Page 22 of Ghost in the Cupboard

That night, I dreamt of the first ghostly encounter I’d ever had in my life. My mother and I were in the living room; it was just the two of us by the time I was thirteen. Dad, grandmas, grandpas, everyone was gone then. My older sister had already moved on, out of state, to live with her new husband and finish college. So, time couldn’t have presented itself better.

My dream wasn’t quite truthful, since, even awake, I could never recall all of the details of that day. Obviously, many details had been filled in by my sleeping brain to help the dream make sense. I was sitting on the sofa, my mother next to me, so close our knees tapped each other if we moved at all. We were staring down at the large wooden box on the coffee table before us.

What is it? I’d asked excitedly.

After a long, tense moment, which made no sense to me, my mother finally breathed out her response.

A test.

Excitedly, I stared at the wooden box with the weird paint and the silver inlays at every single corner. At thirteen, I was a studious young man who loved school and devoured any book I could get my hands on. A test? What fun!

I can’t say I’m not proud of that fact as an adult, but’s also a piece of personal lore that makes me uncomfortable to admit to others to this day.

What kind of test? Is it a puzzle?

No. Not a puzzle. A…sight and hearing test.

Confused by my mother’s words, I stared more intensely at the box. What was I supposed to be hearing and seeing?

When I open this box, my mother said, tell me what you see, Silas. What you hear. Okay?

Nodding excitedly, I was practically gnashing my teeth, waiting for the test.

My mother took a deep breath, patted my knee, and reached for the lid of the box. As she slid it back, I could feel my heart thundering in my chest, a single bead of sweat dribbling over my temple to the apple of my cheek. And then the lid was off.

And my life changed forever.

It wasn’t until a handful of years later, when my mother was bedridden, holding on to her quickly ending life, that I found out my sister had also taken The Test.

She had failed; I had passed.

And I was the last of our bloodline at the time, causing me to vow, in that moment, sitting over my mother’s soon-to-be deathbed, that I would never have to give The Test to a child.

Regardless of nightmares, life goes on every morning, whether one likes it or not. My morning after summoning so many ghosts, then dreaming about my first encounter with a ghost, proved to be trying. Having my head in the wrong space meant I nearly punched myself in the face brushing my teeth, I could barely get my hair brushed and styled, I almost slipped in the shower, and getting dressed was nearly impossible.

By the time I got into my car and headed into town, I knew exactly where I was headed. However, I first stopped at the Gas & Go for an energy drink. Caleb was on duty again, the blinds at the front of the store shut tightly to the morning sun. He rang me up for the giant can and ducked back, blinking his eyes at the sun that slivered in the front door when I left.

I had to feel bad for the guy. The Gas & Go faced easterly and was unobstructed by other buildings from the rising sun. Anyone working the morning shift could easily spend the day blinded by the sun pouring through the giant plate glass windows. Fortunately, the blinds on the windows made working morning shifts easier.

As I left the gas station, I popped the top of the can and began to chug as I walked down to Shop-A-Teria. Max Nguyen was pulling up in his truck and parking outside of the grocery store when I walked up. He waved from the interior of his truck, shut it off, and hopped out quickly upon seeing me. I gave him a head nod as I approached, then slammed another quarter of the can of energy.

“Mornin’,” Max announced before leaning back into his truck for his phone. He slipped it into his back jeans pocket before closing the door and turning to me again. “Don’t tell me you want to return that cabinet.”

I chuckled nervously. Unfortunately, I didn’t think Max would take the cupboard back after Danny’s alterations.

“I’ve already made some changes so there’d be no point in trying,” I said.

“Good!” Max said, leaning back against his truck as he spoke to me. “What can I do you for then, Si?”

I took another slug of my drink.

“Any idea who left it outside the Shop-A-Teria?” I asked. “I have some questions for the previous owner.”

Good old Max—he didn’t so much as raise an eyebrow of suspicion. The new owner of a cupboard having questions to pose to the previous owner was completely reasonable. Why wouldn’t the new owner have questions? Perfectly understandable that I’d want to ask questions about the unique piece of furniture.

“You know how it is, Si,” Max said. “Folks know I have that room off the side there for selling used home goods. Hardly anyone says anything when they drop stuff off. They just dump it near the entry there, where the elements can’t easily get to it, and leave.”

I sagged, but I understood.