Specters

Chapter Five

I groan as I roll out of bed. I rub at my eyes and once I'm done I see Seria before me. 

"You have got to stop watching me sleep, it's creepy," I say as I head towards the kitchen. I hear Seria behind me sigh and say, "I get lonely. Plus it's not like I can sleep myself. Ghosts don't sleep."

"Stop trying to defend yourself, there's plenty you could do instead of watching me sleep. You could star gaze, you could wonder the town, the woods, you could go to the bottom of the local river."

"I've already done all of that, plus more. Remember I've been like this for centuries with no one to talk to. Not even other ghosts. Not that I can find any." I sigh as I decide to drop it knowing this conversation won't go anywhere. Seria gets anxious and lonely really easily if I'm not near her. I have no idea how she survived centuries alone. Though I suppose forced isolation is hard on a person's mind. 

As I round the corner to enter the kitchen I see my moms. 

"Hey, sweetie, we heard you talking. Was it with Seria?" Pearl asks adjusting her wicks. 

"Yeah, she won't stop watching me sleep even though I've asked her to and stated that it's creepy." I ignore when I hear Seria behind me huff.

"I can imagine that the isolation that Seria has been through has been rough on them but that certainly doesn't excuse their behavior. Maybe you two can come to a middle ground?" Pearl asks.

"Like what?"

"I'm not sure that's something the two of you would have to talk about." I nod my head and so does Seria.

"What do you want to eat?"

"I'm good with cereal."

---

I open the front door to see Remi and Luna. I welcome them in and we head to my room. When we enter I see Seria by the window overlooking her parent's graves. I sit on my bed and Remi joins me and Luna sits on the floor. Seria notices and stands by Luna. 

"So any idea where any body parts of Seria might by?" Remi asks pulling out her phone. 

I shake my head and so does Seria. "All I know is that the man who killed me cut up my body and buried the parts in different spots around town. I've never really looked for them because I never thought I'd be able to," Seria says and I repeat what she said.

"Well that makes some things difficult, do you remember things from that time?" Seria says no and I tell them that.

"We'll figure this out, okay? It just may just take some time." Luna says as they try to reassure everyone. We talk for a while until it gets dark out then they both head home. I get ready to head to bed. 

---

I hear yelling in my ear as I startle awake. I sit up and turn to glare at Seria. "What! Were you watching me sleep again?" 

"No! I was outside your door when I felt a calling to go somewhere."

"Where?"

"I don't know yet, but I think this has to do with my body parts." I nod my head as I get my phone and send a text to Remi and Luna. I also notice that it's nearing midnight, meaning I got about four or five hours of sleep. I then get ready to wonder around town after dark with a shovel.

I thought about asking of this could wait until morning but honestly I didn't want to risk Seria losing the feeling she had. So following a ghost in the dark in a town I'm unfamiliar with it is. 

After walking for about 30 minutes we come to a cemetery. I give Seria a look while she ignores me and walks past the graves but into the woods beyond them.

"Seria, what are you doing?" I hiss.

"I'm following the feeling," she suddenly stops, "Here. A part of me is here."

I sigh as I get ready to dig where Seria was. I then notice her looking around rapidly with a scared look on her face. I was about to ask what was wrong when she said, "We need to leave, now!"

I was about to ask why when we heard a twig snap behind us and turn to look at it. Above the twig is a man with a wicked smirk on his face, "Whoops, there goes my grand entrance."

I feel Seria take a step behind me and turn to look at her. She looks terrified, confused, and horrified. She knows who he is.

"Seria, who is this man?" I whisper barely above my voice.

She takes a moment to answer me as her eyes run up and down the lanky man. Her pupils diluting and shrinking over and over. 

"The man who killed me," is her answer.