Guest Author: Hillary Seidl

S

ia Wright stood completely silent in the doorway. The empty coffee cup she had in hand suddenly weighed twenty pounds. Standing outside the break room she hopped back and kept silent.

“Such an odd girl. Not very personable at all,” Hailey said, “Not sure why Grayson keeps her on here.”

“She doesn’t even talk, doesn’t even smile. It’s like she is a shadow,” Delina responded.

“Oh, she smiles alright,” Hailey, said with a mocking tone, “especially when Gray is in the room.”

Delina’s voice was cutting. “Oh! I’ve seen the way she looks at him! It’s so embarrassing!” Delina giggled.

It was all Sia could take.

The hot flames of embarrassment licked her face as she turned back down the hall to the bathroom. Sia grabbed the stall door shaking it until it relented and opened. She slammed the stall door and sat on the lid pulling her knees to her chest. Her throat constricted, a sob threatened to burst forth. When had she become so apparent? It would seem that she was always doomed when it came to being social.

Sia strived for control and twirled her hair around her finger. She felt her pulse start to quicken and her face was hot to the touch. She took another deep breath as recommended by her old therapist.

In through the nose out through the mouth, imagine your inflating a basketball in your stomach.

The words were a welcome mantra she repeated them in her head.

After a few minutes, she felt better, more in control. She returned to her work area with her head down.

When Grayson stopped just outside her office, she kept quiet, and her eyes diverted from him. She couldn’t afford to lose this job. It was her fourth temp job in five months. She needed the money. She had responsibilities.

With another deep breath, she regained her composure. She filed reports, and set letters aside to be mailed. Her stomach growled but she didn’t want to move.

Grayson stood just beyond the threshold of her office. “How are you doing?”

She pasted a smile on her face. “Everything is fine. You’ll have the Brown report on your desk by Friday.”

He lingered in the doorway. “That’s great. Thanks, Sia.” Grayson tilted his head then continued on. Sia looked at the now empty doorframe, her heart fluttering.

Grayson was handsome with his dark blond hair, a little long in the back. The attraction was immediate —for her anyway.

He didn’t even know she was alive.

Sighing wistfully, she rose and grabbed her empty coffee cup. And to her incredible joy the lunchroom was empty. She poured herself a cup of coffee. She saw something out of the corner of her eye. It was the dark shadow figure. Her hands stilled and her heartbeat increased.

She closed her eyes. This was not happening. It was her imagination. Slowly, she opened her eyes and another shadow darted from right to left.

“No!” she said to the empty room. Forgetting her coffee entirely, she set the cup on the table and walked quickly. She looked back over her shoulder – and ran right into Hailey, sending them both
flying.

Sia hit the wall, but Hailey landed on her butt hard. “Ooommpphh!”

Sia bent down and offered her a hand. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry!” As much as Sia thought she was a snooty bitch, she was horrified at actually knocking her down.

Hailey stood up, ignoring Sia’s hand. She flipped her vibrant red hair, totally dyed, over her shoulder and starred daggers at Sia. “Ugh! You’re so clumsy!” She tugged her short skirt back down.

Sia’s back straightened at the angry words. “I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

Hailey sighed. The anger was clear in her eyes.  “Yea well, just get out of my way.” Hailey walked by, her shoulder hitting Sia’s as she stormed past.

Sia stood there trying to get a hold of her temper. The anger made her shake. She tried to breathe.

“What happened?” Delina’s nasally voice shrieked when Hailey went into her office. Both of them stood while a red faced Hailey pointed at Sia. The more Hailey talked the more she got dirty looks from Delina.

It was all that Sia could take. 

Sia’s hands clenched at her side while the helplessness and anger boiled inside of her. “I said, I was sorry,” she whispered. Her hair lifted as a great wind came out of nowhere and she watched as a cloudy line went from her through the office.

Sia watched in fascination, and horror, as the wind rose up and blew papers everywhere in Delina’s office. Books flew of the shelf, the chair was knocked over, and Hailey and Delina screamed as the intense wind continued.

Grayson came out of his office. “What’s happening out here?”  Sia’s concentration broke as Grayson ran past her. Delina’s office was now calm. No wind just a few papers settling. Delina and Hailey were standing close to each other, starring at Sia.

“I d-don’t know,” Sia sputtered, still trying to understand what had just happened. As Grayson rushed into the main room, Sia ran back to her desk and yanked the drawer open, quickly grabbed her purse. With everyone yelling and running around, she slipped out of the office quickly and quietly headed for the safest place she could think of.

The library.

Finding Ms. Wright: Sia

  

I watch a lot of paranormal shows, reality and fiction.  I love them! My must record DVR programs include Supernatural, Vampire Diaries, Once Upon a Time, Ghost Adventures, My Ghost Story, I Survived Beyond and Back and more. The more evidence I see the more I’m fascinated and I want more.   Who wouldn’t want proof of an afterlife?  A popular ghost sighting in places are what people call ‘Shadow People’.  They are thought to be dangerous spirits that torment.  Ever seen something out of the corner your eye?  Fast darting shadows?  Then it could be shadow people. 

Modern day ghost hunters have captured some very intriguing video evidence of these creatures. I’ve also had experiences with them.  They are scary as hell.  My parents owned a haunted restaurant in Delta, Colorado.  The activity in the place was so high.  Sometimes I would set the tables the night before and when I would open with my dad, the placemats and glasses would be askew.  I wouldn’t understand.  How could that have happened? Who moved them around? I am still trying to answer these questions. 

The shadow people weren’t in the dining room. The shadow people were in the basement.  I remember being completely terrified at the time.  Mostly I tried to ignore it and get out of there as fast as possible.  That’s how I dealt with it. 

This was the inspiration for my part of the anthology, Finding Ms. Wright: Sia.  Whispering voices and seeing black shadows following her is the norm in the beginning of my novella.  Poor girl!  Enter the hunky hero, Andrew.  He has the gift of finding supernatural objects. It comes in very handy.   

When I write paranormal, I try to draw from my own experiences and put them down into entertaining works of fiction.  I have loved romance novels for as long as I can remember and I have loved the paranormal.  Mixing the two has been so fun! I loved writing Sia.  I hope you enjoy it! 

Thank you so much for having me here today!  Have you had experiences with the paranormal?  I would love to hear them!