Ghost Story
It is nearly midnight on Halloween. You are in Oliver's lighthouse and he sleeps beside you in the bed. The two of you danced the night away at one of Rick's famous costume parties. Oliver donned his now famous Zorro costume once more while you accompanied him as The Queen of Swords. And after the two of you got home, there was more exhausting activity.
For some reason though, you just simply cannot sleep. You quietly creep out of bed, slip your nightgown back on and wrap up in an extra blanket you've swiped from the end of the bed. You make your way to Oliver's study, browsing through the books there. Nothing really jumps out at you as entertaining reading.
The wind really seems to have picked up outside. It almost sounds like moaning. Something about it seems to beckon you and you find yourself winding up the spiral stairs leading up to the light platform. You clutch the blanket more tightly around yourself as you look over the railing at the waves crashing into the rocks below. As you look out into the low fog starting to hug the shoreline, you swear you can see the form of a woman in long skirts walking along the rocky outcropping. She appears to be alternately looking out across the water and crying. A distinct chill moves across your skin.
"What are you doing out here Love?" Oliver's voice behind you startles you so much that you have to grasp the rail to keep from going over it. Soon his arms are around you, holding you against him tightly. "It's freezing out here. You'll catch your death. Come back in."
"Oliver wait...look out there." You point to the rocks. "Don't you see her?"
He peers over your shoulder and you hear him gasp quietly. "My god, it's true."
"What is?"
"The story the Realtor told me when she sold me the place. Said to pay the legend no mind but that they were obligated by law to inform prospective buyers of any possible paranormal activity."
"What legend?" You keep your eyes on the figure below you.
"About a hundred years ago, a woman named Katherine Reedly inherited the lighthouse from her father. Over the first year of her Keeper duty, she became enamored of the captain of a local fishing boat called the Bountiful Journey. His name was Seth Campbell and he was equally taken with the lovely Kate. He saved for another two years and then asked her to marry him. She agreed and the two planned the ceremony for the little chapel in the village upon his return from...well what turned out to be his last excursion."
"He never came back?"
"There was more to it than that. It was Halloween night and an unusually thick fog rolled in across the water. Kate lit the beacon and watched nervously for her beloved's vessel to come safely to port. That night, Walter Risher, her friend since childhood, stopped in to keep her company. He begged her to come in from the cold and take tea with him. Shortly after finishing the tea she felt very very tired and fell asleep on the couch in the parlor. She didn't realize that Walter had been in love with her since they were children and that he had no intention of losing her to a sea captain that he deemed beneath her."
"What did he do?"
"As Kate slept, he crept up to the platform and extinguished the light. When Kate awoke, it was to the noise made by the Bountiful Journey splintering against the rocks. All hands were lost."
"Oh god," you shake your head. "And Kate?"
"She confronted Walter, who admitted what he'd done. Unable to face life without the handsome Seth, she jumped from the platform to her share her death with her beloved on the rocks below. And she did it right in front of Walter. He wound up in an asylum for the rest of his miserable life. Or so the legend goes."
"It's so sad."
"It's said that on Halloween nights that mimic the weather conditions of that tragic night, she appears and searches for her Seth to come for her so that they can sail away together but that he cannot find his way to her without the light and until love has a home in the lighthouse again."
You turn and hold Oliver to you. You smile and kiss his lips. "Turn the light on Oliver. Come on. If that's true we've got Seth halfway here. Bring him back to her."
"I can't," he says sadly.
"Why?"
"Honestly, I'm not allowed to just switch it on willy nilly."
"This isn't willy or nilly! This is her lost love!" You are very upset, on the verge of tears.
Oliver pulls you closer and kisses your forehead. "Shh...it's all right. Why is this getting to you so badly?"
"Look at her Oliver. She's right here and time...death...it all meant nothing next to how much she loved him. With all the chances we take in our work? I could be her."
"I understand."
You inhale sharply as you get and idea. "Oliver get a candle!"
"What? Why?"
"Get one and bring it up here. The legend said a light from the platform, it didn't say it had to be the actual beacon."
He smiles brightly. "It's worth a try. Be right back." He darts down the stairs.
You lean slightly over the rail, observing Katherine's vigil. Soon Oliver is beside you, one arm around your waist and the other holding a vanilla pillar candle in front of you. You reach down to the hand on your stomach and take the lighter Oliver holds there. "Hold on Kate. Seth's coming home." You flick the lighter and touch the flame to the wick.
The candle begins to glow with light and shortly thereafter you begin to see the shape of a male figure form near the spirit of Katherine. It begins to take on more substance and soon you can clearly see a tall handsome man with dark hair dressed in mariner's clothes from a century before. He extends his hand to Kate and she rushes into his arms.
Oliver holds you tighter as you watch Katherine and Seth's reunion. The spirits break their embrace long enough for both to look up to the platform. Seth tips his cap to the two of you while Kate waves, both smiling. You and Oliver wave back. Katherine and Seth turn back to each other and arm in arm, walk out across the water and disappear into the fog.
You blow out the candle and drop it over the side of the railing and into the waves below. Oliver turns you in his embrace so that he can kiss you deeply. He sweeps you up into his arms and carries you back down the stairs and into the bedroom once more.
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| The character of Oliver Sampson and the show VR.5 were created by John Sacret Young and are © Samoset Productions and Rysher Entertainment. No infringement is intended and no profits are being made. |