Status: Complete.
Ghost of You
55 : Bill
One year. One year. If Mom doesn’t show up within that year, I’ll be theirs. I’ll officially be a Listing.
There were tears in Mrs. Listing’s eyes as she told me. I smiled as they rambled on about how exciting this was, but a strain was on my heart. I was torn. I wanted to stay with the Listings, I really did, but at the same time... I wanted my mom. I wanted to her to show up. I wanted to know she was safe.
“A year will go by so quick,” Mrs. Listing was saying from the sink in the kitchen, hands deep in soapy water. I smiled and turned, heading up the stairs.
The day had been spent trying to tune in to what everyone else had been saying, but it was hard to focus. Thanatos’s words kept repeating over and over in my head. I have to dig my brother from his grave. Literally dig him from his grave.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was stopped in the doorway of the game room. Gustav looked over at me, smiling and lifting his can of soda towards me.
Georg frowned at me, watching my face carefully. “What’s up?” he mumbled, looking away.
It felt like I was swallowing a stone. “I need to talk to you.”
Alarmed. That was how they were. To say the least, anyway.
I took Georg and Gustav on a walk to the graveyard, and we found ourselves standing in front of Bill’s grave.
Georg turned around and glared at me when he realized where I had led them.
Sighing, I took a deep breath and began to tell them everything. And I mean everything. The first time I saw Bill’s ghost, about the carnie, Thanatos and his crazy sisters, the librarian and her cat, the book. All of it.
And when I was done, it was silent. Eerily silent.
Georg’s mouth was practically to the ground, his eyes huge. Gustav’s mouth was pressed in a firm line, and his eyes kept darting this way and that.
“So...” Gustav asked after a while, taking a slight step back, probably hoping I wouldn’t notice. “What uh, what exactly are we doing here?”
I sighed and shut my eyes. “I know this all sounds crazy,” I said, “but it’s true. All of it. And last night, I talked to Thanatos again-”
“Crazy God dude?” Gustav interjected.
“Yeah, and...” I took a deep breath and rushed out the rest of the sentence, making all my words jumble together. “Hetoldmehe’sgivingBillaghostheartandtocomedighimfromhisgravetonight.” Another deep breath, my voice lowering. “Which is why I brought you two. He told me to bring only those who I could trust with this secret.”
Georg’s mouth opened wider, if possible.
“Look,” I said weakly, “I just want you guys to believe me.”
“And if we don’t?” Gustav asked, swallowing.
“You better.”
The three of us whirled around at the voice.
“Sarah!” Georg cried. “What are you doing here?” He rushed over to her. She swatted him away.
That’s when I noticed what she was trying desperately to hold up. A shovel. It had made a path in the ground where she had dragged it.
“What?” he hissed. “Where did you get that?”
“None of your business. Look, Tom’s telling the truth,” she squeaked.
“Sarah,” I started.
“No,” she said, turning to Georg. “Crimson wasn’t lying. I see colors.”
“You see colors?” Gustav piped in.
I turned to him. “Auras,” I told him quickly.
“Yeah!” Sarah said. “And when Tom’s lying, he gets a certain color around him.”
“So?” Gustav asked. Sarah turned to him.
“So!” she squeaked again. “He’s not glowing that color. He isn’t lying. He’s telling the truth.”
Georg turned to me, anger quickly filling his eyes. “She really sees auras?” he hissed. I nodded. “And you knew?” I nodded again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I spread my arms out wide. “Would you have believed me? Look, I thought by keeping all this quiet, I was doing everyone a favor. And running around yelling about me seeing my dead brother’s ghost? That wouldn’t have turned out well for anyone.”
“I believe you,” Gustav said quietly. We all turned to him. He put his hands up and took a few steps back. “But this isn’t my problem. If you want to dig up your brother’s coffin, well, be my guest. And if he’s actually in there...” Gustav took a deep breath. “But I can’t help you until then.”
Georg nodded and pulled Sarah back behind him as I started crossing towards them, grabbing up the shovel. He snarled at me.
“If you’re lying,” he called at my back as I pushed the shovel in on top of Bill’s grave, pulling up the first pile of dirt, “don’t bother coming home with us tonight.”
The sun was nearly gone. Sarah and Gustav stood lookout around the grave as I continued to dig. Georg never took his eyes off me.
I was sweating, my shirt soaked. Blisters covered both of my hands, some blood coating the handle of the shovel. I threw it down, wiping at my forehead, exasperated.
“There’s gotta be another way to do this!” I cried. It would take forever to dig out Bill’s entire grave by myself.
And that’s when the ground started to shake. Little tremors underneath my feet. Then getting bigger, and bigger.
“Earthquake!” I cried, diving out of the way behind another tombstone.
Quickly, Georg grabbed Sarah and started to take off. Gustav looked around wildly before he ran.
After a few minutes, all of us peeped up from behind our hiding spots. Sarah started to stand but Georg pulled her back down.
“I don’t feel anything!” she cried, her voice floating over towards Gustav and I.
I stood up and started making my way towards Bill’s grave. Gustav kept a good distance behind me. Georg made no attempt to move, and decided Sarah wouldn’t either.
At Bill’s grave, all the dirt was gone.
“Gu-guys!” Gustav called, looking up towards Georg. “C’mere.”
Slowly, Georg made his way over towards us, Sarah trailing behind him. He clutched her hand tightly.
Together, the four of us stood around the hole, peeking down. The smell of dirt pushed up inside my nose. It was like a large shadow inside the hole, his coffin.
“So,” Georg swallowed audibly. “What now?”
The three of them looked up at me. I opened my mouth, then closed it. “I think we uh,” I felt my expression harden. “Have to open it.”
Georg pointed towards another tombstone. “Sarah, go duck behind there.”
“But,” she began to protest.
“No buts!” he cried. “Please, just go.”
Sarah shot me a look but hurried off in the direction Georg was pointing, squatting behind a tombstone but peering out at us.
I looked around before going over and picking up a rock someone had placed in front of another grave. “Sorry,” I muttered at the headstone, walking back over to the others.
Peering down into the hole, I took a breath and held the stone out, letting it drop from my hands. About five seconds after releasing it, I heard a “clank.” It hit the top of Bill’s coffin.
Georg jumped back a little, giddy from the sound. Gustav was contemplating doing the same thing, I could see it in his eyes.
Then, I yelped and jumped back myself, because... because...
Because the lid to Bill’s coffin opened.
Seeing the horror on my face, Georg took off towards Sarah and hid. Looking up, Gustav was gone too, running off away from the grave.
Taking a few more steps back, I tripped, landing on my butt. Gripping blades off grass, I stared breathlessly at Bill’s grave.
And then I saw it. A hand.
It reached up from inside the hole, grabbing at the grass. Then another appeared right beside it.
Then... then...
I stared, my eyes wide. “B-Bill?”
There were tears in Mrs. Listing’s eyes as she told me. I smiled as they rambled on about how exciting this was, but a strain was on my heart. I was torn. I wanted to stay with the Listings, I really did, but at the same time... I wanted my mom. I wanted to her to show up. I wanted to know she was safe.
“A year will go by so quick,” Mrs. Listing was saying from the sink in the kitchen, hands deep in soapy water. I smiled and turned, heading up the stairs.
The day had been spent trying to tune in to what everyone else had been saying, but it was hard to focus. Thanatos’s words kept repeating over and over in my head. I have to dig my brother from his grave. Literally dig him from his grave.
Before I knew what I was doing, I was stopped in the doorway of the game room. Gustav looked over at me, smiling and lifting his can of soda towards me.
Georg frowned at me, watching my face carefully. “What’s up?” he mumbled, looking away.
It felt like I was swallowing a stone. “I need to talk to you.”
Alarmed. That was how they were. To say the least, anyway.
I took Georg and Gustav on a walk to the graveyard, and we found ourselves standing in front of Bill’s grave.
Georg turned around and glared at me when he realized where I had led them.
Sighing, I took a deep breath and began to tell them everything. And I mean everything. The first time I saw Bill’s ghost, about the carnie, Thanatos and his crazy sisters, the librarian and her cat, the book. All of it.
And when I was done, it was silent. Eerily silent.
Georg’s mouth was practically to the ground, his eyes huge. Gustav’s mouth was pressed in a firm line, and his eyes kept darting this way and that.
“So...” Gustav asked after a while, taking a slight step back, probably hoping I wouldn’t notice. “What uh, what exactly are we doing here?”
I sighed and shut my eyes. “I know this all sounds crazy,” I said, “but it’s true. All of it. And last night, I talked to Thanatos again-”
“Crazy God dude?” Gustav interjected.
“Yeah, and...” I took a deep breath and rushed out the rest of the sentence, making all my words jumble together. “Hetoldmehe’sgivingBillaghostheartandtocomedighimfromhisgravetonight.” Another deep breath, my voice lowering. “Which is why I brought you two. He told me to bring only those who I could trust with this secret.”
Georg’s mouth opened wider, if possible.
“Look,” I said weakly, “I just want you guys to believe me.”
“And if we don’t?” Gustav asked, swallowing.
“You better.”
The three of us whirled around at the voice.
“Sarah!” Georg cried. “What are you doing here?” He rushed over to her. She swatted him away.
That’s when I noticed what she was trying desperately to hold up. A shovel. It had made a path in the ground where she had dragged it.
“What?” he hissed. “Where did you get that?”
“None of your business. Look, Tom’s telling the truth,” she squeaked.
“Sarah,” I started.
“No,” she said, turning to Georg. “Crimson wasn’t lying. I see colors.”
“You see colors?” Gustav piped in.
I turned to him. “Auras,” I told him quickly.
“Yeah!” Sarah said. “And when Tom’s lying, he gets a certain color around him.”
“So?” Gustav asked. Sarah turned to him.
“So!” she squeaked again. “He’s not glowing that color. He isn’t lying. He’s telling the truth.”
Georg turned to me, anger quickly filling his eyes. “She really sees auras?” he hissed. I nodded. “And you knew?” I nodded again. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
I spread my arms out wide. “Would you have believed me? Look, I thought by keeping all this quiet, I was doing everyone a favor. And running around yelling about me seeing my dead brother’s ghost? That wouldn’t have turned out well for anyone.”
“I believe you,” Gustav said quietly. We all turned to him. He put his hands up and took a few steps back. “But this isn’t my problem. If you want to dig up your brother’s coffin, well, be my guest. And if he’s actually in there...” Gustav took a deep breath. “But I can’t help you until then.”
Georg nodded and pulled Sarah back behind him as I started crossing towards them, grabbing up the shovel. He snarled at me.
“If you’re lying,” he called at my back as I pushed the shovel in on top of Bill’s grave, pulling up the first pile of dirt, “don’t bother coming home with us tonight.”
The sun was nearly gone. Sarah and Gustav stood lookout around the grave as I continued to dig. Georg never took his eyes off me.
I was sweating, my shirt soaked. Blisters covered both of my hands, some blood coating the handle of the shovel. I threw it down, wiping at my forehead, exasperated.
“There’s gotta be another way to do this!” I cried. It would take forever to dig out Bill’s entire grave by myself.
And that’s when the ground started to shake. Little tremors underneath my feet. Then getting bigger, and bigger.
“Earthquake!” I cried, diving out of the way behind another tombstone.
Quickly, Georg grabbed Sarah and started to take off. Gustav looked around wildly before he ran.
After a few minutes, all of us peeped up from behind our hiding spots. Sarah started to stand but Georg pulled her back down.
“I don’t feel anything!” she cried, her voice floating over towards Gustav and I.
I stood up and started making my way towards Bill’s grave. Gustav kept a good distance behind me. Georg made no attempt to move, and decided Sarah wouldn’t either.
At Bill’s grave, all the dirt was gone.
“Gu-guys!” Gustav called, looking up towards Georg. “C’mere.”
Slowly, Georg made his way over towards us, Sarah trailing behind him. He clutched her hand tightly.
Together, the four of us stood around the hole, peeking down. The smell of dirt pushed up inside my nose. It was like a large shadow inside the hole, his coffin.
“So,” Georg swallowed audibly. “What now?”
The three of them looked up at me. I opened my mouth, then closed it. “I think we uh,” I felt my expression harden. “Have to open it.”
Georg pointed towards another tombstone. “Sarah, go duck behind there.”
“But,” she began to protest.
“No buts!” he cried. “Please, just go.”
Sarah shot me a look but hurried off in the direction Georg was pointing, squatting behind a tombstone but peering out at us.
I looked around before going over and picking up a rock someone had placed in front of another grave. “Sorry,” I muttered at the headstone, walking back over to the others.
Peering down into the hole, I took a breath and held the stone out, letting it drop from my hands. About five seconds after releasing it, I heard a “clank.” It hit the top of Bill’s coffin.
Georg jumped back a little, giddy from the sound. Gustav was contemplating doing the same thing, I could see it in his eyes.
Then, I yelped and jumped back myself, because... because...
Because the lid to Bill’s coffin opened.
Seeing the horror on my face, Georg took off towards Sarah and hid. Looking up, Gustav was gone too, running off away from the grave.
Taking a few more steps back, I tripped, landing on my butt. Gripping blades off grass, I stared breathlessly at Bill’s grave.
And then I saw it. A hand.
It reached up from inside the hole, grabbing at the grass. Then another appeared right beside it.
Then... then...
I stared, my eyes wide. “B-Bill?”