Excessica Anthology BOX SET Winter Read Online Free PDF Page A

not
fulfill her or keep her warm at night.
    The painful
memories of childhood never allowed her to let her guard down in order to care
for others or to be cared for. At home, when she was completely alone, he had
seen her true sorrow, and she had broken his ethereal heart. She secretly hated
the wealthy woman she had become as much as the destitute girl she had left behind.
    With her he had
become negligent somehow this year. He had gotten too close, too often and even
inappropriately at times. He had spent days upon days distracted by her instead
of studying her. Even on her overpriced couch in worn-out jeans, her contradictions
of person proved enticing. Physical longings had been a continuous problem for
him given he was of the spirit world. Being among the living, but not being of
them had been torture for the first time since he had died over four hundred
years ago.
    There were many
times he had lingered too long in respects to her privacy. There were lines of
decency not to be crossed even in the spirit world, though he knew of many
ghosts who crossed them. Because of his calling, he had always held himself to
the highest of standards. Then came the night when she had started to remove
her clothing, and he neglected to remove himself. Just that momentary glimpse
of her breast had made him loose his sense of place, and he had touched her. At
first her shrieks in response to his cold, invisible touches had rallied him to
his senses. Unfortunately or fortunately, he was still unsure of which, she had
stopped being shocked at his presence. He wondered what price he would have to
pay come tomorrow morning for overstepping his bounds and lusting after his
charge.
    He appeared as
usual, cloaked in the darkest of black like the angel of death. His said
purpose was to shock or scare someone into making the necessary changes mankind
needed from them. The feeling of his semi-earthly feet hitting the floor always
sent uncomfortable sensations similar to one’s feet having fallen asleep
through him. Only, this year as he stood before her body splayed upon the couch
there were the knots throughout his abdomen and other sensations just below. That
part of his anatomy he had thought dead long ago. Now as he braced for her
reaction to his physical manifestation, he glanced down to see if it was
lifting up his robe.
    He used every
ounce of his energy to just restrain his hands from touching the few inches of
bare skin revealed by the bunching up of her t-shirt. Her body jumped when he
became solid before her. Having been momentarily preoccupied, he jumped as
well.
     
    Chapter 2
    She laid still
peering up at him hoping if she looked long enough he would disappear in the
same way he had appeared. It had only taken seconds before the blurring colors
descending like fog converged into a solid form under the shroud of black
cloth. A scream bubbled within her, but no sound emanated forth. Her body was
lifeless overshadowed by the dark figure. Initially, she had felt a jolt
through each of her limbs, and then they became weighted. Keeping her eyes on
the figure, veiled like the specter of death, she concentrated on the familiar
voice of Clarence the angel from It’s a Wonderful Life on TV. The blinks
of light from the television shimmered about the fabric, making it appear as if
the figure within was trembling. When the specter didn’t disappear, but just
stood there silent and still, she fought with herself about weather to scream
or try to run.
    He pointed and
moved slowly toward the window. Her eyes had followed him with furrowed brows
when he hadn’t glided like she would have imagined him to. She scoffed to
herself that even her hallucination didn’t act appropriately. Then, he reached
out an arm towards her, and again pointed with his other out the window. Janie
closed her eyes and shook her head in a last ditch effort to clear the
apparition away. When her eyes opened again, he was still there. A sickness
rolled in her stomach as he