• The early morning sunlight flooded out into my room from behind my curtain, fluttering against my cheek like the gentle, warm caress of butterfly wings. My eyes opened slowly as my mouth stretched wide in a yawn; I blinked away sleep before rolling over and glancing toward my right. I wasn't surprised to find two curious children looking back at me, their luminous eyes watching me intently; I paid them no heed, feigning ignorance to the fact that their eyes followed me as I walked around my room. I quickly picked up a pile of clothes and shuffled into the bathroom. With the thought of the children still clinging to the back of my mind, I shut the door and twisted the lock before stripping down and stepping into the shower. The blast of cold water shocked my still groggy body, but I quickly shook it off as the water began to grow warmer and beat rhythmically against my skin.

    Before I would have liked, I heard my mother call my name, and I sighed before stepping out of the water's warm embrace and drying off. I slipped into my clothes and stepped back into my room; I turned to my closet and pulled a sweater over my head before slipping a heavy fur-lined jacket on and a thick wool hat. I stepped into a pair of boots before clomping down the stairs to see my mother at the table, reading a book and taking small sips from a cup of steaming coffee. "Morning, mom." She smiled as I made my way toward the refrigerator and pulled out a jug of milk. I quickly made myself a cup of coffee and drank it in long gulps before rinsing off the mug and setting it on the counter once more.

    "Where are you off to, Josh?" I heard my mother ask as I gripped the door handle in a now gloved hand.

    "Just going for a walk. Maybe into town, I'm not sure." She sighed, but then nodded and smiled.

    "Alright, be safe, sweetheart." She blew a kiss my way and I smiled.

    "Sure, mom. Love you."

    "Love you." I stepped out into the cold air and shut the door firmly behind me. I looked up toward the house and caught a flicker of green in the corner of my vision and knew the two children were still lurking in my bedroom, waiting for my inevitable return. I ignored the feeling of being watched as I walked down the long mountain road that I knew would lead me into the forest and finally sighed happily when I turned a corner and the feeling faded. The twisted thicket of green foliage waited ahead of me as I walked slowly down the snow covered path, ice crunching under my boots. The morning was quiet, with just an echo of birdsong in the air; frost crept up the roots of the spruce and birch trees around me, and as I breathed mist escaped from my nose, curling into long wisps of steam.

    Despite my several layers of clothing, a shiver ran down my spine; hoping it was nothing more than the cold air around me, I pulled my jacket tighter around my neck. But my hopes were dashed when I turned to glance behind me and saw an emerald glow following me persistently. I acted as if I hadn't seen it as I forced my feet to move forward, my mood fouled.

    "I know you can see me, Joshua Cross." I winced at the sound of the ghost's thick, croaking voice, practically next to me, even though I knew it was still several paces behind me. "Do not ignore me, child. I know your ways." I stopped walking, even as my inner instincts screamed for me to keep going; I ignored them and turned toward the apparition. Before me stood an older woman, and although her ethereal body glowed an obnoxious shade of green, I could see her profound features clearly. She had a head full of knotted, black dreadlocks atop a face full of wrinkles dotted with bright, ageless green eyes; her crooked mouth was stretched in a bitter smile as I stared down at her in unmasked resentment. She tapped her knobbed cane against the ground as she came to stand directly in front of me, "Hello, child," She said, her smile stretching even wider, "Thank you for stopping to wait for me."

    "What do you want?" I asked from behind barred teeth. She raised an eyebrow in surprise and cackled softly.

    "I need your help, young medium.." I winced at the word as it escaped from her cracked and dry lips, curling around me and setting my nerves on edge. "There is some-"

    "I'm not a medium; I can't help you." She frowned as I cut her off and rapped her cane across my knuckles before I could move. I yelped in pain and backed away from her, clutching my hand as I shot her a glare.

    "Don't interrupt me." She hissed and settled her weight back onto her cane before continuing, "There is a young girl; she needs your help - if you do not help her, she will die." Her eyes beseeched me, but I snorted and a half smile crept across my face as I raised my eyebrows in disbelief.

    "Why should I care?" I asked, a harsh laugh almost creeping up my throat.

    "Because, she is the only one who can tell you why you have the Sight, Joshua Cross." I
    whipped around to look at her, my eyes wide and my breath suddenly hitched.

    "What?" I asked, a tiny glow of hope bubbling in my chest, despite my efforts to spurn it.

    "You heard me." The crone whispered. I waited for her to go on, but I could already see her aura fading and her once bright eyes dimming.

    "Wait, where is she?" I asked hurriedly, reaching out to grab her but simply meeting air.

    "Look to the eastern sky. Find the place where the sun touches the earth each night; that, is where you will find the girl." Before I could ask her anything else, she disappeared and I heard a sigh shift on the wind and float toward the mountains in the distance. I cursed and spun around in frustration, kicking up clods of snow as I did so.

    "What does that even mean?" I shouted in vain, knowing she was no longer there. In a blind bout of rage, I turned to the nearest tree and curled my hand into a fist before punching the cold, damp bark. A curse flew from my lips as I clutched my now bloody hand as it throbbed in pain, but I barely noticed it; I sank to the ground, and without a single thought of the snow creeping slowly into my pants, I held my head in my hands and sighed. "Stupid ghosts." I muttered, the burning words rolling off my tongue. Thoughts whirled through my head at about a million miles an hour, but I forced myself to stand and continue walking; despite my feeling toward ghosts, if there really was someone out there with an answer to why I had this curse - well, I had to find them. And there was only one person that I knew who might be able to find out what the crone's cryptic words meant.