Katherine's foot hits the floor in rhythm, the sound of her heart drowning out her stomping, her entwined fingers covering her mouth. The young woman remains locked in her mind as she watches the void.

"Kat?"

Lexy's voice interrupts Katherine's trance. Little by little, the young woman's gaze floats towards her friend, her brown eyes resting on Lexy's unmistakable face.

"Something happens? Are you ok?" Lexy shifts uncomfortably.

Katherine continues to ramble; "when, how, and where" the words circle her mind as she carefully examines her friend's body; it appears solid and alive, but the black mark of the teeth breaks the illusion. Katherine feels her eyes water, and with all her strength she holds back the tears. An annoying lump appears in her throat, and she takes a long breath, trying to release through her mouth the imaginary weight that afflicts her body.

Katherine stands tall, clenches her teeth, and her expression becomes solemn and determined.

"Lexy." Katherine's voice cracks, and the young woman clears her voice. "I need you to listen to me and pay close attention to what I'm going to say."

"Kat, you're scaring me." Lexy gets up off the ground.

Katherine inhales sharply and then exhales as they face each other.

"Lexy... between this morning and yesterday... somehow, you lost your life." Katherine clenches her teeth.

The room fills with awkward silence. Lexy lets out a laugh.

"Haha! Are you saying that because of my hangover? If so, yes, I feel as if I have died." Lexy raises her hand to her head.

"Lexy..."

"Kat! All that drama for a joke? I didn't know you had a sense of humor, but now that I see it, it's quite peculiar." Lexy lets out another laugh.

Katherine walks over to her nightstand, grabs her water bottle, and turns back to Lexy. Katherine carefully takes her friend's hand; she can feel the cold emanating from the ethereal flesh. The young woman lifts the bottle in her right hand, the other one below Lexy's, carefully bringing the object closer to Lexy's outstretched hand, Katherine does not break eye contact as the container approaches her friend's hand. Without prior notice, Katherine drops the bottle; it pierces Lexy's flesh and lands in Katherine's palm.

Lexy watches the object pierce her flesh; in surprise, she withdraws her hand; the bottle wobbles as if it had been rocked by a small breeze.

"How...?" Lexy gives the bottle a whack; it's just wobbled a little. "I..."

Lexy stammers, unable to form coherent sentences.

Katherine keeps her gaze fixed on her friend.

"Kat... is this for real? Am I dead?"

Katherine nods. Lexy's legs give up, she falls to the ground, and she feels as if the ground is swallowing her; indeed, little by little, Lexy sinks into the wooden floor.

"Lexy! I need you to focus! You must listen to me!"

"How am I supposed to concentrate? I'm dead! I...! What am I supposed to do now?!" Lexy puts her hands to her face, a loud cry escaping from her mouth.

"Please, Lexy! I need you to listen to me!" Katherine squats down and brings her hands to her friend's face. "We need to know what happened to you, where... everything happened."

"It does not matter!?" I'm already dead! It's over! It's all over! My life! My everything!"

"There are worse things than death; believe me, I've seen them; please, Lexy, I must help you... I'm not going to let it go away, I'm the only one who can save you."

"Save me?! I'm already dead!"

"Lexy please!" Katherine squeezes her friend's cheeks, and after a second, she regains her composure. "Here, on your neck." Katherine touches the black, tooth-shaped wound.

"What?"

"Teeth, I've seen it time and time again; if I don't help you, they're going to eat you."

"Who?"

"I don't know; I just know that it is quite slow and painful. I don't want the same thing to happen to you."

Lexy notes the concern in Katherine's voice.

"Ok..." Lexy tries to calm down with a breathing exercise. "What do I have to do?"

"We're over the hardest part, accepting the fact."

"Accept is a very big word."

"I know... You know what I mean; I've seen spirits take days to come to terms with the idea."

"See spirits? Is this something common for you?"

"Yes, every day... That's why I have to help you, I've seen several times what happens if I don't..."

"What now?"

"We must find your body." Katherine swallows.

"And how are we going to do that? I don't remember almost anything."

"There is always something... Try to think about your last moments."

"Ok...I'll try..." Lexy closes her eyes.

The young woman can see the images go through her head: a shining hand, the city, the sunset, trees, a blunt object, and blood. The pain in her head gradually increases, her neck burns, and she can see her body on the grass, her head split open, her brains spilled out, and pain—deep, excruciating pain. Lexy lets out a howl as she puts her hand to the back of her neck, the vivid sensation twisting her expression.

"Lexy!"

"I see it... the city, the sunset, the trees, the shining hand, ah... left... a man..."

The pain in Lexy's head sharpens.

"Enough!" Katherine takes her friend's hand.

"I saw it... I saw how I died." Lexy gasps, a trickle of saliva dangling from her chin.

"Tell me."

"From a high vantage point, I could see the sunset, trees, and a bright hand repeatedly hitting my head until it broke in two... the figure of a man on my body."

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"What did the man look like?"

"I don't know..." Lexy puts her hand on her forehead.

"I guess that's enough; we just have to go to the places you visited yesterday, and you can rest in peace."

"I still can't believe it; all of this is so bizarre, and you are so... calm."

"I'm used to it, but... this time is different. One is not prepared to lose someone close."

Lexy walks over to Katherine, wraps her icy arms around her, and gives her a loving hug.

"Don't worry, I'm still here. We're going to find my body." Lexy closes her eyes and shows a warm smile.

"Yes..." Katherine nods.

Lexy follows Katherine as she walks down the street.

"Look, look! without hands!" Lexy moves her feet in the air as she floats.

"Lexy, focus."

"I'm focused!" Lexy spins in mid-air, her feet flailing from side to side.

Katherine can feel the stress building on her forehead and the pizza turning in her stomach.

"Lexy! Do you remember something useful?" Katherine says between her teeth.

"Hmm." Lexy brings her index finger to the edge of her lower lip, continuing to twirl in the air the air. "I remember... school!"

"Are you sure? Was that the last place you were?"

"No, that was one of the places I went to." Lexy crosses her feet as her body is rocked in the air as if gravity won't affect her.

"What else do you remember?"

"A skyscraper, I think... a tall one, umm... OH! Not to mention the party!"

"The school, a tall building, and wherever the party was, I think I can work with that."

"So where do we go first?"

"The school is the closest place."

"OKAY!" Lexy kicks her feet eagerly, running on the spot, but her speed doesn't change, and she continues to float forward at the same pace as Katherine's walk.

Katherine angrily observes Lexy's lack of urgency, the stress wins over the young woman, and she vomits some pizza into her mouth. With disgust, she swallows the food combined with her bitter gastric juices.

Katherine shakes the gate.

"Closed." The young woman murmurs.

"Well, it's Saturday." Lexy hovers over Katherine's shoulder. "Now what?"

"Do you feel something?"

"No." Lexy crosses her arms.

"Maybe we need to get closer."

"Wait! Are you sure we'll find my body? I mean, it's possible someone has already found it. Maybe they're already burying me."

"No, in my entire life with this curse, only two types of spirits have come to ask for my help: those who have recently died and those whose bodies have not been laid to rest."

Lexy tilts her head, trying to understand.

"Let's say you died in an accident and your body was found immediately. Your spirit will wander for at least three days before you are buried, or cremated, or whatever the ritual is, and during those three days you can find your body to *ascend* before."

"Then we have nothing to worry about! After three days, I will be able to go to heaven."

Katherine shakes her head.

"The difference between the spirits that wander for those three days and those whose bodies have not rested is the teeth."

"Teeth?"

"Your neck."

Lexy puts her hand to her neck; she can touch the wound in her ethereal flesh, a black, tooth-shaped wound.

"I don't know what they are; I only know that they devour the spirits that do not leave this world in at least three days; some are consumed slowly, others fast, and they all leave screaming and howling in pain."

"This makes no sense! Why me? What makes me different from the others?"

"I must assume that it has something to do with the fact that no human being has found your body; for the time being, no human being has found your corpse; my theory is that these *entities,* this *force,* or whatever, is in charge of *cleaning* the spirits who have no chance of going to the other side; your body is abandoned in some unreachable place, and the teeth believe that your spirit will not be able to rest in peace."

"What are we waiting for then?! Let's go inside and find my body! It must be somewhere."

"I hope..." Katherine looks both ways before jumping over the fence; Lexy floats over it and follows her friend.

"Nothing yet?"

"Nope" A buzz followed by a headache surprises Lexy. "Wait! Ugh... I see something... I was here... I think... the glowing hand—"

"Hey!" A male voice interrupts Lexy.

Katherine turns around to see the young janitor coming down the hall. In his right hand is a pair of pruning shears.

"What are you doing here?! How did you get in here? I don't remember opening the door for you."

"I forgot something and..."

"I asked you a question. How did you get inside?"

"I jump over the fence." Katherine replies.

The young janitor approaches Katherine.

"You can't be here; the school is closed."

"I know, I just need to get a couple of things—"

"Come back on Monday."

"I won't take long."

"I don't care; you want to get me in trouble? No one can be on the campus outside of school hours unless you have a permit; I can't let you be in here."

"Wow... today you are more curmudgeonly than before."

"Shut the fuck up; I still haven't forgotten what you did yesterday." The young man points the scissors at her.

"Calm down. It's just a second and I'll be gone."

"No oh~, don't think you're able to ask for favors... unless... look, let's do something, it's just you and me here; no one will bother us; let me touch you a bit, and I'll let you be here all the time you want." The janitor approaches Katherine. The young woman watches Lexy's spirit out of the corner of her eye; she still writhes in pain as she holds her head tightly.

"No." Katherine takes a step back.

"Don't play the saint; think about it for a few seconds; if you like my touch, we can see where it takes us; you could take care of me, and I'll take care of you." The young man observes Katherine's body.

"Ok, you've convinced me."

"Yeah? OK, follow me." The young man smiled mischievously.

"You convinced me to get out of here as fast as I can, you filthy pig. See ya."

Katherine turns and walks down the hall. Before turning, she looks over her shoulder. The young man watches her leave, and Lexy floats behind Katherine.

"All good?"

"Yeah..." Lexy rubs her temples. "So, are we leaving?"

"No, we're going to walk around without that idiot seeing us."

"For a moment, I thought you considered his offer."

"Pff, I'm not that easy; do you think I'm going to whore myself like that?"

"Not even if your best friend's life is at stake?"

"Shut the fuck up, Lexy."

"Aha! Just kidding, kidding."

Both reach the rear garden of the enclosure, which is adorned by flowers and shrubs.

"Do you feel something here?"

"I don't know; I still don't know what I have to feel apart from the pain."

"Memories, I suppose; several times I have seen how the spirits, when being close to their bodies, they begin to remember everything."

"I think I remember something..." Lexy closes her eyes, focusing past the throbbing pain. "I see the sun; it's late, but it's not sunset; I forgot something; I came back; the flowers, the janitor, a greeting, and a farewell."

"Hmm..."

"That's all." Lexy opens her eyes with difficulty.

"So, you were here, in the flower garden."

"I think..."

"And you say you saw the janitor?"

Lexy nods.

"What were you and the janitor doing back here in the flower field?"

"I don't know; I don't remember."

"Do you think your body is here in the garden?"

"I hope"

"Let's see."

Katherine and Lexy look around; Katherine looks at the ground, hoping to find some signs of something buried, but the search is in vain.

"Kathy!" Lexy warns, and a figure approaches in the distance. "It's him, hide!"

Katherine, without thinking twice, goes into the bushes; she can hear the footsteps getting closer, and Lexy hides next to her.

"Stupid cow, she thinks she's better than me. You piece of shit, I could have grabbed her right there and then." The young man mutters as he chops the brush. "And these sons of bitches force me to work despite the fact that I have a broken arm. Shit. Shit. This stinks of shit."

Katherine and Lexy cover their mouths, hoping not to let out any noise. They can hear the grinding of the scissors approaching the bush in which they are hidden.

"*Let's be friends; we don't have to fight* that bitch tells me, and I was hoping for her to invite me to a quickie, stupid table. I bet if I ask her to devour my dick, she'll drop to her knees in an instant." The young man continues arguing out loud.

The young janitor stops in front of the bush where Katherine is hiding.

"Perhaps that's what I'll do; I'll start with the easy one and then move on to the difficult one." The young man cuts a rose in front of him, and Katherine's eye can be seen between the leaves.

"Shit! I'm not supposed to cut roses! Oh, the principal is going to fuck me if she ever finds out." The young man reaches out and tries to take the rose from under the bush.

Katherine's leg rests perilously close to the cut rose; the man's fingers feel in the dirt; the hand approaches Katherine's pale flesh; the girl's breathing becomes erratic; butterflies invade her stomach; and the hand reaches out. Lexy knocks at the rose; an icy breeze blows the rose off the bush.

"Here it is." The young man stops and puts the rose in his pocket. "Enough for today."

The janitor takes the scissors and leaves the place.

"That was close." Lexy lets out a sigh.

"Yeah... thanks Lexy. If you hadn't pushed the rose... I don't even want to think about it."

"You would have had to seduce him!"

"What is wrong with you? Do you believe you live in a porno?"

"I mean, right now, I'm not alive; I'm more like the cameraman."

"Ugh. Shut up, Lexy."

Lexy lets out a laugh.

"I think we've had enough of this place."

"Is my body not here?"

"I don't know yet; I just know that before you died, you were here."

"So, it was all a waste of time?!"

"No, we have your memories; we just have to follow the crumbs and..."

"We can put together the bread?"

Katherine blinks a few times.

"Yes, something like that."

Katherine approaches the wall and climbs.

"Let's go."

Lexy nods and floats over the wall.