CHAPTER 4 : THE PROFESSOR

“He’s coming!”

Suzanne glanced up from her tablet to see an excited looking Yvonne Long squealing like a little girl.

“Good, then you’d better give me the lottery numbers,” Suzanne stuck her tongue out at the ghost.

“Alright, listen carefully. I’ll only say this once. 32-8-56-17-9-94.”

Suzanne smiled. “Got it,” she said as she quickly typed the numbers into her tablet. By was she going to go on a shopping spree after all this was over.

“So, how did he take it?” she asked, curious how a Quantum Physics professor would react to all this.

“He’s still sceptical, I don’t think he believes in spirits yet. But he knows I passed away just recently. My poor boy cried in his bathroom last night,“ the ghost sighed, looking sad. “I couldn’t even comfort him. I’m a horrible mother.”

An image of a naked Tom began to form in Suzanne’s mind. She quickly brushed it off.

Suzanne smiled awkwardly, not exactly sure what to say to the ghost. But a part of her understood how Tom Banks felt. Her mother had abandoned her when she was just 9. Sometimes she wondered what life would have been like if her mother had not feared her powers so much. Unlike the rest of the family, her mother was the only one who could not communicate with spirits. She had tried to raise little Suzanne to be ‘normal’ but when her abilities manifested, her mother could not accept it and finally took off. She never saw her since.

Suzanne cleared her throat, “It took him 2 days, that’s not too bad.”

Yvonne Long sighed dramatically and tried to flick the leaves of Suzanne’s potted plant that was placed right next to the window. Her fingers went through them. Yvonne cocked her shimmery head.

“Miss Summers, I have a question for you.”

Suzanne closed her tablet, crossed her arms at the table and leaned back against her leather black armchair.

“Fire away.”

“How is it that I can sit and walk on objects, but my hand goes right through people and plants?”

Suzanne smiled. This was a question many ghosts had asked her.

“Well, objects are non-living things. While humans, animals, and plants have a lifeforce. And the greater power that made all these decided that spirits, such as you should only be able to touch non-living objects. If you try hard enough, you can grab hold of my pen. Here, give it a try.”

Suzanne offered her ballpoint pen to Yvonne. And just as Yvonne was about to try and take it, the doorbell rang. She squealed. “That’s him! That’s my son! He’s here!”

To her surprise, Suzanne found herself smoothening her hair. She had just had it washed this morning and was wearing her curls loose. They hung slightly below her shoulders, framing her thick-rimmed glasses and oval face. She pushed her glasses back, wishing again that she had gone for her eye surgery years back. These glasses kept dropping! She didn’t want to look like a total klutz in front of a hot professor.

*Hot professor? No no no, Suzanne. This is purely business. *She reminded herself as she headed towards the door.

Suzanne opened the door and in front of her stood a dishevelled looking Tom Banks. He had bags under his eyes and stubbles of hair were seen growing underneath his chin.

He still looks hot. Suzanne wanted to smack herself in her head.

“Come in,” she said, gesturing for Tom to follow her into her office.

Her office was located right in the living room of her double bedroom penthouse. The place was not very large for a penthouse, but it was airy, with tons of glass walls to let natural light in. And her living room was mod, with a simple white desk, a black swivel chair and a plush white armchair that was placed on a round black jute rug. Ample sunlight shone in from the glass windows, giving the living room a soft warm glow. A single 5’ potted plant was placed next to the window in front of her desk.

“Would you like some tea? Earl Grey perhaps?” she offered and proceeded to make one for herself.

Tom plunked himself down on her armchair, looking like a man who desperately needed therapy.

“She died just recently,” he said simply. He closed his eyes and rubbed his temple. “Why did you have to let me know?”

Suzanne decided to make two cups instead. Yvonne sat herself down next to Tom and tried to stroke his hair. Tom went to scratch his head.

“Yvonne wanted to tell you who you really are,” Suzanne explained. She sat in her swivel chair and pulled herself right next to Tom, offering him a cup of tea. She nudged at him and he opened his bloodshot eyes. The man’s eyes were puffy from crying.

“I wish I hadn’t known. I told myself that she was a wonderful mother who died giving me life. And now you’re telling me she was alive. Why didn’t she look for me?” he sat up, eyebrows furrowed.

“He’s a sensitive one, this son of mine,” Yvonne smiled awkwardly, embarrassed that a grown woman was seeing her son at his most vulnerable stage.

Suzanne leaned over, placed the cup of tea in his hands, and gently soothed his shoulder. They were surprisingly broad and firm. She cocked her head and looked at him in his eye, “Tom, do you want to see your mom? She’s here with us. She has all the answers you seek.”

For a moment, his eyes flashed of annoyance. He took a sip of her tea and mumbled, “There are no ghosts.”

“Then why did you come here?” Suzanne grinned. She couldn't wait to see his reaction when she proved all his years of studying physics to be wrong.

He threw his hands up in the air, “I don’t know. To see you I guess.”

To see me? Okaaaay, let’s not overreact here. He’s obviously here to see you about his mother. Like D-U-H.

Suzanne sat back and held out her hand, “Can you give me the vial?”

Tom sighed in exasperation and pulled out the vial from his pocket. He handed the vial over to Suzanne. She gently took it, stood up, and walked over to her bookshelf which was placed right behind her desk. From there, Suzanne pulled out her red toolbox and opened it. Out came a small piece of rectangular yellow paper. On the paper were strange symbols in red. It looked suspiciously like a talisman. Tom had only seen them in movies.

With a bite, Suzanne pricked her thumb and dripped a single drop of blood onto the paper before throwing it up in the air. She immediately followed the action by clasping her hands together forming a series of 3 different signs and the piece of paper exploded into fine golden dust.

Tom could only sit there dumbfounded with his mouth agape.

As the dust started to settle onto the ground, Suzanne swirled her hands, creating a miniature typhoon within the office, lifting the golden dust and manipulating the dust to settle on all the glass windows and doors surrounding them. The golden dust then weaved itself into an endless barrier of glowing golden thread, seemingly to protect both Suzanne and Tom from anyone who would try to enter the room.

“Whoa… you have aerokinesis?!” Tom stood up, not sure whether to marvel at the glowing thread or to freak out.

Suzanne laughed, “I wish. But no, this is to stop intruders from interrupting what you’re about to see.”

“Intruders?”

And before Tom could implore more, Suzanne popped the vial, marched over to where a confused Tom was standing and pried open his mouth. Down went the glowing liquid.

Tom choked and gasped for air, crumpling onto the ground and gasping, body in spasms before finally laying still.

Yvonne bent over looking at her son with a worried look, “What did you do to him?”

Suzanne bent down herself and stroked Tom’s hair. It was soft as it was wavy.

“He’s going to wake up soon and the first thing he’ll see is his mother.”

Both women, human, and spirit sat down next to Tom silently as they waited for the unconscious man to awake. One physically stroking his hair and the other, silently looking on wishing that she too could do the same.

It didn’t take long before Tom stirred. Suzanne back off and Yvonne shuffled closer. Tom’s eyes fluttered and they slowly opened.

And the moment he did, he let put a sepulchral howl. The rest of his body froze.