Everybody hates Death *ON HOLD*

Chapter Six - Never in my life have I seen a chandelier in a kitchen

My throat was dry and my hands were shaking as I knocked on the front door of Ruby's house. By the time she answered I was already finding it hard to breathe. Damn. Why hadn't I brought my inhaler?

"Mort?" She said, sounding surprised. 

I smiled as wide as my cheeks would allow. Was I socializing correctly? I lifted my hand and waved at her, still smiling and wheezing loudly. Was this friendly? Was I just being creepy? Ruby shifted her eyes from side to side and shuffled awkwardly in the doorway. Creepy. Definitely creepy. Try talking. 

"Hi Ruby!!" I probably should have tried to sound less enthusiastic but I didn't want to alarm her. I just wanted to check that she was still...you  know.... alive. 

"Um, hey." She was clearly trying her best not to appear completely freaked out. "Are you okay?" She asked, probably referring to the fact that I was now shaking in her doorway. 

"Me? Oh yeah....yeah this is, uh, this is completely normal for me." I replied, placing my hands on my hips to hold myself still. Ruby didn't look convinced but finally she grinned back at me and motioned me inside. 

"Come in. I'll get you a glass of water." She shut the large oak door behind me. 

The house was bigger than it had appeared from the outside. The living room along must have been the size of an average school gym. The walls and ceiling were painted cream and the furniture was all light blue. On one side of the living room there sat a large fire place which roared and crackled with life. Above the fireplace there hung a large antique mirror. The room was the very definition of grand. 

I wandered into the kitchen where Ruby stood by a large marble sink, running  water into a crystal glass. Never in my life had I seen a chandelier in a kitchen and yet there it was, hanging proudly over the white tiled kitchen counter. 

Everything seemed normal in the house as far as angry spirits went. Perhaps she hadn't been talking about this Ruby. 

"This house is..." I didn't really know how to complete my sentence. It was breathtaking if anything. 

"Way over the top? Yeah, I know. My mum's an interior decorator so you can blame her. Her and my dad are at a convention in Sussex right now. She's really into that "fang shoe" stuff." She handed me the crystal glass which I took reluctantly for fear of breaking it. 

"You mean "Feng Shui"?" I said, chuckling to myself. 

"Are you sure that's how its pronounced? Because I always thought..." Ruby stopped mid-sentence as I turned away from her and headed towards the other side of the kitchen, something catching my eye. In front of a large panoramic window stood a small pub table that held a flower vase and a few photo frames. One photo in particular had caught my eye. It was a photo of two small girls, each must have been no more than seven years old, sitting on the floor surrounded by teddy bears and tiny china tea cups, smiling. One of the girls had Ruby's blonde curly hair and freckles. She wore a black hoodie with jeans and white tennis shoes and she was pulling a face at the camera. Definitely Ruby.  The other girl wore a frilly pink dress and her black hair was pulled into a messy sort of bun. I could only assume she had styled it herself as strands were still hanging loose at the back and sides. The loose hairs at the front were scraped back by a plastic tiara. I almost didn't recognize her without the dirt on her face and the rings around her eyes. She was actually smiling here and looking perfectly happy. It was her though, for sure. 

"Ruby, who is that girl?!"