Dead Dawn

Chapter 8: The Weight of Heaven

"Is everything okay between us?" I turned to face her, as she did her best to maintain eye contact.

"Not until we're on the same page." She gripped my hand, sitting me down on the same stairs I fumbled down when we first met.

Her hand was borderline vibrating before she got her next words out.

"I was overdoing it, wasn't I?"

"Yeah, maybe a little."

"I wasn't thinking. Well I was, just not how I should've been."

"Elaborate for me?"

"I don't know, I just panicked. Got so focused on you that I didn't make time to listen to my own words."

"It's fine, it happens to us all."

"But not to me, I never fumbled that badly before. I feel like I was disrespecting the bond you had to your family; to your past life."

"Listen, I'm not going to fault you over a slip of the tongue. You were listening in on us right? Otto helped clear things up. You were only trying to help."

"I still feel like I shouldn't have said it. I know how much your parents meant to you."

"It's fine, I mean it. I make fun of you and Otto all the time."

"No, You never make fun of me, and what goes on with you and my dad is different.

You know him, what you say about him can be backed up by his behavior in the house. It makes sense.

But I never met your parents, and I doubt I'll get the chance to. it was out of pocket for me to speak about them like that.

"Listen, I'm really not mad about it. For all I know you could be right, I know my family loved me, but we never had the time to properly understand each other."

"I know. They were out working most of the time right? You've essentially been raising yourself, even before you turned into a spirit."

"It was a shock at first, but you're right. My barbershop experience with your dad was a fatherly experience I haven't been able to experience back at home.

My mom limited me to simple buzzcuts to save on our expenses, and my dad knew nothing about hair anyways."

"Then maybe I was onto something. What would that even mean though?"

"You're the expert on ghosts, aren't you Aurora? I only know what I've experienced on my own already."

"There are no experts on Ghosts Kazumi. Most people don't even think they exist. I'm just throwing ideas, and theories at you until one sticks."

"Then if the world knows nothing, and you only know what I know, wouldn't that mean you know more about ghosts than anyone else in the world?

Out of everyone else in this world, we have the greatest chance to find out the truth. And maybe I'll even find my way to heaven."

Her gaze slowly shifted down the stairs as Amber crawled up the stairs and into her arms.

She froze for a short second before placing my hand on Amber's back

"She's adorable isn't she? Simple and soft."

"Well yeah, she's a cat."

I began to pull my hand back.

"Is everything okay Kazumi?"

"Yeah, I just need to shut off that bathtub faucet before the house gets flooded."