When My Ghost Went Traveling

A story based off of a dream I had once. I hope you all enjoy it.

When my ghost went traveling, it traveled to a town in the early 1900s, down a road in an old dark stagecoach. The stagecoach was bursting with fellow travelers who were heading to a small inn, located in what seemed the middle of nowhere. The road was foggy and surrounded by a forest so shaded no light could penetrate its darkness. A great many mysterious and unsettling creatures were lurking about amongst the trees, their fiery eyes shining through the gloom. I felt a shudder run through my transparent body as the time turned from dusk to dark. The creatures seemed too strange to be real, and in fact, they weren’t real. As we encountered the light from the roadside inn, a massive number of unusual bugs started crawling toward the stagecoach. The people rushed inside, where the townspeople told them that the creatures were harmless. Mere illusions created by a strange man who lived in an estate a few miles away. 

The wind howled outside, and the beginnings of a storm began to pound on the windows. The door blew open shoving a young woman of 22 years into the inn. Her beauty was astounding and had there been a heart within my body it surely would have beat like that of a young man in love. Her eyes were as blue as the ocean, her hair the color of the finest wheat, her lips redder than that of freshly spilled blood, and her curves were those that filled men’s dreams. The girl entered the inn, shaking the rain from her hair. She greeted the townsfolk quietly in a voice that could have been likened to the nightingale’s song. Before the girl could even sit down, the townspeople pestered the girl about her master, the strange man who invented the creatures that caused my fellow travelers such fright. The perturbed look on the girl’s face intrigued me, although she said very little about her master and became increasingly troubled the more the people pestered her. Her stay was short, as she had to rush back to care for this mysterious man. As I observed the flustered young woman I was struck by her manner of dress. It was a strange sort of dress, something fashioned from a time frame I had traveled once before but have since forgotten. I noted her to a type of nurse or caregiver, which immediately lead me to assume that his beauty worked for a frightful old man.   

When the clock struck eleven, she gasped and rushed to head back to her master’s estate. With the storm raging all around the tavern, it surprised me that no one offered to take her home, but it became evident, from the fear and pity in their eyes, that the townspeople were afraid of her master. Out into the storm, the girl ventured and out of curiosity for her situation, I followed unbeknownst to her.   

After walking a considerable distance through wood, we came upon a large estate and even in the dark of the night, I could sense its grandeur. Inside was dark and bleak, unloved and uncared for. The girl tried to sneak in quietly, but the wind whipped the door closed with a loud crash. When the door shut, I heard the master begin yelling for the girl calling her by her name, Anne. Anne went up to a tower as quickly as she could, where she entered a small but well-lit room at the very top of the mansion. The room was filled with a great many unusual mysterious objects and tools so that one could hardly see anything around himself. But there, in the middle of it all, in front of a strange looking cage, I saw the infamous master. He was not at all what I expected, based on the town's gossip. He was young, not more than six and twenty, and handsome. His dark hair was unkempt and curly, his clothes disheveled and untidy, and his green eyes ruminated with pain. He looked quietly at the girl, who was soaked from head to foot but made no comment. From the way the young man moved it was clear that he bore no illness that would make need of a nurse and I guessed that he must have been using her as a housekeeper. He coldly ordered her to undress and my invisible body yearned for the poor woman who blushed redder than a rose.  

When his demand wasn’t met, he ordered her to undress again, this time stopping what he was doing to make sure she obeyed him. Frightened at his tone the poor girl began to undress. She dropped her clothes and stood shivering in her chemise whose soaked material clung to her curves alluringly. Her master glared and coldly ordered that she remove everything. Anne did as was bidden her, the embarrassment beyond evident on her flushed face. When she was completely naked, the man walked over covering her head, neck, shoulders, and part of her arms and chest in a strange smelling salve. He then opened the cage, and I watched helplessly as a swarm of bees flew out and crawled all over the naked young woman. However, they did not touch the areas that were covered in the salve, and the outline they made on her body looked like an outline of a gown. After a few minutes, the man put some nectar into the bee cage, and they flew back into their cage where he locked the door behind them. Thoroughly frightened and embarrassed Anne hurried to put her clothes on, but she was shaking so badly she could barely mange to cover herself. As she hurriedly turned to leave the man said, “Anne. Come back here.” Without a word, Anne turned and looked at him. Her master stepped closer to her and told her why he had asked such a strange request. He told her that he had invented those bees to create a dress, but they needed the shape of her body to make it correctly. He then stood there, silently gazing at her, his green eyes flashing with admiration at the woman before him. Anne blushed under his gaze and turned to hurry away. Before she could, he caught hold of her hand and begged to know what she thought of him. Frightened by the passionate look in her master’s eyes, Anne stammered out an incomprehensible reply. Unsatisfied, the man pestered Anne with so many questions that she couldn’t answer him, and tears began to fall down her frightened face. He stopped his questions, thought for a moment, and quietly asked Anne if she liked him enough to be his wife. Stunned silent, Anne stood there staring into his face in disbelief. Taking her silence as her answer, the man thrust Anne away from him turned to leave her. As he did, Anne timidly said yes, and he whipped around, gathered Anne into his arms and kissed her passionately. From my observatory position, I could sense how badly the man wanted to take Anne and make her his wife then and there, but he let her go, bidding her to never wear her uniform again. 

The next day, Anne put on the only other dress she owned. It was a floor length cream-colored gown that sat on the edge of her shoulders, exposing her beautiful pale neck. The dress hugged her body perfectly, showing the curves that made her so beautiful. Showing no emotion at Anne’s beauty, the man gave her leave to fix the house as she wished. Anne restored life and beauty back into the mansion. The other servants that were there, were pleased by the change and happy that Anne was going to be their new mistress, as they were hopeful that having a wife would make their master less terrifying. Anne worked magic with the house restoring it to its former glory. While Anne was busy renovating and cleaning, the man was busy working on his invention, spending days and nights without sustenance or rest. One day Anne’s master said they were to be married the next week, and she had no need to write to her family as with his vast wealth, they would never oppose the match. He then sent for woman who came and made a wedding dress for Anne and gave her many other clothes, clothes that would undoubtedly please the man.  

The day of the wedding arrived and during the exchange of vows Anne learned her new husband’s name, John. After the simple and quiet ceremony, John showed Anne where her room was to be, now that she wasn't a servant. It was a room she had never seen before and she gasped when she saw its splendor, but John requested that she use it only for her clothes and birthing children, as he wanted her to only ever sleep with him in his room. Anne was a little disappointed that she would hardly be in her gorgeous room, but she agreed to his request because her love for him was so strong. John’s room was even more ornate than her own and the sight of it filled Anne with wonder at how much wealth her husband truly had. The wedding night came, and John loved his new bride with passion three times over, filling her with a love stronger than most will ever find.  

And he loved her with more love than Anne could ever have imagined every night. But every morning John would leave and be gone for more than half the day. He left before Anne awoke and never told her where he went, and she never questioned him. But one day, her curiosity was too strong, and she followed him, walking for miles deep into the woods until she came to the side of a cliff. At the bottom of the cliff she saw John and walked up beside him when she saw that he was unopposed to her joining him. When Anne stopped beside him, John told her why he had lived alone for so many years, why the house was so dismal, and why he was the way he had been for so long. He told how he had been married, when he was very young, at the age of 16 to a young girl that he had fallen deeply in love with. She had died in childbirth and he spoke of how terrified he was of the same fate happening to Anne. John said he felt that Anne wasn't strong, and he wouldn't let her walk with him before because he feared exhausting her. She protested, and he grudgingly let her accompany to the top of the cliff. That evening Anne was very exhausted and couldn't make love to him. John got upset and told her he knew she was too weak, and she looked at him and said, “how can I not be exhausted? I've been here for 2 years as a servant and have never walked so far or so much in my life. I promise you; I’ll be alright. I’ll get stronger.” John didn’t answer but he didn’t look very happy with himself either. 

Weeks passed and one evening as they sat in front of the fire, John told Anne more secrets. He told how he had loved her from the first moment she stepped into his home to serve him. He said that he was afraid to let himself love her, but he couldn’t help himself when he saw her perfect body shivering before him on the night with the bees. Anne was so filled with joy that John had chosen to confide in her, and for the first time, she kissed him first and initiated the love making. The next morning John told Anne to prepare the house for a ball as he was ready to show the townspeople the dress his bees had created. When the night of the ball came, and Anne slipped into the gown as John bade the bees to cover it to put on a show for the guests. The townspeople were curious to see what this marriage had done to the inventor and they were filled with terror when they saw Anne come down the staircase covered in violently buzzing bees. However, once John called the bees off, the people gasped to see the gorgeous gown underneath. The ball was a success and Anne danced until her feet ached and talked to all that came, but John didn’t join his wife. He stayed by himself in a corner, avoiding those around him. One elderly woman felt it was necessary to warn Anne about her husband and told her to be careful because it was said John had killed his first wife. Although Anne didn't believe it, she couldn’t help but feel troubled and locked herself in her bedroom after the ball and wouldn't talk to John. He was anxious and wouldn't leave her alone until she let him in and told him what she had heard. He sighed and said that his first wife, Caroline, had truly died in childbirth. That she wasn't strong, his long walks never suited her, and she often despised being part of his life. He also told her that his son was born too early and was too large for Caroline to handle during birth, and that the baby had died shortly after his mother. Anne began to cry and embraced him, asking for his forgiveness for not trusting him. John didn’t answer, but he picked Anne up in his arms and carried her into his room and the love that he made to her there was beyond more than it ever had been.  

John was truly a kind and loving man, and Anne loved him with all her heart, always trusting him and never thinking ill of him again. Time passed and Anne realized that she was pregnant, overjoyed she ran to find John on his walk and tell him her news. He was extremely pleased at this news but was nervous for Anne, especially as her time drew near and she could no longer walk with him. The time came for the baby to be born and the labor was very long and dangerous for Anne. John had no choice but to pace in the room below and listen to his wife’s screams. Many hours passed but when it was over, the doctor came to John and said that while his son was healthy, he wasn’t sure how much longer Anne had to live. John’s agony at the thought of losing the woman he loved so very much drove him to a type of madness and he ran outside and passed the night building a garden to be her shrine. When morning came the doctor came out and joyfully told John that Anne had survived but was very weak. John immediately rushed to her side and felt his heart lurch when he saw his emaciated wife on her bed. Anne smiled when she saw him and weakly questioned why he was covered in dirt, he told her it was a surprise for spring. As John stared at his wife, terrified of touching her, the baby began to stir in his cradle. Anne asked John to bring her their son, but he couldn’t bring himself to touch the infant. Anne begged John to give her the baby saying that if John wouldn’t hand their son to her himself, she would never forgive him. At that, John picked up the baby, gave it to Anne, and though he was filled with love for her and his son, he was terrified of putting her through such agony again. He forbade her from ever sleeping with him again and while she was ill, she agreed. However, when, when spring came, she finally felt strong enough to get up and John showed her a very beautiful garden full of the most beautiful and exotic flowers she had ever seen. She was pleased and reached up to kiss him, but John had changed and turned his face away from hers. Brokenhearted Anne left his side and the two remained distant for a long time.  

When the boy was almost two years of age, Anne couldn’t stand the distance any longer, and she went to John. She told him that her heart ached without him and begged to know why he no longer loved her. All of John’s pain came rushing out and he fell to the ground, sobbing, begging for Anne’s forgiveness. He told her that he feared hurting her again, that he couldn’t bear the thought of almost losing his beloved wife again, and he confessed that his fear had kept him from truly loving her from the beginning. Anne looked at him with love in her eyes and asked how he could possibly hurt her. Her love for him was so strong that nothing could ever keep them apart, that their children could only ever bring them closer together. She then asked him to love her with everything he had kept hidden from her and John promised he would, sealing it with a passionate embrace. That evening, for the first time in many months Anne went to bed with her husband she kissed him passionately as he pulled her underneath him and....then my ghost was called to travel to a new place.  

Author's Note

It probably could be better written. I'm not the greatest writer. Any comments are welcome.