"Hello, Can you hear me?"
"I can hear you but don't see you."
"The connection is not very good so I turned off the camera. It's OK...Do you have the material I sent you?"
"Yes, I printed the pages you ask."
"Oh, I can see the connection is better now so I will turn on my camera....Hi Cathy! Good to see you again! Today we are going to talk about food in different parts of the world..I hope you have already had dinner.."
"Oh, I have, it's 11 o'clock in the night here...what time is over there?"
"It's 5 o'clock in the afternoon. So let's look at the first picture. This photo was taken in Cuba. What kinds of food can you see on the table?"
I point to the first picture with my finger and look up at the screen. Cathy is sitting in a semi-dark room. Her head is low, looking at the picture.
Then I see an older woman walking behind her. When she sees that I am watching her she bends low to the camera and waves at me.
"Cathy..who is the lady behind you? A friend?"
"Pardon?"
"There is a woman right behind you waving at me. Turn around."
Cathy turns around. Her eyes go through the woman like she is made of smoke.
"Cathy, right behind you. You are touching her now. She is right next to you."
"Don't joke Veronika. No woman here. I going turn on the light, wait."
Cathy walks away and the woman takes her seat. She smiles, waves again and straightens her skirt on her knees. Her face is wrinkled and her hair is as white as cotton. She is wearing a long, white dress, small pearls dangle from her ears.
"Who are you?" I ask.
The woman looks up and leaves the chair. Cathy is back in the room. She sits behind the screen and looks at the photo again.
"I can see that the people in Cuba eat many fruits and lots of bread..." she says. I look at the woman who is over her now, caressing her hair with long white fingers.
I'm losing my wits...Cathy keeps on talking but I don't hear what she says. I am scared shitless. How come she can't see the woman and I can?
"......like fruits...is that correct Veronika? Veronika can you hear me?"
"Cathy, there is a woman right behind you, this is no joke. I am telling you I can see her right now over your shoulder! Please DO something!"
"There is no one in the house...only me. Why you scare me so?"
"I am very sorry Cathy...."
She suddenly jumps up from her seat.
"What is it?" I ask "Can you see her?"
"I felt something...."
"She is right in from of you now. She has her hand on your shoulders..Cathy...you should leave the house immediately! Just go, leave everything and go!"
The woman looks at me angrily and mouths 'no'.
"She doesn't want to you go Cathy..she is holding you..What's wrong? Why can't you leave?"
I can see the woman pushing Cathy into her arms. They lock into a long embrace and then the woman is gone.
"She's gone, Cathy I don't see her anymore!" I shout.
"Well, this is nice. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic you know."
"Cathy?"
"No, not Cathy." the woman said.
"What do you want? Where's Cathy?"
"Oh, she's in here somewhere. Don't worry about her, I'll leave her soon; it's not her I want."
"What do you want?"
"I want to go home....and you, Veronika, like Cathy right now, are helping me get there."
Like smoke, the woman's face is emitted by Cathy's every facial pore. It glides towards the screen and disappears.
I get up and pull the plug of the laptop as hard as I can but the battery still gives it life. Smoke comes from the sides, like the laptop is on fire. I turn it upside down and yank the battery off the back. The screen goes dead and I let out sigh or relief.
"He who sows hurry reaps indigestion; haste is blind and improvident."
I turn around at the sound but no one is there.
"Thank God!" I say and sigh again.
