"Who, who, who are you?" She became a heavy stutterer in an instant.The man who stood at the door to the kitchen door walked forward into the living room and the light which Geneva had switched on illuminated his features. He was lean and tall, very tall.Dressed in a white long sleeved shirt and dark suit pants, the only exposed parts of his body where ashen, liveless and cold like a bland winter day."Marry me." These were the two words that came from his deathly pale lips.Geneva was already beginning to breathe out a sigh of relief thinking: turned out it was only one man that came out of nowhere and not 'ghosts'. Maybe a neighbour who came to say 'hi' even though I don't understand how he got into my kitchen. But this train of thought was cut short by the man's words. She choked on her sigh.He watched her without any emotion whatsoever, no anger, no boredom, no mischief, no sinister expression, nothing. He just stood there waiting for her coughing fit
After a series of fervent pleadings, Geneva felt herself being pulled up as easily as plucking a flower. She couldn't help but scowl at that.What a demonic ghost with malicious intentions!She bent with her right hand placed on her knee and the other clutching her chest, heaving and trying to calm her dear heart as she tried to get over the shock of seeing her life flash before her eyes."Go back into the house." Geneva stood properly and looked around. The ghost was gone and in its place was a dense concentration of dark smoke that sent chilly waves down her spine, making her shiver. Upon receiving an order from mere air, she immediately started heading back. Her steps were steady but her heart was running a marathon. She panicked at the ambiguity of those words and tried to come up with a solution. Her brain failed her at a moment its function was dearly needed. She suddenly began to regret her life's choices. She wished that she had not
She was tired. She was in a car with Sharon to see an old friend of Sharon's that was good at fortune telling and exorcism.Even though Geneva wasn't really interested, Sharon had dragged her into the car after listening to her ordeal.She was currently suffering from jet lag. Having arrived at Sharon's apartment a few hours before dawn, although she finally got to have a proper bath, she felt anything but refreshed.She was still sleepy. Even when she managed to get a little sleep, the horrifying series of dreams she was suddenly having was taking a mighty toll on her.She had had quite a number of dreams that felt so real in the past seven hours or so. They had all appeared intermittently and frequently that she couldn't tell which dream belonged to which.At the same time, they had been vague but she could somehow remember just two scenes that had been as clear as day and had a strange effect on her. Exactly how she had felt while holding that peculi
Trembling, Geneva sat on the bare floor. She glanced at Sharon and her eyes popped. A rare sight it was, seeing a serious faced Sharon who sat with shoulders rigid in an upright posture. This is serious, Geneva thought. The room was small, narrow and dimly lit by the red candle on the table. It had only a small window whose curtains kept making different shapes as it danced along with the wind. On the walls and the table they surrounded were bones of various sizes. Geneva hoped those weren't from humans."We have seen it all." The old woman hummed.What was with this we, are they really three witches?"We?" She squeaked as meekly as a rat."The universe, land, ocean, trees, wind, sky and I," The woman said with an air of mystery."Oh.""Give me your hands." The woman demanded as she stretched her own thin hands over the strange items on the table.Geneva swallowed and sat still but not for long. Sharon grabbed her wrists with the power of an elephant and threw them to the waiting pa
"You're late," he said, "to our wedding."The way you say it as if I couldn't intend to escape angers me! A frown grew on her face with this thought. "Yes, yes, I'm late." Despite her pursed lips she still sweetly said, "but I made up for it by making arrangements for the wedding singlehandedly. Okay, Sharon did help a tiny little bit. Look, I even bought candles, wine, flowers — aren't I a good wife-to-be?"Don't you dare get angry and murder me, one could almost hear her silent plea. But he didn't reply. His eyes never left her as it watched her every movement intently.She suddenly became self-conscious but that did not deter her. To be honest, it was quite unsettling to be given such unwanted full attention. She set to work however, setting up and setting up and setting up... all the while still under his watchful gaze!Phew. Geneva wiped her sweat and checked the time. 7:02pm, it was time to prepare. She took a step back to stare at what she'd spent the rest of the day doing.
"I bought drinks, let us drink to our fill." The silence had become so unbearable that Geneva had to do something about it. She must get him drunk to avoid the horror - the unspeakables of a wedding night. But could ghosts drink? The look on his face answered the question. Time for plan B! "Let's talk for a while, shall we?" Geneva sat down and watched him do the same on the single sofa in the room, right beside her. Feeling that familiar iciness in the air surrounding them, the hairs on her body stood instantly. "Let's start with the basics, what is your name?""Nicholas." What an ordinary name. So ghosts do have one. "You said something about being half dead and second chances, what does that mean?" "Recovering my memories gives me access to my body and its location." Oh, so he doesn't know where his body is. Poor ghost. "But, why me?" "I told you. Soulmate." All strength left her. Conversations with this ghost led nowhere. "Ehen, the most important one. Okay how to ask
Geneva cleaned up the mess she'd made of the flowers and candles. It was faster now than the previous night she spent setting them. Then, she silently made her way back into the bedroom and to the bathroom. It's better to finish all these affairs while he is his strange self, she muttered to herself. She was through in less than ten minutes, made it to the kitchen and prepared a breakfast of milk and toast in another ten.As she set them in the little space meant for dining in the small kitchen, she glanced again at him. Noting that Nicholas was still in that same position like a statue, she felt an odd feeling which she would like to dismissively call pity, prick her heart, so she walked to him.Wiping her hands on her jean skirt to heat them up, Geneva lightly touched the cold body.Goosebumps that bore standing hairs traveled from the tip of the finger that she had nudged his shoulder with and down to her toes.Sad blue orbs met her dark ones and she shivered from its intensity.
A game of ten questions. The perfect way of finding out from someone exactly what you want to know. At least it was a perfect technique Sharon used on her. It simply involved taking turns to ask each other questions. Once you've gotten the other trapped in a leading question, you proceed by asking the other a series of 'whys' for each answer given. More than ten questions weren't allowed. "Nicholas," she called softly, "what is your full name?""I know not the answer to your question."She frowned. "Your family, do you remember your parents? Any siblings? Surely, they must know where your body is.""I know not the answer to that question either." He said, his tone neutral.Geneva was beginning to get frustrated again so she said, "it's your turn now. Ask me any question you want to know the answer to."He once again became mute. Geneva was exasperated. Her husband, she sadly realized now, was as interested in knowing more about her as she was in knowing why ants don't fly.Freeing h