Missie Alweathe's Arc

Chapter 1 of 2

Missie Alweathe smoothed the spiritual liability waiver against her desk and read the notification letter again. The new Spectral Registration Act required all haunted sites to register their spirits within thirty days. Her waiver protected visitors from ghostly incidents. It said nothing about protecting the ghosts themselves. She walked to the grandfather clock in the east wing hallway, its weathered wood frame carved with dates and initials. The ghosts had shown her what each marking meant: grave robbers who'd stolen jewelry in 1847, a medium who'd promised contact with loved ones but only wanted money in 1923, developers who'd demolished the family cemetery in 1978. If she registered the spirits now, would their names end up on another list for someone else to exploit? Missie pulled out her phone and photographed each carving on the clock. She'd need proof of their past betrayals when she argued for an exemption at the courthouse tomorrow. The courthouse appeared on the manor grounds the next morning, its stone columns and polished wood doors gleaming in the sunlight. Missie clutched her folder of photographs and marched up the steps. Inside, a clerk handed her Form S-47: Application for Spectral Registration Exemption. She filled in each box with precise script, attached photos of the clock's carvings, and wrote in the justification section: "These spirits have survived exploitation for over a century. Registration creates another public record for those who would harm them." The clerk stamped her application and gave her a case number. Missie walked back to the manor with the exemption request filed, but no guarantee it would be approved. Back in her office, she unrolled the scroll she'd commissioned last month from an elven authenticator. The elegant script detailed each spirit's history and their right to sanctuary. She'd ordered it as decoration, something impressive to show visiting decorators when they finally came. Now it might be the only thing standing between her ghosts and another betrayal. She hung it on the wall above her desk where she could see it while she waited for the courthouse's decision.