapsed.

This time at what seemed the speed of light I raced to my house and reentered my body.  Finally able to blink, I attempted to get up but to my horror, I could not move.  I tried to scream.  In fact, I swore I yelled my lungs out.  Nothing.  I still had no control over my body.

Why did I have to meet that crazy old lady?  Why did that darn door open?  God, how I wished it would close.

My best friend was dying.  Heck, she may have been dead, and I couldn't do anything to help her.  The old lady's words haunted me now.  "Meredith, you must save your friend but to do so, you must leave the door open."

"Opening the door is what's getting her killed!" I yelled.  In my mind, I screamed the words but in actuality, I whispered them.  Yes.  I began to regain control of my body.

After some groveling, hysterical crying, and downright horrific pleading, my mother took me to Sakura's house.  Her mother greeted us when we arrived.  "Meredith, she's been asking for you."

I raced to her room.  We embraced. "I'm sorry Sakura but you weren't alone."

"He was here."

"Yes, I know.  I was here too."

"Who is he?"

A dark shadow appeared.  Sakura saw a man in black but she could not see his face.  I, on the other hand, saw him clear as day.

"Who are you?  What do you want with her?"

The apparition had blond hair and handsome features.  However, when he faced us, I pulled Sakura closer to me.  The stalker did not have eyes.
"I am Clyde.  Can you see me?"

I nodded.

"You can hear me too?"

Again I nodded, to the stalker's delight.

"I'm here for my soul-mate."

"She doesn't know you," I said.

He raised his arms and images of another time flooded my mind.  The essence of what was now Sakura pranced around with a young man.  Evil surrounded them as they both robbed banks and murdered to avoid capture.  The man obeyed her every whim.  In that life, he was her slave.

"Bonnie," Clyde addressed Sakura, "I will have you in my arms once again."

Sakura let me go and walked towards the apparition.  A look of recognition consumed her, "Clyde?"

Fearful of losing my best friend, I quickly realized that another union between these two souls would bring even more misery to a world filled with agony and despair.

"Sakura," I spoke as if my words were a sharp needle capable of bursting a large blimp. "Don't touch him."

She lifted her hands towards his eyeless face.

"My Sweet, we died together but to punish me you were sent back to this world without me.  Call your boyfriend so that I could live and be with you once more."

Just when all seemed hopeless, I remembered why I wanted to keep the door closed.  It wasn't because I was afraid of the unknown.  It was because I was fearful of the power I would be given and the enormous responsibility that came with it.  Well, one look at the evil presence in front of me triggered a longing to protect the innocent.  Sakura may have not been a good soul in her past lifetime, but in her current state, she had embodied all that was good.  Somehow, I sensed that to keep the door open and to help my friend, I had to invoke the powers of good.

"I call upon the light of God to strike you back to where you belong."

Clyde sneered at my smug innocence.  "You have no power."  His voice trailed off.  His empty eye sockets began to glow a golden ray.

"What's happening to me?"

The golden rays revealed a hint of blue.  For the first time we connected one soul to another.  I wanted to run at the sight of this new revelation.  Clyde was evil incarnate. 

"You!" he pointed at me, "Your eyes."

My pupils transformed until all that was left was a pure white glow.

"This can't be... but you are just a child?" Cyrus dropped to one knee.

The beam of pure goodness bounced from me and attacked his yellow sockets overtaking him.

"Run Bonnie," the stalker pleaded with Sakura.  His hallow sockets diminishing and his strength almost nonexistent. 

"Find your boyfriend now!" he begged. 

His desperate cries served him no relief.  With no masculine body to possess and his power extinguishing, rage oozed out of him.

"You think you've won.  This isn't over.  I will return!" Sakura's stalker screamed in agony.  He reached for his old love one last time.  I pulled her away and he vanished into the light.

I hugged my friend and said, "Don't worry.  I'll protect you."

With the door now opened, I found my purpose and with it, the burden of knowing that an invisible world existed within the reality I chose to accept.  My soothing boundaries were stretched, indeed, shattered beyond logic.  Fate had dealt me an unusual blow.  I am now a protector of souls.

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