Spirit Eyes Read Online Free

unexplainable was occurring, she put her head in her hands, her mind swirling with racing thoughts.
    She noticed her purse next to her, reached into it, grabbed her cell phone and called her friend.
    “Laura, hi, it’s me.” After explaining the morning’s experiences, she took a deep breath and waited for Laura’s input. “I’m freaking out here. I mean, what the hell?”
    “Okay,” Laura said. “You’ve never heard of imaginary friends?”
    “Yeah, sure, everyone has.” Ruth’s arm rose in exasperation. Determined not to let this get the best of her, she took a deep breath. “But how many kids have an old man in a gray suit for a friend? Why couldn’t she have like—oh, I don’t know, maybe a little bunny named Peaches she has tea parties with, or a cute fairy that helps her with her homework?”
    “Good Lord, Ruth, the kid thinks she saw some guy. If you’re so upset, take her to the doctor. You told me yourself she said her eyes hurt lately and she’s been squinting. She probably saw the mailman and needs glasses.”
    “Yeah, maybe you’re right. I just…” She shivered and felt the flesh on the back of her neck crawl. “I hate anything to do with this crap. You know that.”
    “I thought you just didn’t believe in it.”
    “That, too,” she said. She could tell Laura was doing her best to reassure her.
    “Pearl is the most charming, outgoing, normal kid I’ve ever met. She’s hysterical and has a good head on her shoulders. Quit freaking out.”
    “Okay. I’ll try—Oh, my, God!” At that moment, Ruth remembered the night of Laura’s party eight years before and what the psychic had said. “That lady, that Sheila the Shaman you had at your house. She told me that ancestors would surround my kid. Do you think this has something to do with that? She said she’d have spirit eyes.”
    “You’re right. I forgot about that. But was this an Asian old man in a gray suit?”
    “I don’t know. It never occurred to me to ask her.” Ruth rubbed her eyes. “Could you call that Sheila lady and—”
    “Ruth, please, chill out and see what happens next. I’m not going to call her for that. See if anything else happens, and for goodness sake, take her to the eye doctor.”
    Ruth let out a long, hollow, sigh. “Yeah, okay. Maybe you’re right. I’ll um—try not to talk about it again to Pearl.”
    “I think that’s best. She’s only mentioned it once, right?”
    “She did say she’s seen him before, though.”
    “But she never told you?”
    “No.”
    “Let it pass.” Laura’s voice, casual, didn’t help her anxiety. On the contrary, after she hung up, it brought out the frightening truth of how alone she felt.
    Rising, she strolled into the kitchen to make another pot of coffee. She removed the old filter from the machine and started to throw it into the garbage—there, in the trash, was the box of cupcakes, smashed. She opened the lid and saw the remains of the sweet treats. She removed the garbage bag, tied it up and threw it out the back door.
    What is going on?
     
    Later that day, she picked the girls up from school.
    “Mommy.” Pearl hopped into the back of the van. “Mr. Phillips hates me. He said I talk too much and he gave me a detention. He blows.” She hooked her seatbelt and leaned her head back in obvious exasperation.
    “How many detentions does that make now?” Ruth asked. “And don’t say blows .”
    “Six,” Lotus said.
    “Mind your own beeswax,” Pearl mumbled.
    “Mother, I’ve gone through school and never once had a detention, and yet little Miss Mouth here gets at least one a month. And is she punished? No.”
    “Mind your own business, Stupid.”
    “Pearl!” Ruth snapped. “I’ve told you a million times not to call her stupid .”
    “Yeah,” Lotus said. “I’m an A-plus student, if you don’t remember. You’re the one hanging onto a thread of dangling C’s. So, that means I’m smart enough to know I’m not the stupid one, you