In a blink, I transported from point A to point B, landing at afterlife island. An unfamiliar crowd was gathered on the beach. Everyone appeared to be headed somewhere. It was as if the beach club in the after world were a big city train station. There were organized lines of transit, wish givers waiting with patience for their turn at a much deserved holiday.

Not certain where I belonged, I began to walk amongst the lines. Genies everywhere turned and whispered as I passed. It felt odd the way that everyone was acting.

As I approached a small line on the far corner of the island, my ears began to hum in a soothing way. With a certain amount of intuition, I fell into place behind a small child that was no older than Travis had been. He turned and smiled as if thrilled to see me. It wasn’t just him, but everyone projected that warmth.

I had been waiting a few minutes when Robert fell behind tapping me on the shoulder. "If it isn’t the infamous Elizabeth Wishgiven!" He said grinning from ear to ear.

"Maybe you could explain why everyone is acting so bizarre?"

"You don’t know Lizzy?" Robert asked shaking his head.

"No. That’s why I’m asking."

"The word spread around here like soft butter." Robert said in a serious tone.

"Word about what?"

"Surely you realize?"

I shook my head, baffled by his attitude.

"You went against two ghosts and survived to tell about it!" Robert explained.

"Jeanne’s are more powerful than ghosts." I said as a matter-of-fact.

"Perhaps, but ghosts are a Genie’s worst enemy. To go against one demented spirit is nearly impossible, but you managed to conquer two!"

"Granny said..." I began.

"Granny will tell you just about anything to get the job done." Robert explained cutting me off.

I stood there realizing all ears from the surrounding lines were homed in on our conversation.

"I have to ask, how and the heck did you do it?"

"Yeah." A few others spoke in unison.

I had a sudden bout of overwhelming shyness as the organized lines dispersed and were gathering in a circle to listen. I shrugged my shoulders, not caring to relive another second of it.

An oversized man with spiked hair and a silver tooth slid forth. He had a nose ring attached to blue feathers dangling onto his upper lip. "I lost three members of my team in the past twenty years, any help you could give us would be wonderful!"

I realized the desperation of the wish-givers as I began the tale of how Eerie and Baritone met their final demise. So I began....

"Once the homeowners Gail and Evan released me from the bottle, I explained the concept of the gift they were entitled to. Needless to say, they didn’t hesitate at what the wish should be. They wanted the ghosts to be removed from their home so that they could go on to appreciate a peaceful existence."

I gazed about realizing that the entire island was now gathered and hanging on my every word. Robert patted me on the back sensing the nervousness I felt at speaking to such a large group.

"I hurried into the house with a naive enthusiasm. Eerie and Baritone were melded into the lighting fixture overhead. They were projecting an aura of sorts, a muted rust tone. In all the time previous that they had imposed torture, the color surrounding them was a fire engine red. Instinctively I realized they were at a low energy point."

"I stood beneath the fixture and pointed my index finger up at them. I said, you ghosts have had it! It’s time for you to move on to the after life!"

"Eerie, which was a nickname I came up with, I believe her name was actually Mildred, responded by sliming me with a horrid oil substance. It filled every cavity on my face and rendered me blind."

There were gasps of disbelief from the crowd.

"Baritone didn’t hesitate, he swung downwards and punched me in the belly. It was something totally unexpected and I was thrown across the room and ricocheted off the wall."

"Now, under normal circumstances, I would have been frightened beyond reason. I was never very brave when alive and this was more than I imagined anyone could tolerate. The odd thing was, the ghosts made me angry!"

"I suddenly tapped into an overflow of determination. I was not going to allow those overbearing ghosts to get the better of me. I decided I was going to fight with everything I had in me."

"I imagined a transformation. I had realized that fighting them from two different planes of being was the problem. They were ghosts, transparent forms of energy, ready and waiting to use their advantage. I was a genie, a combined form of energy and outer casings."

"I made it a point to unzip and remove my encasement. I imagined a large chrome zipper and I proceeded to leave my former image on the floor, discarded like yesterday’s clothing."

"Oh no!" Eerie exclaimed as Baritone and she swung up through the ceiling." "I had them on the run now and for some reason I felt empowered."

"Imagining a rocket I shot through the various layers of house and located them cowering in the attic at the tip of the roof behind the chimney."

"Leave us alone Genie!" Baritone pleaded.

"I demand that you move on from here!"

"Eerie began to bawl, bawl like a baby!" The crowd of listeners chuckled at this fact.

"The thing I learned rather quickly is that you never trust a ghost. They appeared beaten by my wit, but in truth, they were planning their next move."

"Their energy suddenly dispersed reminding me of a large swarm of bees. They rose up from their position and implemented an attack. Over and over again, points of energy pelted my spirit. It was painful and for a brief second I believed that they had won. I was close to surrender!"

"I shifted my thoughts from defeat to victory as I imagined a large shield of armor. My body contorted and shaped itself to deflect their target."

"They finally retreated to the center of the roof."

"Give up! I demanded."

"Just leave us alone bottle woman!" Baritone screamed.

"This is not your home any longer....it’s for the souls of the living!"

"This angered the ghosts as they took flight and began to tear at the structure of the home. Large beams supporting the roof fell off in all directions. They were literally pulling down the house, piece by piece."

"If we can’t stay here, neither can they!"

"I knew something had to be done and done fast. The ghosts were on a rampage. Like a bullet I thrust myself in a straight angle moving through ceilings, floors, ceilings and a wall. I swung onto the porch and grabbed the bottle of Champaign dumping the remainder. Gail and Evan were shocked since I was now transparent to them. I used the same path to return, reconfiguring the bottle matter to melt through with me."

"I melded my hand with the base of the bottle like an abstract glove. Both ghosts paused in their destruction in wonderment of my hand."

"What the heck is she up to? Baritone asked."

"Before they could manage an escape, I inhaled deeply. So deeply that both spirits were sucked forward. Their horrible images began to collapse. Hair, eyes, screams, energy, it all combined, it all began to dissolve. Within a few minutes, both specters were trapped within the bottle that had been mine."

"Since I didn’t remember the cork, I placed my fingertip in the neck preventing their escape." (What I didn’t tell the crowd of Genies, what I was embarrassed to admit, is how I frightened the ghosts by mentioning it was my turn to ‘play toss’ with them. Both spirits begged for compassion and unlike them, I granted them their last request.)

"I had to vacate the attic navigating doors and steps since I feared melding into the bottle would also mean melding with Baritone and Eerie. It was all instinct on my part."

The crowd began to nod as if I were teaching Ghost Removal 101.

"Gail and Evan were outdoors pacing the front yard. I floated to them, and they both gazed in disbelief at the bottle presented with two points of light swarming about like fireflies."

"Are they in there?"

"Yes." I responded, reconfiguring my body to appear to them.

"What now? Evan wondered."

"I’m releasing them out here! I said as Gail and Evan both voiced their immediate protest."

"I was following a hunch that the ghosts had been trapped within the square confines of the house. Releasing them in the open would allow them the freedom to go."

"Were you correct in that assumption?" Robert asked.

"I was. Once I removed my fingertip, both ghosts spilled forth from the bottle in a smoke form of Champaign. Eerie’ dreadful appearance transformed to a very attractive red headed woman and Baritone reconfigured to an average man with a protruding beer gut. The bullet holes were somehow repaired and in an instant they began to rise upwards, upwards to face the next level of scrutiny in the great beyond."

"Oh gee." Robert said grinning. He reached his hand forward and tossed my hair between his fingers. "You have a golden hue radiating from within your brown locks now."

I shrugged my shoulders not understanding.

"It’s a badge Lizzy. A badge of honor for conquering ghosts. You have the respect of everyone here! The truth is..." Robert said as Granny stepped forth from the crowd.

"The truth is," She announced. "No one has ever conquered a ghost in all the centuries that we’ve been around."

I stood there dumbfounded. Granny had sent me back, knowing full well I wouldn’t make it.

"How could you do that to me?" I asked her with outrage.

"I had no choice in it, neither did you! You can’t leap from an assignment unless it is completed. Remember that! You think I wanted to loose someone with such high capability? I honestly had no choice Elizabeth!"

After her explanation registered, I softened realizing that she was only doing her job.

Granny began to smile. "I’m here to award you with an entire week anywhere or time frame you wish to go!"

Robert gasped in disbelief and I gazed at him with question.

"There are always limits to where we take our vacations and I have never heard of an offer to go back in time for fun before. No Genie has ever traveled on such a holiday!"

"No one has ever conquered ghosts Robert!" Granny replied.

I shrugged my shoulders not certain of my vacation time. "A week, anywhere?’ I repeated.

All eyes were on me as I announced that I wanted to go back to the time of my life. Go back to the world that I had once known and loved.

"Okay." Granny said. "There are some rules you must follow. You must not interfere in any way with the flow of history. If you do not follow this rule, you will be thrust back and your holiday erased....it will be as if you never went. Understood?" She asked.

I nodded.

"Have a nice trip!" Granny managed, as the crowd waved at my departure.

Robert grinned as I took flight in a reverse axis. The world shifted and swayed as I was transported. Back I went, back through years of polluted climate, back through the years of wars, back through layers of life and death. Back into the simple world of ten thousand yesterdays, the time and place that I truly missed.