by J. A. Hunter
"Let's take a walk" His voice startled me as he appeared on the swing next to me.
"First rule, you are not allowed to just appear next to me" I huffed as I waited for my heart to settle.
"Sorry." He smiled innocently. There was no way he was a poltergeist.
We walked silently through the woods and back to the pond. I used that time to organize my line of questioning.
I sat on the rocks next to him, sighed, and started the journey into his world.
"I think what I want to know first is how?" It wasn't the clearest question.
"I already told you how I died"
"No, I mean how did you stay? Does everyone stay?"
"Honestly, I don't know. All I can remember was playing in the game. Then everything went black. When I woke up, nobody was there."
"Did it hurt?"
"No. I felt a sudden shock of cold, then darkness. I didn't remember who I was or where I was. I didn't even know where I lived." He continued explaining.
I couldn't imagine the loneliness he felt that night.
"It took hours before my memories started coming back- the last memory being my death. I walked home and found all the lights off. I tried to knock, but I couldn't touch the door. That was when I knew what I was."
"You didn't just instantly know?"
"No. There was no handbook or spirit guide. I was on my own." he chuckled. That deep laugh set me at ease.
"Have you met others?" I asked nervously as I imagined a world full of ghosts walking unknowingly beside everyone.
"Yes, there are so many."
"Are there any around us now?" I looked around wide eyed. I cringed at the thought of being watched without me knowing.
"Yes, there is one sitting on the other side of you" He stated.
I jumped and moved to the other side of Reed.
"Are you serious?!?" My skin crawled.
"No I was just kidding" he started laughing.
"Very funny dead boy." I shot him he dirtiest look my round face could force out.
"The reason I like this place is because nobody is around- dead or alive"
I started thinking about all of the ghost movies I have seen and how they acted, their abilities and wanted to find out what was made in Hollywood and what the truth was.
"So tell me about being a ghost. You can walk through walls and just appear and disappear. Is there anything else you can do?"
"Actually there is a lot more to being a ghost than most know." He confessed.
"Can you move things? Can you fly?"
"We can move things but it’s a skill you have to learn, and I just haven't learned it yet. I can fly though. That's just a matter of concentration."
"How does the appearing and disappearing thing work?"
"I just think about where I want to be and I appear there." He shrugged.
I kept asking the trivial questions, but there was one that I really needed to know.
"Can you be touched?"
"There is a way, but it takes a lot out of me. And in this form I won't know when I am hurting you. We don't have the same sense of touch." He answered cryptically.
"What do you mean?"
"It's kind of like when your fingers are numb and you have to press harder to feel objects. Only, we are completely numb." He frowned. "Let me show you." He continued.
"Sit on your hand for a few minutes." He commanded.
"Ok." I slid my hand under me and sat back down, looking into his eyes as he gazed into mine.
"Ok, now take it out and touch the rock."
I did as he said. The numbness in my fingers made the rough rock seem softer as I pressed harder, trying to feel the surface.
"Your whole body is this way?"
"Yes, only much worse."
"I couldn't imagine living that way." I commented.
"Luckily I'm not living." He laughed.
"Is there any other way you can be touched or… touch someone?" I was determined.
I wanted to get an answer I could live with. If it was possible to touch, there may have been a chance for us.
"There is another way, but I won't do it." His lips rested to a straight line.
"What way?"
Since the day I saw him I always imagined what it would be like to kiss him. If I had the chance, I would take it.
"Come on, I'll show you"
I followed him through the woods, exiting to the retirement home on the other side of the forest. It only made me more confused as he led me through the doors and down the hall. He searched room after room as we dodged the staff.
"Ok here, watch." He walked through the closed door; I followed him by using the knob. I was a little jealous.
"Can you see her?" He whispered.
"Yes" I whispered back, trying not to draw attention.
The elderly man lay motionless in the bed. The sound of his heart monitor was faint, each beat slowing. A young woman stood beside him. At first I thought it was his granddaughter visiting. But her flowing motions were similar to Reed's.
She reached her hand out and held it above his chest. In one flowing motion she dropped it into him. I stood watching- nervous. His heart monitor started beeping wildly and then nothing. I knew I had just watched him die.
The woman quickly removed her hand from his chest and stayed still. I could see the faint glow around her disappear. Freckles that were hidden behind the glow appeared and her motions were less fluid.
She stared at me startled and quickly walked past. I watched her reach for the door knob and turn it as she smiled- she was human again.
"What just happened?" I asked confused.
"She's a taker. We have the ability to take souls, which lets us become human again." He explained.
"So you can become human again like her? Why are you staying a ghost then?"
"It isn't permanent. There are time limits based on the age of the soul. In her case she has about an hour, since the man was so old."
"What about someone younger? Like me?" I asked.
I was curious but quickly regretted subtly offering my soul.
"Someone like you would give us a week or so."
"So to stay human you would have to keep taking souls?"
"Yes, that's why we call them takers. Some of them are ruthless and have taken brand new souls. It disgusts me."
"Brand new- like newborn?" I felt my stomach knot up.
"Yes. A soul that young is good for a month or more. I promised myself that I wouldn't take a soul, I couldn't imagine killing someone to be human for a short time." His face held a grimace that made me uneasy.
"With all these ghosts walking around, even as humans, how can anyone tell?" I was suddenly scared to be alive.
I shivered at the thought of sharing a bus seat with the dead- or being scouted as the next taken soul. I'm worth a week of humanity, for some that would be enough to take me.
"There is a way to tell but you have to really look. Follow me." He walked back through the door- I huffed as I had to open it.
"Look around. This is the perfect place to find one. With so many elderly that could pass at any moment, it's like a buffet to takers." He pointed out.
I scoured the halls for any sign of a taker. Everyone seemed so normal, going about their daily routine.
"I can't tell who is really alive" I squinted as I looked at each passing person.
"Look into their eyes. You are looking for someone with blank emotionless eyes." He explained.
Nurses, doctors, visitors and even janitors passed by and I looked into the eyes of each one.
"Is he one of them?" I pointed to a doctor standing at the nurse's station. His eyes were pale and lifeless.
"Yes, you got it" He smiled proudly.
"And her?" I pointed to a middle aged woman tending to a patient in a wheel chair. No sooner did I ask did she look at me.
"Yes her too"
"This is extremely disturbing" I commented. "If they only get an hour from older sou
ls, why do they take them?"
I put myself in their shoes. If I were a taker, I would want to take as little as possible.
"Accountability- if an elderly person dies in a place like this, they assume natural causes. If someone younger dies mysteriously, it is often followed by an investigation." He explained- it made sense.
"So all you have to do is reach in and take the soul?" I wanted to know every detail so I knew what to watch out for.
"Only for those close to death, for younger souls we have to jump in."
"Jump in?" It sounded violating.
"Yes, we literally enter the body and absorb the soul. It replaces theirs with ours and when we leave, the person dies." I could almost see the chill run through him as he explained it- even when appearing solid, he was transparent.
We started out of the building as I watched the eyes of everyone we passed. Each time I caught a glimpse of cold dead eyes I jumped inside my skin.
"So you can actually jump into a body?" I remembered him reaching out to me and how is fingers flowed through mine.
"Yes, for different reasons."
"What other reason is there?"
"We can take control of a body also."
"Have you ever done that?" He was starting to scare me again.
"No. It takes a lot out of us and it harms the soul of the person if you stay in too long."
"How could people not know all of this? This entire world hidden in ours should have already been discovered."
"People don't want to know or else they wouldn't ignore the signs. Others justify the unexplained by naming it or blaming some religion."
"Religion?"
I didn't even think about religion. The existence of souls must mean there is a Heaven and Hell.
"Yeah. You know about possessions?" He laughed.
"Well of course, but I thought they were all faked."
"Everyone thinks a possession is the work of demons, but most of the time it's one of us spending too much time controlling a body. The body eventually breaks down."
We made our way back through the woods and to my street. The sun was beginning to set and the streetlights came on. I still had so many questions but I needed to process what I had already learned and find a way to live with knowing what was out there.
How was I supposed to go back to my life? I knew I would be looking into the eyes of everyone I knew and came across.
"Will I see you tomorrow or are you afraid of me now?" His lips were pressed tightly together.
"I don't think I have the choice to stay away" I smiled, reassuring him.
I turned to walk away and he simply disappeared. I did envy his ability to just appear where he wanted to be. I on the other hand still had to walk until my 18th birthday, which was fast approaching.
I was a little excited about finally being able to drive my own car and go wherever I wanted to go. But with everything that was happening, it was low on my priority list.
What I really wanted was to understand this new world I was a part of and know exactly what my role in it would be. And what if a ghost decided he wanted a week of life? I couldn't stop a ghost from jumping inside me and taking my soul.
A future with Reed seemed impossible. I couldn't hold his hand, couldn't kiss him, and couldn't bring him home to meet mom and dad, or my friends.
If anyone found out, I would be known as the woman in love with a ghost. I understood why he would refuse to take a soul, but a part of me was hurt that I wasn't worth killing for- a ridiculous thought that made me laugh at myself.
Four
The next morning I chose to play hooky. I wanted to see Reed and find out more about his world. I spent the night waking up from nightmares of dead eyed living ghosts and ruthless ghosts leaping into my body to take my soul. I knew there was much more that I had to learn before I could stop being afraid.
I drank my coffee with my parents as usual but once they left for work, I called Heather and told her I wasn't feeling well. Instead I stayed on the porch waiting for Reed to pop in.
I didn't like having feelings for someone I couldn’t call and command to see me. Instead I found myself constantly waiting on him- something I knew we needed to fix.
"Why aren't you in school young lady?" His soothing voice made me smile as he glided up my driveway.
"I wanted to see you" I confessed shyly.
"Well you're one of the only few I know who can see me."
"Yeah, we need to figure out why that is."
"I'm not sure how. I am as new to being a ghost as you are to knowing about us." He sat on the swing beside me without even moving it. I couldn't fathom getting used to how light he was.
"Do you think a psychic would help?"
I was always skeptical about psychics, people who could communicate with the dead. Now that I was sitting next to and conversing with a ghost, I could see how some of them would be real.
"I tried that once, It didn't work."
"Where do you go at night?" I asked.
"What do you mean?"
"Well, when we say goodnight, you disappear, where do you go?"
"Sometimes I check on Katie. Sometimes I visit myself."
"Visit yourself?"
"Yeah, I visit my gravesite. I know it sounds morbid, but I feel more whole when I am near my body."
"I couldn't imagine how it feels being you. I don't think I ever want to know." I sympathized.
"It beats the alternative." He smiled again.
"Hell?"
"Yeah, it exists. But so does Heaven."
"Wouldn't you rather be in Heaven than wandering around here?"
"I used to think so. But now I have a reason to be here." He smiled at me as his eyes looked deeply into mine.
"There is another place I go. I would like to take you there." He smirked.
"Ok." I agreed curiously.
"It's kind of far, so we will have to take the bus." He explained.
I felt bad about being the slow human holding him back from manifesting wherever he wanted.
"Come on beautiful." He called out from the driveway.
I could feel my cheeks changing color. I had never felt so adored. What kind of love would cause someone to choose me over heaven? There isn't a love story written or sung about that would even come close to how it felt knowing I was his eternity.
The bus pulled to a screeching stop and we got on. I slowly walked down the aisle looking for 2 open seats, all the while looking into the eyes of the passengers. I was relieved when I could see the life in everyone's eyes.
We sat and I fought the urge to talk to him. He knew how it would look if I were talking to myself, so he didn't speak either. I looked out the window as the bus stopped at each stop, letting more people on. Reed sat in the empty seat beside me, making the bus seem fuller to me than everyone else.
The bus quickly filled and there were only a couple more stops before we needed to get off. The bus screeched to another stop and let people on. I didn't even notice the older lady until she was right on top of me.
"May I sit here?" She asked as she started falling on top of Reed.
"Umm…" I couldn't tell her my ghost boyfriend was sitting there, so I held in the laugh as she sat on top of him.
"Oh, there's a chill here." She quickly got up and found another seat.
"That was scary!" Reed laughed wide-eyed, causing me to laugh loudly. I quickly covered my mouth and directed my attention back out the window.
"This is our stop." Reed informed me as the bus screeched again.
We were in a rundown part of town that was home to Asheville's homeless population. I felt safe walking next to Reed even though I knew to them I was just a young girl walking alone.
I tried not to stare or make eye contact as Reed led me down the narrow dirty street. Tents and make-shift lean-tos lined each side of the alley, providing shelter for those who had none.
My heart dropped in my stomach as I passed each one, wishing I could help.
The building looked abandoned. The doors and windows were boarded up and the walls were lined with graffiti.
"I hate to sound like the nagging human, but how do I get in?" I couldn't see an entrance for the ghostly impaired.
"I didn't really think about that." He admitted ashamed.
"Oh, hang on!" He exclaimed as he disappeared through the plywood door that kept me out.
I stood nervously, keeping my eyes on my surroundings. It wasn't the best neighborhood to leave your girlfriend alone in.
I was relieved I didn't have to wait long as I saw the large board shaking and move, exposing an opening big enough for me to fit through. I carefully ducked down and crawled through the hole to find Reed waiting for me.
As I stood and turned toward the door I saw a large man holding the board up. He dropped it and turned around, causing me to jump away from him. His large build was mangled by the bloody hole in his chest.
"Don't be afraid." Reed comforted.
"This is Paul. He is a friend of mine." He introduced.
"Nice to meet you." Paul smiled.
"You too. Thanks for holding the door." I couldn't stop looking away.
"You're right Reed, she is very pretty." Paul commented.
"Thank you." I smiled as I turned to look at him again.
