A Penny For My Thoughts ~ phan

THE END

Dan

"I need you to help me get rid of a body."

When I saw the caller ID I felt a mix of relief and guilt knowing that it's been a longer time since I've seen Persimmon than since I've seen her horribly ruthless sidekick. Over the past two months I've become very fond of her company, her placing number two on my friends list. Even if there is only three people including a ghost with a simple job to do. She's come to mean a lot to me and god knows why I've resorted to keeping my distance from her. It's not like she was the one to scream at me just to watch me break harder than the broken thing I already was.

She would've comforted me if she were there, probably tell me some jokes. Like she's doing now.

"Oh, Persimmon. If you want to hang out so bad you could just say so," I reply, rolling over on the bed to make shapes out of the eggshell popcorn ceiling. I only feel a little discomfort as I move. Said third ghost friend would be proud. I haven't seen her in a little while, have I? I wonder how she's doing...

"Gee golly, you caught me," she says, her voice phonier than a doctor trying to convince a child that a shot won't hurt one bit. "I can't stand being away from you. I'm in town behind the jewelry store. Just get over here. And bring a mop."

With that, she ends the call, leaving me to finish tracing a dismembered Mickey Mouse out of the pinpricks in the ceiling with my eyes. Flopping my arms to my sides, my smile shrinks in just the tiniest of ways, my thoughts suddenly captured by what on earth she needs a mop for. Unless her sense of humor is something more advanced than I can even begin to understand.

I haul myself out of bed. Try for a chuckle by the front door. Leave empty handed.

¢¢¢¢¢¢¢

I didn't think Persimmon was the type to go to any crowded outdoors location on her own free will. Being Phil's best friend, they should have that much in common. Not to mention all her skillfully crafted self-deprecating jokes about her social life.

However, she specifically mentioned a shop downtown. Better yet, the area behind a shop downtown. Because that's not weird at all. I guess I still have a lot to learn about her.

Luckily, despite rarely leaving the house in my lifetime, the downtown area isn't too big so I'm able to navigate my way around without a second thought. Pandora reaches my line of vision, vanquishing the regret of walking past Starbucks without getting a coffee that was gnawing at my mind. Stepping past a slow few, I nearly reach for the door handle before remembering Persimmon's strange instructions.

But then, maybe it isn't such a good thing that I remembered.

No one else has any plan to go in the direction of her demands and the aura I feel on my lifeless skin tells me she did that on purpose. In my head I count the possible bad omens I encountered on my way here, here where the sounds are a haunted parade of grunts, pacing, and cursing in Persimmon's tongue. What could've happened?

There's only one way to find out.

So I charge in. My sight, the most helpful sense of them all, knocking me into darkness of an explosive pain harsher than I could ever describe.

Like a fallen angel, there lays a bloody human. Everything is dark, from the cakey stains of red splattered all across their body to the unusual bluish tint of their hair. They look like they could be sleeping. If this were a movie, the rise and fall of their clean chest would be synchronized with the bubbling of pancakes from downstairs. A friend, family member, lover or pet would be drinking in the comfort of their innocence from the doorway.

Like someone who just got dog poop on their shoe, there stands a frustrated Persimmon.

"Took you long enough. I don't have all day, you know," she snaps, bringing me out of my horrified trance only to bring me right back in with her grimy, blood soaked gloves and face to match. "And didn't I tell you to bring a mop? Ugh, you are useless."