Ghost of Christmas Past by Shaen Layle

Author:Shaen Layle [Layle, Shaen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Champ Publishing
Published: 2025-02-18T00:00:00+00:00

10

Lila. 8:15 pm.

The church was comfortingly warm, and the entire space was lit with the glow of hundreds of candles. Stained-glass windows sparkled like jewels in the soft light. A man in a suit stood inside the front door. He smiled as he handed her a candle of her own and directed her to a lighting station.

She kept her eyes down as she shuffled behind others to the station. In the front of the sanctuary, a choir began to sing, and the words echoed around the small chapel.

Angels we have heard on high

Sweetly singing o’er the plains…

If only she had an angel watching over her right now. Someone to help her finally free herself from Mark’s grip.

The people around her began to amble to their seats. Could any of them see the need laid so bare in her eyes? Could any of them help? Could God?

She reached the front of the line. Her fingers shook as she held the dead wick of her candle over the flame. She almost doubted it would light, but it sparked to life with a hiss. She cupped a hand around it to keep the flame from blowing out and sank into the nearest pew.

A family sat at the other end of the bench. A father, mother, and two sons. The older boy she estimated to be the same age as Jake. The little one was significantly younger, probably preschool age. He wore a yellow coat.

That color again. The color of the office walls at Blackbriar. The color of the sedan following her. The color of the room down the—

Lila’s heart ached. She shoved the memory down deep inside, where it had been lodged for years.

She couldn’t lose Jake. She couldn’t lose her son.

The little boy tugged at his mother’s sleeve. “Mommy, I’m hunwry.”

“Can we go to Starlight after the service?” the older boy whispered. “Please?”

The little one began cheering for ice cream, and it took the parents a few seconds to calm him down. A few other parishioners turned around to grant the family smiling, understanding looks.

The choir finished their first song and launched into a rendition of “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” The disruption was quickly forgotten as everyone in the chapel turned their attention back to the front of the room.

Except for Lila. The family’s conversation, the little boy’s coat—it had struck something inside of her. Something that reverberated through her chest in the same way the choir music resounded in the church.

The restaurant the boy had mentioned. Lila hadn’t thought about it in years. She couldn’t even remember the last time she’d been to the Starlight Diner.

Though she knew she had. The place had to have some kind of significance. Otherwise, why would the mention of it resonate so deeply?

A few drips of wax had dripped onto the paper circle at the bottom of Lila’s candle. Before it could melt more, she quietly blew out the flame. No one noticed her slip back outside as the service continued.

She knew where she needed to go next.

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