That Time I Banged A Banshee

That Time I Banged A BansheeSo there I was, roaming the Irish countryside searching for an abandoned church I heard about online, when lo-and-behold I got myself lost. This particular church was noteworthy because it still had intact stained glass windows, despite being several hundred years old. The exact name of the church eludes me but I heard it was haunted by some sort of wailing spirit that drove everyone away. The village surrounding the church relocated and time wore it down to nothing. Only the church and its stained glass windows remained, or so the story goes.If that was true, I wanted to find it. An empty old church with pretty windows may seem trivial to some, but I thought it would be fascinating to look at. I?d take some pictures for my social media profiles, maybe write a blog post about it, inform the locals what condition it was in, and be on my way. I had a rough idea where the church was, but had to park my rental car at the edge of a forest and finish my journey on foot. As an experienced hiker I didn?t think much of it, I?d mosey around the woods until I found it and retrace my steps back to the car. Like always, I got distracted along the way and veered off from my path only to forget which way I should be going in the first place.To make matters worse, it started raining. Normally I like rain. I find it peaceful, and it helps me sleep. But when you?re out in the wilderness without shelter, rain sucks. It?s cold, it ruins your clothes and food, makes the ground muddy and difficult to traverse, it just sucks. I had a small tarp in my kit for situations exactly like this and as I peered around the forest looking for a suitable tree to tie off to; I saw the unmistakable stony outcropping of a cave. Assuming a bear wasn?t inside, that was the safest and best form of shelter I could ask for. For once, luck was in my favor. With renewed vigor, I made my way toward the cave, picking up some tinder along the way before it got too wet to light. As I approached the cave with a skip in my step, I heard something odd. I slowed my pace and strained my ears to try to identify the noise. At first I thought it was some strange whistle coming from the wind. Depending on the surrounding trees, it can sometimes create an ominous keening sound. This was different. It echoed from out of the cave and sounded like a woman crying, weeping in misery. My pulse quickened as I considered what could make that noise.Was a woman trapped or hurt in there? Was it an a****l that I didn?t know about? Perhaps an injured deer, or something? Or was I making it all up, just a figment of my imagination because I was cold and worried? Stress can do crazy things. It wouldn?t have been ridiculous for my brain to be playing tricks on me. As I approached the cave, the noise stopped. I peered in. Nothing but darkness. I stepped closer, into the mouth of the cave. Rain pattered on the stone around me. The darkness inside the cave seemed alive somehow, moving before me.I unslung my backpack from my shoulder and reached inside to take out a flashlight. ?Go away!? a shrill voice snarled. The flashlight flew into the air and landed hard on the stone beneath my feet. My first instinct was to heed the voice?s advice and run as fast as I could. The primal part of my brain wanted nothing more than to flee and forget this ever happened. The rational side of me had a different opinion. Against my better judgment, I slowly kneeled down to pick up my flashlight. If someone was in here, they could be lost like I was. Maybe they needed my help as much as I needed theirs. My flashlight refused to turn on at first, but after a few whacks from my palm, it lit up. I shined the light into the cave and just about had another heart attack. The beam of light shone across the jagged stone until it illuminated the slender, pale figure of a naked woman. Well, the shape of one. She was translucent, not unlike a pane of stained glass. I pointed my flashlight at her, trying to wrap my head around the situation, and she let out a shriek that almost burst my eardrums. ?Go away or I?ll kill you!? she shouted, her voice raspy and worn. I believed her. Her spectral form was like nothing I?d ever seen outside of movies. Was she a ghost? Could she actually hurt me if she wasn?t solid? My understanding of physics was not enough to educate any decision in this regard. As my mind played out the possibilities of this encounter in my head, the depressing keening noise came back. The woman?s shoulders shuddered and she buried her face in her hands. Her breath came out in ragged bursts and she sniffled into her palms. She was crying.?Is everything OK?? I asked, inching closer against my better judgment. ?Go away, I don?t want you to die!? she sobbed. I wasn?t sure what the hell was going on, but I knew she needed help.?What do you mean? Why would I die?? I asked, inching ever closer. As I got closer, I got a better look at her. She was small, both in height and frame. Hunched over and sobbing made it hard to tell, but if I had to guess I?d say she wasn?t much more than four feet tall. She was very thin, almost sickly, and her skin was ghastly pale. She was surprisingly clean for a seemingly feral woman, or ghost, in the woods. I came within an arm?s length away from her and she looked up at me, eyes red and puffy from crying. ?Everyone who meets me dies. I am cursed,? she whined, staring up at me with her puffy blue eyes. Clumps of coppery red hair fell around her face and I couldn?t help but think she?d be beautiful with a shower and a good night?s sleep.?Are you hurt?? I asked, kneeling down next to her.?No,? she said.?How long have you been out here?? ?Centuries.??What are you doing out here???What do you mean?? she asked. She rubbed her nose on her wrist.?What brought you out here? Why haven?t you gone home???This is my home. I?ve always lived out here.??I see. Well, what makes you think you?re cursed?? My eyes glanced down to her bare breasts, a quick and involuntary reaction because they were out. I wasn?t trying to perv on her, it's just? there were boobs, so I looked.?I have always been cursed, for as long as I can remember. There was a village nearby, with a beautiful church. I would watch people live their lives, day in and day out, but if I ever showed myself, they would run in fear or try to hurt me. I learned to isolate myself, only admire them from afar. But humans are so fragile. Eventually, they would die and I spent so much time watching them and their families that their deaths pained me so. I would cry for the fallen, but my sorrow only drove fear into the hearts of the villagers and eventually they all left. Now I?m here, alone, so I don?t bother or hurt anyone.??You said there?s a village nearby, with a church?? I asked, suddenly excited. Perhaps I was close.?Yes, there was. All the villagers left centuries ago and the buildings have all rotted away. All save the church.??Does it happen to have big stained-glass windows?? ?Aye,? she nodded. A wave of excitement overtook me. Exciting as her information was, it paled in comparison to the see-through woman who gave it. What could she be? She looked human, though irregular. Being small and pale doesn?t make you a monster. Then I remembered her first shriek, the one that was so loud I thought my eardrums burst. That definitely wasn?t normal. Even if it somehow got magnified by the shape of the cave, it was still unnatural. I thought about my knowledge of Irish folklore. I wasn?t an encyclopedia or anything, but I?ve played my fair share of D