The idea had occurred to me to seek out the oracle before now, but I’d dismissed it because I had no clue how to reach her cave. Now I was here, delivered right to her doorstep.
Maybe she can help shed some light.
I was no longer afraid of her predictions—after all, my life could hardly get any worse.
I passed through her door, expecting to see the oracle standing, or perhaps sitting, in her usual solitude. But as I entered, I was met with quite a different sight.
I did find the oracle—perched on a rickety stool—but gathered around her were the three women I loved most in the world.
Ben
“The young spirit has arrived,” the eyeless oracle announced, almost gleeful.
I gazed anxiously at the pale faces of my mother, sister and girlfriend. They had figured it out. Due to the messages I’d left, they must have suspected I was a ghost, and perhaps it was River who’d suggested that they come to consult with the oracle. River was the only one of the three who had been here before. But how had they gotten here? How had they found her?
It didn’t matter. They were here. And I was here.
I knew that if I failed to find any kind of solution for myself, I would return to The Shade and find a way to communicate the truth to them. The full truth, not just dribs and drabs, so that it would be easier for them to move on. But I hadn’t been ready to tell them yet, not when I still held on to a sliver of hope that I might be able to return in some way, even if not in my own body.
Now, I had no choice in the matter. From the looks on their faces, it was clear that the oracle had already told them everything.
My eyes passed over a strange arrangement in the center of the dim room. There was a low, circular wooden table, upon which stood a rusted, medieval-looking dagger, positioned at a perfect ninety-degree angle. The dagger had a large, ornate handle and a thin blade whose tip was dug into the table’s surface, though it was hard to tell whether this positioning alone was what made it stand or if that was caused by the oracle’s magic. I couldn’t even begin wrapping my mind around what this was exactly, but whatever it was, I was sure that it had something to do with Hortencia summoning me here.
“How do we know that Ben is here?” River asked, her voice slightly shaky, as she furrowed her brows.
Hortencia whirled on her. “Do you suggest that I lie to you, girl?”
River pursed her lips in response.
“What reason would I have to lie, pray tell? You are the ones who disturbed me here and requested me to call a communion with your lost boy. I have frankly no interest in whether or not you believe me, but if you don’t, I suggest you get out of my cave since you’re wasting my time.”
Rose was looking uncertainly at the oracle, a mixture of disgust and fascination in her large, green eyes as she took in her appearance. This meeting would have been the first time Rose had ever encountered an oracle before, and for that matter, it was my mother’s first time too. Still looking doubtful, Rose placed a hand over River’s knee and squeezed it.
“I think we should believe her,” Rose whispered, as the oracle crossed her arms over her chest and headed to the other side of the room in a huff. “Like she says, what would be the point in lying? If she just wanted to get rid of us, she could’ve just said that she couldn’t call Ben, or heck, just forced us out of her cave with her magic. I don’t think she’s trying to fool us. There’s nothing in it for her.”
“I agree,” my mother breathed. Her eyes moved back to the oracle. “Please, Hortencia. River didn’t mean to offend you. It was merely a question… H-How do I talk to my son?”
“You already are,” the oracle sneered, still refusing to turn around and face my mother. “I told you, he has arrived in the room and whatever you say enters his wispy ears.”
I wondered if Hortencia could actually see me in her mind’s eye. But more importantly, I wondered whether she could hear me. I’d heard her in my mind while still outside the cave. I needed to test if the communication went both ways.
“Hortencia,” I said, before pausing for her response.
She turned slowly in my direction.
“Yes, phantom?” she murmured.
She can hear me. She can hear me! The realization was strange. This was the first time a living person had been able to actually hear me, in real life, outside of a dream, since I became a ghost. As repugnant and irritating as this oracle was, she had become my only link.
“Please, tell them that I love them,” I requested.
The small woman’s lips curled slightly, and I was sure that if she’d had eyeballs, she would’ve rolled them. She twisted to face my mother, sister, and River.
“He says that he loves you,” she said in a sickly sweet voice.
Not exactly the delivery I would’ve wanted, but it was better than nothing. In fact, it brought about a much stronger reaction than I had wanted.
Tears began spilling down my mother and sister’s cheeks, while I could see that River was on the verge of breaking down too. I didn’t think that River missed me any less than my mother and sister, but she was more practiced at holding in her emotions than they were.
I stalled, wondering what to say next. What could I say that wouldn’t hurt them, that wouldn’t rip their hearts to shreds? Though it was probably too late for that now.
“So… you told them everything about me?” I clarified.
“Enough about you,” Hortencia replied before grimacing. “Enough for them to insist that I call you here.”