The Sisters of Castle Stone

#11: Betty Bottomley

"It's strange," said Beatrice, "I wondered how long it would be before the living noticed my existence again. It's been so lonely on my own, walking up and down these corridors."

Charlotte found her sight transfixed upon something that surely shouldn't exist. Her eyes widened at this vision that stood in front of her. The ghost's almost transparent frame hovered only feet away as Charlotte retreated. Her body trembled slightly as she sunk back down into the mattress. Her breathing quickened, and her heart slammed inside her chest, as nerves and curiosity filled her mind. The more she looked at what stood before her, the less she believed it to be true. It was a dream. Only a dream. But the truth was it was as real as the nose on her face, and as clear as the hand in front of her eyes.

She felt like a goldfish, her mouth opened and closed but for a second not a single word could she speak. And then she said it. The first words that came to mind, such as simple, yet powerful sentences and a question Charlotte felt desperate to know.

"Why can I see you?"

It wasn't right. It wasn't real, but whether or not Charlotte Greyson wanted to admit it to herself it wasn't the first time she'd set eyes on something she couldn't explain. The way things were going she strongly suspected this wouldn't be the last ghost she saw.

"You're a seer," Beatrice spoke in a calming whispered tone, "only seers can see the departed."

Charlotte shook her head and tucked a stray strand of dark hair back behind her ears. "I don't understand, what's a seer?"

Beatrice giggled slightly and moved closer. "A seer, someone with the ability to see and hear the dead." She paused for a moment, giving Charlotte a second or two for the information to sink in. "You can see me, can't you? You can hear me, can't you?"

Charlotte nodded as many questions began to fly around her mind, but each one had its place on the list of priorities with the most important waiting.

"How did this happen?" She asked, not knowing what else to say. It wasn't every day she conversed with the dead.

This time it was Beatrice who seemed stuck for words and instead of saying a single word, she did something else entirely. Charlotte watched with eyes full of curiosity as Beatrice outstretched her hand towards her. The ghost's cold light touch just hovered over her heart.

"That..." she said, "that's how."

A wave of confusion came at Charlotte like a rabbit caught in the headlights. Her eyes narrowed into tighter slits, as a cold feeling shivered down her spine.

"My transplant? Do you mean my transplant?"

Beatrice nodded, "when the living is given the heart of the dead, it gives them life to love again. But when the heart returns to the scene of its death, that's when the seer is born."

"Are you saying I've been to the same place where my doner lost their life?"

Beatrice nodded again, "that is correct. You don't walk along these corridors and live like this without picking a little information up along the way.

This got Charlotte thinking, and she thought back a couple of days to the time her dad took her and her sisters to view a potential new school. It was just supposed to be a normal visit and a test to see whether or not they'd like it there, but normality was far away from what Charlotte thought.

The young girl had many questions ready to ask. Most were concerning the strange situation she found herself in, but quite a few were for someone else. Someone who, hopefully, could enlighten her on who donated her heart, and that person was her mother. Maybe then she could finally understand what triggered it, the key that unlocked her abilities.