HexWyn's Writing Blog

Six years is quite some time to exist while being tormented by lost souls on Earth. Souls on Mars had vanished within one year, perhaps to torment someone else or lost to space. Who knows, it meant little to me then because it was just one less problem to deal with. The lost souls–locals called them ghosts–were different here in more ways than their lengthy lifespan. It felt like each one I noticed wanted something. Some would stare into shop windows as they passed while others followed the living with expressions full of sorrow.

I’m unsure what prompted me to turn to face the eldest spirit amongst those who followed me for some time–a green soul whose identity had been lost to the point of looking like a child pretending to be a ghost, with a blanket over their head. This soul was still able to make expressions despite their eyes and mouth having become akin to windows months prior. “Shila darling…” the spirit began, “it’s me.” The soul didn't provide a name of their own, but no name I had went by over the years was Shila.

“No, I’m not Shila. Who is that?” I asked, crossing my arms.

“Not…Shila? No, no, she looks like you. I…I need to find her, I didn't mean for this to happen. She said she would miss me.” It was difficult to tell aside from the soul’s words, but it seemed deeply saddened.

I made my way to an old wooden desk in the corner of my room. An old gray laptop from 2030 sat on the desk, lid closed. I opened the lid and pressed the space bar. Once…twice…and then began spamming the space bar in an attempt to wake the laptop’s screen up. It was a shame that this issue hadn’t been fixed by now, how old were laptops anyway? After a good fifteen seconds of pressing the space bar, the screen lit up to a picture of a cute cat I had found on the internet. The webcam’s scanner scanned my face and I was met with twenty opened tabs. Why hadn’t I closed these?

I closed whatever tabs were unnecessary, even though I personally considered videos of cats talking to be very necessary. Perhaps if I found out who this Shila person was, I would have one less soul to deal with. After a while of searching with some tech interruptions by one of the souls, I found a girl who appeared similar to myself despite being an Earthling prior to 2030. “Go to her, please. Take me to Shila, please. I can make this up to you finally…”

—

I did what the soul asked. It didn’t take long to find Shila’s address, it was only a few blocks away from my own. I knocked on her apartment door and an older woman with graying, but healthy curly shoulder-length hair stepped out. She wore an old frilly apron over a black dress which went down to her ankles, though it was evident that the dress had been hastily cut that length. I opened my mouth to speak, but the woman’s face lit up before I was able to speak. I turned to the green soul, who had reformed from ‘blanket-ghost form’ to the form of a woman with a straight bobbed haircut and a slender figure. “Shila, it’s me…I’m Rose!” The soul’s form continued to form until she appeared as she must have in life, finally returned to her destined place, renewing her identity and memory. She was still a green soul, her eyes and mouth were still windows, but she was much more human than before.

Shila turned finally to me and fumbled through a pocket on her apron, bringing out what appeared to be a business card and a pink pen. She quickly scribbled something onto the card and handed it to me. I took the card and looked to see what was written on it. It appeared to be a card for a cat cafe that had been recommended to me on social media one too many times recently. “I don’t know who you are, but I know her…I guess she’s a ghost, inn’t she? Our daughter runs a cat cafe down the street, you’re welcome any time. Your food there’s on’a house from now on, sweetie.” Shila began to cry, overjoyed to be reunited with the green soul, Rose. I looked up from the card to see Rose with her arm around Shila’s shoulder. “Please, have a wonderful day y’hear? I gotta be going.”