The Eternal Tenant-part 4

Henry didn't seem too startled talking about his dead wife coming back to life. In fact he seemed even cheerful and relieved. He kept going "I couldn't believe my eyes! I wanted to believe what I was seeing but I buried her myself. For that moment I decided not to overthink it, I just dropped the box and embraced her!", he smiled softly. "when I finally calmed down, we went and sat down, I asked her how? she explained that the house is not just a normal house, it belonged to a "spiritual woman" who lived here 300 years ago, she could see and talk to spirits and could conjure them to earth, so the house became like a vessel for these spirits, they could come and go as they pleased. one day, a child drowned in the river near her house, people of the town accused her of killing the child with witchcraft and ended her life. when she died, the house's aura changed; some spirits couldn't leave and were bound to the house forever, as she was the gate for them to exit the living world. The house became the beacon of the dead, if someone had died in the house or the grounds, their spirit could not have been freed..."

He stopped talking for a minute. I could see some fear in his eyes, like a fear of judgment or even shame. I still couldn't understand why he was telling me all this, after all, I wasn't dead! I couldn't be, I didn't remember if I had died!

"Henry, why are you telling me this?" I asked with a suspicion in my voice. "My dear, I'm afraid...I'm afraid you are dead..."

I suddenly stood up, went a few steps back, and held my face in my hands. "No! NO! This can't be! I can't be dead Henry! I don't remember...dying...I can't...I shouldn't...". Henry tried to calm me down but it wasn't working, I was panicking like crazy and was breathing so fast. But it was so surreal, how could I even be breathing? after throwing some tantrums and crying my eyes out, I finally was calm enough to start asking questions, logical questions.

"If I'm dead... how could I breathe? how could I cry? How could you see me? how did I move the coffee cup? I'm pretty sure dead people...ghosts can't do that!" I said frantically. "Please dear, come sit down, I will explain everything..." Henry said before I interrupted him "No! Just tell me! Now!". He looked down, trying to avoid eye contact, then slowly looked up into my eyes and said "My dear, you are not completely dead! You are trapped between the world of the living and the dead. You can do all that just because of one thing, and that's this house and the curse that has been bound to it by the very same woman.", he continued "After I reunited with my Molly, everything was perfect. I could talk to her for hours, watch her laugh again and walk around the house, my life was better all of a sudden, it was so good that i didn't even question anything because I wanted to keep her, with me...but after a while, she started changing, she became sad, even at times violent. she would throw things around, one time she almost set the house on fire, thank god I was there to put it out. I tolerated all this because I didn't want to confront the fact...that she didn't belong! I realized that my selfishness was making her suffer, even in death, so I started researching ghosts and how a spirit could join the world of the dead. it took months of reading and research to find a way finally..."

he lingered for a while and didn't say anything, then looked at me shamefully and continued "In my studies, I found out the history of the house. The house was sold a few times and many people lived and died there through the years, but one thing that made me curious was that the only soul that I could see was Molly; No other spirit was living in the house. So I dug deeper and deeper and found a medium. She came to the house and looked everywhere. She held a séance with me and Molly and conjured the spirit of the last owner before us. He said to the medium that when he was living in the house he would hear sounds and one day he saw a ghost of a child, he then had a heart attack out of fear and became a ghost tenant of the house, but he never saw the child's ghost again. Then he mentioned something to her that gave us the idea behind the mystery. He said that when Molly died in the house, suddenly he could pass the veil of the world of the living and enter his final resting place. The medium was certain; somehow each time the new owner passes away, the previous spirits can go free and leave, and the soul of the new owner will be bound to the house..."

He suddenly stopped talking, looked down again, held his face in his hands, and let out a sad sigh.

"But...but I didn't die! I don't remember dying!" I said, trying to stay in denial as much as i could. Henry looked at me and said "I'm sorry dear, I had no choice" then started crying. I was confused, Henry seemed to be ashamed of something but I couldn't tell what, then he continued..."That night, the first night that you moved in, I...I...", "You what Henry?!", "It was me...on the stairs...I was the man in the black robe, I used my spare key to get in, I wanted to get it over with when you were asleep, but you woke up and came downstairs...I had to do it...I had to!" Henry said crying harder and louder. "Do what Henry?! DO WHAT?"

"Kill you!"