Off and Running On A New One

Okay what will it be today? Nothing really on my mind that matters much. I may need to get another piece of fiction underway. Get that mysterious part of the brain that works apart from reality going. Been meaning to do that anyway. Just been trying to clear up other stuff first which is a laugh, because there is ALWAYS other stuff. Well alrighty then, here goes. And who can say for sure whether what follows is really fiction?

How about "THE CLEARING" for a title? Work with me, we can change it later if you like. Oh, and don't be too critical. This is only a first draft.

Chapter 1

You have to consider the players involved before you pass judgement on their actions. Sharman Alto was the prime mover. She was first to suggest the existence of the ghosts. She was the one who said they were there, in the store, and that nothing would bode well until they were sent on their way. The others just nodded agreement and asked what had to be done. Well all but one, that is. The lone skeptic being old Doc Walton, who along with his wife was the store's co-owner. His attitude was there probably are no such thing as ghosts, but if there are, why rile them up? He would play a small but critical role in the mysterious events to follow.

Sharman Alto was the town's foremost New Age personality. She looked like no one else is this rural region where denim ruled the fashion roost and clothes suitable for outdoor work were worn by both men and women. Sharman wore instead colorful dresses or slacks, often Native American inspired and tops of intricate patterns. Around here neck there were either strings of beads or necklaces adorned with stones. Magic stones with life and secrets to tell. Or so she said. Atop her head there could usually be found some sort of funky hat, occassionally feathered. Sharman could talk with authority about auras, vibrations, shifts in consciousness, crystals and their power, angels and spirits, and was a frequent invitee to Native American rituals including rain and harvest dancing. She could sing, played several instruments and was a noted healer who had treated nearly everyone in town at one time or another. She was in short, what came to be known as a Woowoo. A person in touch with elements on the periphery of ordinary reality, perhaps even multi dimensional that less sensitive types did not even suspect were there. She put forth her convictions honestly and without guile. If she said there were ghosts in the store she would be believed. Well, by some anyway. We'll get to them tomorrow.