"You never really explained to me why you didn't want me to go to the police about this." I stated, flipping a page of my book, ending at another chapter. I closed it and looked up at the girl hesitantly, not knowing if it was okay or not. She sighed softly, her eyes trained on the wall rather than me.
Sitting on the couch, as I sat on the carpeted floor, she pushed herself against the soft cushions, shifting her position uneasily. "My parents went to the police," I nodded, and then stopped almost immediately. I looked away, my eyebrows creasing as I realized I haven't checked up on them either, I almost forgot they existed...
"The police weren't helpful at all, if anything they were rude and helpless. That's when I followed them around, subtly trying to lead them to figure out I was there with them and that everything was going to be okay, that there was still hope. But if anything, that tore them apart more. I never showed them I was here, or talked to them, but I tried my best. The police convinced my parents I was gone, completely, that no one could find my killer or me. They said they ran dna tests on that shirt, and they found nothing. They kept saying they found nothing, so they closed the case. And it was my parent's wishes too, they said they didn't want to be..." She stopped for a moment, her voice beginning to tremble.
"They didn't want to be burdened by the thought of me anymore." I felt like my heart drop, hearing this made me feel so much empathy for the girl, though I understood the situation, it was just terrible her spirit wasn't in peace, and she had to hear her own parents give up on her. When she lost her life.
"I-I'm sorry..." I said softly. "It's alright." She put her hand on my shoulder, I looked back up into her eyes. They were dull, but her smile was still there, I knew then that her soul was really not happy. And that until it was, she'd never be able to rest in peace.
I looked away from her once more, her hand slowly left my shoulder. "So, I'm not the only one you've gone to?" I asked softly. "No, I've gone to a lot of people, people I thought could help. But they all got terrified of me, by either my voice or my face. I tried to be gentle with them, but it never seemed to work."
I hummed, keeping along with her story. "But then I went to the Dream Cafe, trying to find some type of peace on the road where everything changed. And then I saw you,"
I shivered at the thought, a lonely spirit walking down lonely roads, knowing no one could help her feel a release. A phantom, that really did suit her.
"You seemed so... Happy." I let my head fall, guilt taking over my being, I really did feel bad for forgetting her. "You looked like nothing in the world was bothering you, and this made me so... Angry, how could you? How could you not care that I died?" I winced, this hurt. But I bet it hurt her more.
"So I followed you, for months, I never made it obvious I was there. I was trying to figure you out, there was so much spite in my heart, or soul, I guess. And I figured out from all my examinations that you had forgotten me. That hurt even more, I had no idea how you could've pushed away the thought of me so much that you completely erased every memory and thought of me. But I knew how the brain worked, it's weird. Scary."
She took a deep breath. "So even though I was only a soul, something invisible, I found a way to let you see me. It's weird, and it's not supposed to happen but I made it happen. I let myself be a physical being to you, though I had no way of really existing as a human, I still had a way of becoming something more than a phantom, something that could let you see me. And I've found from the many spirits that walk this earth, that most of them don't even realize they're dead. And that people can sometimes see them too. It's more of an energy, believing so deeply that you're still alive, these 'ghosts' live their life. And because of that, sometimes they slipped into the actual living world without realizing it."
I couldn't wrap my head around this, it was too complicated. All my mind wanted was logic, but there was no logic here and I was trying to accept it and understand it.
"Anyway, you were my only hope. And because you couldn't remember me, I could get away with talking to you without you knowing who I was, and thinking you're insane. Though, you did for a while there," She let out a soft chuckle. "That's why I didn't want you to know my name or see me, I thought the moment you saw me or heard my name, that you'd remember me. And that terrified me at the time, I didn't want to lose my only hope." She trailed off. "But I finally got to you, and I'm glad you didn't admit yourself to a psych ward." I nodded, trying to take all of this information in. "I'm glad you came to me." I said softly. "I'm glad I did too."
After sitting in silence for a few moments, I finally spoke up. "Okay, so, next plan, your parents." I put my hand on the ground and pushing myself carefully up off the ground. "Wh-What? No, they know nothing." I looked at her, "It's going to take a lot of hope to find you." She shook her head. "Please don't, they wouldn't want to talk to you." I shrugged. "It's worth a try." To be honest, I was very nervous about this. I was deathly afraid of learning the truth, and being turned down.
She looked at me for a few moments, concern covering every part of her body language. "O-Okay..."
-
I never lived too far from where I used to live, I always wanted things to be familiar. So I knew exactly where I was going, the roads got more familiar as I walked towards my old house, I knew that Camila couldn't have lived too far from me and that eventually I'd find where I was going.
Camila trailed behind me, like she always did. I didn't doubt that she was taking everything in just as much as I was.
Soon enough, we arrived at a familiar neighborhood. "Do you remember where you live?" I asked her. "Yes, it's down the street." So I headed to the direction she told me, looking up at all the houses that seemed like just a faded memory. It was weird, I purposefully stayed away from this neighborhood ever since my parents moved away somewhere else, so I had no real reason to come here.
I stopped at the edge of the street, where the sidewalk curved. I cautiously looked up at the last house on the street, a chill coming over me. It was anxiety, I was panicky. I suddenly didn't want to be here, like this wasn't supposed to happen. I felt so overwhelmed.
"Uh maybe we shouldn't have come here." I softly spoke, but as I was about to walk away, the door opened.
"Y/n?"