I couldn't put what Kathy had said out of my head so after dinner, I asked Mom to watch Olivia and went to visit my neighbor.

"Darren, I was hoping that you would stop by," Kathy said, opening her door wide for me to come in.

"Kathy, what did you mean by them? I have been racking my brain since we spoke."

"I think it is best if you sit down for this, Darren," she said ominously, indicating the round table in her living room.

"The town of Fernwell has long been known for inexplicable sightings," she said before grabbing a manila folder from a bookshelf.

"Do you recognize this man?" she asked, pushing a photo towards me.

"Yes," I said. "This is my gardener, Gerard."

"Look at the date stamp," Kathy said, pointing at the bottom of the picture. Twelfth of June nineteen eighty-six.

What the fuck?

He looked exactly the same! I suddenly started to tingle all over.

"Look at this one," she said.

"Yep, that's definitely him," I confirmed.

"This one was taken in nineteen sixty-two," Kathy said quietly. "And look at this one, eighteen fifty-seven."

Wow, they all looked like Gerard but how was this possible?

"So is there a family line where the sons look a lot like the fathers?" I asked, hoping for a logical explanation.

"I'm afraid not," she said. "None of them are the subject of the photo."

Kathy unfolded the pictures one by one, showing a smiling family, a bride and groom, and three children surrounding a tree swing.

"The people that took these pictures swore that this man was not there when they took them."

"What are you trying to say?" I scoffed. "That my gardener is a ghost?"

Kathy nodded slowly and handed me a book. “Take a look at this.”

I wasn’t going to buy into Kathy’s crazy but I was curious about what was written in the dusty old book.

“Anton; my lover, explained that I had represented the blind zealots, the ones whose minds were closed to the true power of our world.

When he pretended to plunge the ceremonial knife into me, he had cast a spell to protect the Whelm folk from those that sought to do them harm.

With the spell complete, I was now a member of the tribe of men who preferred the company of men and women that of other women.

According to Anton’s account, the Whelm folk would pretend to be betrothed couples throughout the course of the day. After dark, however, they would seek out their true life companions.

Thanks to the strength of their white magic, they managed to avoid persecution for centuries.”

Holy shit! There had been an ancient LGBT community that escaped the wrath of the church, living right here on this soil?

“What does this have to do with my gardener?” I asked, pushing the book back at Kathy.

“It seems that this Anton was quite the artist,” Kathy said, flipping to a page in the back.

The beautiful face in the drawing she held up was unmistakably… Gerard.

“It’s dated seventeen twenty-one,” she said, reading the tiny letters on the bottom.

That’s when I fled.

***

Mom left shortly after breakfast. I wanted to ask her to stay but I couldn’t explain why and she needed to get back to Dad.

So here I was, all alone in the house. I tried to concentrate on my work but it was almost impossible, my mind kept thinking about what happened yesterday.

Kathy had not tried to contact me which I took as a sign that she realized I wasn’t interested in her shit.

It was when I was making a sandwich for lunch that he appeared. I almost had a heart attack.

“Darren, can we speak for a moment?” Gerard said through the kitchen window.

“Get the fuck away from me,” I yelled. “My neighbor told me about you and I...”

Holy shit! He was suddenly standing right beside me.

I ran to the living room but seconds later he appeared next to me again.

“Are you... dead?” I asked, wanting a straight answer once and for all.

“Yes,” he answered honestly.

Fuck, so Kathy was right after all.

I stood frozen in place and asked, “Why can I see you?”

“This we do not know but Harold was the first to discover that Olivia and you have this ability.”

“Harold is dead too?!” I screamed.

“We mean no harm to anyone,” Gerard said slowly.

I finally gave in to my urge to flee.

I ran up the stairs but Gerard once again appeared in front of me. He took one step forward and I took one step back. I felt my weight hit the ground and moments later, everything went dark.

***

The grave was freshly dug.

Kathy was leaning on a spade and Olivia lay down a bunch of freshly picked flowers. Harold held his hat in one hand, whilst Gerard said a prayer under his breath.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to tell your grandmother?” Kathy asked.

“Why bother? I have everyone I need right here,” she said, looking straight at me.