“It is perilous here—especially for a woman of your sort.” She gives me a pointed look. I raise my eyebrows as I lean back against the desk, my fingers picking at the aged corners.
“What exactly do you mean by my ‘sort’, Milly?” I say without looking at her. I know what she’s alluding to, but I want to hear it. I hear a soft sigh and look up to find her closer to my face again.
“Time may have moved forward, Shadow. But here? This sin remains just as they’ve always deemed it—a sin, forever unchanging in their eyes.” Her eyes hold my stare as the severity of her words sinks in.
“Is the priest part of the issue?” I watch her close her eyes and flinch before tensing her shoulders and pinching her brows together, fighting against the instinctive reaction her body has on the mention of Warren Brown. I stand up and step forward slowly, looking up into her golden eyes that swirl with mystery.
“What did he do to you, Milly? Why is everyone stepping around Priest Brown, waiting for the next shoe to drop? Why was there an article about the potential disappearances by—” She places her cool hand across my mouth, eyes wide in fear as she pushes me backwards into the corner of the room.
“You mustn’t speak of this aloud, Grace. One never knows when he might be listening… where he lingers, or just how much he already knows. I’ve told you, this place is not a haven for us. We must not speak of it here.”
I bring my hand up and pull hers down from my mouth with more force than I intended.
“Then let’s go somewhere safe to speak about this, where we can speak about anything without fear. I need to know what’s happening here, and more importantly, I just need to…”
I hesitate as I look down. “I don’t know, I just know there’s more to what's happening here.”
I feel my face flush with embarrassment at my avoidance. Sure, she’s a ghost, but it’s as if the universe itself is nudging me toward her. A desire so deep within my soul that tells me that I was meant to be on this campus simply to meet Milly.
I glance up to see her looking down at me with sorrow in her eyes as she takes a small step away from me, my chest cracking at the distance I know she’s going to force between us once again.
“I cannot leave this place, no matter how dearly I wish it weren’t so. I’ve tried more times than I dare count. I have relinquished the hope of ever setting my feet, let alone my eyes, beyond these campus walls.”
My stomach tightens instantly at what she insinuates, my soul aching at the idea that Milly has been trapped on this campus for over a century. My thoughts race with potential solutions. Could I hire a witch, or perhaps a local medium, or would it be a spiritualist? She starts shaking her head at me with a soft smile, recognizing the gears in my brain moving to rectify this situation.
“Your hope is a beautiful thing, my shadow. But don’t squander it on me.”
I glare up at her. “Do not tell me what I can and cannotwasteon you.”
I rush toward her, lacing my fingers in her vibrant locks. I tug gently, rising onto my toes, my gaze locked with hers, the air between us vibrating with intensity.
“You deserve hope as much as the next person, more so. Almost a century, Milly. You’ve been stuck here for almost a century. You deserve the hope of the future, and I will be damned alongside you if I can’t help you achieve it.” I look between her eyes and her lips as I feel the frigid exhale of air radiate from her mouth onto mine. Goosebumps sprinkle across my skin as I realize the position I’ve put us in.
I pull her head closer to mine with a shaky inhale as I stare at herperfectly plump lips. Her eyes flutter as she leans in with the tension of my fingers in her hair. I close my eyes slowly, just as her lips leave a ghost of a trace across mine, and suddenly, my fingers aren’t holding onto anything, and I drop my arm with my eyes still closed, swallowing the rejection.
Maybe I’ve just read the signs wrong? Maybe she’s lonely, and I’ve been the only person who didn’t shy away from the reality of trapped spirits. I hear sudden scratching and swing my head to the left, opening my eyes to see chalk floating in the air, writing on a chalkboard.
“I’m sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Milly,” I start as she writes on the board. “I just… I must’ve read the signs wrong, and that’s on me. I promise that I won’t do that to you again—” The chalk suddenly drops to the ground, and Milly appears running at me.
It startles me so badly, I run backwards as her hand grips around my throat and presses me into the wall. She runs her thumb along my jawline and stares into my eyes as she gently places her cool lips against mine. The hold on my neck remains tight as her lips move gently against mine, creating the most beautiful juxtaposition of passion I have ever felt. She feelsalive.
I moan softly as her tongue slips between my lips when she suddenly vanishes again, and I trip forward to see the floating chalk striking against the chalkboard again. My heart races as I try to process what just happened. I bring my fingers to my lips and smile to myself at the tingling that radiates from that point of contact. I snap out of my haze and walk toward the chalkboard to see a warning, flipping the slight hope I was feeling into one of pure dread.
Priest Brown is the true cause of my demise. Every word you have read thus far speaks only the truth. He has shrouded his deeds in the cloth of righteousness to hide the reality from the public eye. He fancies himselfthe purifier of the world’s sins, diligently holding on to the belief that he can cleanse this very earth with expectations that others shall follow in his ‘sacred’ path.
To my horror, this ideology grows more palatable among the susceptible, regardless of the cost of innocent lives. Shadow, guard your truth. If he were to learn of your affections, I fear you would be considered one of those he deems necessary to “cleanse.” Speak nothing, write only what is necessary.
I slowly walk up to the chalkboard, pick up the extra chalk on the edge, and write three words.
He already knows.
Chapter 11
Grace
September 12th
I’m not sure how long we sit on the floor under the chalkboard with our backs against the wall. Milly’s head is resting on my shoulder as she slumps into me. My back is straight and tense as my mind continues to try and find any sort of resolution to the predicament I’m in… that Milly is in.
