Sanctuary of the Odd

Chapter 22: There Be Ghosts Here!

"Well actually,"

One of the shimmering humanoid bodies floats down to Panchi and looks her in the eyes.

"We're magically recreated mirror manifestations of people who used to be alive. We're not really ghosts."

The other ghosts respond with boos and catcalls.

"We're totally ghosts! Stop saying we aren't!"

"I think we are reincarnations!"

"You don't appear as phantoms of your past self if you reincarnated, dumbass!"

"Well, how do you know? You've never reincarnated before now!"

"It's in the literal definition of reincarnation, dumbass!"

"Do you let the dictionary define your afterlife?"

"That's literally what dictionaries are for!"

"I'll take that as a yes."

"I think we're all metaphors."

"Stop eating forest shrooms, Bob!"

"We can't eat."

"Then stop hovering around forest shrooms! Sheesh, semantics."

"I DIDN'T REACH THE OTHER SIDE! I SHOULD HAVE GONE TO BIRD CHURCH MORE! BAKAW!"

"Goddamn, who let the chicken come along?"

"She's a ghost too, she deserves to attend these meetings."

"This isn't a meeting! We LEFT the meeting to check on the fleshy intruders, remember?"

The area was abuzz of opinions and chatter. I get the distinct feeling these ghost don't get along with each other all that much. Though, that last comment was a tad worrying.

"Hey um, my name is Princess Anne O'Maley, I rule over Sanctuary on the hill up there"

"Oh my god, we got a princess in our midst!"

"God! No one cares if she's a princess!"

"I do!"

"What's a princess doing out here?"

"You sure she's a princess and not just lying?"

"Of course she is! Don't you see her tiara?"

"A tiara doesn't mean she's royalty, you idiot!"

"Ummm... pardon me." I interrupted them. They all go silent to let me speak. "We are here to help a friend of ours. Or well, a friend of a friend. He's lost in the woods somewhere with his buddies."

I try to look around for him with my magic sense, but these ghosts show so brightly that I can't see anything else. It's like how a spotlight somehow makes everything it's not pointed at it more shrouded in dark. Thankfully, I can still see the direction of Sanctuary thanks for Lexine's Crimson Card, but that doesn't help us find Foxman.

"A princess is searching the forest herself?"

"She must be a modest ruler."

"The kind that sleeps in the dirt with her subjects."

"You're thinking of generals."

"Same difference."

"It really isn't."

"It even isn't for a friend but for a friend of a friend! How caring!"

"God, no one cares why she's here!"

"Everyone does dude, that's why WE are here!"

"Well, I don't!"

"Maybe her journey here was metaphorical."