[September 5, 2042]

“Cal, I’m bored.”

“That sounds like a ‘you’ problem, Poltergeist. Go haunt the laundry room if you’re bored here.”

It was night. Cal had just finished cleaning up after dinner (chicken burritos that Ellie had proclaimed as “delectable”) and he was back in room 01, decompressing, lying on his back on the bed. He had received a call from Isaac Frost an hour ago, informing that the newest tenant of Otter Manor would be arriving tomorrow afternoon. They would be taking up the large room in the loft. That meant another person to potentially cook for, and clean up after. He wondered if he would be able to manage if room 03 and 04 were eventually filled by new tenants.

Meanwhile, Mel was floating up and down the length of the room, occasionally glancing out the window at the dark night sky. If she could walk upon the floorboards, she would have been pacing. It wasn’t just boredom that energized her movements. There was a certain anxious energy present, most clear in how Mel looked at the window and licked her lips. Finally whatever was bothering her could not be kept contained.

“Hey Cal,” she said, “can I ask a favor?”

Cal did not look up. He has his arm over his eyes. He was tired, and ready to go to sleep early. “I told you,” he said, “possession is not in the cards. I don’t care if it’s the only way for you to taste the food.”

“No, it isn’t that.”

At Mel’s understated response, Cal shifted his arm and looked at her, though he still did not move from his place on the bed. “What then?”

Mel brushed a bit of her dark hair over her ear, and didn’t respond. She seemed unsure.

“What is it?” Sensing there was something unusual in Mel’s mannerisms, Cal rolled onto his side and sat upright on the bed. “You’re acting a little weird.”

“I…” Mel swallowed. “I want to go outside.”

Cal leaned his head forward an inch, unsure of how to respond. “...Okay?” When she didn’t budge to his prompting, he continued to speak. “Is that… I mean, can you not? I suppose I assumed you can go anywhere you like but… are you bound to Otter Manor or something? Can you not leave the premises?”

Mel shook her head, and played with the shoulder-strap of her white dress. “No. At least, I don’t think so. I’m just scared.”

Cal started to say something perhaps a little unkind, but stopped himself. He had realized that this was a different sort of conversation than the barbed exchanges he had had with Mel up until this point. She was trying to ask for his help in some way, and mocking or making light of that request would be a terrible thing to do.

“Okay, so you’re scared.” Cal tried to prompt her again. “What are you scared of precisely?”

With frustration, Mel held hands up, and then floated silently over to the window, the tips of her toes barely an inch above the ground. “I don’t know. I’m just anxious, like it’ll be painful somehow. Here.” She poked her chest. “I told you time is a little different for me as a ghost?”

“I think you mentioned it once or twice.”

“Things are a little more oriented now, but when I first woke up as a ghost, it was crazy. Years passed without me even realizing it was happening. I don’t know how long I spent like that before Isaac came back a month ago. It was only then when the days began to become clear to me. What I’m trying to say is…”

Mel paused, clenching and unclenching a small fist. “I’ve been dead a long time, but I’ve never left this building. Until very recently, it never even occurred to me.” She turned her blue eyes on Cal. “I don’t really want to talk about this but… when I was alive… I didn’t get to go to many places. The years before I died, I was mostly just in one room. Sometimes for a very long time. I got comfortable there. I guess at some point, I started to fear going outside at all. Like a phobia. I suppose I still feel that way.”

Cal didn’t say anything for a moment, then he stood up. “Okay then,” he announced to the room, “we’re going to go outside. Right now. Are you up for it?”

Mel was surprised by his words and by the intensity in Cal’s dark eyes, but she stammered: “Y-yes. I think so. I think I can.”

Unauthorized use: this story is on Amazon without permission from the author. Report any sightings.

Without another word, Cal went downstairs, and Mel followed behind him, somewhat bashfully. When they reached the front door, Cal flung it open, and immediately a gust of wind stirred his hair and his dark coat that he had grabbed as he exited room 01. It was a cold wind, and outside was the dark lawn of Otter Manor, and above it, the faintly twinkling vault of stars. To Mel, the open door looked like both an inviting hand and a hungry mouth.

The pair stood in front of the open door, the boy and ghost side-by-side, watching the night outside. Then Cal turned to Mel. “Are you anxious? You’re not going to have a panic attack?”

Mel gulped, her eyes fixated on the dark air outside, which was barely illuminated by the light creeping out of Otter Manor. “No. My heart is racing really fast, but I’m okay.”

“We can just stand in front of the door for now. Get used to the sounds and the proximity.”

“Okay.”

They stood in silence for a number of minutes, until Cal spoke aloud. “You told me something about your past that you would rather not mention because you wanted to be honest, so I’ll return the favor.” Cal’s dark eyes seemed to turn black in that moment, lost in themselves. He tightly gripped the blue scarf that he was holding in his right hand. “What you said about becoming terrified of the outside. Of the idea of it. I knew exactly what you meant.”

The knuckles that held his scarf turned white, and Cal had to force himself to loosen his grip. “Almost my entire life has been a dark room, where nothing existed. No space, or time, or other people. So when I got a glimpse of the outside world, it terrified me. A person helped me at that time: my sister… and someone else, I suppose. They helped me realize the reality.”

Mel watched the night. One of her hands was slightly in front of the other, as if she was trying to touch the darkness. “What was the reality?” she asked.

“There is no such thing as ‘inside’ or ‘outside,’” replied Cal, and tapped his head. “There’s only the arbitrary walls you’ve built within your skull in order to feel safe. The reality is that nowhere is safe, and nowhere is terrifying. Ready?”

Mel nodded.

“Want to do it at a count of three, or just get it over with in one go?”

“One go, if you don’t mind. I can’t deal with so much anticipation.”

“Alright. Let’s go outside.”

They went over the threshold, past the roof of the portico, and onto the slightly damp expanse of grass. It was dark outside, but the moon was bright, and draped the blades of the lawn in silver accents. Cal stood beside Mel, wrapping his coat around him, and breathing on his hands. “It’s chilly,” he said simply, “but it’s a lovely night.”

Mel took a sharp intake of air, and began to breathe a little raggedly. She held a hand over her mouth, trying to calm down.

Cal looked sharply at her, his expression horrified, wondering if he had made a mistake. “Is it too much?! We can turn around.”

“No!” exclaimed Mel, waving her free hand in front of (and partially through) Cal’s face. “I’m okay! It’s just…”

She bent her head downward for a moment, hiding her face, and then looked up at the shining sky of stars. “I'm outside… I really am. I thought I would never get to be under the sky like this again. I thought I would just be in the earth, for eternity. I thought…”

Then she laughed, and twirled high up into the hair. The moon shone through Mel’s body, making her shine with silver. Cal watched, seemingly befuddled by her sudden change in temperament.

Mel danced in front of the moon, doing twists, spins, and loopty-loops in the air. She went up so high in the night sky that Cal lost sight of her. However, he could hear her laughing even when she was out of view. Then she zipped by to earth before his face, quick as a flash of light, She grinned at him, hands behind her back, leaning forward, a few inches away from Cal’s nose.

“Thanks Cal,” she said warmly, her eyes tender and playful.

Cal was stunned for a moment, then hid his mouth in the collar of his coat. “I didn’t really do anything. Don’t get lost up there in the sky, okay? I was worried you had left to haunt some other place.”

Her grin grew wider. “You were worried? Yes, of course you were worried. You were afraid you were going to lose your adorable roommate. You were worried we’d never see one another again.”

“I instantly take back what I said.”

“No take-backs!”

Mel jutted her finger at Cal. The tip of her finger actually sank into his nose, and Cal was surprised that the feeling wasn’t cold and unpleasant as it had been a few days ago. Rather, now it felt like something warm and glowing.

“No take-backs.” Mel repeated, holding her finger in place. Her smile took on a slightly more determined appearance. “Not about this, not ever. We’re stuck together. I’ve decided this just now — made an executive decision. My perfect haunting has only just begun.”

Mel flew back up into the stars, leaving only a whistle of wind behind.

A perfect haunting, huh? thought Cal. He touched the tip of his nose, remembering the warm sensation Mel had left. Where does she pick up all these ridiculous ideas?

He smiled to himself, then abruptly the expression of happiness faded. On the ground, barely visible on the grass dyed by silver moonlight, his shadow moved on its own.

It was very chilly now. Cal hugged himself with his coat tighter, and watched the distance speck hovering in front of the moon — Mel, of course. If she went much higher she might have reached heaven.

“Congrats,” Cal said aloud to the night, “you’re finally outside.”