DOE

P O S S E S S I O N

When you wake up in the morning,I am already gone. It's 3 o'clock as I wander through the streets of Cortburg, making my way right for Old Jim's teashop. It's where me and my new friends like to hang out. Laurie, Maria and Jessi are sitting in a table outside the cafe. Jessi waves at me, pulling out a chair for me. I look round quickly. Thankfully no one noticed. I sit down quickly.

"What's up pal!?" She gives me a high five. I look around at Laurie and Maria.

Laurie is grim, but Maria's practically bouncing on her seat. She waits for Jessi to stop talking about how she freaked out one of her fans by leaving an autograph on her favourite 'Sparkle' T-shirt.

When Jessi stops to survey her freshly painted nails, Maria speaks up.

"Oh, Sparrow. You know how you've always wanted to talk to Mae again, and how you're sad that she hasn't bothered to talk or
socialize with anyone after your death? Well, I've got the perfect solution. You can thank me later."

She pushes a heavy-bound leather book towards me.

"I visited my dead grandmother in her ancient Victorian house that she haunts. She told me quite a little bit about what ghosts can do." She flips the book open, sifting through the battered yellow pages and pointing to a paragraph. "It says that ghosts can possess people. I'm just saying that if you really, really want to see Mae, you can possess someone. And I've also got the perfect person for you to possess. Her name is Jasmine Leopard. Her parents are out of town for atleast a month. She's quite quirky.  I like her!"

She laughs. The tinkling sounds of faded laughter hang in the air, and a young child sitting with her mother looks up at the air. He looks spooked, and shakes his mother's shoulders, but she seems to be preoccupied with an angry phone call, emitting quite a few strings of colorful words. I shake my head.

"Maria. That might just be the stupidest thing I've heard."

"No! Sparrow, you don't understand! Mae needs you. And it's not stupid at all. Jasmine won't be missed. Her parents are out of town, she's living all alone, and she's not very popular at school. You can use her body to talk to Mae."

I look at my feet. They're clad in silver stilettos which I materialized into this morning. The best thing about being a ghost is that you can wear whatever you want to.

I nod. Jessica claps me on the back. I look at Laurie. She's been quiet all this time. Old Jim walks up to us, Lilac, his German Shepherd lolloping at his heels. Maria turns to him, pushes the book into his hands, explaining her strategy.

"What do you guys think?"

Old Jim looks up. He seems flustered. "I don't know, Sparrow dear. Possession...it's only done by poltergeists, the likes."

Laurie bites her perfectly manicured nail. "Sparrow..." She says, in a quiet voice. "If this is gonna make you and Mae happy, then you should do it. Do what makes you feel good. Do what's right."

I turn to Jessi. She smiles. "I'm cool either way, man."

I stand up. "Okay, Maria. But I don't want to delay this any longer. I want it over with, now. Hear me? Show me Jasmine. I'm possessing her right now."

Maria gives me a terse nod. She stands up. "There she is."

I jolt. "What's she doing here?"

"She's right where's she's supposed to be. I've timed everything out perfectly."

I scrape back my chair. The child notices, jumping. He pulls harder at his mother's rose silk camisole. The mother swats the child's hand away.

I run up to Jasmine, and force myself into her body. My skin and limbs dissolve into fragments, whirling in the air, forming curlicues around Jasmine, and then finally forcing me into her body. Jasmine goes lax.

I'm in her body.