Only For A Night

Authors Note: Inspired by the song Only If For A Night by Florence + The Machine. No copyright intended.

Only For A Night

The dirt on the ground was freshly packed contrasting with the bright green grass around it. I felt a warm tear roll down my face as I read the tombstone. Fiona Charlotte, it read, beneath it July 18th 1971 - October 22nd 2011. It was the day after she had died and it felt like eternity had passed already. I bent down and laid down the one rose I carried. I wiped the tear from my face and the cold air made my skin prickle. With a heavy sigh I sat down at the end of the dirt to look at her gravestone. I picked up a handful murmuring to my self "Only for a night" hoping something would happen. In that moment the world held still and every detail was magnified and all the sorrow and pain from every individual erupted from the depths of my heart. My mouth fell open and I clutched my head the pain so strong and the voices so loud it made my ears bleed. But out of all the madness I heard one voice, the voice that mattered.

"Jenna! Jenna! Do you hear me!" the voice said loudly

"Mother is that you?" I called out the pain subsiding into a gentle throb.

"Jenna, my dear are you all right?" I heard my mother call out again

"Yes mama where are you?" I said looking up

"To your left" Fiona said happily. Not but 10 ten feet from me was my mother dressed in her casual clothes but they glowed with a faint white. She looked like she always did her smile lighting up her whole face.

"Mama is that you?!" I cried out overwhelmed with joy

"Technically yes and technically no" Fiona said kneeling next to me "it hurts when you call the dead doesn't it?"

"You mean I've called the dead which means you're not real" I said my hopes being crushed into tiny shards.

"No, honey of course I'm real this is just my spirit not my body. The body is the vessel we live in to sustain a normal life on Earth. A spirit can walk among both worlds but cannot live on planet Earth or their soul will die forever" Fiona said resting two reassuring hands on her daughters shoulders.

"Mother please sit down,” I said gesturing next to me. "Can everyone call spirits from the dead?"

"No it runs in our family" Fiona said sadly

"What's the difference between ghost and spirits" I asked now highly intrigued

"Ghost are people's spirits who die on Earth. They wander around hopelessly and no one can talk to them." Fiona said looking around her

"Can I call other people from the dead?" I asked

"Yes but it's more painful if they aren't related to you" My mother replied

"So then, what's it like being dead?" I blurted out

"Strange, honestly I've meet a lot of new people that have lived many fascinating lives. The other world we walk upon is like this world houses, stores, clubs, the whole lot" Fiona answered with a laugh.

"Sounds fun" I replied somewhat hurt she was having so much fun without us.

"Darling, what's all this sighing about?" my mother asked looking me dead in the eyes. I just realized that I had been sighing so much during the conversation.

"Sorry mama." I mumbled

"No need to apologize I was just wondering" Fiona said the hardness melting from her face.

"Honestly it seems like you don't regret dying" I said wishing to take the words back as soon as I said them.

"No! No! Never dear of course I do! Dying was not my choice, I died in car crash. I miss you terribly but now that I know you can call my spirit, I don't feel as alone. Death just brought another whole world to me literally" Fiona said yelling at the beginning, the power slowly fading from her voice.

"I know you died in a car crash; it's just a thing. Anyway so where do you live and stuff" I asked eager to know more about the dead. This time her figure shimmered and started to fade. “Mama don't go!" I screamed.

"Concentrate" she hissed at me. I clamped my eyes shut focusing on her image coming back. When I cracked my eyes open she sat next to me looking more vivid then ever. I squinted my eyes at the powerful glow but it soon faded to its normal aura.

"What just happened" I asked shaking slightly.

"They know we're here you need to go!" Fiona whispered urgently.

"But mama!" I whimpered back.

"Look I'll leave you a rose on your windowsill when it's safe, now go!" Fiona whispered quickly. The sun had gone down now, the darkness creating eerie shadows in the trees. I looked back at mama but here comforting glow but she had disappeared. I felt like laying on the ground and crying but the shadows started to create hallucinations. I let out a small cry and ran fast from the graveyard out onto the sidewalk. I looked down the street and I could see my house at the end. With one last glance at the raging shadows behind me I sprinted to the safety of my house. I opened the door quickly and slammed it behind me sliding down the door in relief. It was quiet in the house the dying bulb above the kitchen table flickering every second or so. Then I heard the pounding of my dad clunking down the stairs. He rounded the corner looking furious but that quickly melted away when he say my pale sweaty figure slumped down by the door.

"Darling what's wrong?!" My dad half yelled,

"Do you know moms secret?" I barley breathed out

"Oh No, you...called her" My dad replied

"I didn't know what I was doing until she told me" I defended

"Here let me help you up we'll get you some water and a blanket. You should be fine by morning. Your mother looked just like that when she came back from her first time calling spirits. Its an overwhelming experience is what she said, I can't call them it's not in my blood" My dad said helping me up and walking me over to the couch.

"She said someone was watching,” I murmured

"Um ok anything else important" my dad replied furrowing his brow

"She said she would leave a rose on my windowsill when it's safe" I mumbled my eyes sliding closed.

"Night Jenna, I'll see you in the morning" I heard my father say clicking the lights off.

0-0-0-0-0

I awoke the next days my eyes opening slowly adjusting to the sun streaming in my face. I rubbed my eyes and sat up looking at the clock. 11:42, wow it was late, I got up rubbing out the stiffness in my legs. I walked into the kitchen to see my dad sitting at the table in his robe drinking coffee and doing the Sunday crossword.

"Morning darling, how'd you sleep?” my dad asked unusually happy

"Fine" I mumbled slouching down in my chair. My dad set the new paper down grinning ear to ear. "What's up with you? You look like you're on happy pills"

"Look" he said pointing up. The light that had been flickering above our kitchen table for about a year was now fixed.

"It's working now?!" I asked in disbelief

"No, I got a new one" he replied with a devious smirk

"Hold the front page! Mike Charlotte has gotten a new light bulb" I exclaimed. He started at me seriously for a second the. We both burst out laughing and at that moment I knew everything was going to be okay.