him to face me. “You are totally screwing up your afterlife.”
He raised his eyebrows. “What?”
“You aren’t supposed to be here, you should be with Mary.” I licked my lips, gathering my thoughts. “Because if you’re still you , even though you’re dead, that has to mean Mary’s out there somewhere, waiting for you.”
He looked forlorn. “ How could she love me after what happened?”
Is that what held him back, kept him bound to the misery of his past for so long? I grimaced at the thought. “Because you were perfect together. She knew that. I expect her grudge would be with her father, not you and I don’t see him hanging around, beating himself up for eternity.”A bright light suddenly came to life above us. I pointed up. “I think that’s your bat signal.”
He frowned, puzzled. “Bat signal?”
“I mean, that’s your cue. You want to see Mary again, go into the light.” I made a shooing motion with my hands.
“Are you sure?”
“Sure that love can last forever? Yes. Although I can’t make any promises about what this light business entails.” I pointed up. “If that’s where she is though, she’s probably miserable without you.”
He nodded. “Thank you , Cassandra. Are you married?”
Taken aback by the question, I shook my head. “No. Why?”
“Just curious .” He took my head between his hands and kissed my forehead. “I will take your advice, but will give you mine before I go. You deserve a great love. You should not be alone.”
I laughed. “ Women don’t need daddy’s permission anymore, but dating still isn’t any easier. ”
He leaned down until our foreheads touched. “Look for a man who wears his heart on his sleeve. He’s out there, looking for you , I promise .”
I nodded. “Okay, sure.”
“Good bye, Cassandra . I’m sorry if I hurt you. ”
I raised my hand in a wave. “Good bye, Andrew.”
And then he was gone. My eyes opened and I found myself in the prison cell again. I tried to sit up, but a wave of weakness pressed me back down to the floor . I knew I should get up and leave, but I was bone tired and a deep sleep claimed me.
I woke to a bright light flashing in my eyes. Covering my face with my hands I said, “Go away.”
“She’s awake,” said a voice I didn’t recognize, although I could hear the relief it contained.
“Bring in the stretcher.”
Strong hands lifted me and placed me on a soft bed.
I peeked out from between my fingers. “What’s going on?”
“Oh, Cassandra, thank God you’re all right.” Kelly ran to my side. Not far behind was a cameraman. “What happened to your head? ” She touched my forehead and I winced.
A medic put a stethoscope to my chest while another medic wrapped a blood pressure cuff around my arm. I tried to sit up, but the medic with the stethoscope pushed me back down. “Stay still, m a ’am.”
I looked up at him and my heart stuttered. “You look just like him.”
“Like who , m a ’am?” He gave me an encouraging smile.
“Andrew Smith circa eighteen hundred something .”
Confusion replaced his smile . “That’s my great great uncle. How did you know?”
I focused on Kelly and reached out, pulling her close. “I think I was possessed.”
She peeled my fingers off her shirt and squeezed my hand, trying to be reassuring . “Shh, don’t jump to conclusions. It looks like you had a nasty fall.”
“You know, he was a prisoner here,” said the medic.
I nodded. “I know.” Oh believe me, did I know.
“My mom still has his diaries somewhere. She’s our family historian. ” He took off the stethoscope. “Your heart beat sounds a little irregular. I’m going to start an EKG .”
The other medic said, “Her pressure is low.”
“Probably dehydration. Start a drip, will you?” The medic quickly put small white patches all over my chest and hooked them up to wires which began to record my heart beat. As he worked, I noticed a tattoo circling his bicep.