63

In her room, Lucy thought about what had happened in the cellar. "I can't believe I passed out and had a nosebleed too." Lucy hugged her pillow and looked at the statue of Edwin that was on her bedside table. Although she no longer felt the same way she had in her childhood about the character, she still talked to him and asked for advice. Of course, she didn't expect the statue to give her an answer, but doing so gave her the feeling that she could talk to someone about topics she couldn't tell anyone about. "What can I do, Edwin? These feelings are driving me crazy. Being around my brother is getting harder. Tell me what I can do." Lucy looked at the statue for a few seconds, and next to it was a picture of her great-grandmother, Harriet. "That's right, I'll ask Grandma Harriet for help. Thanks, Edwin, you're such a great friend." Lucy finishes the chocolate bar and quickly climbs up to the attic. This place made her feel nostalgic, and she loved going up there when she was eight, when her brother was still living with them. She still does, but since Lincoln's departure, she has come up to ask the spirits about her brother, never giving her a clear answer because something is always preventing them from reaching him.

Lucy sat down on a chair in front of a table and began her session. "Great Grandmother? Are you here?"

Ocher-colored smoke emerges from the table and begins to swirl in the air. This begins to take human form until the form finally becomes more distinct, taking the form of a girl equal to Lucy at the age of eight but dressed in old clothes and with a tone similar to those in old photographs.

The apparition looked down and smiled. "Lucy, my girl."

"Hi, Grandma Harriet." Lucy smiled and greeted the ghost of her great-grandmother. They both hugged each other as if they hadn't seen each other in a long time, because they had. Since Lincoln's departure, Lucy has lost some of her taste for the supernatural, and scarcely a year has passed since her brother's absence before she resumes her habits of speaking with the dead, but she hasn't spoken to her grandmother for a long time. Homework at school took up a lot of time.

"Look at you; you've become a beautiful lady." The ghost circled around her, checking out the teenager.

"Thank you, Grandma Harriet." Lucy blushed at her great-grandmother's compliments.

"It's been a year since we last spoke. Why such a sweet encounter?"

"The truth is, I need some advice."

"Oh really?" Harriet looked Lucy straight in the eye, which was not covered by her hair, and a slight smile crossed her face. "My girl, you are in love." This made Lucy blush even more than she had in the cellar with Lincoln. "Well, tell me, who is he? Is that kid Rocky?"

"No, he and I are just friends; he likes another girl too."

"Oh, is it Silas? That goth guy you sent a letter to?"

"No, he passed away a year ago, and after our date at the cemetery, we never spoke again."

"Oh, is he this handsome British boy?"

Remembering Lincoln's tutor, Lucy's cheeks lit up. The boy really captivated her, but she remembered that when she saw him again a few years ago, he was proposing to another girl, plus the fact that the age difference was huge.

"No, he's engaged; he's also twenty-four, and he's completely out of my league, not to mention he could be locked up for having sex with a minor."

"So who is he?"

"I… I don't know how to tell you. It's too complicated."

"Complicated? How complicated can it be for you to tell me who you love? If you don't tell me his name or who he is, I can't help you."

"It's not easy. I don't know how to tell you; you might be terrified."

"My girl, I'm a ghost; nothing can terrify me. Is she a girl? If that's the case, maybe it's just a phase you're going through, or maybe you're on both sides like your sister Luna. Is she still dating that girl, Sam?"

"No, I guess they stayed as friends with benefits. But no, I don't like a girl." Lucy took a deep breath and answered. "I love my brother Lincoln."

Harriet floated for a few minutes and then felt what I would say amounted to fainting or cardiac arrest as she rolled onto her back and began to rise until Lucy caught her leg before she breached the ceiling.

Lucy took a page from one of her books; in this book, she said "The Beginnings of a Ghost Blackout," followed by spells and instructions. Lucy fanned the blade to give her grandmother air while she recited the incantation until Harriet woke up.

"Awesome. It reminded me of when I was alive."

Lucy filled a glass with water and then broke it so that the glass itself overflowed, which Harriet took and which she proceeded to drink. "Thank you, honey. Well, repeat what you told me and explain yourself."

"I'm in love with my older brother, Lincoln."

"Oh, wow. So Lincoln came home?"

"Yes, the truth is, he has changed a lot."

"With what logic?"

"He's taller, and he has longer hair and combs his hair like I do. He's more muscular, and his eyes... Those cold, dead eyes that see nothing but darkness." Lucy sighed as she remembered Lincoln's eyes. For some reason, Lincoln's eyes drove her crazy.

Harriet looked at Lucy, hugging herself. "I see...but I don't think it's that bad."

"You don't believe me? See for yourself; I think I heard him go into the bathroom." Harriet crossed the floor. "And good?" Lucy asked, but Harriet did not lift her face from the ground. "Grandma?. Hello. Are you there?"

"Wait, give me five more minutes. Oh, wow, even your grandfather wasn't well equipped. This new generation has very good stuff."

Lucy was upset with her great-grandmother. "Grandma, do you remember that he is my love?"

"Wait kid, let me enjoy this; I haven't seen a hot young mortal in over a hundred years if you count how long it's been since I died."