She Walks the Shore

Excerpt

“Little spooky out there, isn't it?” His gaze was intense, and she wondered why.

The urge to share what had happened to her so far came over her. What the hell? The worst he'll do is think I'm crazy.

“Yeah, honestly, it is.”

“Oh, yeah?” He leaned toward her, ignoring his food.

“I've seen a couple strange things I can't really explain. It's probably silly...”

“I don't know about that.”

His interest made it easy to continue.

“I saw a light, sort of like a flashlight beam through the window. Then it disappeared. I thought it might be someone who had come by about something, but no one knocked, and I wasn't about to go outside.” She took a bite of her burger, avoiding his gaze.

“Hmm. I've heard of that phenomenon. In fact, your grandfather told me he saw something similar.”
Marisol stared at him. “Really?”

“Yeah, things got a little strange with him there near the end. I always felt like there was something he wasn't telling me, though. We were friends, but Luke kept his secrets close.” Tom frowned.

“I can believe that. Did he see the lights often?”

“A few times he said.”

“Oh, and there was one other thing.” She cleared her throat and took a sip of tea.

“Like?”

“I didn't know you were a lover of the unexplained.” She kept her tone light.

“I'm not exactly, but after certain things happened in my life, I had to look beyond just the rational.” He avoided her eyes.

“I see.” Like what? Her curiosity was piqued, but she sensed that a door had closed between them.

“So, what else did you see, Marisol?”

“I was walking by the lake like I've started doing in the mornings, and you won't believe it. It sounds so silly now in this place where everything is so normal.” She laughed, but the sound contained no mirth.

“Try me.”

“Okay, I sat against a tree for a while, and when I looked across the lake, I saw a woman, at least it looked like a woman with long dark hair and fair skin wearing a white party dress. She disappeared. I got spooked, so I left. When I glanced back across the lake at the end of the path, she was on the other side.” Marisol shivered, looking up from her plate for the first time during the story.
Tom Fraser's face was pale and drawn. “Who told you about her?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know what.” His face turned red, and Marisol felt his anger as a palpable force between them.

“I really don't. What I just told you happened to me this morning. I swear. That's all there is to it.”

“Okay.” He took a bite of his food and chewed slowly, not speaking for a while. “The thing is, the woman you're describing sounds like my wife.”