Abracadabra, Howls, and the Furry Guardians

Strange Feelings, even Stranger Places

Once they were inside Marika's strange tingling feeling went off the charts. It felt as if she had suddenly stepped into a freezer, but it was coupled with a creepy feeling that had nothing to do with her rational old world. The complete silence that seemed to enshroud the whole place made it even scarier.

"Marika!" Tate yelled out shaking her slightly.

"Wow, easy there why are you screaming in my ear? Do you want me to go deaf or something?" Marika asked feeling like she had been immersed in cold water. Then, finally, she could swim out of it.

"I've been calling you for a while," Tate said worriedly. "But you seemed to be completely out of it. Even your eyes were strange, it's like they went back into your head and all we could see were the white parts of them. It scared me."

From the look on his face and the lines between his eyes, Marika could tell he was telling the truth and she found it rather odd. While she thought of it as just a strange feeling on the outside it looked more serious and maybe it was. Marika needed to pay more attention to what was going on, even the smallest details could turn out to be important.

"Are you sure you are okay?" Tate asked having never seen her react to something as strongly.

"I'm fine," Marika said faking cheerfulness. "I guess it's just that someone is walking over my grave."

She had said the strange expression a million times before but saying it in that moment left a bitter taste in her mouth. It was probably because Marika was aware that there was a chance that she would soon be going to her grave permanently and the thought scared her more than she cared to admit.

"Really?" Tate asked not sounding convinced. "You're all covered in goosebumps."

"Yeah, there is just something unsettling about this place," Marika admitted reluctantly. "It's like we've entered one of those Egyptian tombs, the ones that come with a curse put on anyone who opens them up and disturbs their slumbering dwellers."

"You're not that wrong," Flufflala said perking up her ears. "Some restless souls are lingering behind, too bitter about their deaths to move on into the afterlife."

Great! Just great! Why did she need to tell me that? Wouldn't the not knowing make everything so much more pleasant? Now I'll feel whatever I do is being judged by an invisible grumpy audience.

"But don't worry," Flufflala hurried on to say. "They won't harm you. They only harm themselves by refusing to move on, to forgive and forget. Especially to forgive themselves for the mistakes they've made."

It was the saddest fate imaginable to be stuck in your regret without having the strength or the will to move on. Even if doing so could lead to far great things.

"That's so sad," Marika finally said trying to imagine how it was to be trapped in that odd place for eternity. "Isn't there anything we can do for them?"

"Sadly, no," Flufflala said quietly. "The only way for them to find peace is to fight for it with their inner demons. To deal with their issues and come out of them stronger."

Marika lowered her head, imagining the amount of pain and suffering they were feeling. Putting herself in their shoes made her dizzy with emotions and her ability to empathize with others working against her in that one instant.

"Marika, we need to keep moving," Tate said looking around the cave-like place cautiously.

He needed to be the voice of reason as Marika's emotions often got the best of her. Even though many people saw her as a cold and proud person, Tate knew that was just a facade she was hiding behind.