Chapter 18

GAINESVILLE, Jessica cried while talking to her parents on FaceTime.

She was homesick and really wanted to go home.

She was so desperate, she had played the lottery several times in hopes she'd win enough to buy a plane ticket.

She felt bad about crying, because it made her mum cry. And seeing her Mum cry made her feel so lost and helpless. 

"Maybe we can afford—" her mum said through tears.

 "I don't know," her dad said. "We really don't have the money for it. She can visit now but then we'd probably have to cancel the future visit."

Jessica was tempted to follow that plan but knew it would hurt her in the long run. She had to stick this out. "I'll be okay." She wiped her eyes. "I'll wait."

Her mum started to cry even more…almost sobbing. She excused herself and walked away from the screen.

Her dad stayed behind, and they both tried to continue the conversation. But it was strained.

They soon said good-bye.

 ***

Jessica felt abandoned but tried to tell herself it was all in her head.

Her parents loved her. Of course, they would buy her a plane ticket if they could afford it.

Yes, things had felt awkward between her and Frankie the past couple of weeks, ever since she asked him to dinner, and he said no. But how would SHE feel about someone who asked her out, and she wasn't interested?

Well, actually she wouldn't be as distant as him.

Or actually….

Was he being distant?

Jessica wasn’t sure. He talked to her less, but she had to admit that she talked to him less as well. It was as if both of them had stopped making the effort.

Jesse was still around but had given her the news that he was going to soon cross over to the Other Side. He didn’t want to be an EB anymore.

Fine. 

Jessica understood. It was an advancing step in his spiritual development. But she still felt that he was abandoning her. They could still talk. That wouldn’t change. But he couldn’t actually  be in the room with her.

Actually, that was a bit creepy, now that she thought of it.

What? She liked to be watched? And who knew if he was telling the truth about when he was there and not there. She trusted that he wasn’t a pervert. But still. When you're alone…even if you're lonely…you want to know that you're not unknowingly not alone.

So maybe Jesse running off to OtherSideLand was a good thing.

Then there were her friends.

When they left Gainesville for the summer, they had made all these promises to keep in touch. 

"We'll call." 

"We'll email." 

We'll text."

"We'll visit. 

"We'll take you to Atlanta and visit the World of Coke."

Jessica hadn’t heard from any of them since May. Now it was mid-June.

Oh wait…

Mindy had sent an email asking Jessica to sponsor her in a Leukemia walk-a-thon.

Jessica appreciated Mindy for wanting to help sick children, but she wished she could be a better friend.

She had sent Mindy a donation and then sent another separate personal email. She congratulated Mary on the walk; then asked about her family and her beloved pet turtle. She told her about being homesick, the disaster with Frankie, something funny Jesse had said, and a funny magazine cover she had seen. 

Mindy still hadn’t written back yet. And that had been two weeks ago.

Jessica doubted that she'd hear from her.

 ***

Jessica should have been studying but instead she watched TV.

She flipped through channels and then landed on a talk show. She didn’t recognize the host.

She wasn’t a big fan of these types of shows, so she wasn’t very knowledgeable about who was who.  This particular episode, though, had an Aussie actor being interviewed. Eric Bana.

She thought watching it would make her feel less homesick.

 It wasn’t working. It made her feel worse.

She was about to turn the channel when Eric Bana and the host disappeared.

A room full of elderly women, standing in a horizontal line, replaced them.

They looked like grandmothers but the type who’d lose their temper if you dropped cake crumbs on their carpet.

They stood up very straight and seemed to stare directly at Jessica.

This was the first time she saw one of these ghostly broadcast things. She wondered. Was she the only one seeing this?

No, probably not.

Was it a national broadcast? International?

Maybe it was just for Gainesville?

One of the old women stepped forward. "Good morning, afternoon, or evening," she said in an American accent. "We apologize for  interrupting your programming. We’ll let you get back to it as soon as possible."

 She looked so serious; her friends did as well. Not one of them had even a hint of a smile. It was a bit unnerving. It was as if a bunch of dead headmasters had gotten together to scold everyone on the planet.

"We will be speaking now and rebroadcasting three additional times in the next twenty-four hours. We want to reach as many people as possible. We apologize in advance for causing you to miss your traditionally scheduled programming."

Another woman stepped forward. "The basic message we must get forth is that this is all very wrong. We understand that, in the past, separation through death caused enormous heartbreak. But this is all part of the human experience. To lose that is to lose what we are. As you have certainly heard from the news, there's been a dramatic increase in suicides. There's been an increase in risky behaviors and a drop in charitable donations."

A third woman steps forward. "There have been cases of families neglecting their children, because they're too busy talking to people from our side. Children and teens are neglecting their homework, because they don't see the point of it anymore. Some are even dropping out of school.

The first speaker woman came forward. "It's not only affecting your side. It's affecting us as well. Separation from the living is a very important step of spiritual development. We need to let go completely before we can take the steps needed for our return."

Return? Jessica wondered what that meant. Reincarnation? Or something else?

 "We are working here to develop a way to block this connection—these communications. Unfortunately, we don't know if that's possible. In the meantime, we plead with you to make a pledge to stop the communications from your end. Do not answer emails from our side. Do not accept video calls. Do not send texts." She stepped back.

Another woman stepped forward. "Life is short. You will be with us soon enough. Use this time to make your life as meaningful as you can. Talk to those who are your companions in life. Love them. Give them your attention. Don't dwell in a world in which you do not yet belong."

The women then start to speak in unison. "We apologize for the interruption. We wish you love, health, and safety. Please take our warnings to heart."

Eric Bana returned to the screen. 

Jessica turned her TV off.

She took about half a minute to think about what she'd just heard. Then out of protest, she FaceTimed Jesse. He hadn’t heard about the women or the broadcast.

"What a bunch of losers," he said. Who do they think they are?

Jessica sighed. Then she vented to him about her homesickness.

Continue to Chapter Nineteen

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