London, 2008...

Christmas, well, nearly…

The wall is blurry.
As is the ceiling.
Do I need glasses?
God! I hope not.
A sleepy Jennifer as she wakes up.
Rubbing her eyes and all appears well.
Getting off the bed and a stretch, anyone in the bathroom?
It’s a little quiet, her CD player, on the dressing table, waiting for her to hit the button, she does and ’One Republic’ start singing something and that’s when the voice gets going again.
-Hello?
Jennifer nearly gives birth, the voice is so clear and sounds very close.
-I said hello.
Jennifer sits on her bed, “Okay, I give up, who is that?”
-Me.
“What?”
-You should say pardon.
“Yeah and you should shut up!”
-I beg your pardon?
Now, I’m talking to myself in two different voices, when’s my period due?
-Who are you?
“Right, so you know, my name is Jennifer!”
-Hello Jennifer.
“Oh shit!”
-What does that mean?
“What?”
-Oh shit.
“You know my name, what’s yours?”
-Elizabeth.
Oh my god! There’s voices in my head! And not just mine!
-Jennifer?
“Yes?”
-Where are we?
“In my bedroom.”
-Oh, I see.
“You sound disappointed.”
-It’s a little…messy.
Jennifer laughs, “Yeah, well.”
-I have so many questions.
“Yeah, I thought you might.”
-What year is this?
“Bloody hell! It’s two thousand and eight, nearly Christmas.”
-Two thousand and eight, are you sure?
“Er, hello! Yes!”
-Sorry.
“Something wrong?”
-Yes.
“What’s wrong then?”
-I am not supposed to be here.
“Yeah, ain’t that the truth!”
-That’s not what I mean.
“Oh dear god!”
-I am a little lost.
“No shit!”
Jennifer gets off the bed again, moving to the dresser, catching sight of herself in the mirror.
-Ah, so that’s what you look like.
Jennifer stops and moves closer to the mirror.
“It’s all me.” She says.
-Yes.
Jennifer giggles, “What are you?”
-And very pretty too, if I might add.
“Thank you.”
-To answer your previous question, I am dead, a spirit that has been called back.
“When did you die?”
-Eighteen eighty three.
“You did what now?”
-I was in London, when I died.
“I hate to tell you this, but you’re still in London.”
-It’s not the same, is it?
“No, thank god!”
-You should tidy this up.
“Yeah and you want to get out of my head.”
Shit! Did I just say that?
Elizabeth laughs.
Jennifer is making her way to the bathroom, Elizabeth had gone quiet, Jennifer is waiting for her to start again and any minute, it feels like she will.
“I’m going to have a shower.” Jennifer says, pulling towels out of the cupboard.
-A what?
“Oh god! A shower, as opposed to a bath, a shower.”
-It might help if you show me.
Jennifer sighs, moving to the bath, pulling back the shower curtain, holding up the showerhead, hopefully, she won’t have to explain it.
-And what do you do with it?
“I eat my bloody dinner with it!”
-A rather odd thing to do?
Jennifer lets the showerhead drop, now starting to undress.
She locks the door.
It all went well, until Jennifer takes her bra off.
-What’s that?
“It’s my bra.”
-What does it do?
Jennifer scratches her head, Do I really have to go through this?
“It’s an article of clothing.”
Elizabeth laughs, -it is?
“Yes. It holds my breasts!”
If anyone can hear me talking, they’ll be making that one off phone call…
Elizabeth is still laughing.
Jennifer turns the shower on, adjusting the jet of water from the head, stepping into the bath, putting the shower head back in it’s socket.
Elizabeth isn’t laughing now.
-What are you doing?
“I’m taking a shower.”
-Interesting.
“Are you a ghost?” Jennifer has to ask, one of those questions that’s there, but only now decides on coming out.
-Yes, I suppose I am.
“You could go out and explore the city.”
-No.
“Why not, you’d enjoy it, it’s amazing!”
-I can’t.
“Not much of a ghost then are you?”
-It’s not the way it works.
“Well, you can’t live in my head, I’m not sure there’s enough room.”
-I have to stay with you.
“Why?”
-I can’t go on my own. I was called.
“Not by me you weren’t.”
-No, I know.
Jennifer now has to wash her hair and Elizabeth is getting on her nerves.
“So who called you then?”
-I do not know.
“You came out of a tree.”
-A doorway, yes.
“A tree!”
-Yes, call it what you will.
Jennifer washes her hair and all is done.
Except for Elizabeth and Jennifer really is hoping she would clear off out.
“You know, this would be so much simpler if you just read my mind, it would hopefully answer so many questions.”
-I could, as long as you do not mind me doing it.
Now, there’s something Jennifer hadn’t really thought about. If she let Elizabeth have free reign in her head, she’d know everything she knew, all her memories, along with all her private stuff.
“Can I think about it?”
-Yes, of course.
Then again, she wouldn’t have to go over stuff like ‘what’s a bra for?’ or ‘what is that?’ or countless other questions Jennifer wouldn’t either have answers or the time for.

-I could do it when you are asleep.
“Could you now?”
-Yes.
“Okay, we’ll do that then.”
-I seem to be picking up some of your vernacular already.
Jennifer nods, pulling the towel closer around her.
Let’s get dressed and get something to eat.
“You can’t hurt me or anything, can you?”
-No. I can protect you, I cannot do any hurt towards you.
“Oh, I’m glad we cleared that up.”
-Unless of course, you wish to hurt yourself.
“Now why would I do that?”
Elizabeth didn’t answer.

It’s not until after Jennifer dresses that Elizabeth speaks again.
That’s when Jennifer’s in the kitchen.
-What are you going to eat?
“I don’t know, lets see what we’ve got.”
She has a good root around in the cupboards, but not much that looks appetising, or even remotely appealing.
“I think we should go out.”
-What for?
“Something to eat.”
-Is there nothing here?
“No.”
-But you have all these things? Will nothing suffice?
“Pizza.”
-What is pizza?
Oh shit!
Elizabeth laughs, -oh shit again!
Her jacket and heading out again, Jennifer hadn’t heard the others or seen them since this afternoon, checking she had her keys and checking that Elizabeth is still in her head, she goes out.
-You didn’t say what pizza is.
“I know, you’ll see when I get one.”
-Ah.
“I’ll get a coke as well.”
-A coke?
Jennifer stops walking, “Now this is getting ridiculous, everything I’ve said you’re questioning, couldn’t you shut up, just for five minutes?”
-I take it you would like me to be quiet?
“Yes, thank you.”
-Very well.

Jennifer begins her walking again, no voices in her head.
Thank god for that!
Can I just get a pizza and a coke and then, maybe, sort this shit out?
Elizabeth is as good as her word.
It’s while Jennifer’s waiting at Pizza Express that she’s sure she hears Elizabeth gasp.
It makes her jump and the young couple near her give her an odd look.
Maybe Elizabeth is sulking, because I told her to shut up and I didn’t mean it like that and maybe I did.
A medium sized Hawaiian pizza, a bottle of coke and we’re good to go.
Walking back to the house and the night is quite pleasant really, a little chill and a spirit living in her head, well, okay, not just in her head perhaps, but not the sort of thing you’d want to share with anyone.
And Jennifer certainly didn’t…

Home and the big old armchair, the collapsed cushion that Jennifer likes, settling back, turning on the television and Elizabeth starts screaming.
-Who are those people?
“It’s a television.”
-Can they not get out?
Jennifer laughs, “It’s not like that.”
-What are they doing?
“Dancing. It’s some celebrity thing that’s on.”
-I have no idea what you are talking about, perhaps when you are asleep I will do what I talked about. There is so much I have to understand.
“I think it would make things so much simpler, Elizabeth.”
-Yes, I agree.
“Good, now let me eat.”
-That’s pizza?
“Yes.”
-Oh..!