Wild Alabama

by Everly Hansen

  "Good morning. Are you headed out for a check?" I asked.

  "Yep. You can come with me if you want."

  "Okay, sure. Can I grab coffee to go?"

  "Yeah, of course." Shazo walked to a cabinet and pulled down a travel mug, then filled it up with coffee for me. "Milk? Sugar?"

  "Black is fine," I said.

  "Oh, gross." He handed me the mug with a grimace and I followed him down the hall. I put my own bag over my shoulder and we walked outside and to the gate. We walked in silence for a while and then stepped off the path. The only sounds were our shoes crunching in the leaves and twigs until my phone dinged and startled both of us.

  "Sorry," I said, and pulled my phone out of my pocket. It was Ellen, replying to my description of Felix. There were a lot of emojis and a request for a picture, and I couldn't help but smile. I quickly texted her back and asked how school was going. She would've gotten there yesterday and been busy settling into her dorm. I slid my phone back in my pocket and looked back into the forest.

  "Looks pretty clear," Shazo said, a hint of relief in his voice.

  The further we went the thicker the forest got. We found a few pieces of rope and some cut ribbons tied to trees, but no bodies and no ghosts. I let out a breath of relief when Shazo decided to turn back.

  "How do you not get lost every time you're out here?" I asked. Everything looked the same to me.

  "Years of practice. I used the ribbon trick myself at first. I recommend using something to mark your trails when you start coming out by yourself."

  I made a mental note to get some ribbon or something to temporarily stick to the trees, but part of me never wanted to come in here alone. My shoes crunched loudly against the leaves and fallen pine needles until we got back to the path, then our shoes barely made any noise and silence filled my ears again.

  "How often are the checks uneventful?" I asked.

  "I'd say seven out of ten times. Ghosts won't be an every day thing."

  I relaxed a little with that news.

  When we reached the gate, I noticed it had been closed differently than we left it. I guess Felix came in after he finished his hot chocolate. Shazo locked the gate behind us and then we headed inside. I had to change into shorts and a new t-shirt after walking in the humidity for a couple of hours. When I came down, much cooler, I heard Felix in the kitchen talking to Shazo. I made the quick trip down the hall. Felix was leaning against the counter in black jeans and a dark green shirt with holes around the collar. He cleared his throat a moment later and I realized I had probably been staring too long. Again. I had to stay on my game and stop doing that.

  "Uh, breakfast?" I asked, directing my focus to the cabinets.

  "Oh," Shazo said with a frown. "There might be some bread?"

  "You guys don't really stock the kitchen, do you?"

  He laughed and shrugged. "It's usually not this bad, but I was gone and Felix was busy. We don't stock a lot, actually. If it was up to us we'd have Hot Pockets for every meal."

  "Speak for yourself," Felix said. "I happen to know how to cook and I love to eat. It's the desire to grocery shop that I lack. We usually flip a coin to see who has to go."

  "I could do the shopping," I offered. "I've always liked it."

  "That'd be great. You won't go every time though, that's not fair. But it would probably help with the lack of vegetables in the place," Felix said.

  I found the bread and popped two pieces in the toaster, then got a glass of water. "So, typical guys in your twenties?"

  "Basically."

  "How old are you guys, anyway?" I asked, realizing I didn't know how old either one of them was.

  "Twenty-one. Shazo is twenty-two. You're...eighteen?"

  "Nineteen," I said. "A couple weeks ago."

  "Oh, I thought Shazo said something about college, but then you said you were underage to drink and I got confused."

  I frowned and looked at the toaster. "No. I graduated high school this year."

  "So, what, no college? Or did Shazo talk you out of it?"

  "I-" I stopped when the toast popped up. I set it on a plate, covered it in peanut butter that had been hiding behind the bread, and then leaned against the counter across from Felix. "I don't know."

  "What do you mean?" he asked.

  I hesitated saying the words out loud. Hesitated telling someone I had known for barely twenty-four hours. "I just...don't know if I'm going, I guess."

  "You don't want to go?"

  "Did you go?" I asked.

  "Just community. I have my Associate's in Math. But I'm happy with that. Maybe a Bachelor's is in my future, who knows."

  "You have a degree in Math?" Hot and smart. Are you kidding me?

  "Yeah. I like it. It makes sense. You plug numbers into an equation and get the right answer. It's comforting."

  "My mom likes math," I said.

  "You don't?"

  "I'm good at it. I don't really like it though. I never thought of it the way you do."

  "Well, no one's perfect," he said lightly. "So, what about you and college?"

  He just wasn't going to let it go.

  "I wanted to go. Get out, see the world some, get an education my parents would be proud of."

  "Did the accident throw that off?"

  I paused and then sighed. What harm could come from them knowing the truth? It wasn't like they talked to my parents. "No. No, I-I didn't...no one wanted me. Every school rejected me. I just couldn't-I just can't tell my parents. It'll break their hearts."

  "Oh. I'm sorry, Pippa," Shazo said sincerely.

  I shrugged and took a large bite of toast.

  "Do you have a plan?" he asked.

  "You're kind of looking at it," I said. "I'm taking a gap year as far as my parents are concerned. I don't really have anything after this though."

  "Just because your picked schools rejected you doesn't mean you can't go to college. I mean we have good schools here. You could always do community college and apply to those schools again in a year or so," Felix suggested.

  "Yeah. Maybe."

  I just wanted to stop talking about it. Too much emotion, too many feelings, too many what-ifs. I just wanted to be numb on the subject for a while. As if reading my mind, they nodded and dropped the subject.

  "I lost the coin toss, so I'm going to head into town and pick up some groceries. Do you want to come so you can find it next time?" Felix asked.

  "Uh, yeah, sure," I said. I finished my toast hurriedly and followed Felix to the door. I took my purse from a hook and he put his wallet in his back pocket. We slipped our shoes on and then he looked at me.

  "Ready?" he asked.

  I nodded. He opened the door and we headed out to his hearse. The trees swooshed quietly in the wind, and the sun was warm on my face for the duration of the walk to his car. Inside was clean and shiny, and smelled good. Not really what I expected from a hearse. I set my purse by my feet and then glanced behind me at the empty space for a coffin. An uneasy feeling sat at the base of my stomach and didn't budge. Felix got in next to me and started it up, then looked at me.

  "No one sticks around the hearse," he told me. "You're just feeling residual energy."

  "How do I not feel that?" I asked.

  "Just tell yourself, 'I stay in my own circuit of energy' and try to focus on something else. There are no ghosts in here, just emotions."

  I repeated his saying to myself a few times and focused on the road ahead as we started to drive off. The uneasy feeling lifted a little and I found myself sinking further back in my seat as I relaxed some.

  "So where are we going?" I asked.

  "What about Whole Foods? We'll grab food for a few days, maybe a cookie or something? Cake? Oh, I know a place that makes great sundaes."

  "You have quite the sweet tooth, don't you?"

  He nodded in reply and made a U-turn out of the driveway.

  *

  Sweet tooth may have been an understatement. After getting a rotisserie
chicken, more burgers, mashed potatoes, fruits and vegetables, and coleslaw, we headed for the bakery. Felix got one of every kind of cookie and two cupcakes. I got a chocolate chip cookie and he looked at me, waiting for me to get more.

  "I'm good," I said.

  "You don't like dessert?"

  "No, I do. Just on a more normal level than you," I said lightly.

  He smiled down at his wad of cookies and shrugged. "I'm not even a little bit sorry."

  I added that to list of reasons to have a crush on him, and followed him through the rest of the aisles where he got bread, deli meat, peanut butter, coffee, hummus, and a bag of marshmallows.

  He scribbled everything off a list on his wrist and then guided me to the checkout.

  When the hearse sat at a red light, he looked at me hopefully. "Where did we land on that sundae?"

  I nodded a little. "Sure." Ice cream was probably always a good idea in this humidity.

  He smiled and the hearse lurched forward gently when the light turned green. We drove for a couple of minutes before he pulled into a cracked parking lot that held an old brick strip mall. He parked in front of a sign that read "Delia's Daily Dandies" and was written in chipped mint paint.

  "Dandies?" I raised an eyebrow and looked at Felix.

  "An excellent thing of its kind," he recited. "This has been here since the fifties, so I know the place looks old, but it's got great desserts."

  We got out and I followed him inside. Inside was clean but the wear and tear of the years was apparent. Faded cream walls, out of date fixtures, stained floors and counters, and employees with paper hats. It was kind of charming, actually.

  "Let me order for you," Felix said. "Please."

  I looked at the hefty menu on the wall and figured that was probably the best idea. "Okay."

  "Grab a booth."

  I walked to one of the four empty booths and sat on the thick, cracked red leather. The employees behind the counter, two girls probably my age, fixed Felix's order with ease but as he walked towards me with two sundaes I noticed they pointed at him and whispered to each other quietly.

  "I hope you're not allergic to anything. I probably should've asked first." He slid in front of me and pushed a tall sundae towards me.

  "I have no food allergies," I told him.

  "Noted." He smiled and then handed me a spoon. "If you don't like it, we can switch."

  I took the spoon and gave the once over to the sundae. Chocolate ice cream was swirled with peanut butter, there was a thick caramel sauce spooned over it, and chunks of peanut butter cups were almost hidden by a generous amount of whipped cream. I slid the spoon through a little bit of everything and popped it in my mouth.

  "Oh my God," I said with my mouth full. It was divine.

  Felix's eyes lit up. "You like it?"

  I dug my spoon back into the sundae and nodded. "This is amazing."

  "Best in town," he said. He relaxed into the booth a little and turned his focus to his own sundae. His looked a little more classic than mine with vanilla ice cream, chocolate sauce, whipped cream, and cherries, but I noticed chunks of banana and strawberries mixed into the ice cream when he started eating.

  After a few bites I started to question the size of the sundae. I liked sweets in moderation but I had the feeling Felix was a regular at this establishment. I wasn't sure I could finish the whole thing. I slowed my bites down and looked around the shop. I noticed the two employees in the corner still eyeing Felix. One had her phone out and was pointing at the screen.

  "They're new, so that's normal," Felix said, looking from the employees to me.

  "What is?" I asked.

  "People staring and pointing. I'm used to it. It doesn't bother me anymore."

  My brow furrowed in confusion.

  "You have no idea what I'm talking about," he said.

  I shook my head. "None."

  "Oh, I thought Shazo- Never mind. I never know how much he shares. Well, it's kind of a long story. How about I tell you tonight during evening check?"

  "Okay." I swirled my spoon in the ice cream and shot another curious glance at the girls. I looked at my sundae to avoid their questioning eyes. It had started to melt, and I frowned. "I'm sorry. It might be a little too big."

  "It's okay. Are you done? I'll finish it."

  I pushed my sundae towards him, amused. He licked his spoon clean and then dunked it into my sundae. It was impressive to watch him finish both large sundaes. Felix threw our trash away when he was done and then we headed back to the hearse.

  "So, I was struck by lightning," I said a few silent minutes later. "But what about you? How'd you start seeing ghosts?"

  "I don't remember a time I didn't see them. I think I was born with this. Shazo and I have that in common. Ghosts have always been a part of my life."

  It was a little disappointing to be the only one who had this thrown onto them instead of being born with it.

  "Always nice being the outcast," I joked.

  "Getting struck by lightning is pretty epic though," Felix said. "Plus years and years of seeing ghosts is draining. You're kind of lucky."

  "I guess."

  "Do you have siblings?" he asked.

  "No." I paused. "Well, I had a brother."

  "Had?" Felix asked.

  I clicked my tongue against my cheek. "He died when I was ten. We were on vacation and he fell out of a boat in this freak accident and drowned. He was four." My parents shut down for most of the year after that. I became the parent, feeding them, making sure they made it to work, showered, paid bills. It wasn't the job a ten year old should have. My parents found their way out of the darkness eventually and things got better, but they were never the same.

  "I'm sorry. That's awful. That's an awful thing to go through. God, your poor parents."

  "Yeah, it was rough." I looked up and blinked. I hadn't realized we were already at the house, parked near the fence. Felix pulled the keys out of the ignition and swung his door open.

  "Hey," I said, touching this elbow.

  He turned and looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

  "Thanks for the sundae."

  A smile spread across his lips. "Any time."

  *

  After an early chicken dinner I found myself walking after Felix into the woods. It had rained right before we went out and instead of it cooling the air down it made it into a sticky sauna.

  "You kind of never get used to it," Felix told me as I fanned myself for the hundredth time.

  I groaned and adjusted my bag so the skin underneath the strap could breathe. "Great."

  "Forest couldn't be somewhere cooler, right? Had to be in the devil's asscrack." Felix grinned and chuckled at himself.

  I smiled and shook my head at him.

  "At least I make myself laugh," he said.

  "I thought it was funny."

  He smiled at me. Then he looked over my head and his smile slackened. I turned and inhaled sharply. A few yards away stood the ghost of an older man in overalls and a shredded plaid shirt. My first instinct was to run like the wind all the way back to the house. But I couldn't. Not in front of Felix and not when this was now my job.

  The man tilted his head and looked at us, looking at him. The expression on his face changed when he realized we could both see him.

  "Help me," he called out.

  Felix stepped around me and we walked over to the man, Felix walking a little slowly. "What's your name?" he asked the man.

  "Oswald. You can both see me?"

  "Yes," he said.

  "Well, I'll be. I've been wandering these woods for days and no one has seen me. This one guy, scrawny kid I thought might have seen me, but then he just kept walking when I called out."

  "Scrawny- Um, this kid, did he have glasses?" Felix asked.

  "I think so."

  "Sir, what year do you think it is?"

  I shot Felix a confused look and then waited for Oswald to answer.

  "It's 2013. June." Oswa
ld looked at Felix for a second before asking, "Isn't it?"

  "No," I spoke up. "It's actually July in 2018."

  If ghosts could pale, I'm sure Oswald would have. He looked distressed and he took a step back and leaned against a nearby tree.

  "This is common," Felix assured him quickly. "A lot of times you're somewhat stuck in the time you passed. There's a set of twins in these woods from the early 1900s and they can't even fathom the idea of my cell phone."

  "Well I'll be. I've been wandering for years, not days," Oswald muttered. "Okay, so, what now? You must see me for a reason, right?"

  "Our job is to help you cross over, if you want," Felix said.

  "Cross over," Oswald said with a sigh. "To Heaven?"

  "I don't know," Felix said quietly. "You'll just move on to whatever's next. I don't know what that is."

  "Do I have to?"

  "No. You can stay here, wandering the woods forever if you'd like."

  "Well, that sounds kind of lonely and boring. Let's get me out of here then."

  Felix took out a notebook from his bag and flipped it open. He asked Oswald a few basic questions like where he lived, if he was married or had kids.

  "Been single all my life," Oswald told him.

  "What about any last words or wishes? Anything you'd want anyone to know?" Felix asked.

  I leaned against a tree as a bead of sweat dripped down my back. How unfortunate to be in a place where you sweat just because you're standing outside.

  "Well, yeah, I reckon I'd like my brother to know something."

  Felix nodded and paused his pen on a line, waiting.

  "You tell that old son-of-a-bitch that he'll never find my will. I mailed it to an old neighbor years ago. And he's not even in it. His ass ain't getting a cent. I left it all to charity. You tell him that, yeah? I wish I could see his stupid face when you tell him that. Why don't you also tell him he was always a worthless piece of shit, too? And that Ma always loved me more." Oswald cackled and shook his head at himself. Felix scribbled quickly, trying to hide his amusement.

  "What else?" Oswald asked.

  "Let's walk," Felix said.

  Oswald shrugged and the three of us walked for a few minutes, Oswald talking non-stop about being in the woods alone and thinking he was losing his mind. When Felix finally came to a stop I noticed an odd gap between two large pine trees. Tacked on one tree was a sun made of rope and pinecones. The air between the trees gave off the faintest of shimmer, like heat on the pavement.