II. The Ghost in the Foyer

The Chicagoland dwelling's facade was disguised by large, wide set stones and dry, brown ivy. There was a large marbled mirror in the immense mansion's foyer where stood a reclusive, miserly mummy-skinned old man. Some people have everything . . . even a ghost. He explained that the haunter appeared at intervals on day's such as these, and he hoped that Prim would not find it inconvenient that he must remain outside even though there was an approaching tumult. Flashes of lightning spread from the clouds illuminating the elucidator of the eerie's silhouette and the upturned collar of his long, dark wool coat. An adequate amount of October rain is the best kind for it opens up portals between the living and the dead acting as a kind of magnetic medium, such as tape on a reel to reel; therefore many find themselves eternally troubled by a ghost's vigilance when there's fog or rain or snow. The once thunderous voice of Tremblesmythe became shrill. "It's raining! It's raining! This vexes me so! Look there! It's all around me!" An ominous, distorted face swelled and filled the mirrored foyer cackling and laughing with a duplicitous smile and grimace then reshaped itself into a singular presence before multiplying into a legion of shoulder to shoulder doppelgangers. This manifestation repeated itself over and over at varying hypnotic speeds dazzling the eyes like a video loop. Prim redirected his gaze. Remnants of the last leaves of October cascaded from skeletal trees and a gentle, cool breeze caressed through his disheveled brown hair. Leaden clouds softened into a grey, transparent veil and the expansive lawn and trees took on an otherworldly greenish phosphorescent hue seen only at the exact moment of cessation of a ravenous storm. It was a moment of eureka! The static ghost in the foyer began to slowly dissolve until completely erased by a sudden break of sunlight through the late afternoon clouds. There was always, it appears, nobody there at all. Still, it was a nice Lake Forest estate.8