Love In The Wrong Dimension (Romantic Ghost Story) (6 page)

“
Will your parents be there?” asked Jack, glancing across at Alice.

“
Yes, they really like Jemma,” she swallowed. “I mean, liked.”

As they left London behind and drove through the pretty Kent countryside, Alice's mind started drifting back in time, to when they had been children. Her mum and Jemma's mum knew each other through a sports club. They used to meet every Thursday morning to play tennis while the girls were at school. One day, during the school holidays, the mums brought their ten year old daughters along while they played.

The first time Alice met Jemma, she had been a little intimidated by the tall, confident girl. She had the longest, wildest hair she had ever seen, the dark auburn waves making her look exotic and exciting, but her eyes looked a bit like one of her teddy bear's eyes, big, soft and brown.

“
Hello,” she had said, with a slightly crooked grin, “do you like princesses, fairies and pink stuff?”

“
Er no, not really,” Alice had said, cautiously.

“
Oh, thank god for that. I hate all that soppy girly stuff. Do you like sport and music?”

Alice had been delighted, “I
love
sport, especially swimming. And music. Do you like...
boys
?”

“
Yuk, no way!”

And that had been the start of their friendship. They weren't best friends at first, that came later, but they had lots of fun when they saw each other, and were delighted when they both ended up at the same secondary school.

“
Shall we go to Tess's house first, or straight to the church?” Jack's voice brought her back to the present.

“
Erm, I told Tess that we'd see her at the church. I couldn't bear to have to go in one of those black cars behind the hearse. They look so depressing.”

“
Okay, well, this is Stenhurst and we're early. Let’s find a parking space and pop into that pub over there for a drink. You look like you could do with one!”

The village was quiet for a Thursday afternoon, and they had no trouble finding a parking space. As they walked silently towards the welcoming pub, Alice looked around her and remembered coming here with Jemma to visit Tess, back in the summer. It was such a pretty village, with its cute cottages and immaculate gardens. There was a lovely little duck pond, and if you stood at a certain spot, you had the most incredible views across miles of rolling countryside. A couple of oast houses stood proudly in the distance, leaving you in no doubt that you were in the heart of Kent.

Jemma's mum, Rosie, and her sister Tess, had grown up in this village, and so when Rosie had died, Tess had arranged for her to be buried there, alongside their parents. Shortly after Jemma had moved to London, Tess left Tunbridge Wells and moved back to the village and was still there.

Once seated comfortably in the pub, Alice watched Jack as he ordered their drinks at the bar. He had been amazing since Jemma died and now that they were here, in the cosy, warm pub in Stenhurst, he was by her side as she was about to face the biggest challenge of her life. As he came back towards her with the drinks, he gave her a warm smile.

“
Jack? You've been so kind, but I've imposed on you long enough. I'm going to stay with my parents for a few days before deciding what to do about my flat. Is it okay if I stay tonight, and then leave tomorrow?”

“
Of course it is. You can stay for as long as you like, you know that, don't you?”

Alice took his hand in both of hers, and smiled. “Yes, I know, and I really appreciate it. These last few days have been the worst of my life, but you've helped me through them and I'll always be grateful to you. But I need to move on. You do understand, don't you?”

“
Of course. I admire your strength, but remember, I'm not far away and you can always come round whenever you want. And anyway, I need you to keep those ghosts in check!”

They finished their drinks and Alice stood up, brushed her coat down, stuck her chin out and said, “Right, let's do this!”

As they walked towards the church, they could see the hearse had already arrived and was parked outside the gates. Alice hesitated before continuing. This was not going to be easy.

Alice had never been inside the church before, and as she stepped through the thick, wooden doorway, she stopped for a moment and looked around. There was a huge stained glass window behind the alter, gloriously throwing coloured light toward the congregation, with several smaller windows along the sides sneaking extra light in. From the very high vaulted ceiling, hung two enormous brass chandeliers, and candles were lit at the end of each ornately carved pew. It smelled like a church ought to smell, a mixture of musty old wood, incense, candles and fresh flowers. It was both beautiful and comforting and Alice was glad that Jemma would be laid to rest there.

As she looked around, she spotted her parents, sitting in the second row talking to Tess. The church was by no means full, in fact, there were fewer people than she had expected. On the one hand, she felt disappointed that the church wasn't full, but on the other hand, it was a relief that she wouldn't have to make small talk with too many people. She recognised some of them, distant family and old schoolfriends, but there were some unfamiliar faces there as well. Alice idly wondered who they were, before her eyes settled on a strangely familiar face. The boy was watching her intensely, but made no attempt to talk to her. He was young and very pale, almost ethereal. Where had she seen him before? She couldn't remember. The next time she looked round for him though, he had gone.

Jack took her hand and led her to the front pew. She looked back at her mum, who gave her a loving smile. “Are you okay?” she mouthed at her daughter.

Alice nodded and turned back to face the coffin. Tears filled her eyes as she imagined her friend lying in the wooden box, alone and lifeless.

“
Oh, Jem,” she whispered, “I miss you so much. What am I going to do without you?” As she closed her eyes, she felt a reassuring hand on her shoulder, but when she looked round, there was no-one there.

*****

“
Yes
!” Jemma punched the air when Alice had reacted to her touching her shoulder. She had tried several times to repeat her success since last week, but it was a lot harder than she'd originally thought. This was the first time she had done it since, and she was so glad that she had been successful at such a poignant moment.

“
That's my Aunt Tess,” Jemma said to Tom, pointing to a smart looking lady in her sixties, “and those people over there are from my college. I can't believe they came, they only knew me for half a day.”

Jemma was finding it very surreal to be at her own funeral. Although she was touched by the genuine grief of some of her friends and family, she couldn't help thinking how funny it would be, if she could suddenly jump out of the coffin, shouting “Ha ha, only joking!”

Trouble is, no-one would find it funny. Except, maybe, Alice. She looked at Alice's pale and drawn face - on second thoughts, maybe not.

She stole a glance at Tom, who was listening to the Vicar introduce himself. She was glad that he had come with her today. Apart from offering her moral support, he had also helped her to travel, ghost style, as Susie liked to say.

When she had walked to Jack's house the day she had died, she hadn't realised that there were other ways she could move around. Tom had shown her how to travel instantaneously from one place to another. You just needed to concentrate and think very hard about where you wanted to go and, hey presto, you were there! The first time she tried it, she had felt like a Starfleet officer transporting herself back onto her Starship. It had been an exhilarating experience, and she and Susie had had lots of fun practicing.

Tom had been good to her since she'd arrived, and had helped her get more used to the reality of being a ghost. He had asked her lots of questions about her life, and she had gladly told him and Susie all about herself. They'd made her feel welcome, and she was grateful, the thought of going through all that on her own was unbearable.

When she'd asked Tom about himself though, he had become oddly elusive and always managed to change the subject. In the week or so since they'd met, she still didn't really know anything about him.

Susie, on the other hand, had been only too happy to talk about herself. Jemma learned that she and Tom were not related, but that he had taken the young girl under his wing when he had arrived the day he died. Tom had found her wondering aimlessly along the Finchley Road at Swiss Cottage, which was where she had died. Susie said that she had died just a couple of months earlier than Tom, in an accident, and that the reason she was trapped in this dimension was because it had not been her time to die. She was a great girl. Cheerful, funny and bright. Jemma had wanted her to come along today, but she had declined, saying that funerals depressed her.

While the Vicar continued to talk, Tom gave Jemma a nudge, “Hey, are you alright?”

“
I'm fine. I think. I'm just wondering what they're going to say about me.”

Jemma suddenly wasn't so sure that she wanted to hear what people were going to say about her.

“
Jemma was reckless, lazy and pretty stupid for getting herself killed in such an ordinary and unexciting accident. She had no job, no money and no boyfriend. In fact, Jemima Haley was a total loser!” Is that really what people would say, she thought, worriedly. Surely Alice would say something nice about her? Suddenly she didn't want to be there anymore, she couldn't bear hearing her friends say bad things about her.

“
Jemma was such a lovely girl.” She looked up to see her Aunt Tess talking. She was saying how brave Jemma had been when her mother had died, and how she felt that she had let her down by not being more of a parent to her when she was younger.

Jemma was taken aback. She hadn't realised that her Aunt cared that much, but there was no mistaking the genuine sadness in her voice, as she spoke.

Then it was Alice's turn to get up and speak. Jemma braced herself as Alice walked shakily up to the pulpit and started speaking in a small, trembling voice.

“
Jemma was a very special person,” she paused, trying desperately to hold herself together. “She was funny and kind and loyal and she …..” Alice's voice was barely audible.

Jemma couldn't bear to see Alice so upset, so she walked over and put her arms around her, willing her friend to remain strong. And Alice did suddenly seem to pull herself together, as if she had somehow sensed Jemma's support. She took a deep breath and continued.

She didn't speak for long but what she said was touching and evocative. She ended her speech by saying that Jemma had been like a sister to her and that it was wrong that she had died so suddenly and so young. “She was so full of life,” Alice said passionately, “and there's no way she was ready to die. This should never have happened.”

As the congregation were singing Amazing Grace, Jemma turned to look at Tom, and noticed that his shoulders were slumped and his head was bowed, as if he was scrutinising the stone floor.

“
Tom, what's wrong?”

“
Nothing.”

“
Is it this song? Did they sing this at your funeral?” She was curious to know more about Tom, and hoped that maybe the intense atmosphere meant that he would loosen up a bit and tell her a bit more about himself.

“
Jemma, this is your funeral. I don't want to talk about me.” Although he was smiling at her, his tone made it perfectly clear that she needed to change the subject.

“
At least tell me how you died,” she persisted.

“
For god’s sake, will you leave it? I don't want to talk about it.” This time he wasn't smiling.

“
Sorry,” she mumbled. Why the hell was he so secretive about himself? His constant refusal to discuss his past only made her more curious. She wasn't going to give up that easily though, and decided to grill Susie about it later.

It had been a nice ceremony, emotional but dignified. Afterwards, Jemma watched from a distance, as the congregation gathered slowly around the empty grave outside. Jack had his arm around Alice, supporting her as she grew ever more distressed. Even Aunt Tess was crying, something Jemma had never seen before – Aunt Tess never cried, not even when her sister had died. At least, not that she had been aware of.

Then, slowly, all the voices faded from her mind as Alice's words were still ringing in her ears. “
She was so full of life, there's no way she was ready to die. This should never have happened
.”

“
That's it!” cried Jemma, as she jumped up from the tree stump she'd been sitting on.

“
That's what?” asked Tom.

“
That's why I'm here! I was never meant to die. This is not my time!”

“
Okay, but why are you so happy about that?”

“
Don't you see? Now that I know
why
I'm trapped here, I can actually do something about it.”

“
Like what?”

“
I don't know. Yet. But remember Susie said that until I know why I'm here, I won't be going anywhere. Now that I know, surely that's a start?”

“
Yeah, I suppose,” said Tom distractedly, “but right now, you need to decide if you want to go to your wake. Look, everyone's leaving.”