Chapter 4-1

Chapter 4-1

Aunty M slides over to Lizzy taking her arm, “Lizzy dear I have a problem,” as she looked into the living room and glances back down the hall towards Martha room. Whispered in her ear, “Martha just had her baby.”

“She what?” Lizzy replied looking down the hall, “you’re joking?”

Aunty M shook her head, “and you have just arrived with all these people for dinner.”

Lizzy turned white looked at Jaydan and Granny then Ned. “Aunty M, we do have a problem.”

“I’m in need a solution and fast.”

Lizzy looked at the table counting plates leaned over to Julie, “I need you in the kitchen and fast,” throwing on Martha's apron, calmly walked over to Jaydan. “ Jaydan dear, can you walk outside with me for a moment?”

“Sure dear what's the problem?” He asked.

“Oh we just have a slight problem, that's all.” Lizzy looked towards the house, “I need a diversion.”

“What kind?” Jaydan asked.

Lizzy leaning over, giving him a little peck on the cheek, “you'll think of something,” as they both looked at the boys.

“How long of one?” He asked.

“Oh, I say thirty minutes.” Leaving him standing there. Lizzy grabbed Julie… things started flying through the kitchen as food being set on the table.

Jaydan grabbed Robert, Will, and EJ, “alright boys,” taking his wand from inside his coat pocket... Hums a few bars. They sing a couple of songs while the girls are putting things together as their audience is being entertained. Granny and the two boys and Pa with Ned not having a clue what's going on around them as Mr. G poked his head in down the hall. Aunty M notices him. “Sorry, but the party's in there if you didn't notice?”She replied.

“Yes Margaret” as he smiles, “I did, thank you. I was just curious that's all.”

“Well don't, you promised,” Margaret giving him a stern look, pointed him back down the hall. “Come see me later then we can talk,” she said, “but now's not the time.”

“I see, but I really need to talk to you Margaret, it’s important and I don't think it can wait?”

Aunty M looked down the hall towards Martha's room than back to where the guests are “alright,” slipping out the back door. Mr. G followed her as he gave a quick nod towards Jaydan. Jaydan began another song, keeping everyone else engaged as a distraction.

“Now then what's so important?” Margaret asked looked towards the house uneasy as she watches and waited for things about to fall apart.

Mr. G fills her in what's been happening. “So that's why things have been kinda of quiet,” as he nods yes.

“But there's more I am afraid,” as Mr. G watched the house and the boys through the outside window. “Margaret you don't have a lot of time. Your time is nearly up. I'm here just to warn you.”

“Warn me of what?  And what do mean I don’t have a lot of time?” She asked.

“This is my last season you see, I am retiring,” as he paced back and forth across the field. “To put it frankly. I've been doing this for a very long time you see.” Margaret looks at him with passionate eyes, yet frighten inside as the words and visions in her mind being to engulf her as he begins to explain. He slowly acknowledges with a simple nod as he slowly takes her by the hand. “Yes, that means soon you will be my replacement next season I believe. But that's not why I'm here,” as Mr. G looked once more towards the house.

“There's been upset of balance and you are in the middle of it,” as he explains how things work. Margaret wiped her tears thinking “how is she going to say goodbye to all the things she knows. Yet it’s not really goodbye in a way, just a change of pace that's all, as she slowly looks into his eyes.

She can still trace the lines of his firm jaw and taking noticed the slight gray in his jet black hair. He was a handsome man to be still in his sixties, not a man over seven hundred. She wonders what she would look like after 5 or 10 centuries. Would she still look as good as he does now? Barely showing signs of a woman in her seventies. She gave a long sigh as she prouder her new life and what it be like to become “Death reborn.” She gave a little laugh at the thought of her title or new life calling. “ Death  Mistress” or “Mistress of Death,” neither one sound right in her head.

Mr. G takes his arm puts it around her as they walked and talk about other things as time slowed for them by simple wave of his hand as they slowly glide through time and realms of time and guides her through the doors of the corridors of unseen worlds of and of many worlds and realms of the past. He slowly wiped the tears of sadness and tears of joy with his fingers as he kissed her cheek as he raises the veil of time from her eyes and her mind. Then brings her back again where they once stood before. “You see dear Margaret there's nothing to be afraid of,” as they walked back to the house.

“No there isn't,” as she nods “now then I have guests my dear old friend and you and I have a date.” They slowly walked back into the house as if nothing has happened as she waits for another guest to arrive or perhaps two as she smiles.

Aunty M leads everyone to the table with a smile and stands and gives the toast. “It is normally the custom of the host to give the toast, but she can't be here with us tonight,” as Aunty M looked down the hall, “for she is preoccupied.”

As Downing's laugh whispering to each other to Granny and Ned, “that's because Ma just had her baby that's all. Were all here celebrating,” as they all laugh.

“O MY,” as Granny and Ned look down the hall. Wayne stands telling them all the news over dinner while Aunty M and Lizzy bring her a plate and everyone gets to see the baby before leaving for home. Granny shaking her fingers at Martha, “I told you, dear, not to overdo it,” as Martha laughed holding baby Jess in her arms.

Aunty M and Pa walking the halls saying goodnight to the children as Ma puts down the baby in her room. “Aunty M it looks like things worked out after all,” as he slaps her hard on the back looking down the hall heading back to his wife and baby daughters room. Closed the door leaned over to his sleeping wife and child gave them each a kiss goodnight. Wayne carefully pulled the covers over his shoulders as he slept in the chair next to her holding her hand.

Aunty M walking the halls upstairs of the boy's rooms pacing back and forth along the hall, thinking, going over in her mind advents that have taken place. “Well, it's about time you showed up,” as she whisper's looking at the figure down the hall.

“Sorry,” Jeff replies nervously.

“Well at least you are here anyway,” Aunty M replied checking making sure the coast is clear. “Now then I understand you have a plan?” Seeing Jeff dressed in his shroud death clothes.  Jeff wearing a long white and silver robe that hung clear to the floor as he floated a couple inches off the ground. His hair a blond tangle mess as if it has not been combed in years. His eyes were a bright blue with an average nose that matched well with his angular jawline and a small dimple in the middle.

“I am supposed to be a ghost...” he replied.

Aunty M laughs at him. “Son your dead, of course, your ghost, you don't need to look like one, just act like one,” rolling her eyes. “You’d scare all the chickens right out of their feathers looking like that. I won't have you scaring my nephew and his brothers out their wits. No, you find something else to wear more earthy like and homely for peat sake these are kids, not half-wits.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He replied as he dissipates back into the shadows to change. “How’s this,” he asked as he returned opening a small doorway quickly closing it behind him. Dressed all in something like country farmer boy coming from the fields with a pair worn out work pants and straw hat.

“Better” as Aunty M combs his hair some and tucks in his shirt. “Not bad for 19-year-old ghost boy,” removing the hat tossing it back into the shadows. “That will have to do,” shaking her head then nodding her approval. “Now then boy how do you plan to introduce yourselves to the boys if you don't mind me asken?”

“I thought I would just pop in say hello like this,” as Aunty M watched him walk thru a door to Wills room hearing a scream "O my," running down the hall to his room. Seeing Will sitting up in bed seeing Jeff in the room as his face turned white.

With Robert running down the hall screaming, “EJ run!!” as the door of his room opens up seeing Aunty M standing in the doorway next to the shadow.

“Shhh.” Aunty M tried to calm everyone down watching Jeff moving about hovering side to side. “It's alright.” Giving Jeff a stern look as she closed the door as the boys huddled in her arms. “It's alright boys he's a friend.”

“A friend?” Looking at Aunty M as if she lost her mind shaking like a leaf towards the closed room.

“Yes a friend,” You can trust me, boys,” as she strokes their hair, “he just wants to talk that's all, nothing more.”

Will glanced back at Robert than at Aunty M, “are you sure?” Will griping Roberts’s hand. Aunty M gave them a nod opened the door of Wills room to let EJ in.

Jeff sat on the edge of the bed in a more solid form looking at the three scared boys face... “Sorry.” He tries to smile at Aunty M trying not to smirk, “but I was in hurry,” he sighs glancing over at EJ standing in the doorway.

Aunty M closed the door behind them. EJ doesn't recognize him as he looks at him yet he seemed familiar somehow when he looks into his eyes. “My name is Jeff ...Mandan,” watching Aunty M and EJ hoping it might jog his memory as he watches EJ eyes light up. EJ stares at him then looked straight at Aunty M gripping his her hand tighter as Jeff nods and said the “Same one,” Will and Robert start to back away a little as Jeff stands up quickly unexpected...

“B, B, But....” You’re dead,” as they turned and looked at him as he laughed.

“True EJ, I am that.” Jeff smiles at Aunty M.

“You see boy's,” as Aunty M placed her hand on their shoulders, “we have a problem,” nodding to Jeff in the corner of Wills room near the window casting its moonless light in the room as they watched him pace without sound nor shadow along the walls and the floorboards under his feet.. “EJ and him have some unfinished business and they can't do that without help.”

Jeff nods in agreement pacing back and forth as the boys watched him closely. “Jeff can't rest as it were until things are set right and you boys have to help him. That's why he's here EJ, so he can go back.”

“How?” The boys asked not taking their eyes off him as they watched him pace.

Aunty M watching Jeff paced along the floor from one corner to the other nervously. “Well that depends on you, you see, we have another problem.” Aunty M glancing over at Jeff in the room getting agitated. “You remember the other night when that storm hit?”

Robert and Will staring back at Aunty M and EJ. “You mean when that thing came tried to take EJ again?”

Jeff blurts out, his name “Morgan,” as the boys watched and looked up at Jeff, as the word sounded so hollow as if spoken from the grave.

“Yes, when Morgan came into the house that night. Well it's not the first time boys he's tried,” as she nods at Jeff, “he’s been around doing all sorts of unspeakable things and EJ and Jeff are caught up in the middle of it.”

EJ eyes filled with fear as Aunty M tells the boys what Morgan has done last few months that's she is a where of. Leaving out parts of the letter, that tells of the Dark Prince and who he is and might be according to Morgan. Too much information would be harmful to Jeff and EJ according to her friend Mr. G... Time will tell as she watched the boys face turn white with horror.

“So you see, we must set things right and help Jeff and EJ put things back on track and find the missing links to the puzzle before its too late for both of them.” Aunty M wiped the tears of the three boys as she put her arm around them. They all talked a bit longer. After all, it’s not every day you meet a ghost. They watched him walk through the door back into the shadows.

“Aunty M are you sure he is a friend?” The boys all ask.

“Yes boys, now go to bed, will talk more later,” giving them one more kiss on the head walking back down the hall to her room not bothering to look at the shadows on the walls as she closed the door behind her. Margaret sat on the bed in deep thought as small whispers rustled in the room then sits along beside her. “Thanks, Margaret,” placing a gentle hand on her shoulder and brushes her soft cheek with his hand.

Margaret slowly turns taking Mikes hand in hers, looks deep into his loving eyes. “Oh, Mike how I missed you my sweet darling,” Wiping the tears from her eyes as they slowly embraced each other. Mike holds her close to him as the shadow gives off their warm glow as they engulf the room. Mike and Margaret walked slowly through the corridors of time hand in hand through the night. Not even the rooster knew where they went.

The early dawn rises as Pa in the kitchen making breakfast with the girls as he looked up the stairs towards Aunty M room. “Strange she usually up by now,” as he knocked on the door of her room. “Aunty M are you all right?” He asked as he knocked a couple more times before opening the door.

Aunty M... stirs and yawns... as Wayne opened the door, “O my, I must have slept in...”As she looked towards the window seeing the sun reaching high above the mountains “O my,” jumping out of bed. “Be down in second dear.” doing another yawn. “Long night I guess with all the excitement and all. Yes, that's it, I am sure of it, now I’ll be down in second,” as she yawns once more.

“All right,” Wayne said giving her a puzzled look closing the door behind him walked back down the hall.

Aunty M dressed quickly running down the hall, hopping into her boots as she makes it down the stairs, seeing everyone down at the breakfast table. “Well stop gockon” as she swigs down a cup of Joe at the table, “I just slept in that's all, now come on we have things to be a doin.”