The Day After I Died

Chapter Three

I walked away as the sirens of about 2 police cars got louder and finally came to a halt. A medic and three officers all ran down the alley to the woman who was in tears. She looked up at them, puffy eyed and one of the officers consoled her, as her small white dog whimpered beside them. I took a final look as I reached the end of the alley, I would never see me again but strangely I was ok with that. The words and life that had once trickled out of my life were finally gone.

I didn't know what to do, where to go. As I walked past people their thoughts filled my mind.

A woman with a pram: "I can't believe he did that, after all I've done for him"

A kid, about 14-15: "shit I told ma I'd be back by 9 she'll kill me."

A couple walking along hand in hand, both their thoughts said: "I don't think this is working out."

It seemed sad, I knew too much about these people's lives but I couldn't turn this new found power off. It was both a curse and a privilege. Many more people and thoughts wandered past, some rushed, some slow, some felt as if they didn't know what to do, as if they were walking but not going anywhere. I took steps forward, like the ones who didn't know where to go. Where could I go?

It wasn't as if I had any priorities, no job, never had or wanted kids, neither did she, of course I had the dog and the cat could they see me? People always said cats could see ghosts. There really was only one place I could go. Our house.

I walked down the familiar streets, it felt like Deja vu, I knew this place but I wasn't in it...if, that made any sense. The nice corner shop with the old lady that seemed to never age and was just at a constant age of around 65, but she was sweet, sometimes would give us discounts or the odd biscuit or two that she always seemed to have tucked away behind a corner.

Walking past the vets, a small but pristine looking building. We used to take the pets there if they were sick. Our dog used to hate going, used to cry and bark but eventually would settle down if given enough treats and snacks. The people in the vets were nice enough, but they always seemed to love the animals more than the people which was both good and bad.

I walked past all the houses I'd never been in, sometimes I'd never even seen the people who lived there. The houses were just empty shells for me, just fillers in scenery for my own little world. Now I wished I'd been more curious of the world and the people in it. I felt selfish for not knowing everyone, not caring about my neighbors enough, but at the same time how could I have known everyone in the world when I hardly knew myself.

I finally arrived to my...former house. The lights were on and I could hear the faint sounds of a TV on inside. She must be home, I was both happy and sad about this information, did she even know what had happened.

I slowly crept up to the door, I didn't know why I was creeping it wasn't like she could see me but at the same time it felt like I was doing something I shouldn't be doing. The door was the same as it had always been, glossy red with an old 24 on the front just above the brass door knocker. There was no point in knocking and I couldn't open it anyway so I closed my eyes and walked forward.

A tingling sensation went through my body, I felt dizzy for a second, like I'd  stood up to fast but then quickly  recovered. I looked around to see the familiar hallway I'd walked in and out of so many times, I then looked behind me to see the inside of the familiar door. It still had the metal cage which covered the post box that would stop our dog chewing up important letters that slid through our door.

I walked through the hallway and into the lounge, she was sat on the L shaped sofa we'd bought together eating a bowl of Cherrios and watching attack on Titan on TV. I was both offended she'd started the next episode without me but at the same time happy she did, I wouldn't want her to stop watching a show she'd always enjoyed.

The landline rang, the piercing noise filling the air, the dog jumped up and barked in shock. She sighed and walked over to the phone that lay in the corner of the room, I could only catch bits of the conversation.

"Is this -" the voice on the other end of the phone said, I didn't catch half of the words.
"Yes it is" she responded.
"We'd like you to come in and identify the body"
"Oh" she sighed and fell silent for a second
"Ma'am?"
"Yes yes, I'm still here sorry"

They exchanged words for a few minutes and finally she put down the phone and muttered a quiet "Fuck" she hardly ever swore, especially not compared to me, our friends always called us opposites in that regard. She put her head in her hands for a few seconds before returning back to the TV and un-pausing the show.