Ghost and the Writer

Princess

This was not the same apartment she had haunted for the last seventeen years, within a week she hadn't been here, the very air had changed.

Mandy shouldn't be able to smell anything, but now she could - it scented of a forest and there was moss growing on the floors and walls and, from where she stood, she could see more greenery deeper within.

Mandy placed down August's phone and power cells at a place near his shoes which had not been taken over by moss. In fact, at about a two-step distance from the door, there was almost a straight line running along the walls separating the growth off from a normal looking hall.

So... she needed to go in and wake August up. Floating past the line separating the moss off, she let out a breath... huh? The sensation of an actual breath passing her lips could be felt.

In wonder, she floated a few steps space further and her feet settled down in the fuzzy moss. It wasn't quite her full living weight, but she felt solid. Her hands had lost their transparency and some sensations returned. The moss felt soft and a bit cool, the air scented fresh and alive and she could feel the fabric of her dress fluttering over her tights. She touched her own hands, feeling their texture and warmth. That weird dreamcatcher dream had given her a body, but not a sensation this real.

Undead dryad forests could do this, but... how could there be something like that in a small apartment? And she hadn't seen any trees sticking outside of the building or branches going out the windows, yet there were clearly tree branches deeper within and some had even stuck out and grown leaves on the ceiling of this hall, making it seem like she was walking under thick foliage.

The light from the windows seeped in, illuminating a light fog deeper within. If Mandy had to describe it was merely thicker air, retaining a lot of its transparency, yet sparkling and sending flickering lights through it, over it, in an organic, magical way. The book had said the light and dark alignment aether were clashing, but to Mandy, it looked like a conversation. It was too slow and beautiful to be described in an aggressive way like that. Small colorful mushrooms and flowers were sprouting out all over the place, the only thing missing were animals. The place was silent, a bit too silent. Maybe even holy in its serenity.

How on earth did cursed forests get their name if they were this sacred in appearance? Either this place was an exception or the 'everyone-was-hating-it-for-plot-reasons' was happening in real life. And why exactly was it so bad that undead gained bodies and could make kids in places like this? If there were spaces of this sort... where undead might not even need to consume extra aether - wasn't that a good thing? Yet it was true that Mandy had no idea about other undead (a part she regretted not reading), so perhaps it was a bit too soon to jump to any conclusions.

The deeper she went, the more alive she felt, soon regaining every ounce of weight she had had when alive, her hair too stopped floating falling over her shoulders and back. Mandy had expected to spot the sofa with August on it, but her eyes met with green shrubs and thick tree branches sprouting out from the walls, making the room into an overgrown, albeit magical, thicket. The table and chairs had all grown leaves and roots, branches shooting up to the ceiling and spreading out lush leaves.

She walked deeper in, brushing her hand over the new growth. For a moment Mandy let herself be caught up in the magic. Feeling the leaves on her skin, enjoying the sense of touch she now had and enjoying the scent of flowers and life.

Yet it was all soon accompanied by a nagging sense of regret that her brand new cutting board and knives too had grown branches - not to mention the fact that everything had decayed - all metal parts had rusted. The kitchen that had finally looked like a good one, had turned into a place that might have been abandoned for a century. Branches of blooming apple trees were sprouting out from the cupboard where she had kept some apples before and various plants matching other ingredients accompanied them coming out from various places.