Read Indwell (Chasing Natalie's Ghosts) for Free Online

has to bring them home. It’s getting late, I won’t be long,” she tried to explain, again without scaring me. I could tell by the way she was choosing her words. I smiled as I looked up at her.
    “Mommy,”
    “Yes Natalie, what is it?” she sighed.
    “If Mary really wants to bring them home then she should go to that high ridge trail. She should look down once she gets to the top. She’ll probably be able to see them from there,” I paused, wanting to make her understand there was nothing she could do. I looked back up at her. She was silent, unmoving as she stared at me.
    “They are happy now, they really are, they told me so,” I said as I turned towards the sofa. I knew she had to go see for herself.  She would know which trail I was talking about. When we first moved here she took us out for a walk up this trail. As soon as it started to become too narrow to walk side by side she grabbed our hands and turned us around. “Don’t ever come up here!” she warned us, as we quickly returned back to flatter land. My mother has always had a fear of heights and she never liked the mountains.
    I was expecting her to leave now, but she just stood there with her mouth open. She had fear in her eyes and I knew, even then, it wasn’t just for the missing children, it was for me. She fumbled for the door behind her as she continued to stare at me. Once it was open a single tear swelled and poured from her eye, she turned quickly and left.
    When she returned home that night, I had asked her if she found them. “Yes, darling, their mommy is saying goodnight,” she said as silent tears rolled down her cheeks again. I wished she would stop crying. They had found their bodies, but it didn’t scare me. Even then, at that young age, I realized that their spirits, their lights were already gone, blown away in the warm breeze.
    I looked up at Adam as the memory faded. In that moment I acknowledged what I had known all along. We had been travelling so quickly I hadn’t noticed we had made it so far into the dense woods.
    “I have to talk to you,” I said trying to hold back my panic.
    “Sure, we have all day. What’s on your mind?” He pulled the paddle into the canoe.
    “I think we should get out now.” I was starting to tremble. He swiftly pulled the canoe to shore, dragging it up onto the grass.
    “Come here,” he said, grabbing my hand and leading me to a sunny spot.
    “I don’t know if I can sit,” I said, still shaking.
    “What is it?” he asked as he gently pulled me down beside him. I kneeled in front of him, staring into his beautiful eyes again, the way I always did.
    “You’re not real!” I was trembling again. I was coming to the realization that I was probably completely insane and would be put in an institution sometime soon. He started to laugh.
    “Of course I’m real. Come closer and I’ll prove it,” he said grinning.
    “I’m serious, your real to me but not to anyone else.” Tears were threatening to burst from my eyes. He looked down sadly.
    “All I want is to be real to you. I need you. Please don’t be scared,” he said as he touched my cheek. He held my hand, squeezing it then he let me go. I felt cold suddenly. This is not what I wanted. I didn’t want him to let me go.
    “If you want me to go I will. I can just imagine how hard this is for you to understand.” He looked down again.
    “No! No, I don’t want you to go. All I need is for you to stay with me. This is not new to me Adam. I just really hoped that you would be different from the others. Everyone I have ever loved has never been real and I have lost them all.” As I said this, tears rolled down my cheeks. I was afraid Adam was going to leave me soon too. I had to regain my composure. I reminded myself that he was more alone than I was. I am the only one that can see him, touch him and hear him. I did belong to him. He was my immortal, for as long or as short a time we were to be given.
    He sat in front of me