Endless Searching

A Haunted Soul  Episode 4

The ghost found himself sitting on the same boulder where he appeared at the beginning of each night since his death. It never mattered where he was at the end of the night before when he disappeared. He always reappeared at this same spot every time. He was sure now that this must be a definite sign that his search for the afterlife must be here outside the castle.

He began to look around him for a clue to a possible gateway or something that might lead him to the promised great beyond. From his perch on the boulder in front of the castle he examined the cobblestone road leading straight from the castle doors and out towards the lake in the distant front. At the lake the road made an abrupt turn to the right and went on out through the forest at the side.

On each side of the grounds was the edge of the forest, which had a neatly lined border of trees. When he was alive the ghost would go through the forest to the left to get to the place where he would go fishing and hunting. Those were his two favorite pastimes. He would usually go hunting with a group of men he would choose for each trip. That would include a few of his favorite servants and a randomly chosen man from the town. He did this so he might get to know some of these people better.

But fishing. Fishing was his, and his alone. He remembered how he loved to go out to the small river that emptied into the lake and just sit there alone for a whole day by himself. That seemed like heaven to him. All of his cares and worries were left behind. He would go there whenever he wasn't busy... Wait! Heaven?

That could be it! Maybe the gateway to Heaven was in his favorite place! That must be it! The ghost laughed out loud with joy. It made so much sense that his favorite place would be where he would find the passageway to the afterlife. He immediately hopped down off the big rock and ran to the small pathway that lead into the forest on the left. He just knew that he was finally going to leave this state of limbo behind!

As he got to the edge of the forest, the ghost ran right into something soft and invisible, and he fell down backwards. He decided that he must have hit a tree branch or something. He stood back up and cautiously walked back towards the forest edge, this time holding his arms out to feel for anything that might be in his way. When he got back to the edge he felt something soft in the air once again. This was no tree branch.

The ghost felt something like a soft cushion right in midair. It felt as if the air had turned thick. He pushed further and the resistance slowly increased. The further he went, the stronger it got. It was some sort of invisible barrier. He quickly realized that he could not push through this barrier. The path was barred to him.

He thought the solution to this would be easy. He would just step aside and get to the path from a few paces to the side. He began to step, feeling for the edge of the barrier. He thought it should stop here any time now. But it didn't. He soon realized that the barrier was completely barring his way.

The ghost looked up to the sky and howled, "No!!! There must be a way! I have to get out of here! I don't deserve this!" He turned and quickly ran up and down the line of the forest, looking for a place where the barrier would end. But it went on for the whole distance of the castle grounds.

The barrier was also on the other side where the road went out through the forest. There was no way out for him. The lake bordered the front of the castle grounds, so there was no way out that way either. He had been worried before, but now the ghost was very upset and afraid. He had waited patiently for some sign of Heaven, but there was nothing. He was stranded here in this state of limbo and he didn't know why. Now he just wanted to get out. He felt as if his salvation depended upon his escape. He had to keep searching.