Page 22 of Woods of the Raven

“So you’re sensitive too?”

I nodded.

“What should I—I mean, what should we,” Delia said, indicating her and Cass, “do? Like, should we talk to her?”

“I normally just wave.”

“Yeah, okay. Sure.” Cass exhaled sharply. “We’ll wave at the ghost.”

“Does she know who can see her and who can’t?” Delia asked.

“I don’t think so, but I’ve never asked, so I can’t say for certain.”

“Is it like in The Sixth Sense?” Delia asked. “Do you think we’re seeing her because she has a favor we need to do for her?”

I chuckled. “No. I’ve been seeing her since I was five or six, and she’s never called me over to chat. Like I said, I usually just wave, and she waves back, lifts her parasol, and continues her stroll.”

“I’ve never seen the parasol,” Cass informed me.

“I think maybe until she lifts it, you don’t.”

“That’s so wild,” Delia whispered.

“It’s sad she’s still here, though.” Cass’s sigh was long.

“Well, I think when she’s ready, she’ll go.”

“Why did she leap from the bridge?” Delia inquired.

“Her parents wouldn’t let her marry the man she loved, so that was her response.”

“Like Ophelia.”

I made a noise. “Ophelia was more upset because Hamlet didn’t love her, right? Wasn’t that more it?”

“Maybe. I haven’t read it in a while. I’ll check.”

“Good.”

Delia took a breath. “So next time, before I assume I’m crazy and need to be medicated, I should check and see if I’m seeing a ghost.”

“I would, yes.”

After a moment, her face scrunched up. “Does that apply to hearing things too?”

“Of course,” I answered, not hesitating for even a second with my answer.

“So there are some ghosts that can only be heard?”

“Certainly.”

“Like a horse? Can ghosts be animals?”

“Jesus Christ, D, you hear the fuckin’ horse too?” Cass yelled.

Delia caught her breath.

“Why didn’t you tell me?”