Scarecrow’s Dream Read Free

the water because my bag was open.”
    “Okay. Here’s the biggie. How did you get out of the water? Let’s face it. Swimming under the bridge in the cold rain at this time of night is not what I consider the sport of choice for most people.”
    “Hold on a second. It’s like…” I couldn’t put into words the sensation but I could hear an odd, whirring, tinny noise then feel myself flying through the air. And every sound and feeling seemed as though it had happened to someone else a long time ago. I couldn’t remember what I’d been doing before the ‘flight.’ Zippo. I explained this to Adelaide, and then I sat straight up.
    “Wait. Motorcycle. I’m sure I was riding on one before I went sailing off the bridge. I can still hear the sound of something hitting the tire.”
    “How long were you in the water?”
    “No idea. I don’t really have a memory of hitting the water. I suppose I woke up once I’d made it to dry land.”
    She snapped out the next question before I had a chance to think. “When did this happen? Any idea?”
    “Last night.”
    “Not what I meant. I’m talking year, here, not day.”
    “Year? Year? What kind of crazy question is that? Now! I mean, this year. As in 1973.”
    “Oh boy.”
    “What?”
    Addie stayed silent.
    “ What ? You’re scaring the fool out of me.”
    “I’m sorry. I’m not calm either, believe me, although I’ve lived long enough to see a helluva lot of freaky things. I’ve always been very interested in the paranormal and studied up on the subject. I’ve even attended the odd séance in my life.” She chuckled. “And I do mean odd.” She stopped. “Sorry. Not funny. I’ll go on then, shall I?”
    “Oh sure, what the hell, why not? I’m dying to find out where this is going.”
    “Well, let’s start with the year. Which is 2016 and has been since January. Let’s move to the interesting fact that, whether you want to believe it or not, I can hear but not see you. Which leads to me saying when I came close enough to touch you I got this bizarre sensation. I have no words to describe it. It’s like…electricity humming? It’s very interesting and also very not of this world. Finishing with, and no offense, but, you’re not quite what I’d call—uh—corporeal. I’m so sorry. This is all sounding crazier with every word.”
    “Go on.”
    “First, do you have a wallet or anything? One with identification?”
    “It fell out into the creek along with my keys.”
    “Ah.” She added, “Oh well, that’s okay. Forget it. We don’t need it, anyway.” She pushed the compact she’d taken out of her bag in my direction. “Open it.”
    I did. “So?”
    “Check the mirror.”
    I did. And saw nothing.
    “What!”
    Addie’s tone turned almost mischievous. “I should consult with some of my occult buddies as to the physics of this to be certain but the only explanation for now is…you may not have made it out of the water as fast as you imagined.”
    It took me a good two minutes before her comment made sense. Finally I asked, “Are you saying…wait, you’re saying I drowned? You’re telling me I died?”
    “Pretty much. It’s forty-three years later than you believe it to be. I am your aunt Addie and I’m seventy-six years old. Isn’t it obvious? I’m sipping hot toddies with my niece, Holly Malone—who just happens to be a ghost.”

Chapter Two
    “Yo, Holly, you in the living room?”
    I called out, “Yeah, I’m here. Just check for Boo-Boo whenever you want to find me. She hasn’t left my side except to get water. I swear she really can see and feel me. Then again, maybe it’s just that doggie sixth sense of an abnormal presence.”
    “Whichever. We’ll figure out the shapes of things to come for ghosts and dogs as we go. Meantime, I bear gifts. Media Rack over on Sherman had a major sale going.” Addie marched into the living room, then plopped what she called an eco-friendly bag on the coffee table. “Three DVDs for