Funk-N-Fiction

April Alieda is the first of two authors who’ve chosen this “spellbook” image as inspiration for their Halloween Flash Fiction story.
I’d love to hear from any of you (in the comments) if you’ve had any ghostly experiences. 🙂

Gabe, The Ghost, and The Grimoire
by April Alieda

I remember it like it was yesterday, the night I met Cordelia. Looking back, my friends and I were so predictable. It was October, and PJ dared us to go into Lily Hall. The house had been abandoned longer than we’d been alive, and most of us avoided it whenever we could, but everyone knows you must accept any dare from your older brother’s friend lest you be labeled a chicken for the rest of your life. No, we couldn’t have that.

My brother drove us over. PJ was in the front seat, and Roach, Edward, and I were in the back. The local cops were accustomed to teenagers breaking into Lily Hall, especially this time of year, so my brother parked across and down the street. Far enough back to not cause suspicion, yet close enough that he and PJ could watch us to be sure we didn’t chicken out. The jerks took our phones and checked us to be sure we didn’t have flashlights because, according to them, everyone knows ghosts are afraid of light.  

The plywood at the side door had long been dislodged, so it was easy enough to get in the house. Roach was the first one through the door, I followed close behind, and Edward was somewhere behind me. The house smelled of dust and decaying wood. There was just enough moonlight through cracks in the wood to make out the kitchen. The cabinet doors were crooked, and some were missing. There was an old stove that looked like it needed wood to work and an ornate doorway leading out of the kitchen. Roach took a step through the doorway and suddenly began to run. I tried to follow, but I lost him. I called out, but no one, not even Edward, answered. Not cool.

I refused to be the first one to leave. Ghosts weren’t real. I just needed to kill some time, maybe explore some of the house. It seemed kind of cool and not as creepy somehow on the inside. That is until the library. The shelves were still overflowing with books, but the scary part was a circle of candles. I didn’t see a pentagram, but that didn’t make it any less scary. I didn’t know much about witchcraft or Satan worship, but I knew enough to stay out of the center of that circle. Thunder rumbled outside, and a shiver somersaulted through my body. It wasn’t supposed to rain, and now there is thunder? Decidedly creepy.

I returned my attention to the circle, looking for a way to get to the shelves on the other side when a board creaked behind me. Before I could turn around, something shoved me into the circle. No, no, no, I panicked. I turned to see what pushed me and saw Edward. Well, the back of Edward, to be more accurate. 

“Not cool, man.”

“Gabe! Gabe! DUDE, where are you?” Edward yelled.

“What are you blind? I’m right here.” I walked toward him, but when I reached the circle’s edge, it was like I hit an invisible wall. I stumbled back toward the center of the circle.

Edward took a few more steps into the library. 

I stood at the circle’s edge and tried to push against the invisible wall. It didn’t give at all. I took my fist and pounded it. Maybe that would get Edward’s attention. It didn’t. What the heck?! I watched in disbelief as Edward left the library, yelling my name.

“EDWARD!” I yelled as loud as I could.

“He can’t hear you.” A girl’s monotone voice criticized.

“What the f…” I jump and turn to face the direction of the voice. 

A girl a little younger than me was there. She had long red hair and dark eyes, she held a book, and her dress made me think she was a ghost. I back away from her as far as I can. I would have been through the invisible wall already if fear were a key. 

“Don’t be a ninny.” She rolled her eyes.

“What are you?”

“I’m a demon from your nightmares, bwahahahaha.” She contorted her face, but it wasn’t exactly scary.

“Very funny.”

The girl shrugged. 

“Are you a ghost?” I asked, not sure I wanted to know the answer.

“Seems like it,” Was her only reply. 

“So I guess you don’t know how I get out of here?”

“No, but maybe there’s something in here.” The girl held out the book she had.

It looked like it was made of leather and had glitter surrounding it. This was the first time I’d seen something like it. “How does the glitter just float like that?”

“I don’t know, it’s pretty though.”

“Can you leave the circle?”

“Why would I leave the circle?” She responded like I had just asked the dumbest question she’d ever heard.

“This house is enormous. Why stay here?”

“Because the book is here. ya dulbert.”

“I don’t know what that means, but I don’t think I like it.”

“Are you going to stay with me?” Her wide eyes betrayed the uncaring tone of her voice.

“No offense, but I’d rather not.”

The girl nodded.

“What’s your name?” If I’m going to be stuck here, I might as well be social.

“Cordelia.”

“I’m Gabe.”

“It would be odd if you weren’t since your friend was calling Gabe, and you answered.”

I shrugged. “What’s in the book?”

Cordelia tightened her grip around it.

“I’m not going to take it from you, I’m just wondering.”

“It’s a spellbook.”

“A spellbook? Like for a witch?”

Cordelia rolled her eyes. “Who else would have a spellbook?”

“Point taken. Will you show it to me? There may be something that can help me get out of here.”

“I’ll let you look, but you can’t touch it. I’ll turn the pages.”

“Whatever, let’s sit.”

She sat beside me, laid the spellbook on the floor, and opened it. The glitter still surrounded it, and if I’m honest, although the glitter was fun to look at, the sparkles were distracting. At least the area over the pages was clear.

The first page had calligraphy that read. This Grimoire belongs to Hedy Burke. If you’re not Hedy, you would be wise to leave it be.

“Is Hedy Burke someone you know?” I asked.

“She was someone I knew. She left it here for me when she had to go.”

“Why would she do that?”

“We were best friends.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to that. I had questions, but I wanted to get out of there more. 

We flipped through the next few pages in silence. Silence was not something I enjoyed. Silence invited too many thoughts. Thoughts I would rather not have, like why did I spill fruit punch everywhere when I sat next to Jennifer Kelley in third grade? It’s been four years, and I still can’t drink fruit punch. 

“How long have you been here?” I asked.  My need to end the silence overruled my wish to escape quickly.

“I’m not sure, not long. 1880 is the last year I remember.”

“1880?!” I coughed. It was like the numbers got stuck in my throat.

“Are you all right?” Her hand froze mid-air on a page flip.

“YEs. Yes. All good.”

She shrugged and laid the page down.

“Listen, I don’t know if I should say this, but I think you should know that it’s been over a hundred years since you, well, since you died.”

“You aren’t funny, ya know.” She tsked.

“I’m not trying to be funny. It’s, it’s 2023. Are you stuck here? Why haven’t you crossed over?”

“Crossed over? To where? This is where I live. This is my house.” Cordelia’s voice was strained. 

I took a deep breath. I didn’t want to upset her. She seemed sweet. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s keep looking through the book.”

We made it three more pages before we hit the jackpot. “This is it. This is how I get out of here!”

Cordelia studied the page. “I guess this might work.”

The further I read, the less excited I was. “This would be how I escape, but I don’t have any way to light the candles.”

“That’s easy.” Cordelia snapped her fingers, and all of the candles lit.

“Holy wow, how did you do that?”

“There’s not much to do here, so I had Hedy teach me a few things.” Cordelia shared without a hint that she knew how cool she was.

Just then, the house shook.

“Was that an earthquake?”

Cordelia laughed. “No silly, the house is letting me know it’s almost dawn. We don’t have much time.”

“What happens at dawn?”

“You won’t be able to leave.”

“What?! How do you figure?”

“It’s right here on page one hundred twenty-five.” Cordelia flipped the pages.

“No, no, no. You’re cool and all, but I can’t stay here.”

“Are you sure? We’ve had fun, haven’t we?”

“I guess, I mean, yes. I, I have my brothers and my parents, I can’t stay. Maybe you can come with me.”

“This is my house.”

“I know, but I feel bad leaving you here. You could come with me and come back and visit.”

“No, I’ll stay here.”

“Maybe if you come out of the circle with me, you can cross over. I mean, now that you know it’s been so long since you died.”

The house shook again.

“I don’t know what you mean by cross-over. If you don’t say this spell now, you will be stuck here, and you said you don’t want to.”

“Cross-over, you know, go to the afterlife. Heaven, I guess, I don’t know, like somewhere where your parents are, where Hedy is, so you don’t have to be alone.”

“Stop worrying about me, or you’ll miss your chance.”

I nodded and recited the spell. Something resembling lightning bolts crackled around the circle. I could barely hear myself yell, “Evadare, evadare, evadare.” 

I pushed my hand against the invisible wall, and it went through. It was like escaping from the middle of a blob of gelatin. I looked back at Cordelia, held out my other hand, and hoped she would take it.

Cordelia smiled, took a step back from my hand, and even though I couldn’t hear her, I knew she was telling me to go. 

I pushed through the invisible wall and landed on the wooden floor in the middle of the room. Bolts of lightning crackled around me, books landed on the floor, and when I looked back at the circle, all the candles went out. Then, I noticed something move out of the corner of my eye, and when I turned toward the window, I saw her. I could see through her, she floated about six inches off the floor, and as I watched, she morphed into an older woman.

She floated toward me. “Thank you, Gabe. Thank you. You’re the only person in over a hundred and forty years who asked me to go with them.”

I shrugged. “You’re welcome. So, um, you’re coming with me then?”

She shook her head. “No. I wasn’t a very nice person when I was alive, and I’ve been stuck here. You asking me to come home with you broke the curse, and now I’m free. I can move on or cross over, as you called it.”

I scratched the back of my head. “Glad I could help, I guess.”

Cordelia smiled, spun around, and turned into gold sparkles of light that flew out the window.

“Goodbye,” I whispered. I turned to leave and found Roach, Edward, PJ, and my brother behind them at the door. All of their mouths were wide open.

“Ready to get out of here?” I asked.

“Dude. That was the craziest shit I’ve ever seen.” PJ said as I pushed past them.

“What? You’ve never seen a ghost before? Sucks to be you, I guess.”

We never talked about that night again, but I never forgot the night I met Cordelia.