BlackGarden / Stories / A Haunting Tale ~ Part 3
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Hi readers, sorry it's been a while! I hope this nice long part makes up for it. Enjoy! Most of the characters have had a makeover since there are loads of great custom clothes and hair available now. All custom content is available here at TSR. Some of the screenshots were nearly impossible to get right on a community lot where I can't move folk around so please do excuse where I've had to compromise on the pictures!

Hi readers, sorry it's been a while! I hope this nice long part makes up for it. Enjoy! Most of the characters have had a makeover since there are loads of great custom clothes and hair available now. All custom content is available here at TSR. Some of the screenshots were nearly impossible to get right on a community lot where I can't move folk around so please do excuse where I've had to compromise on the pictures! HOW SOON IS TOO SOON?

Dear Agnes,

I recently lost my husband in a tragic accident. Losing him tore me apart. I had no close friends other than him, and for a long time I simply did not know what to do with myself.
I've picked up a few hobbies - gardening and sewing among them - but naturally there is still a void in my life.
I felt that it was time to date again, but didn't begin to feel comfortable with the idea until my sister suggested it. Although I've agreed to this I'm not entirely certain. I only lost my husband a year ago, is it too soon to be moving on? Am I being unfaithful to my husband?

Signed A. Dear A,

My condolences on the loss of your husband. As you may be aware I know from first hand experience just how difficult it can be to get over the death of someone you've been so close to for such a long time.
Let's be totally clear about this: you are not being unfaithful by dating other men. You stood at the altar and pledged to your husband "'til death do us part", and tragic though it is, death has now parted you.
You may not like this response, but as for the timing, and whether it is too soon, only you can decide that. I feel as though you are almost asking for permission to love again. I can't give you that permission. You need to look in the mirror and tell yourself it's ok - give yourself permission to date and move on. If you can do that, then you know it is not too soon. If you can't, then perhaps you could consider joining a singles group. That would give you the opportunity to meet single men and women, and make friends with people who understand your situation, until you feel ready.

Best wishes,

Agnes. Anna certainly had her mind set on moving on. She looks great tonight, her hair is fantastic. "HEY!" a loud whisper behind me. Somebody grabbed my arm and yanked me away from the corner.

Gwen, of course. "What are you doing here?" she snapped angrily. "I wanted to make sure, y'know, Archie's ok... a good... guy..." I mumbled.

"And you don't think spying on your ex-wife is a bit weird?"

"She's not my..." I trailed off. I guess she is. Archie's phone rang. Gwen and I both peeked around the corner. "Now who's spying?" I whispered to her.
"Shut up and go and see who's called him!"

I floated swiftly over behind him to check the name which had appeared on the screen of his phone. "Jessica". Archie glanced at it, and jumped a little. I may not have noticed if I weren't so close to him. He turned his phone off. "Who was that?" asked Anna.

"James, from work," Archie said. "I'm sure it can wait." He smiled at her.

I dashed back to Gwen. "He's lying!" I said. "It was-"

Gwen pointed behind me. Anna was leaving the table, going inside to powder her nose. Gwen and I peered round the corner again. Archie yanked his phone out of his pocket and dialled. "Hi sweetie... I told you I'm coming round about 10 ok? ... I know I'd like to too but I'm stuck at work ... ok, I'll see you later."

I watched as Anna came back outside, oblivious to the phone call her new love interest had just made. "Let me drive you home," said Archie. And Anna blushed as he led her to his police cruiser. I knew Anna, and I knew that blush. I didn't have to follow them to know how they would say goodbye. I turned and left for the beach. I could hear Gwen calling after me. I ignored her. It was time to be a ghost again, do what ghosts should do, and haunt the place my life had slipped away.

In honesty I don't know how long I spent at the beach. Time seemed to have no meaning when I was just haunting the beach. It could have been days or it could have been months. I simply do not know. It was as though I was in a trance until...

"Arthur," a familiar voice. Male. Older... it was...

(it couldn't be him though, he died 12 years ago and me and Mamma wept at his grave every year until she left too...) But it was. Dad. "Dad! There's so much I want to... I need your advice."

"I know, but just listen. I can't stay long. My business on this earth is long since over ... it's taken a great deal of energy for me to cross back here and it won't last long." "Anna is not yours any more, and she never will be again. But she's a good woman and you can't let that man walk all over her. You need to try and scare him off."

"Dad, I miss you..."

"If you can scare him off, your business on this earth is done... then we can - " his voice has trailed to nothing. I can still see him, see his mouth moving, but there is no sound. He waves, then vanishes. Now was the time for action. Before I knew it I was stood behind Archie. He was working on some report, oblivious to all around him. "Boo," I whispered in his ear. He shuddered a little, and looked at his watch, surprised, then closed down the computer. Ok so he didn't notice me, maybe he would notice, a floating book! I thought. I grabbed a trashy romance novel off a table and sat on the sofa to read it. Just the kind of thing Anna would love to read, I mused.

Archie looked hard at where I was sitting. He rubbed his eyes, then shrugged and headed for a door. I ran up behind him. "ABOOGADEEBOOGADEBOOO!" I yelled, shoving him. He spun round, fear in his eyes, and looked around. Then he seemed to calm a bit and let out a little laugh.

How can I scare someone who doesn't notice me? I thought. "Hey you, time to come to bed?" For a moment I thought Anna was addressing me. It was such a familiar sentence, in her beautiful familiar voice.

Anna crossed the room and grabbed Archie's hand. She was wearing only her underwear. I winced. There was only one reason she would be here, wearing that, and I didn't like to think about it. Archie paused.

"Sure, I just have one thing I need to ask you first," he said, dropping to one knee and pulling a box from his trouser pocket.

Anna seemed surprised, and I was shocked. I clenched my fists, preparing to swing for him.

"Oh Archie... I'm so happy, I never thought I would be happy like this again... of course I'll marry you!" Anna accepted his ring and flung her arms around him, a blissful expression on her face. I touched her arm, felt her soft skin, and she shuddered. I sighed, and left. The next day, Gwen came looking for me. "Arthur!" she said. "It's all over town... Anna is engaged to that Archie."

I nodded. "I know," I said.

"Well, you gonna just let him break her heart?" "No," I said. "But I need you to do something for me."

"Sure, anything I can do to help," said Gwen. She took a step closer to me. I could smell the sweet scent of her perfume.

"I've written her a letter," I said. "Will you give it to her?" "Of course," said Gwen. To my surprise she hugged me tight. I hugged back, glad to hold on to someone, if only for a second.

"Come on," she said. "Let's go now." Gwen rang Anna's doorbell, while I stood back. We waited and waited, but there was no answer. She rang again, and we waited some more. Gwen turned to face me. "Sorry Arthur... she's not in. We can come back la-"
A taxi pulled up, and Anna stepped out. Anna approached Gwen.

"Can I help you?" she asked, polite as ever. "Please, just listen to what I have to say, because it's going to sound a little crazy," Gwen began.

Anna didn't speak, just looked at her expectantly, so Gwen went on:

"I'm Gwen, and you may not believe this but your husband, Arthur, is still around, and he's still trying to look out for you... here, look at this, he asked me to give you this letter." "There is no writing on this paper! What kind of a sick joke is this? Get away from my house, and never come back!" "If you won't listen to Arthur then listen to me, I saw your Archie calling another woman, he will break your heart!" "What the heck is up with you? Are you one of Archie's exes, is that it? Are you jealous? Or are you just some kind of weird fantasist? You know what I don't even care what your problem is just LEAVE ME ALONE" Anna shrieked, before going into her house, the home that used to be ours, that we'd scrimped and saved to buy... and slammed the door. There's only so much time you can spend trying to save the feelings of someone you care for. When all's said and done, they made their own choices and you made yours. I had tried all I could to help Anna, and all it had done was upset her terribly.

"You've done everything you can, son... it's time to let go," I heard a faint voice say as I walked back to the beach. Whether it was Dad or my imagination, I knew the voice was right.

A Haunting Tale ~ Part 3

Nov 8, 2009 by BlackGarden
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    18 Comment(s) posted so far

    On Nov 9, 2009 candy820 wrote:

    Awesome chapter. Can't wait to see where it goes from here.\:D 5.0 here\:D

    On Nov 9, 2009 Mangio wrote:

    great chapter, hopefully Agnes will come to the realisation that her husband is still alive \:wub\: cant  wait to read more

    On Nov 9, 2009 Illandrya wrote:

    Oh, I hope Anna finds out what the Archie person is like before it's too late! Poor Arthur, taken from the earth too soon only to have to stand by and watch his wife fall for someone who doesn't deserve her.

    On Nov 9, 2009 exele1315 wrote:

    Great chapter!
    Cant wait to read more\:\)

    On Nov 9, 2009 gharts wrote:

    I very much so enjoyed the chapter.  Hurry Hurry with the next...\:D

    On Nov 9, 2009 nomienu wrote:

    love this story...i wonder if he'll go back without helping her \:D

    On Nov 9, 2009 martoele wrote:

    Oh, I've waiting a long time hoping to see this 2rd part. I thought you had given up. Fortunately I was wrong. A very good chapter. \:wub\:

    On Nov 9, 2009 Midnight222 wrote:

    Wonderfully written and the screenshots were fine! Thanks for a fantastic read.

    On Nov 9, 2009 spitzmagic wrote:

    Congrats on it being on the index page...I bet Jessica is his daughter.....\:rah\: I love it, looking forward to the next chapter \:wub\:

    On Nov 10, 2009 mpatton wrote:

    Great chapter.  I hope it won't be too long before you get the next one out.  I really want to see what happens.

    On Nov 10, 2009 tonka1407 wrote:

    Great chapter!!!

    On Nov 11, 2009 tdyannd wrote:

    Heather, what a lovely part! \:D

    On Nov 11, 2009 Jennifer_R wrote:

    A great thrid chapter! \:rah\:  Poor Arthur, it must be so hard for him to watch the love of his life with another man. Congrats on being featured too! \:\)

    On Nov 11, 2009 Little Seer wrote:

    Thanks so much for telling me this part was ready.  Excellent story.  I'm loving the characters.  It's very intriguing.  Cheers \:\)

    On Nov 21, 2009 evi wrote:

    I liked this chapter BG!

    On Nov 22, 2009 DragonQueen wrote:

    \:wub\:  So bittersweet!  Wow!  I can't wait to read the rest of it!  \:rah\:

    On Dec 19, 2010 kylady000 wrote:

    great chapter

    On Oct 23, 2011 Shokky wrote:

    Great story!!!!!!!!!!

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