Chapter39 Just One

Cindy walked through every room accompanied only by Beth and Anna; worried that anyone else present might hinder a chance of contact. As they went through the house, Beth filled Cindy in on what's been happening. When they finished, Cindy and Beth returned to the kitchen to rejoin the sheriff, deputy and Martin. Beth's anxious to hear what Cindy has to say. "Well; what do you think, Cindy?" Cindy's pacing back and forth with her arms folded across her chest; occasionally exhaling abruptly. The others are watching and waiting. Cindy stops at the back screen door and, while looking out towards the barn, breaks her silence, "We have a problem. If it's all right with you, Beth; I'd like to call in Professor Wilhelm Rhyies to help me out with this. He's a professor at Boston University; and, also works with the Tavistock Foundation for Paranormal Research and Studies." "That's fine; whatever you have to do, Cindy…bring in whoever…" Beth glances at the sheriff and smiles, "As long as they're on the up and up." Cindy reassures her, "Don't worry, Beth, he is. And, he's the best in his field." Sheriff Faulkner asks, "And, what field would that be, Ms. Cindy?" Cindy looks down briefly at the floor before answering, "Paranormal psychology." Beth's eyes open wide, while nervously asking, "Paranormal…psychology?" Deputy Hopkins asks, "Kiddo, what's going on; why the ‘ghost shrink'?" Cindy takes a deep breath and explains, "So far, there's been three spirits that made contact with you; right, Beth?" "Uh-huh." "And, there may be a fourth; someone called Charles, who's supposed to be the serial killer?" "That's what Mary said." Beth continues, "She also mentioned something about ‘a bad man' to Anna; but, I'm assuming that's who she meant." "Then we're dealing with a total of four…five if this ‘bad man' isn't Charles?" "Okay, so the counts in at four or five;" Deputy Hopkins repeats, "but, why the ‘ghost shrink'…what's the problem, Kiddo?" Cindy stares back out at the barn. "The problem, Uncle Mike, is that I'm only sensing one presence here." "I don't get it, Professor," Sheriff Faulkner begins, "why's Cindy only sensing one presence, when there's three ghosts that we're sure of; and, possibly more?" Martin throws in his ‘two-cents', "Maybe there was only one in the house when Cindy walked through it; the others could have been somewhere else…like in the barn or out in the woods?" "It doesn't work like that, Martin." Cindy explains, "Despite what most people believe about hauntings, spirits don't necessarily have to be in the vicinity to have their presences felt. It depends on the ‘host'…whether it's a person, a building, or a place…the ‘host' is the key." "Ms. Lidestrom's absolutely correct." Professor Rhyies continues explaining, "Whether you're dealing with one spirit, or a dozen, they're all connected to the ‘host'. So, lets say…Chelsea is it, Beth?" Beth nods. "Very well then; even if Chelsea's strolling about in the woods while Ms. Lidestrom's in the house, Chelsea's presence should still be felt by her because of that connection. As long as they're in the proximity of the ‘host', any and all presences would be felt by a true psychic." "You're saying there's only one spirit?" Beth's in total disbelief. "No, that can't be; I've seen the three of them…how can there only be one? That's impossible. Sorry, but I think the two of you are way off on this." Cindy tries to explain, "Beth, look…" "No! Cindy, there are three of them; I saw them! They don't look the same…they all act different…and, they all give off a different aura." "Beth, they're apparitions…spiritual holograms." Professor Rhyies goes on, "The true spirit itself has no identifiable form; it only takes forms to make contact. Some will be truthful, while others lie; but, they'll only project what they want you to perceive. This presence is making itself purposely look and act different to create the illusion of there being multiple spirits. And, as far as their so called ‘auras' are concerned; it's simply a form of mind manipulation to complete the package." Beth's still refuting the idea. "But, I've seen them, Professor Rhyies." "Let me ask you this, Beth," the professor tries to prove his point to the disbelieving Beth, "you say you've seen them all; correct?" "Yes; all of them but Charles." "Have you ever seen any of them together; at the same time?" Beth's momentarily silent; then sighs heavily, "No…I haven't." But, then she recalls, "Wait a minute, Professor Rhyies; Mary told me she had a talk with Chelsea the other night. If there's only one spirit, how could they've had a conversation?" Martin reminds her, "But remember, Professor Rhyies said that sometimes they lie; she was probably lying about that." Beth's perturbed by Martin's lack of support. "No, Martin; I don't think so. I think they really did talk to each other." "Beth, it has to be a lie. Cindy only senses one presence; so there's no way Mary and Chelsea could've had a conversation with Chelsea." "Actually; Martin," Professor Rhyies takes off his wire rim glasses and wipes the lenses with a handkerchief he pulls out from his sports coat pocket, "it could be quite possible that Mary did indeed have a conversation with Chelsea." Deputy Hopkins addresses the professor. "Okay, now I'm confused, Professor Rhyies. First, you're saying that Cindy's right when she says there's only one presence…" "Probably right;" the professor clarifies his position, "your niece has a true gift, and is usually on the money when it comes to detecting presences. But, we're all human…at least at this table anyway. Mistakes are inevitable in our lifetimes." "But, you're pretty sure we're dealing with only one spirit?" "Yes, Deputy; I do believe that's the case here." "Alright; then how could a ghost have a conversation with itself? What's it some sort of schizoid?" "That's precisely it, Deputy?" Sheriff Faulkner's befuddled. "What in the tar nations are you saying, Professor?" "Schizophrenia, Sheriff Faulkner; I believe we may be dealing with a schizophrenic spirit." "A schizophrenic ghost;" the deputy shakes his head, "now I've heard it all. So, you're saying this spirit blew a gasket in the casket." "An interesting way of putting it; but yes, something like that. Perhaps not at the time of death; although I don't deny the possibility that the trauma from crossing over could cause some individuals to suffer from some sort of post-traumatic, faux ‘life-after death' experience, break down. No; it's more likely this occurred when the individual was still alive; and, the condition persists, even in death." "Is this a common occurrence, Professor?" Cindy asks. "No; but, there have been a small number of such cases documented. I have to admit though; this is the most extreme case I've heard of. Besides the fact that there are multiple personalities being exhibited to Beth and Anna; these personalities are also attempting to interact with each other. This is truly an extraordinary phenomenon to say the least." "Great." Beth goes to check on Anna. Martin follows her. "Professor," Cindy wonders, "do you think it'd be possible to find out the true identity of this presence…I mean, to find out if it's Mary, Chelsea, Tommy, or…God forbid… Charles?" "Or; one of the other personalities it may have?" The professor adds. "Yeah." Deputy Hopkins stands, putting his hands on his hips, and walks around the kitchen theorizing, "What if Beth questions these personalities; trying to get clues to help figure it out which one it really is?" "Hmm." The professor sits quiet for a moment; then responds. "Ms. Lidestrom, I do believe there's a strong possibility that this persona may reveal its true identity on its own as these events play out and unfold. But, as for your strategy, Deputy; having Beth questioning these personas…would it work…possibly…but, I wouldn't recommend doing it." "Why's that?" The sheriff asks. "By questioning these personalities, we may inadvertently force them to reflect upon themselves, causing them discover their true identity; which could have serious repercussions." "Alright;" Deputy Hopkins announces, "I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm totally lost now." Martin and Beth return, and everyone turns and looks at them. Once again, Beth feels like she's under a microscope. "Okay; what's going on?" Cindy tells her, "We were trying to figure out to how to determine which one of these spirits is the actual presence. Uncle Mike suggested that maybe we could have you question them to get some clue to its identity; but, Professor Rhyies was just telling us why that wouldn't be a good approach to take." Beth inquires, "Why not?" Professor Rhyies explains, "You have to take into consideration the dynamic of the schizophrenic's psyche. Here you have an individual with multiple personalities residing within themselves; but, in most cases, the true schizophrenic has no idea of the other personalities' existence. What we see as being chaos in their behavior on the outside; in the schizophrenic's mind, they're actually all living harmoniously together…providing their personalities don't cross each other's path so to speak. The trouble begins once one or more of the personalities becomes aware of the others. Anna's experience with the room freezing proves that at least one of these personalities is extremely dangerous; dare I say bordering on homicidal. I honestly believe that the only reason Anna wasn't killed that day was because another one of those personalities is caring and nurturing; and, that one wouldn't allow any harm to happen to her. Each one of these individuals…as I see it…is keeping each one in check; at least for the moment. And, I say at least for the moment because if Mary was telling the truth about talking with Chelsea, then the personalities are not only aware of each other's presence; they're also interacting with each other. Like I said before, this is truly a remarkable phenomenon in the psychiatric field." The deputy asks, "Professor, since they're already interacting; why not help them move things along?" "Because we don't know what the outcome would be. It could be disastrous. Right now they're interacting; but, they're interacting with each other on their own terms. If we question them, in turn, they may start to question themselves; and their roles. You may even ‘kill', so to speak, a persona or two. Now, what would happen if you get rid of the wrong one? Imagine that; what if that day with Anna, the personality that was looking out for her wasn't there to save her?" "Oh my God!" Beth grabs Martin, puts her head into his chest and starts to cry, "What's going to happen to Anna, Martin?" "Nothing's going to happen to her. We won't let it." Martin hugs his wife; gently patting her back. Cindy asks, "So; what do you think we should do, Professor Rhyies?" The professor takes off his glasses, cleans and puts them back on, then answers, "At this time; I don't believe there's anything we can do but wait and let them work out whatever it is they're trying to work out among themselves."