Eternal by Debra Glass

to shush me. My gaze shot to Ella who’d already fallen asleep. She snored softly. Relief flooded me and when I looked back at Jeremiah, he curled his index finger, motioning for me to follow him.
    The floorboards creaked under my footsteps and I winced and glanced back at my little sister. She didn’t stir.
    Jeremiah stood near the attic door, watching me with mischievous curiosity. My insides tangled.
    “Hurry,” he whispered.
    As quietly and quickly as I could, I darted across the little hall and followed Jeremiah up the attic stairs.
    He put his finger to his lips again. “Listen.”
    “To what?” I asked stupidly.
    “To the rain, silly.” His smile totally disarmed me and turned my insides to utter and absolute mush.
    Holding his gaze, I cocked my head and listened as driving rain pelted the tin roof. The sound was almost deafening, decidedly hypnotic. Each individual raindrop blended with the others to become one and yet each remained distinct.
    As I drank in the luscious sound of the rain peppering the roof, Jeremiah moved to the fanlight, his footsteps gliding gracefully over the floor. My gaze trailed after him and the sight of him silhouetted against the glass grabbed hold of my heart and squeezed. His graceful movements echoed the time period from which he hailed. Tousled hair topped his head and I realized he’d turned to look at me by the way he stood out against the flickering light behind him.
    Lightning blazed in the attic, casting long shadows of the delicately framed panes and Jeremiah’s figure across the unfinished floor planks. Silently, he motioned for me to join him.
    Knees trembling, I slowly crept across the floor to where he stood, so achingly aware of our closeness, I couldn’t think clearly. Thunder boomed in time with the already erratic beating of my heart.
    “Can you feel it?” he asked.
    “The thunder?” Or my pounding heart?
    His eyes dropped to my lips and then lifted to my eyes once more. “The lightning.”
    I laughed nervously. “I don’t think I want to be struck by lightning.”
    “Not that way,” he said with a half-smile. “The… energy . Haven’t you ever felt lightning?”
    “I haven’t ever really paid attention.” I fought the overwhelming need to look away from his warm stare but I found myself completely mesmerized by his ethereal beauty.
    “You’re nervous,” he said.
    I swallowed. Hard. Every part of me wished he lacked the ability to pick my emotions apart so easily. “It’s the storm,” I mumbled.
    “There’s nothing to fear. This house has withstood many, many storms,” he mused.
    I smiled despite my trepidation—which had nothing whatsoever to do with the violent storm outside.
    “Does it please you?” he asked.
    I looked at him askance. “The storm?” I asked incredulously.
    He chuckled and the sound of his laugh was so warm and seductive, it gave me the same feeling of taking a sip of hot chocolate on a cold, snowy day.
    “The broach.” His glance dropped to my cardinal pin and then returned once more to my eyes.
    I brushed my fingers across the silver. “Where did you get it?”
    “There are many such trinkets in this house,” he said. “But this one is special because I watched you, the day you went to…my…grave.”
    My eyes widened. I knew it!
    He continued. “Through the eyes of a cardinal.”
    My lips parted. Vividly, I recalled seeing the bright scarlet bird in the trees that day. “That was…you?”
    He shrugged and graced me with a slight nod.
    “How?” I asked.
    “It is very easy for me to meld with animals.”
    “So, you see what they see? Feel what they feel?” The idea that his spirit could possess an animal or a bird fascinated me.
    Jeremiah stuffed his hands in his pockets and nodded.
    Curious, I continued. “Can you do it with people?”
    His gaze penetrated mine. “Yes.”
    Lightning flashed, startling me. This time, thunder immediately followed.
    He watched my reaction. “Close your eyes,” he