Page 84 of Ghostly Touches

“Please?”

“I said no, Willow. Stop pestering me. Theodon looks like he could be bothered, go to him,” I tell her.

“Give me your hand for thirty seconds. I think I have a solution to you losing your eyesight,” she pushes. When I don’t move, she adds, “I’ll forgive you for hitting me if you give me your hand.”

My hands ball into fists under my arms. Damn woman. She’s so annoying. Letting my arms drop from my chest, I reluctantly give her my right hand without looking at her.

“Thirty seconds.”

Willow’s hand slips into mine without hesitation. My irritation at her presence lessens greatly. After two deep breaths, I forget why I’m annoyed with her at all.

“Close your eyes,” she whispers.

“I’m watching for danger, Willow. I’m not closing my eyes.”

“Stop being difficult and just do this for me. You won’t miss anything. I’m seventy percent sure of that.”

With a huff, I close them. The moment I do, Willow squeezes my hand. A cold chill rushes up my arm and explodes into my chest. I gasp as it creeps up my neck and into my head.

“What are you doing?” I ask. My voice is soft as I feel the coldness in my face before it presses against the back of my eyes.

“Helping you. First, tell me what you hear right now.”

I swallow as I take in my surroundings. “I hear the tall grass swaying. The leaves in the trees are rustling.”

Willow hums. “Is that it?”

I shake my head. “Theodon is leaning heavily on his left leg, his finger trailing over some part of the map. There are… four, no five, birds flying overhead, and Jonah is moving towards us but is still a distance away. There is a doe on the far edges of the field to our left with a fawn lying beside it. And there is a spider crawling along the dashboard.”

There is a pause. Willow’s swift and soft intake of her breath speaks to her surprise. I smile, pleased that I can shock the woman without being an asshole.

“Impressive.”

“Can I open my eyes now?”

“In a second,” she murmurs. “I’m going to try something. While keeping your eyes closed, tell me what you see.”

Before I can tell her that I can see the back of my eyelids, the cold behind my eyes grows more intense. I wince as it shoots into my head, reminding me of when I was a child and ate too much shaved ice.

Then the blackness shifts. Though my eyes are closed, strange whiteish blue shapes begin to take form in the dark. My brows come together as I focus on what’s happening. It takes a moment, but far out I can see the doe and its fawn. I do not see their flesh and fur, but rather their spirits as the doe grazes and the fawn sleeps. My mouth pops open in surprise. Without opening my eyes, I turn my head. Above me, still in the dark, another small flock of birds fly overhead. I can hear them clearly, and with Willow’s help, I can see their souls rather than their physical form. My head turns at the sound of Jonah growing closer. Through the grass, I can see the white-blue of his soul where his horn just peaks over the wildness of the field.

I turn at the sound of Theodon’s footsteps. When my eyes land on his soul, I’m taken back. There is a strange section right in the middle of his chest that glows just a little brighter, but other than that, his soul looks just like him. I didn’t realize how bad my sight was until now. I forgot he had a small scar on the upper right-hand side of his lip or that the tip of his left ear where it would normally be pointed is gone.

“What do you see?” my leader asks, his mouth pressing into a hard line as he approaches. I can see the way his eyes flicker to Willow and then back to my face. My mouth pulls upwards slowly. I wouldn’t have noticed the shift in his gaze normally, but like this, I can see everything again as if my vision has been restored. It’s strange but not uncomfortable.

“Everything important,” I whisper in awe as I look away from him.

I cannot see things without a soul, but what I cannot see, I can hear. And without having to strain to see, I swear I can hear almost better than before. Without looking at Willow, I lean my head towards her as my eyes scan for more things to look at.

“How are you doing this?”

“I don’t know. It was just a guess. If you ever just need to see things, let me know, and I’ll do what I can to help. I won’t be able to keep this up without touching you or hold it very long.”

The coldness behind my eyes disappears. My face begins to warm as does the arm and hand that Willow holds. When I turn my head to Theodon, his soul begins to fade until all that is left is the darkness behind my eyelids. My eyes open slowly. In front of me, I see everything, yet it all looks so unfocused. My stomach twists uncomfortably. I’ve gotten used to this way of viewing the world.

Willow pulls her hand from mine. Why do I feel colder now than when her power lit me up from the inside?

“Do you think that if you blindfolded yourself and used only your hearing that maybe things would get easier for you?” Willow asks. “I learned somewhere that when one of the five senses begins to fail, your others will get better.”

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