The Seance

Richard had not seen his intestines before. Nor had he been on the ceiling. The woman below used a confident tone as she examined his ropey parts.
Smooth surface.
Pink to tan, slight sheen.
Pliable bowel wall.
She placed something pink and soft into a silver bin, and reached for more of him, but Richard was in his kitchen now, the kitchen he had shared with Adrian. She sat with someone Richard did not know, a woman with auburn hair arranged high on her head. The red-haired woman said, “If you can hear us, Richard, give us a sign. Let us know you are here.”
“First time?”
Richard startled. Standing next to him was what he could only describe as a Halloween ghost: a floral-patterned bedsheet draped over a head and shoulders. Dark, cutout eyes. A flannel sheet, in fact, faded and pilled. “They’re waiting for you, you know.”
Adrian squeezed her eyes shut. The red-haired woman took Adrian’s hands into her own. “I sense…”
“What do I do?” Richard said.
“Up to you, but this is your cue,” said the Halloween ghost. “By the way, you got a nice one. What’s that, 600 thread count?”
Richard raised his hands. Soft cotton, pastel blue.
“Please, Richard,” Adrian said. She pressed her thumbnail into her index finger, an anxious habit she’d had since they were young. He saw the crescent of white where the nail dug into flesh.
“But I don’t know how,” Richard said.
“Don’t think,” said the Halloween ghost. “Just act.”
Richard reached for a chair, then the table. Anything that would make noise. He moved closer to Adrian, sat in the chair beside her, and placed his sheet-hand over hers.
Her breath caught, her thumb relaxed.

Dave Caolo has worked as a custodian since 2020. He can unclog a toilet, diagnose a plumbing problem, and clean the cafeteria before you can say, “Fourth grade needs paper towels.” He’s also an artist and writer based in Brewster, Massachusetts. He started writing in 2020 when the pandemic kept him, and the world, housebound. He prefers to write speculative fiction, with a focus on character. Across all of these works, Dave explores self-understanding and the complexities of relationships. His work is influenced by the people and places of his past. He also hates writing bios, and these eight sentences were agony.