Sapphire: A Paranormal Romance (24 page)

"We need to
chat about something, Jimmy," Tabitha said.

Jimmy nodded to
show that he was in agreement with that.

"You say that
you and Sapphire can chat via some kind of telepathy or something, right?"

Jimmy nodded
again.

"I think it's
time I met her," Tabitha said.

Jimmy frowned. 
"I'm not sure she'll talk to you.  I mean, look how long she was here as
an urban legend, just hitchhiking, dancing with guys, and then vanishing. 
Something about those other guys wasn't right, until I came along.  If I
introduce other people to this, I don't know what will happen."

Tabitha spent the
entire time nodding while he spoke, and she held up both her hands when he
finished.

"I know all
of that, Jimmy," she said.  "I figured that was all that you would
bring up, and all of that is perfectly valid.  I still think you should try. 
You can try contacting her right here and just ask her.  Maybe if she knows
that we're trying to help, it will make a difference.  We're in an area that no
one could imagine – uncharted territory.  I have no idea what the rules are,
but I kind of get the feeling that the rules are flexible, to say the
least."

Jimmy thought
about that last sentence and it all made sense.  Whenever Tabitha spoke, it
always seemed to make sense.  She had a way of looking at things that Jimmy
just did not have. 

"I'll
try," he said at last.

"Is there
anything special you need to do?” Tabitha asked. “Can I stay here, or do you
need to be alone?"

Jimmy shrugged. 
"I've never done it with someone else in the room, so I have no idea. 
I'll try."

Tabitha gestured
with her hands as if to say, "Well, go ahead."  Then she folded her
hands in her lap and watched Jimmy carefully.

Jimmy closed his
eyes and breathed deeply.  Then he let his mind relax and reached out.

Sapphire?
he thought. 
Sapphire, are you there?  Can you hear me?

The silence seemed
to last a very long time.  Then, suddenly, he heard the static in his brain. 
It started off very quiet, as if a radio somewhere way in the background were
stuck between stations.  Then someone turned up the volume and the static
became louder and louder.  Eventually it felt like his head was filled with
some kind of insect.

Jimmy!

"Sapphire!" 
Jimmy realized he had said her name out loud, and he shook his head.  He bit
down on the inside of his cheeks, trying to keep things telepathic. 
Sapphire,
thank you for helping watch over my mom.

Where are you,
Jimmy?
Sapphire said into his brain.  She sounded
concerned.
  I can normally get some idea of where you are, but I can't see
anything.  The connection is bad.  I'm not sure what's going on, but something
is happening over here.

OK
, Jimmy said.  He had no idea what she could be talking about, but
there was nothing he could do about it here. 
Sapphire, my mom and I are
staying with a man and woman named Warren and Tabitha Hollis.  Tabitha runs the
town newspaper and Warren is a writer.  They helped bring down the Boogeyman. 
You remember that, don't you?

There was fear in
Sapphire's voice. 
Yes.  I've seen him over here, Jimmy.  He's not really
gone, but he's much, much weaker than he was when I first got here.  He's
terrifying, Jimmy.

I know
, Jimmy said. 
Sapphire, the Hollises think they can help us. 
We're staying with them while we try to figure out what happened to you. 
Tabitha wants to know if she can meet you.

The static got
very loud.  Just behind the static, like a very dim and soft radio station
trying to punch its way through, was another sound.  It sounded, for a moment,
like other voices.  Voices that were in pain, some laughing, some screaming,
some singing.  It was chilling, but it was comforting at the same time.  It was
the sound of wherever Sapphire was, Jimmy realized.  He was hearing the other
side.  Jimmy shivered.

I don't know if
I can appear in front of them like I do with you, Jimmy
, Sapphire said quietly. 
I've never done anything like this.

Warren and
Tabitha will be with me
, Jimmy thought.
 You
trust me, right?  You can trust them.

The static
returned.  For a moment the screaming and voices got louder, and then the sound
grew softer.  Sapphire's connection was stronger.

I can try
, Sapphire said. 
We'll have to meet by the side of the road,
like always.  Can you come tonight?

I'll ask
Tabitha
, Jimmy replied. 
I'll try.

When you get
there, call for me.  Just call my name.  Sometimes that has the power to punch
through.  It can bring your thoughts to me, and maybe being there it can punch
a hole I can step through.

OK
, Jimmy thought. 
I'll be there soon.  Oh, and by the way, I
can't wait to see you.

The static took on
a strange tone.  Jimmy could picture Sapphire smiling, her eyes sparkling.

I can't wait to
see you either, Jimmy.

And just like
that, she was gone.  Jimmy opened his eyes and looked at Tabitha.

"We need to
go to the bridge," he said.  "Now."

Jimmy
and Tabitha were standing beside the road on the bridge just twenty minutes
later.  Tabitha looked nervous, and Jimmy could relate. He remembered the first
time he had stood there, calling and waiting for Sapphire.  Had that only been
a couple nights ago?  It seemed like ages ago.  He felt much older than he had
when he had gone to the dance on Friday night.

"Sapphire?"
Jimmy called out loud.

The wind rustled
the trees around them.  Somewhere down below, in the swampy mess that bordered
the lazy and dirty river, a frog croaked incessantly.  Insects added to the
orchestra of noises from the trees all around them.  Overhead the stars shone
down, some of them twinkling, some of them silent and stoic and steady.  The
moon gave everything a weird glow that Jimmy would normally have found
beautiful, were he not standing beside a road trying to summon a dead girl.

"Sapphire,
it's Jimmy and Tabitha. Can you hear me?" Jimmy asked.  He shifted
nervously on his feet.  "Can you come see us?"

Jimmy looked over
at Tabitha, who was leaning casually against her car.  Tabitha smiled and
shrugged.  Jimmy felt himself blushing.  What if Sapphire didn't show?  Would
Tabitha think he was completely crazy?  He didn't think so, but then again, he
really didn't know her.

Just then, the
static in his head suddenly ramped up.  It was not a slow ascension like it had
been when he had contacted Sapphire earlier.  One moment Jimmy was alone with
his thoughts, and the next it felt like the inside of his brain was on fire. 
He clutched at his head and cried out.

"Jimmy?"
Tabitha said, standing up from her leaning position against the car.

Jimmy held up a
hand.  The sound became deafening.  Jimmy felt his knees getting weak, and he
nearly fell.  He felt nauseous, and leaned against the edge of the bridge and
nearly vomited into the river below.  Then, just as suddenly as it had
appeared, the static died down.

"Jimmy?" 

Jimmy raised his
head and looked around.  The world was out of focus for a moment, and he was
out of breath. His head was pounding as if he had just been kicked.  He blinked
and rubbed his eyes, and then the world came back into focus.

"Jimmy, are
you there?"

The voice came
from the end of the bridge where she always appeared.  Jimmy’s knees were still
wobbly.  He looked to his right and smiled at Tabitha, hoping his smile looked
stronger and steadier than it felt.  Tabitha's eyes were wide with disbelief
and shock.  She turned and faced the direction from where the voice had come.

"I'm here,
Sapphire," Jimmy said.  His voice still sounded weak, but it carried.

She appeared at
the end of the bridge.  The moonlight cascaded around her shoulders, outlining
her form, her hair, and the blue dress as if she had summoned it by magic.  She
glowed.  Her smile looked genuine, but scared.  Sapphire's eyes glanced
nervously at Tabitha, and then settled on Jimmy.

Jimmy couldn't
stand it any longer, and he ran toward her.  Sapphire opened her arms, and soon
they were holding each other.  Without even worrying about what Tabitha might
think, Jimmy kissed Sapphire.  Her lips were warm.  She felt solid and real in
his arms.  He could smell shampoo and perfume.  She kissed him back, and, just
like before, they were lost in the kiss.  The world seemed to spin out beneath
them as if it was a pinball in a machine, but they held each other tight.

When at last the
kiss broke, Jimmy looked into Sapphire's eyes.  They were bright and shining. 
Jimmy turned and looked at Tabitha.  He was surprised to see her wiping her
eyes as if she had been crying.

"You two glow,"
Tabitha said.  "I saw it when Sapphire first came up onto the road, but
when you two kissed the glow was so bright."

She shrugged. 
Words had failed her.

"Tabitha,"
Jimmy said, "this is Sapphire."

Sapphire stepped
forward.  She was tentative for a moment, and then walked up to Tabitha and
extended her hand.  Tabitha smiled and stepped towards her.  She extended her
hand, but hesitated for a moment.  Then, Tabitha extended her fingers fully and
grasped Sapphire's hand.  Tabitha's eyes went wide.

"You're
warm," Tabitha said.  "You're solid."

Sapphire blushed. 
"I know.  It's something that's only happened recently.  With Jimmy."

Tabitha shook her
head.  "Believe it or not, Sapphire, I've had some experience dealing
with, shall we say, the other side.  And this is the first time anything like
this has happened.  It's like Jimmy has reached right through the veil and
pulled you through to this side."

Sapphire nodded.

Tabitha was still
holding Sapphire's hand and she held it a moment longer.  Then she shook her
head and let go.  She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small recorder.

"This is a
recorder, Sapphire," Tabitha said.  "I'd like to see if I can record
your voice."

Sapphire looked
nervous. Jimmy stepped over and put his arm around her.  She looked into his
eyes.  He nodded and she smiled at him and then turned to look at Tabitha.  She
nodded.

"OK."

Tabitha smiled and
hit the record button.

"This is
Tabitha Hollis," she said.  "I'm here on the side of the road talking
to Sapphire Lumire.  Sapphire, I'd like to ask you some questions. Is that
OK?"

Sapphire nodded at
first, and then realized she could not be heard and said, "OK."

"Do you know
how you died?"

"No.  I'm
sorry.  I get bits and pieces of my life.  It seems like every time I get
pulled through to this side, every time I meet with Jimmy, another piece comes
back.  And then each piece that he finds fills in another gap in my memory, and
the memories associated with that piece come flooding back.  However, I still
have no solid memories.  I cannot remember what happened to me."

"We just had
a talk with Jimmy's mother.  She says she remembers you from high school, but
didn’t really know you.  In other words, she wasn't a friend, exactly.  She
says she remembers you coming to the dance and getting into some kind of
confrontation with Devlin Little.  Do you remember that?"

Sapphire blinked. 
Then she staggered backwards.  Jimmy reached for her and she reached out with
her hand and their fingers entwined. Sapphire steadied herself, shaking her
head.

"Yes,"
she said quietly.  "I can remember a part of it.  I remember the dance.  I
remember being there with someone.  A boy.  A boy named…J-Jess?"

"Jesse?"
Jimmy offered.

"Yes,”
Sapphire said quietly. “That's it.  Jesse.  He was a nice boy, but the other
guys always picked on him.  He got up the courage to ask me to the dance and I
said yes."

"Do you
remember what happened?" Tabitha said.

Sapphire shook her
head slowly.  "I remember arriving at the dance and how wonderful the
gymnasium looked.  Jesse was a gentleman.  He gave me a corsage and we danced. 
I remember Devlin Little coming over and wanting to dance with me.  I said no
and he insisted."

She shook her head
again, as if trying to clear away the cobwebs.

"We started
shouting.  I think I pushed him," she said.  "He took a swing at me,
and then Jesse stepped in.  There was more shouting, and then some of the
teachers came over.  They said we had to leave.  Jesse and I protested, but
they insisted that everyone had to leave."

She paused then,
chewing on her lower lip.

"Jesse and I
left in his car," she said.  She began to walk around the area near the
bridge a bit.  "I remember being in the car on the bridge, but I don't
remember anything else."