I watched in astonishment as the light began to condense and quickly form into the misty image of a tall, thin young man with short tossled hair. It very much resembled my nephew, aside from the clothing, who was staring up at it with his mouth open. The spectre though, turned and began to float slowly in my direction. I fought against the urge to run for the door, not sure my legs would carry me anyway, and gripped the chair arms tighter. He was dressed in a uniform and hovering directly above, was looking curiously down at me.
"Hullo." The apparition greeted me pleasantly. "Forgive the intrusion my lord, but did you summon me?"
He spoke with a slight British accent and his voice resonated as if it came from an echo chamber. His hair had a slight reddish hue as near as I could tell, for in the blue mist that surrounded him it was difficult to distinguish colors. The hairs began to rise on the back of my neck as I gazed into his eyes.
"My name is Jonathan. What do you want? Why have you called me from my rest?" He repeated impatiently.
Madame Helena stood up indignantly and pointed at the boy.
"It vas I who summoned you here." She said stiffly, giving me a nasty look.
"No, it vas, uh was the professor's machine." Ty insisted. "It works, it really works."
"It seems you have opened a... doorway to our world and we should like to know your purpose." Jonathan said politely, still looking down at me.
I was about to evoke my customary denial of any prior knowledge or knowing involvement with any machine; now or in the past, when Ty answered for me.
"To satisfy our scientific curiosity for one reason." He said. "And to prove to many disbelievers that your world does exist. A lot of people do not believe in life after death. Has this doorway been permanently opened or is it just a tempory rift in the dimensional fabric?"
"I am not sure I take your meaning. If you are asking if the gate is open forever, I cannot say in truth. I sense it may only be so while that device is working. For some unknown reason I feel I must remain near it, a matter of some concern to me. I was drawn here by Madame Glasgova, and when I discovered the threshold, my curiousity overwhelmed me and I came through. It was an incredible experience."
"If the doorway is permanent, just think of the opportunities that would present themselves." My nephew declared happily. "Madam Glasgova, you did attract the apparition but the Doctor's machine allowed it access to our world."
The medium frowned, scarcely consoled and sat down but Elizabeth unexpectedly came towards the spirit with her right hand outstretched.
"Hi, my name is Elizabeth Norwood. It's really marvelous to meet you, Jonathan. I just have so much to ask you. Do they have cities and malls on the other side? I would just die if I was dead and couldn't shop anymore." She said genuinely."Ghosts don't shake hands, Liz." Ty informed her. "Do they, Jonathan?"
"When one of us touches a living person, it causes a strange and unpleasant sensation in that person. They suddenly feel empty and vacant. Of course we do not enjoy any physical feelings ourselves but most of us don't wish to impose negative ones on the living."
Elizabeth cautiously withdrew her hand and returned to her seat, and thereafter kept a wary eye on Jonathan.
"I'm sure many people would share your reluctance." Jonathan said patiently. "That is why we mostly remain on our side, shrouded in myth and legend. But I am curious also; as to your machine and your motives."
"I believe most people would love to have proof your world exists." Ty said. "People want to see their departed loved ones and talk with long dead famous people. Could something like that be possible? I've always wanted to talk with Harry Houdini, personally."
"Before the invention of this machine, it was not possible to have that direct of an encounter. The energy demand was too great for rarely other than a temporary visit with extreme limitations. Now, perhaps it may be possible. We would need to be convinced we were welcome though. Perhaps we could use this city as a test to see if our worlds are finally ready to meld together. We may wish to be cautious revealing ourselves lest we lessen the value of human experience to the living."
"Are you insane?" I blurted out. "Nobody wants a bunch of dead relatives hanging around." The image of a particulary nasty dead Aunt Alice came to me.
The spirit floated even closer to me and looked deeply into my eyes. An uncontrollable chill went down my back and Jonathan shuddered simultaniously. He withdrew with a puzzled look on his face.
