SPECTRAL

Chapter 7

 Noah couldn't be happier. After spending the majority of his life rotting away in the school system, he was finally done. He was free. When Noah had gotten his diploma he waited for everyone else to get theirs. He was happy his last name was Price because he didn't have to wait too much longer until the ceremony was over.

As the graduation song was played for the second time and his peers slowly departed in the practiced order, his leg shook with anticipation.

Today was the big day. The day he would finally leave home. He was old enough, and now he had no reason to stay. Sure he didn't really have much planned yet, but he was ready. Noah had money saved up from his job at the local store, enough to last him until he got a new job. He already had an apartment ready for him, all he needed was to move in.

His parents were not like other parents in the crowd. The others around them were all happy, bright smiles stretched across their faces. They were not. They knew that Noah was leaving them, that he wouldn't be going to college. They knew that he would not contact them for a long while. But they couldn't do anything, it was his choice alone. And he made it years ago.

When the ceremony was finally over, Noah booked it out of the high school, a smile growing over his pale face. His parents rushed after him, apologizing to the families that were in his path. They wanted to say goodbye, they knew he was leaving that moment. No matter how much they tried to persuade him to wait at least one day, one hour, or one minute, he wouldn't have it. His parents watched as Noah rushed into his car and drove out of there as fast as he could, not even glancing back in their direction.

Noah drove in a frenzy, he was excited. Finally, he was free from school, from his parents, from the judgemental looks from his peers. He sped through the streets, a wide smile on his face. It took hours for him to reach his new apartment, his new home. But Noah didn't care, he was free.

As he walked into the building, relief washed over him. He was so glad that he already figured everything out so all he had to do today was to move in. Luckily for him, Noah had everything packed perfectly. It only took him a couple of hours until his new home was organized how he wanted it to be. For the first time in years, he felt like he was home.

---

Noah really was free. It had been a couple of days since he moved in and he didn't have to hide anymore. He could freely converse with his friends and play with Charley often. There was no longer a need to worry about his parents seeing him interacting with ghosts, there was no need to be cautious with his friends in his own home.

The apartment has really grown on him. It was mainly white and gray, but he added splashes of pink around the apartment. On the walls hung some messy flower paintings that he made, along with drawings of his friends. His favorite was the family portrait.

It was not like the usual family portrait. His mother and father were not present. Instead, there was Noah in the middle holding Charley. Around him stood his friends. Mildred had a hand on his shoulder, a smile on her wrinkled face. On the other side of him stood Josh ruffling Claire's hair and an arm slung around Noah. Then Joey stood by Mildred, his hand grasping hers and a wide grin on his face. This was his family.

Since Noah was in a new place, he met many new ghosts. There is an older man, whom got along nicely with Mildred and spoke fondly about his relatives. He is currently watching over his great great great granddaughter. Then there's a young girl, that spoke stories about her life, all revolving around a hospital. And there are two twins. One was in his teens while the other was in her early fifties. They never left each other's side, claiming that they had been apart too long and they would never let it happen again. Of course, those weren't the only ghosts around his new home. But after trying to converse with them he learned quickly that not all ghosts are friendly. Many just wanted to disappear, and any contact with the living caused them to enter fits of rage.

Noah felt normal. He didn't receive judgemental glares from his peers, concerned looks from his parents, or the questioning looks from strangers. It was the first time in a long time that Noah felt normal.

Currently, Noah was cooking pasta. It always felt weird when he prepared food because he wasn't the only person in the apartment. He always felt like he had to cook for his friends, for the other ghosts that stayed in his home. But he couldn't. They would not be able to eat whatever he prepares for them.

Whenever Noah cooks, Claire always hovered around him. When she was alive, Claire loved to cook. She would watch him, fascinated. It always caused a pang of guilt to resonate through his chest. He could do what she enjoyed, but she couldn't.

The young girl that lived the majority of her life in a hospital was there as well. She was slowly becoming another of Noah's close friends. She spoke animatedly as he waited for the water to boil, "I've always wondered what it was like to make food. My mother used to tell me one day I would. One day in the future I would be able to make food for myself. But I was always too weak to cook anything by myself."

Noah responded, "That must've sucked." He silently cursed himself for the stupid reply.

"Yeah, it did." She paused before continuing, "The nurses always told me that I would be able to cook one day. All except Elaine. She never sugar coated anything for me. Told me up front that I will most likely never have the chance to cook anything by myself." She sighed, "She offered me to help her make something someday. Since she knew how badly I wanted to cook. But I refused. I wanted to cook by myself, without any help."

"She sounds like a nice woman."

"The best."

The water was finally boiling and Noah dumped in some pasta, "Mia," he began, "I never asked. How did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Go to the hospital. I can barely stand hospitals, especially after my last visit to one. So how did you live your life in one?"

Mia smiled, "Well, it was all I knew at the time. To go in and out of the hospital. Not only that, but it was safer. If I was in the hospital, the doctors were there to help me through all the symptoms. At home it was scary. I knew my parents didn't know how to help, I knew how far away we lived from the hospital. So I put up with it. For me, it was normal."

Noah understood. He grew up with seeing ghosts, something that wasn't normal in the slightest. But it was all he ever knew. He didn't know that no one else could see them. It was normal to him. Only when he realized that it was not normal for everyone else did he hate it. He understood.

After that, they stood in silence. Noah finishing cooking the pasta. Mia sitting on the table, swinging her legs back and forth. And Claire watching Noah cook.

---

"I don't get it. I get that you become ghosts after you die, but how?"

Mildred gave him a blank stare as Josh responded, "Well, we don't really know. One second we were alive and the next we were looking down at our bodies. Kind of weird when you think about it..."

"Yes, but how?"

Mildred sighed, "No one knows, Noah. It's not like scientists can see the process and do research."

Joey scrunched up his nose in disgust, "Who would want to research that? You would have to watch people die!"

There was a silence before Noah responded, "But what if I researched it? I mean, how cool would that be? To see what happens to the body after death, to know the truth!"

"Noah, you would have to watch people die."

"I could be the first person to understand death! I mean, I already know a lot about it considering I have all of you, but I would know everything. Well, maybe not everything..."

"Noah, you do realize how hard it would be to research-"

"I could make so much money! I could become famous! Wait- How would I be able to tell anyone and have them actually believe me?"

"Noah, you can't."

The others watched in amusement as Noah and Mildred bickered. Finally, Noah caved, "You know what, that would be gross. After all, it could be a disgusting process."

Mildred shook her head in exasperation. They always ended up like this. Noah had so many questions he wanted to be answered. It didn't help how stubborn the boy was. Just the other day Noah had tried to figure out what ghosts were made of. Let's just say that Claire was staying far away from Noah for a while.