The house was old, the poorly finished paint made it look even worse. I was holding a pamphlet, the address was correct.
“Contact your deceased loved one, seances with medium Samantha”.
A gray-haired lady invited me in.
-My name is Gabriel, I am here because of this pamphlet.
-Lost someone?
-Yes, my girlfriend is… was called Larissa, she got hit by a drunk driver and passed away last week. I want to talk to her one last time, I need to say goodbye.
Samantha agreed to hold the séance. She called 4 associates, and the six of us sat around a table. Eighteen candles formed a circle behind the members, making three circles in total: The table, the six people, and the eighteen candles.
-When calling the spirits they can use any of the six doors present. We will hold hands in a circle. Do not let go of the hand of the person beside you, if the circle is broken, the spirit that has been manifested will no longer be trapped in the other world, and will be able to remain in ours. Some spirits pretend not to be among us and try to undo the circle. If you feel the colleague next to you try to let go of your hand, hold on tight, let me know and I’ll end the séance. Keep your mind calm and light, if you let negative feelings such as dread, extreme sadness, hatred, among others dominate your minds, your body will be weakened and the spirit may not leave at the end of the séance. If I sense something wrong, we end the séance. Any questions?
I nodded no. Samantha projected her voice:
-Recent and ancient spirits present in this room, I ask for your silence and that only Larissa, recently uprooted from her body from the dimension of the living, communicate with us. Answer me Larissa, to calm the grieving heart of those who love you, are you present in this room?
Nothing happened. We kept silent for a few minutes. Samantha repeated the same mantra, and after it failed a few times, she said a few words in a language I didn’t understand. About an hour into the séance, the atmosphere began to change. The room had a heavy, suffocating air. I felt tired listening to the spoken words, I rambled, I couldn’t concentrate. The room cooled slightly, the hairs on my arms stood on end, chills crisscrossed my entire body like electric shocks. A mild headache regained my concentration, with twinges slicing through one side of my brain internally. A girl who was sitting next to me started tugging at my hand, seeming to want to let go. I held her hand tightly. I looked to the side and noticed a look of fear on her face. She stared at everyone present at the table, wide eyes and a clear expression of confusion.
- Hihi. - She giggled, as if she’d remembered a joke.
Everyone fixed their attention on her. She was smiling in a sort of robotic way, as if an android was trying to imitate human reactions. Her eyes darted back and forth quickly, staring at everyone there.
-I… You… Where…
Samantha interacted with the girl:
-Larissa? It’s okay, we’re your friends. Do you remember what happened to you?
-I was in a hurry, the rain was blocking my vision – she said looking at the table as if she was trying to remember – I wanted, I just wanted… – she began to cry and slowly lowered her head towards the table, leaving tthe face hidden and only the back of his head showing.
-Everything is fine, everything is fine. - Samantha repeated trying to calm the atmosphere.
The girl lifted her head a little later, she wasn’t crying anymore, despite having her face slightly wet because she couldn’t use her hands to dry the tears. She glared at me.
-Why are you doing this?
-I didn’t get a chance to say goodbye.
-Selfishness, then?
The serious expression of the girl looking at me knocked the ground out of my feet. I had rehearsed thousands of things I wanted to say, but I froze with the situation finally happening in front of me. I ignored her query.
-How is life on the other side?
-I’m feeling lonely. All I wanted was to have you by my side, I can’t wait to see you again.
-We ‘ll see each other again. I miss you so much.
-When, Gabriel? I can’t wait, I need you now.
Samantha started talking before I could interact.
-Spirits present, we appreciate your contact, now we need to part ways, goodbye.
We let go of each other hands and broke the circle. I was a little upset:
-Why did you end the séance? We sat at the table for over an hour without anything happening, and when I was finally talking to her you took Larissa out of the circle.
-It wasn’t Larissa.
-What? How do you know?
-It was someone trying to deceive you. There are spirits who chose to stay on the dimension closest to ours, enjoying our interactions. They take every opportunity they can get trying to get humans to do things for them, they have fun with it.
-What do you mean, what did it want me to do?
-It wanted you to commit suicide. I’ve seen it happen before, when couples try to make contact with a deceased partner, this kind of spirit appears, saying they want the living to join them, pretending to be the loved one. I’m really sorry Gabriel, but Larissa didn’t want to show up or isn’t in a dimension where this is possible. If she wanted to, she would have shown up already.
-Can’t we try again another day?
-I don’t keep working when the spirit refuses contact. If we try again, it’s too dangerous. The more we call the greater the possibility of unwanted spirits appearing. I can hand you contacts of people who make extra attempts, but I strongly advise against it.
-Okay, I understand.
I paid for the consultation and left. I believed everything the medium had said, she had no reason to lie. It was more profitable for her to keep trying to contact Larissa, saying that it was dangerous and unlikely made me face reality. My girlfriend was dead and I would never see her again.
When I got home I sat in the kitchen looking at the wall, reflecting on everything that had happened. I lay down on the bed afterwards. I heard a strange noise, like someone was moving things in the next room. I turned on the light and went to check. My legs started to give out from what I saw. There was a portrait with a picture of me hugging Larissa, the memory of our interaction came back to me.
“Couple photo, Larissa? What a cheesy gift.”
“I want to see this picture on your table Gabriel, if you complain I’ll make you wear a T-shirt with my face on it, then you’ll find out what cheesiness is.”
Holding the portrait with a smile on her face, there she was, Larissa. She gently placed the portrait back on the table and hugged me. I returned the hug, not holding back the tears anymore. She stood on tiptoe and gave me a kiss on the cheek before turning and walking away. I tried to follow her, but she disappeared as she left my sight. I laid down again, falling asleep after a few minutes. When I woke up, the unoccupied side of my bed was scarred, as if someone had slept next to me that night. I cried, I knew it was goodbye.
I would never see her again.