Waking Up Mariah

Waking Up Mariah

by

DL Kaiser

Mariah rolled over and hit the snooze button.  Her hands went through the clock.  The noise continued.  Mariah sat straight up and turned her head to look in the mirror.  She was barely there, a mist of her former self.  Then she remembered.  It was her deathday, the anniversary of her death.  It was time to get busy.

Jerry whistled as he worked outside the Hamilton’s house.  They always had such nice roses that grew on this side.  Maybe he would clip a few for his wife that were a little past their bloom.  No sense wasting their beauty.  He heard the alarm going off inside the house.  That’s funny.  I thought they were out of town.  Since Mariah died, they hadn’t been back.

He walked around to the front and fumbled with his keys.  He heard the alarm buzzing back in the bedrooms somewhere on the top floor.  His steps faltered as he realized which room it was.  The alarm grew more insistent, faster in tempo and louder.  Did this alarm go off every day since they left?  It seems like I would have heard it during the last year. 

He swung the door open, strode across the room and slid the alarm to the off position.  Turning, he noticed something odd in the mirror.  There was a misty looking being sitting in the rumpled bed.  He screamed and ran from the room. 

“Wait!”

I could have sworn I heard someone ask me to wait.  No way. They don’t pay me enough to talk to ghosts. 

Then he realized who the ghost might be.  Mariah Hamilton.  He sighed, and turned around. 

When he walked into the room the second time, the bed had been made.  The items on her dresser were arranged differently.  There was no doubt now that someone had been here.  He just wasn’t sure how to contact Mariah.  What did she want with me?

Mariah saw Jerry standing in front of the mirror.  She concentrated very hard and halfway materialized.  For some reason, she only got the top half done.  It was funny.  She couldn’t help but laugh!  Jerry, however, was not amused.  His facial expression was that of terror.  She focused a little harder, and finally was satisfied with the result.  He could see her clearly.  She wondered if he could hear her.

“Jerry?”

“Mariah?  Why are you here?  Aren’t you supposed to be in heaven, or wherever?”

“Yeah, well, I’m not supposed to talk about that.  I need to do something while I am here.”

“What do you want from me?”

“I was hoping you would get Kris to come over here to my room.”

“What? You do realize he was traumatized by your death.  Everyone blames him for it.”

“That’s what I wanted to talk to him about.  It turns out he wasn’t to blame at all.  I didn’t tighten the lug nuts on the tire so that is what made him swerve.  It wasn’t his fault.  I can’t stand him being in so much pain.  Just watching him day after day.  My parents even blame him.  It’s got to stop.” 

“How can I get him here?”

“You could tell him that my parents have forgiven him and that there is a special present for him in my room.”

“That’s a lie!  I can’t do that! Wait, how can you lie, being, you-know, dead and all and from somewhere heavenly.”

“Jerry, I do have something for him.  The only thing we’re not being completely honest about is the fact that my parents have not forgiven him.  They hold on to their anger as if it is a sinking ship.”

“And what if they find out that Kris has been here?”

“How? They have been gone for a year!  Why would they come back?”

“Okay, fine.  I’ll tell him.  I see him shooting hoops in his driveway every day.”

Later that day….

Kris shot the last hoop before he stumbled and fell onto his shin. 

“Ow!”

“Hey Kris, you okay?”

“Yeah, Hi Jerry, I’m fine.”

“I wanted to talk with you.”

“Sure. What’s up?”

“It’s Mr. and Mrs. Hamilton.  They sent me over with the message.  I visit with them over the phone sometimes.  They wanted me to let you know that Mariah left something for you, and that they don’t blame you anymore.”

Kris sat back down in shock.  His eyes watered up and he shook his head.

“You for real?”

“For real.”

“So, um, when can I go over and talk with them.”

“Well, they are still out of town, but they gave me the keys.  So anytime you want is fine with me.”

“Tomorrow morning?”

“Sure.”

Saturday morning, at 8 am Jerry picked up Kris and headed over to the Hamilton’s place.  Unlocking the door, Jerry kidded Kris about all the times he caught him climbing the tree outside Mariah’s room.

“I can’t laugh about that anymore Jerry.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

Kris just nodded, like he’d heard it hundreds of times before.

When Kris got to Mariah’s bedroom, Jerry turned around and muttered goodbye.

“What? You aren’t staying?”

“Gotta run.  More work to do.”

So Kris just stood there in front of Mariah’s bedroom and his stomach sank.  Why did I agree to this?  Something is up.  He turned the handle and walked in.  He could smell perfume, as if she were here now.  He blinked back tears and sat down on the small sofa next to the wall.  It was then that he noticed the rumpled up bed, as if someone had just climbed out of it.  It was freaking him out.  Just then he heard something.

“Ahemmm, ahum”  Mariah cleared her throat.

Kris jumped up and ran to the door.

“Krissem don’t!”

Krissem?  Mariah was the only one that called me that!  How can that be?

Kris turned, saw her standing there plain as day.

“I am hallucinating.”

“No, you ain’t!”

“Aren’t”

“You are correcting a hallucination.”

“So are you out for revenge?”

“Yes, I am.”

“What?  Go ahead and kill me then.  I deserve it.”

“Actually, I was joking, and no, you don’t deserve it.”

“Everyone says so, and you died because I swerved into a tree.”

“Yeah, well everyone is wrong.  Do you remember me jumping up from the other side of the car before we left.”

“Not really.”

“Well, what I was doing was changing the tire.  I didn’t tighten up the lug nuts very well.  In fact, I think I forgot one.”

“You are just saying that.”

“Why? You think I came back just to make you feel better.  Still conceited aren’t you!”  She laughed and held her hand out to do a fist bump, but changed her mind.

Suddenly the door opened and Mariah’s mother was standing there, pale and gasping for breath.

Mariah turned, floated up out of the room, but not before her mother yelled out.

“Stop! Mariah! Please baby!”  It was then that she saw Kris backing away from her.

“You! What are YOU doing here?”

“You told Jerry that you didn’t blame me for the accident any longer.”

“We most certainly did not!  I’m going to call the police!”

“Fine then.  Go ahead, but I will be gone by the time they get here.  And by the way, I know that Mariah changed the tire on her car before we left and that she may have missed putting on one of the lug nuts.  That’s why she came back, to let me know that.”

“She did?”  Mariah’s mother seemed to suddenly melt into the couch, unable to stand up any longer.

Kris couldn’t leave her like that. 

“Do you want me to call Mike?”

“No, he is still in Cincinnati.  I came on my own.  Just leave.”

“Um, okay.”

Kris looked lighthearted for the first time in a year.

The alarm rang again.  Snooze time.  Mariah swung her arm over her head to hit the snooze button. This time she connected and bruised her hand.  What? Am I alive again?

“Wake up Mariah!  Time for school.  And don’t forget, you were going to change that tire this morning.”

“Oh My God.”

THE END