Jetset Sugar
Burnt Picture...
First and foremost, I would like to thank all of you for the patience. I know it has been a long wait. So, here it is. Enjoy and don't forget to comment.
I didn’t want to return to my apartment but I couldn’t bear to leave Sammi alone. I’ve decided to bring her over to Frank’s apartment, to keep Ashley company. And since Ashley moved in, I know I’d be spending a lot more time there rather than at home, so I packed a few things of my own. That was also another way of avoiding Catherine Mandoza and Alfie.
I was greeted by Sammi’s unblinking eyes, staring at me from her corner.
“Hey girl,” I said to her, closing the door behind me. She just sat there, looking at me, which I found a little strange. Sammi would always walk up to me whenever I come home. “What’s the matter?”
I walked towards her and noticed something was not there before. Pieces of glass were on the floor together with fragments of a wooden picture frame.
“What the hell happened?” I asked Sammi. I know it’s stupid to be talking to a cat. But it’s just me. Sammi didn’t reply (duh!), she simply looked at me, then to the broken pieces and right back at me. Some tiny pieces crushed under my shoes as I approached the mess. I realized which picture it was; it was of me and Ashley, taken a few weeks ago at a party. We were standing rather closely, cheek to cheek, with my arm around Ashley’s shoulders. Ashley was holding up a bottle of beer and toasting towards the camera. I was just grinning, looking a little flustered. I picked the picture up carefully, pieces of glass slid off its surface onto the floor. I looked at the picture and my heart skipped a beat. Where Ashley’s face was supposed to be, was covered with a bubbling mess. Like it was placed over a flame, but not long enough to burn a hole through it.
“What the fuck…?” I asked myself.
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“I don’t know what the hell is going on here, man,” replied Frank handing me back the slightly burnt picture. “It seems a little too surreal to me.”
“I know, it’s a little impossible…I mean, ghosts…? C’mon…”
“Actually,” Ashley interrupted. “It’s not that hard to believe. Maybe she has unfinished business.”
Frank and I turned to look at her blankly. She rolled her eyes towards the sky and gave out a sigh.
“Unfinished business. Some people believe that when someone passes on, their spirit is not able to move on because of unfinished business. They are not able to rest in peace. Some spirits are fortunate enough to know what their unfinished business is while others don’t. Those who do, would try to contact the living, try to get their help. Those don’t…well; they have to wander the mortal world until the end of time…”
“And you know this, how?” Frank asked with raised eyebrows.
“I read,” Ashley shrugged. “What do you think, Gee?”
I tried to digest what Ashley had just said. The wheels in my head started turning, trying to make sense of it all.
“It doesn’t really fit, Ash,” I finally said, frowning. “What ‘unfinished business’ could she possibly has with me? And where do you come in, in all this?”
I had shown Ashley the burnt photograph. If it had made her nervous, or more frightened than before, it certainly did not show on her face.
“Maybe,” Frank replied, with eyes beaming and a grin spreading across his face, “She’s just trying to have fun before she moves on. Maybe, she doesn’t have unfinished business, she just enjoys scaring people.”
“That’s something that a dead Frank would do. How about I kill you and find out?,” Ashley retorted at him.
Frank did not say anything in reply, but I couldn’t help noticed the way his face fell right after Ashley snapped at him. He actually looked…hurt.
Silence fell upon us as we try to figure out the what, whys and how of the situation, throwing in suggestions and possibilities, except Frank. Frank seemed to have had his mind focused somewhere else, his eyes were distant and it was obvious even though he tried to look away each time I looked at him. The burnt photograph was being twirled and flicked around in his hand.
“There is one way for us to really know what she wants,” Ashley finally continued. “We need to contact her. We need to hold a séance.”
I didn’t want to return to my apartment but I couldn’t bear to leave Sammi alone. I’ve decided to bring her over to Frank’s apartment, to keep Ashley company. And since Ashley moved in, I know I’d be spending a lot more time there rather than at home, so I packed a few things of my own. That was also another way of avoiding Catherine Mandoza and Alfie.
I was greeted by Sammi’s unblinking eyes, staring at me from her corner.
“Hey girl,” I said to her, closing the door behind me. She just sat there, looking at me, which I found a little strange. Sammi would always walk up to me whenever I come home. “What’s the matter?”
I walked towards her and noticed something was not there before. Pieces of glass were on the floor together with fragments of a wooden picture frame.
“What the hell happened?” I asked Sammi. I know it’s stupid to be talking to a cat. But it’s just me. Sammi didn’t reply (duh!), she simply looked at me, then to the broken pieces and right back at me. Some tiny pieces crushed under my shoes as I approached the mess. I realized which picture it was; it was of me and Ashley, taken a few weeks ago at a party. We were standing rather closely, cheek to cheek, with my arm around Ashley’s shoulders. Ashley was holding up a bottle of beer and toasting towards the camera. I was just grinning, looking a little flustered. I picked the picture up carefully, pieces of glass slid off its surface onto the floor. I looked at the picture and my heart skipped a beat. Where Ashley’s face was supposed to be, was covered with a bubbling mess. Like it was placed over a flame, but not long enough to burn a hole through it.
“What the fuck…?” I asked myself.
-------------------------------------------------------------------
“I don’t know what the hell is going on here, man,” replied Frank handing me back the slightly burnt picture. “It seems a little too surreal to me.”
“I know, it’s a little impossible…I mean, ghosts…? C’mon…”
“Actually,” Ashley interrupted. “It’s not that hard to believe. Maybe she has unfinished business.”
Frank and I turned to look at her blankly. She rolled her eyes towards the sky and gave out a sigh.
“Unfinished business. Some people believe that when someone passes on, their spirit is not able to move on because of unfinished business. They are not able to rest in peace. Some spirits are fortunate enough to know what their unfinished business is while others don’t. Those who do, would try to contact the living, try to get their help. Those don’t…well; they have to wander the mortal world until the end of time…”
“And you know this, how?” Frank asked with raised eyebrows.
“I read,” Ashley shrugged. “What do you think, Gee?”
I tried to digest what Ashley had just said. The wheels in my head started turning, trying to make sense of it all.
“It doesn’t really fit, Ash,” I finally said, frowning. “What ‘unfinished business’ could she possibly has with me? And where do you come in, in all this?”
I had shown Ashley the burnt photograph. If it had made her nervous, or more frightened than before, it certainly did not show on her face.
“Maybe,” Frank replied, with eyes beaming and a grin spreading across his face, “She’s just trying to have fun before she moves on. Maybe, she doesn’t have unfinished business, she just enjoys scaring people.”
“That’s something that a dead Frank would do. How about I kill you and find out?,” Ashley retorted at him.
Frank did not say anything in reply, but I couldn’t help noticed the way his face fell right after Ashley snapped at him. He actually looked…hurt.
Silence fell upon us as we try to figure out the what, whys and how of the situation, throwing in suggestions and possibilities, except Frank. Frank seemed to have had his mind focused somewhere else, his eyes were distant and it was obvious even though he tried to look away each time I looked at him. The burnt photograph was being twirled and flicked around in his hand.
“There is one way for us to really know what she wants,” Ashley finally continued. “We need to contact her. We need to hold a séance.”