WHERE IS HELEN?

Chapter 5

Sunday morning had come, and the breakfast table was set with an array of delicious food that Mrs. Wilson had prepared while Helen slept. Her parents had agreed to her sleeping over at Mrs. Wilson's the night before, and she was expected to be home before Monday morning. The aroma was all-over the place, and even succeeded in slithering down Helen's nostrils and into the dream she was having about a unicorn. She sprang up with much adrenaline, and with calculated soundless steps, hid behind the door to observe Mrs. Wilson, humming her favourite song as she set the table for breakfast.

"Why do I get the feeling that somebody is watching me from a different helenverse?" Mrs. Wilson joked when she heard Helen mistakenly make a sound.

Helen walked up gently towards her, and as she gave her a hug and greeted "Good morning", Mrs. Wilson noticed how much her focus was on the meal set on the table, "Ah, ah, ah," she said "Not until you try out the new brush I bought for you."

The little girl scratched her temple gently, before responding with "Fine" in a low tone, then she walked towards the washroom to do the necessary.

A min or two later, Helen sat down at the table, and her eyes widened at the sight of the scrumptious spread in front of her. She picked up a fork and started to eat her food, savouring every bite.

After a few minutes of silence, Mrs. Wilson looked up and saw the smile on Helen's face. She chuckled and asked, "How is breakfast?"

"I was enjoying till your question got me chocked." Helen answered following a quick laugh and picking up the cup of water, ready to take a sip, "I don't want it to finish." She added.

Mrs. Wilson blushed as she admired the silly but sweet little girl sitting opposite her, "You always have something say about everything, why's that?" She questioned, not really expecting a reply, but she knew she was destined to receive one when it's Helen she was talking to.

Helen set the glass of water down on the table and began to laugh even to a point where tears formed in her eyes, then she responded saying, "You're also calling me a talkative, nice way to frame it."

"Not at all," Mrs. Wilson denied "I'm just saying, the question was one which demanded a 'Yes' or 'No' for an answer, not a story."

"Bad manners," Helen chuckled, "no talking at the dining table."

Mrs. Wilson picked up her napkin and threw it to cover Helen's face, causing the little girl to break out into an endless laughter.

      After about three minutes of eating in silence, the look on Helen's face switched from that of a happy one to sad look that indicated something was wrong.

"Mrs. Wilson." Helen said, dropping her fork.

"Yes Helen, what is it?" Mrs. Wilson replied.

"Can we go to Jack's house, please?" Helen pleaded.

"Why?" Mrs. Wilson asked, flabbergasted.

" 

The thing is," Helen spoke, hesitantly, "I was supposed to go see his grandmother on Friday, but I didn't have the chance to go with him, my parents wouldn't let me if I asked, especially with the reason behind my asking."

"May I know the reason behind?" Mrs. Wilson replied in a persuasive tone.

"Don't freak out," Helen warned, "I heard she speaks to ghosts, and I thought maybe she could help me get my freedom back. Please, Mrs. Wilson, please." Her plea with puppy eyes was enough to get what she wanted.

      Although going to see a ghost whisperer was not her decision to make but that of Helen's parents, Mrs. Wilson knew that it was important for Helen to get the help she needed.

"Helen, I don't think that's a good idea. Your parents might not approve of it, and I don't want to get into any trouble with them."

Helen's face fell, and she looked down at her plate. "I understand, Mrs. Wilson. It's just that I don't know what else to do. I'm scared, and I don't want to see that ghost anymore."

Mrs. Wilson could see the fear in Helen's eyes, and she knew that she had to do something to help her. "Okay, Helen, let's make a plan. We won't tell your parents about this, but we'll go see Jack's grandma together. We'll make sure to be back before your parents even think about calling, and we won't let them find out about it, okay?"

Helen's eyes lit up, and she smiled at Mrs. Wilson. "Thank you so much, Mrs. Wilson. You're the best!"

Mrs. Wilson smiled back at her and finished her breakfast. After they were done, they got ready and headed out to see Jack's grandma.

        As they walked to Jack's house, Helen told Mrs. Wilson about all the strange things she had been seeing lately. She described the female ghost that had been following her again and how scared she was. Mrs. Wilson listened intently, even though it was the second time Helen was describing the ghost to her, she tried to comfort her.

        When they arrived at Jack's house, they were greeted by his grandma, who was a warm and friendly woman. They sat down and had a cup of tea while Helen told her about what she had been experiencing. Jack and his mother had left home for grocery shopping, and the neighbourhood was quiet and peaceful.

Jack's grandma, Aires, listened, carefully and then took Helen's hand. "Helen, I can see that you're scared, but you don't need to be. The ghost you're seeing is a friendly one, she has no intentions of hurting you.

Helen looked at her, confused. "What do you mean?"

"She helped you yesterday, didn't she?" Aires asked.

"Yes, but she terrifies me." Helen answered in a low tone.

Aires smiled at her. "Well, sometimes when people die, they get stuck between this world and the next. They need someone to guide them back to where they belong, but others have different reasons. To find out what this one needs, we must ask her first."

Helen was surprised. She had never thought of it that way before. "But how can I help her? I don't know how to guide anyone anywhere, not even myself."

Aires, squeezed her hand. "You don't need to know how. You just need to trust your instincts and follow your heart. The ghosts will lead you where they need to go, and you just need to be there to guide them. But like I said, some have different reasons." She then blew air on Helen's face without warning.

Helen looked at her confused, but before her talkative lips could let out the question she had, she fell backwards on the couch and blacked out.

"She's one girl with questions ain't she?" Aires said and smiled as she bent over Helen's unconscious body and held her right hand. She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her head, and shook as the energy rushed through her arms, causing her to let go of Helen. She looked at Mrs. Wilson and asked her to close her eyes and hold her hand tightly and not let go no matter what happened. The two women held hands as they stood opposite each other. After Aires saying some strange words to summon the ghost, the temperature in the room began to decrease, and the light bulbs began to flicker, the windows were opening and shutting themselves up continuously, and the cold wind that came out of nowhere, just kept rushing around everywhere. Mrs Wilson got tempted to open her eyes to find out what was going on, but her hands were squeezed by Aires who knew it wasn't the right time for her to look.

"I am here." The two women heard, from a heavy feminine voice.

       As their eyes opened up gently, Mrs. Wilson's heart skipped a beat from what she saw with her eyes. She quickly hid herself behind the ghost whisperer, holding on tightly to her garment.

"I won't harm you, I'm not evil." The young woman said. Mrs Wilson came out from hiding and stood shivering as she observed for herself what Helen had been describing to her. The young woman before them was in her mid-twenties, she wore a white garment like that of a bride's, her forehead was wounded, and her eyes looked red and teary, her hair looked rough, and most of all, she was transparent. Her feet never touched the floor as Mrs. Wilson observed, neither her blood nor her tears hit the floor and sprinkled like they should. Mrs. Wilson began to feel the cold way much more than before.

"Why are you here?" Aires asked with an angry look on her face.

Before the ghost could finish her question, 'Where is Helen?', the unconscious little girl laying down on the couch in all her innocence caught her eyes. "Please let me talk to me." She pleaded.

"Helen, is that you?" Mrs. Wilson asked, astonished.

"Yes Ma, it's me." The young woman sobbed.

"My girl, what happened to you." Mrs. Wilson inquired as she stepped forward to touch her, but her hands ran right through her. It broke her heart to see Helen in that state, but she was not ready to accept that Helen was a ghost at a young age.

"I'm sorry, I'm no longer flesh." She replied, sobbing much (bitterly) than before.

"Why have you come here? You are not supposed to do that." Aires scolded still wearing a frown.

"I just wanted to warn her, but she won't listen to me. Why does she run from me? Why can't she speak to me?" Her many questions reminded Mrs. Wilson of the younger self of Helen which laid there next to them.

"You're hurting her. She can't see you like this. You're dead Helen, you're a ghost, and she is too young to be seeing a ghost, everyone calls her insane because of you, she's not happy because you're taking her happiness away. Please leave and don't come back." Aires explained, pointing to a white light that appeared out of nowhere at the far end of the room.

"I'm sorry," she apologized, "I'll leave her be, but please warn her for me. Tell her to not marry him. He is the reason why I'm like this. He will kill her for her money. He is a monster-"

"You don't get it Helen," Aires said to her, "anything you tell her now will alter the future, and even though that might sound like a good thing, you can't change anything, where there's death, there's always death. If he doesn't kill her, another will. Spare us his name, and go, go to your final resting place. If you want her to have a future, do as I say or else she will die before even becoming a teenager."

Older Helen, the ghost, walked towards her younger self laying down on the couch, then she knelt down beside her and pushed the hair on the back of her own neck to the side to reveal the scar her younger self wanted to see, "Hey Helen," she whispered to her younger self, "I got a scar too." The other half of her statement was uttered with a voice, drowned in sorrow. The little girl got up from her sleep, and to everyone's surprise, she didn't freak out. Somehow, Aires' words that the ghost wasn't evil, had effect on her and had changed her perceptions.

"Yours is a little bigger than mine." little Helen commented as she sat up behind her older self.

" Oh Helen, you're awake." The ghost said, turning around to look at the beautiful little girl she once was.

"Yes." Helen replied "Will I see you again?"

"Maybe." The ghost answered her, "Someday when you become me, you'll see you again and again in the mirror just like old times."

"I still do that." Little Helen replied.

"I know." The ghost responded. "I used to do it before this happened to me. Be a good girl okay? I love you so much." She turned around to Mrs. Wilson and gave her a smile and said, "Thank for everything. Please take of me Mrs. Wilson." Turning towards Aires, she nodded and thanked her for allowing her to speak to Helen, then she waved at Helen and said, "Goodbye Helen."

Helen waved back at her and watched as the ghost floated towards the light, but before she got there, little Helen blacked out and didn't see what happened.