"That's not... it's me, William!" The ghost cried. His hands tingled intensely, stinging Jane's entire arm. The words didn't seem to come from his mouth, but from his whole body. The sound of him saying "William" lingered in the corners of the room and rang in Jane's ears. His voice was deep and silky; it reminded her of dark chocolate. It would have been pleasant to listen to if he weren't so upset.
"I'm sorry, William, I don't know you. Why are you here?" Jane spoke carefully, for fear of upsetting him even more. What would happen if he became angry with her?
The ghost, William, lowered his arms. She didn't see it, but she felt him pushing her hand away. He looked so confused and afraid; Jane felt sorry for him.
"You're Helena," he said, with such conviction that she badly wanted to believe him. "We walk home together every day. I was following you today because you wanted to show me something..."
The ghost's voice shook and split into several echoing harmonies as he went on, wailing and moaning about his memories of the girl he thought Jane was. The voices started telling two different stories at once: they overlapped painfully as one ground against the other and pierced into Jane's ears.
One of the stories sounded familiar. The bits and pieces she could hear properly reminded her of a time she had explored a cave a few miles north of where she lived. The other seemed to be about tending to wildflowers, which sounded lovely but didn't ring any bells. They were both clues.
"Wait, please, go on about the caves." Jane shyly interrupted. The spirit wouldn't listen. The voices continued, screeching, crying, speeding up, slowing down, pleading with her to remember, to take his hand again and explore the lakes and forests, to tell him about the birds, the trees, the clouds. Anxiety swelled up in Jane's chest. Her head was swimming with fragments of thoughts. She was probably being influenced by the ghost's unease, on top of her own fear. It was driving her insane.
"Stop! William! I remember the caves! Tell me about the caves!" Jane yelled, her hands in tight fists at her sides. Good thing her parents worked late and the house was empty. There was no way she could explain this.
The screams dissipated. William looked up at her with bright, hopeful eyes. His parted lips gently curled into an excited grin, and his body turned golden yellow. The next thing he said sounded so warm, so clear, so normal, the only thing that reminded Jane that it was a ghost talking was the fact that she could see her bedroom door through his body.
"I loved that day. You made me love that place."
YOU ARE READING
Ghost Boy (title will change)
RomanceThis a fun story about a ghost who haunts who he believes to be his crush. He doesn't quite understand that he is a ghost, but he knows that no one can hear or see him. That is, until he laughs at something his crush says, and she helps him find who...
