100 Ghost Stories Counting Down To Halloween 2020 #51

 1977

There was a new girl in our school. She was a transfer from Campbell, and before that from Santa Monica. I forget who introduced us to her, but her name was Laura Felch.

She immediately talked about almost being beaten up in the girl's bathroom, her first day at Campbell. She said she took on the biggest Sāmoan girl and beat her ass terrible. After that, the girls respected her and made her an official member of their gang and the Sāmoan community. If fact, she claims that they named her, ʻTaupou.ʻ.

Less than a month later, a gang of Filipino girls spilled out of the I-Quad bathroom yelling and screaming. In the middle was a bloodied Laura getting beat bad. Eddie and I went to help, but Shawn cautioned us not to get involved. "Sāmoan girls are tough, but you donʻt want to get involved with Filipino girls, theyʻre vicious. If theyʻre kicking Lauraʻs ass, she probably did something to deserve it."

So, we backed off. It took campus security, the principal, and the vice-principal to break it up. It turns out Laura ingratiated herself into the group and sold herself off as a psychic. For a prediction, she charged $10. Not only were her predictions erroneous, but she tried to steal a couple of boyfriends out from under a few of the girls in the group. They put two and two together and caught Laura in the bathroom right before the first bell rang for homeroom. It didnʻt end there.

To make matters worse, it was March. That was the month when the pig in the blanket was very popular. The cafeteria was wall to wall students during lunch. Laura was standing in line with another group of newly made friends. From out of nowhere, a cadreʻ of Sāmoan girls sporting the black and orange colors of James Campbell High School stormed into the cafeteria. They made a beeline for Laura. She booked it out the side door and ran for her life. According to the girls from Campbell, Laura never beat up the toughest girl in the group. Sheʻs paid the girl off to be left alone; secondly, she has never accepted as a family into the Sāmoan community. Third, she was never given the name ʻTaupou.ʻ Its a title, not a name on a birth certificate. 

TODAY

At a private residence in Nuʻuanu is where I received a call from a man who claimed that he needed his wifeʻs spirit to move on from their home. He couldnʻt understand why she lingered, but it only served to increase his heartbreak over her loss. The wrong foods, hard liquor, and smoking cartons of cigarettes caused the heart disease that took her life. The poor guy said he had cleaned out the house several times, but the cigarette smoke still hovers throughout the home. "Please help," he pleaded.

It was a lovely cottage on a large piece of property. The husband was already waiting as soon as I drove up. "Iʻm James," he nervously shook my hand and led me inside. The cigarette smoke was a thick fog in the house but without the aroma. 

"Before I help your wifeʻs spirit pass, can you tell me her name, please?"

It took a second for him to tell me; he was still very emotional. "Laura, thatʻs her name, my sweet Laura."

"Oh, I knew a Laura in high school, probably not the same person," I said more to make conversation. I was not expecting a reply.

"Do you remember that Lauraʻs name?"

"Felch, the Laura that I knew was Laura Felch," I nodded.

"Thatʻs my Laura," he confirmed. "Felch was her maiden name, sheʻs been Laura Kishimoto since two thousand and five."

"Wow, how did you guys meet?" I told myself that I shouldnʻt have asked that question. I should have just proceeded with helping Laura pass, but it turns out, I was wrong.

"I was her attorney; I was defending her in a fraud case that was her fault. I helped get her off on a technicality," the tears were still fresh on his old wrinkled cheeks.

"Let me guess, she took a bunch of people for fools?"

"Howʻd you know?" James was surprised.

"The Laura I knew constantly ran scams in high school. She got beat up a lot, so she wasnʻt very good at it," I chuckled.

"Thatʻs the same Laura I knew when I met her. Consumate scam artist, somehow, we became romantically involved after the case, but I put my foot down and told her that a few things had to change. Believe it or not, she did it; she did a complete hundred and eighty-degree turn. It was not easy for her in the least, but it has been fifteen good years together."

"Do you think that some of those old habits might have tried to resurface from time to time, and maybe thatʻs why she smoked and drunk a lot?" I asked in as gentle a manner as possible.

"Very good," he looked me dead in the eye and pointed at me. 

"You loved her, no matter what?"

"Youʻre damned right," he nodded. "Anyway, let me get out of your hair so you can get started."

"Itʻs already done," I said matter of fact. "If you hadnʻt noticed; while we were talking, the cigarette smoke dissipated. It filtered out under your front door, itʻs gone."

A look of confusion came over him, "I was expecting some big light show, like in the movies. I didnʻt know it was that simple?"

"Youʻre the one that did it, I just helped you along," I smiled.

"How do you mean?"

"All Laura needed was to hear was that you still loved her, despite who she was before, and all the people she took for fools," I shook his hand and left. He came after me before I got into my car and tried to hand me an envelope. I refused it and told him about some good advice from a friend, "Pay it forward."

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