GHOST SITTER
(Part 4)
"You
mean to say that you drove the car all the way back to the store in...where was
it...?" began Jake.
"Richardson,"
said Josh.
"Richardson?
You drove in morning traffic the entire 30 minutes from Carrollton to
Richardson?"
"Well,
yes and no. I just worked the pedals and the gears. Tara did all the
steering."
"How
did you even get to Robin's car? It was at your house."
"Well,
we had to sneak out the back gate of the daycare. I don't live that far."
"I...see.
How did Robin take it?"
"Before
or after we jumped the median strip into the opposite lane?" asked Josh.
"Never
mind, never mind, let's just go into what happened at the store." said
Jake, attempting to keep the confusion down to a minimum.
"Ah, so you have
finally returned," said the man as they entered the store.
"You remember
us?" asked Josh.
"Of course he does,
Josh, we trashed his store." said Robin.
"True, but I also
remember the look on your face when you left, young lady," smiled the man.
"You heard me?"
gasped Robin.
"But, of
course," said the man. "I can
also see you. I own these potions and elixirs you see before you. My name is
Hasung Tishaki."
The three introduced
themselves, then Tara said, "So
you can fix Robin, then?"
"Yes. I could have
done so sooner, but I have not been able to open the book of remedies you
spilled the soul potion onto."
"Soul potion?"
echoed Robin.
"Yes. The potion
your friend spilled on you was one that
lets the body and spirit of the subject switch planes of existence."
"So, before my soul
was in my body..." began Robin.
"And now your body
is in your soul. That is part of the reason why you have not fallen through the
ground you walk on." he finished.
"Yeah, Robin,"
smirked Josh. "You can't go through doors."
"Neither can you,
Josh, but I wouldn't mind helping you try," she replied. She smiled
sarcastically at him and he returned the look.
"You cannot pass
through anything that I know of," added Mr. Tishaki. "Not without
intense concentration."
"Then why don't I
make a dent when I sit on things and why can't I move anything?" Robin
asked.
"I have yet to
understand this myself," replied Mr. Tishaki. "I feel it is because
your soul has no weight to it and since your body is wrapped deep within your
soul, it affects it in strange ways."
"Okay, so what about
the book of remedies?" asked Tara.
"I have not been able to reach it from this
plane. It has some of the soul potion on it as well."
"Yeah, Josh,"
said Robin with a smirk. "I wonder how that happened?"
"So how can we open
the book?" asked Tara. Mr. Tishaki
pointed at Robin, who blinked in surprise and also pointed to herself.
"She is in the same
plane as the book," he said. "She can open it."
"Good thing you
came, huh, Rob?" said Josh.
"If only to watch you
remove the finish from my car on the guard rail, Josh," she replied,
following Mr. Tishaki to the rack where the book was.
"What'd she
say?" asked Tara.
"Something obnoxious
about my driving." replied Josh. "You can always repaint."
"Or sell it," said
Tara, getting the general jist of the conversation.
"Not anymore I
can't," said Robin. They stopped and Robin saw the book on the ground
where she had left it. She picked it up and opened it slowly, as if to avoid
tearing the pages, then asked, "What do I look under?"
"Bring the book to
my back room and I'll show you," said Mr. Tishaki.
They followed him back to
the room behind the bead curtains and looked around. The room was stunningly
modern compared to the front of the store. There was even a PC in the corner
with several diskettes lying about.
"One cannot simply
count on the Old World these days," explained Mr. Tishaki with a smile, as
they stared around in surprise.
"My brother Yushiro taught me that before he went into research." His
smile faded as he spoke, but the other three did not notice. He sat down at a
desk near the door and put on a pair of wire rims, then motioned for Robin to
set the book down. Josh and Tara watched as he seemingly stared at nothing, for
although Josh could see Robin, he still couldn't see the book.
For a few moments, she
flipped through the pages, changing
directions at his grunt or nod of approval until finally he raised a hand to stop her. He began peering at the
pages until finally he said, "Ah, here it is. I will need some
time to prepare this for you."
"How much
time?" asked Robin, Josh and Tara.
"About 24 hours. Can
you return then?" he asked. Josh and Tara exchanged glances, then Josh
looked at Robin.
"I think we can
swing it," said Josh.
"The way the two of
you drive? Yeah, we'll be swingin' it...in the county jail!"
"You really don't
have much choice, Rob," said
Josh. "The car's already screwed, anyway."
"I know!" she
wailed, suddenly remembering.
"We'll be back
tomorrow." said Tara, ushering Josh out the door.
"I must warn
you," Mr. Tishaki said, stopping them as they left, "my brother takes
a very scientific interest in the things I keep in my store. Avoid him at all
costs."
"Your own
brother?" asked Josh, curiously. "Why?"
"Let us just say his
concern is science, not its effects on its subjects."
The other three looked at
each other with a shudder, then said, "Yes, sir," and left.
"Can
I assume you drove home, too?" asked Jake, with his hand under his chin.
"Well,
not all the way home..." said Josh.
"Meaning?"
"Well,
the cop thought I was drunk at first..."
"What
cop?"
"Oh,
didn't I tell you we got pulled over and taken to the police station?"
asked Josh.
"No,
but luckily I don't need all the details on that, either. So, who bailed you
out?"
"They
don't post bail for 10 and 13-year-olds, Jake."
"Just
an expression, kid, go on."
"My
dad came and picked me up and Tara's dad came for her. Tara doesn't have a mom
and mine lives in New York."
"Okay."
"Anyway,
we were both in major league trouble. David yelled at me so long, I thought I'd
have no hearing left when he finally grounded me for the rest of the week. Tara
got the worst spanking in history and she got grounded for a month, with no
phone calls or anything, so I got lucky."
"What
about Robin?"
"She
felt bad, but there wasn't much she could do..."
"Listen, I'm just
gonna go and get Kathy and the stuff myself, okay?" said Robin, explaining
to Josh and Tara at daycare the next evening.
"I can't let you two get into anymore trouble for me."
"What trouble?"
said Josh. Robin sighed at him and shook her head.
"What's she talking
about?" asked Tara. He explained as Robin said,
"Josh, man, you've
never been grounded for more than 10 minutes in your whole life!"
"So? I like my
room!"
"That's not the
point..."
"Robin, how can you
get to the place without us?" asked Tara.
"And don't forget
Kathy's coming today, too," added Josh.
"I'll figure
something out, don't worry," Robin replied.
"Oh, gimme a
break!" said Josh.
"Is she talking
about how she's got a plan?"
"No, she's planning
to make one up on the way. Look, Robin," he said to her. "I can sneak
out and over to your house, no problem. Then I just break into your car, get
the spare key and we're off! We can even go at night, if Kathy comes late
enough, and nobody'll see us."
"Kathy is coming at
9:17, but I still don't want you guys doin' anything. I mean, what if Mr.
Tishaki's brother comes along and he's, like, Andre the Giant or something and
you guys get hurt. I'd never forgive myself." said Robin. She looked at
the clock and saw it was almost 6:00pm. "Look, I'm going to do this alone
whether you like it or not." She began walking out the door and Josh lunged
at her in an attempt to stop her. He went straight through her and she looked
down at him sympathetically. "Willya just stay here? I'll be okay."
She walked out the open door to the room and was gone.
"God..." he
began angrily, jumping up, then looked around the room. Everyone was staring at
him. "...ta be more careful." he finished, turning to Denise.
"Can I go to the bathroom?"
"Not now,
Josh..." Denise began.
"But, Denise, I
really gotta GO!" he begged, bouncing around as if he did.
"Alright, go, but
come right back," she said, but he was gone before she finished the
sentence.
He skidded into the
hallway just as a parent walked in the front door. He could see Robin running outside to the bus stop and getting
onto a bus that had pulled up to pick up some other passengers. He was moving
to go after her, when Karen asked what he was doing. He stopped to answer, but
looked back at the bus, which pulled away just as he did.
"Nothing," he
said, shuffling to the bathroom. Now he really did have to go.