Page 96 of Starrily
“I thought you guys talked to ghosts,” Raleigh said.
“That would be Phoebe,” Penny replied, pointing to the third woman, who raised her hand in acknowledgment. “She’s the medium.”
“And you may call me Iris,” the older woman said. “I’m no guy.”
“Uh—I was—”
“She’s messing with you,” Penny said. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t need to mess with him no further,” Iris said. “That poor boy’s got a bigger jumble inside of him than Old Herbert’s got in his work shed.”
“I don’t know about Herbert’s level of organization, but you’re not wrong,” Raleigh said.
“Ha!” Iris hit her knees. “Look at him. He’s funny, too. Good thing you brought him here,” she said to Callie. “Don’t worry, child. We’ll fix your boyfriend right up.”
“He’s not my—” Callie objected.
“You can?” Raleigh said at the same time.
Iris went over to Callie, put a hand over her heart, glanced back at Raleigh, then challenged Callie with a raised eyebrow.
Callie slumped her shoulders.
Raleigh leaned toward Penny since she seemed the most reasonable. “What’s happening?”
“You can’t lie to Momma,” Penny said. “Anyway, why don’t you two sit down and tell us what’s wrong?” She moved to the sofa and shook a blanket laid over it.
Callie wavered, but Penny sat down and patted the sofa, and Callie finally sat, her posture as straight as a stick. Raleigh sat on the far side of the sofa.
“Sim—uh, Raleigh is turning into a ghost.” Callie sounded slightly nauseous. “He’s starting to fade away. I thought you might be able to help.”
“That’s the end of the story.” Phoebe leaned on the backrest. “What’s the beginning?”
“It began four years ago,” Raleigh said. “When I died. About a year later, I woke up in another body, as my soul was mistakenly pulled there, instead of …”Hold on.Weren’t they missing someone?
Rapid knocking came from the door. Phoebe went to get it and brought a young blonde woman back to the living room.
Raleigh stared at her, needing a moment to recall.Shanna.How had he forgotten her name? Or her, in general? It had only been two days.
“Hi.” Shanna waved at everyone. “Sorry I’m late. Got stuck in the mud.”
Callie was also squinting at her as if she struggled to remember.
“She’s with us,” Raleigh said. “She also needs your help. The problems are intertwined.”
“Go ahead,” Penny said.
Raleigh and Shanna intermittently explained their situation, from Shanna’s failed resurrection ritual to the two souls fading away. Callie’s family listened, occasionally nodding or asking for clarification; behaving as if they were attorneys, come to for advice regarding the neighbor’s fence, not listening to a story about ghosts and resurrections.
“Can I see that book?” Penny asked, and Shanna gave her the purple book she’d previously shown them. Phoebe and Iris flocked to Penny and looked over each of her shoulders as Penny leafed through it.
“Fascinating.” Phoebe lifted her eyes to Shanna. “Where did you get this?”
“It was in my family’s collection.”
“Normal families don’t have collections like this,” Iris said. She waddled over to Shanna and held her hand. “Oh, honey. I see. I’m sorry.”
Shanna gave her a small smile. “I don’t suppose you could help me?”
