“ ‘Oh, I think so definitely. There must be earthbound spirits which are a thousand years old. There’s no ticking clock for them. There’s no hunger. There’s no thirst. Without us to make them focus and tighten, they simply drift. I’m not even certain what they see or know when they drift, but then along comes a person who can respond to them, and they begin to evolve as a ghost for that person.’

“ ‘And you call yourself a witch because you can see these spirits?’

“ ‘Yes, and because I can talk to them, but I can’t just make them do what I want. I haven’t experimented with that power. That’s too dangerous a power. The whole subject is dangerous, Tarquin.’ She lowered her voice and she made a sly glance with her eyes at Goblin. ‘Goblin probably knows, don’t you, Goblin?’ she asked. ‘He probably knows all of this.’

“I looked back at Goblin. Goblin’s face was thoughtful. It had lost some of its meanness, and this relieved me somewhat.

“ ‘Mona, we have to be together, always,’ I said. ‘Who else will ever love me the way you can?’

“Goblin drew closer. I put my hand out to stop him.

“ ‘Be patient with me now, Goblin,’ I said. ‘It’s a different kind of love.’

“ ‘I’d never seek to take your place, Goblin,’ said Mona.

“ ‘But truly, Mona,’ I addressed her again. ‘Who else will ever love me the way you can?’

“ ‘What are you talking about?’ she said. ‘You’re tall and gorgeous and you have the most honest blue eyes I’ve ever seen. You know it’s really something when a man has both blue eyes and jet black hair, and that’s what you’ve got. You’re what girls call adorable.’

“Of course I loved hearing these compliments—I was very unsure of myself—but they only strengthened my hope that nothing could separate us.

“ ‘Marry me, Mona,’ I said. ‘I’m serious. You just have to.’

“ ‘I’m beginning to like the idea, but behave yourself,’ she answered. ‘Let’s go on about ghosts and spirits. You need to know things. We were talking about earthbound spirits, how they fail to go into the Light.’

“ ‘Are you sure of the Light yourself, Mona?’ I asked her.

“ ‘Well, you see, that’s the very problem,’ she answered. ‘When these people die they aren’t sure of it, and they may not recognize the Light for what it is. They may not trust it. They cling to the Earth; they cling to mortals whom they can still see and hear.’

“ ‘And so we have this theoretical spirit whose nucleus doesn’t go into the Light,’ I said, ‘this soul that drifts—.’