#hazel schmidt

“… What did you say?” Polly had no idea as to how to respond to what was asked of her. How would she feel if a body was made for her? She honestly had no idea.

“Um… well…” Vicky felt awkward asking her this the first time; they weren’t sure if they could repeat the question.

“Would you be okay with Dr. Schmidt building you a body for your soul?” Isis repeated. Polly just turned towards her fiancées, both of them each taking a hand of hers. “We were… suggested. But since it’s your soul, it should be your decision.” All three undeads just stood there in silence for a while, the question hanging in the air, like a chandelier in an opera house that’s just one frayed rope snap away from crashing to the audience below.

Polly looked from one to the other, her heart pounding in her chest. The idea of having a body again, of being able to touch and feel and experience the world in a physical way, was both exhilarating and terrifying. She’d been a ghostly soul for so long, drifting and observing, that the thought of being anchored to a body again was almost overwhelming.

Plus, added with her mortal dilemma of moving on… is this a way to tether her here? To her two loves?

“I… I don't know,” she finally stammered, her voice barely above a whisper. “It's a lot to take in.”

Vicky squeezed her hand reassuringly. “We know, Honey Bunny. There’s no rush. Take all the time you need to think about it.”

Isis nodded in agreement. “We just want you to be happy, Polly. Whatever you decide, we’ll support you.”

Polly felt a surge of warmth in her chest. She was so lucky to have them, to have found love and acceptance in this strange, undead existence. She took a deep breath, trying to calm her racing thoughts.

“Can you tell me more about it?” she asked, her voice steadier now. “About how it works, what it would be like?”

Vicky and Isis exchanged a glance. “I guess…” Vicky answered. “From what I understand, either my mom has to build you a body from scratch, or, and this is the more likely option, find a corpse to revive and place your soul in…” Their own voice faltered for a moment. On the one hand, they wouldn’t be the only one of their kind anymore. On the other hand… would what happened to them happen to Polly? With her soul trying to adapt and adjust to the new body? … And would Polly even remember anything afterward?

“I’m gonna need some time to think this over. Is that okay?” Polly asked, phasing past the two of them and the door leading to their bedroom, not waiting to hear their answer. Even so, they didn’t need to. This was a lot to take in. Polly wrapped her arms around herself, the chill of the room seeping into her incorporeal form.

Vicky and Isis stood outside, facing Polly through the door, their hands still intertwined. A wave of uncertainty washed over them. They’d hoped that Polly would be excited about the prospect of having a body again, of being able to share their physical world again. That a body would tether her here… that she wouldn’t have to leave them. But the fear and hesitation in her eyes had been undeniable.

“Maybe I pushed too hard,” Vicky whispered, their voice laced with guilt as they began pacing.

Isis squeezed their hand gently. “She just needs time to process it all. It’s a huge decision.”

They both knew that Polly’s choice would have a profound impact on their lives. If she decided to stay a ghost, they would have to accept that one day, Polly will move on… But if she chose to take on a body, she would face a whole new set of challenges and uncertainties.

Inside the bedroom, Polly’s mind was a whirlwind of conflicting emotions. The idea of having a body again, of being able to feel the warmth of the sun on her skin and the touch of her fiancées’ hands, was incredibly tempting. She had been given the opportunity twice before: once when reuniting Vicky with their family, the other attempting the same for Isis. And during that former experience, she and her dad received closure. And her father dying and also becoming a ghost meant that they got to catch up on things they missed when she, her Mom, and Spriton died. But then both he and Mom moved on… The thought of also moving on, of leaving behind the loves of her afterlife, her sibling, and her friends filled her with dread.

And then there was the question of her soul. Would she be safe inside a new body? Would she still be herself, or would the physical vessel change her in ways she couldn’t imagine? She recalled Vicky recalling having to readapt to living, having reverted to the state of a newborn in a twenty-three-year-old corpse. Would the same happen to her?

She drifted to the bed, sinking into the soft mattress as if it could offer her some solace. Shelley, sensing the ghostly presence, meowed and joined her. Smiling, she gave the cat a gentle belly rub. There was so much she was going to miss here. So much so that Vicky and Isis felt the need to offer this potential solution. Everyone would be happy… right?

Maybe sleeping it off would help… It might even help soothe the cough she developed just now.

… Wait… Cough? Hold on… Ghosts don’t get sick. The last time Polly had gotten sick was well before when she died a decade ago. Suddenly, there is a tickle in her throat. It’s a small tickle, sure, but it’s an anomaly that Polly, as a ghost, recognized as impossible almost immediately. But hey, it’s an excuse to try cough syrup, since apparently people can develop an addiction to that. She phased to the bathroom downstairs and saw… no such thing in the cabinets. Vicky and Isis never got sick either, that’s right.

Phasing back into the bedroom, Polly began thinking of ways to obtain cough medicine: she can almost go to the pharmacy she works at and get some for herself. She could steal it… Wait, why would she need to? For one, it’s not an illicit substance like cocaine or marajuana are back in the human dimension. For another, it’s just a tickle. She can handle a tickle.

… Right?

After about an hour of Polly trying to keep her cough down by resting—this cough overtaking her decision making—Vicky and Isis went to check on her upstairs. They had made dinner—okay, Isis did because any attempts at Vicky cooking result in anything she touched turning to charred sludge—with a glass of wine for Polly. Of course, neither would think she’d reach a decision immediately; that takes time, after all.

“Polly? You feeling okay? We have dinner and wine,” Vicky greeted, knocking gently on the door.

“Yeah… I’m fine…” Polly yawned, taking her time before phasing through the door. “Carry me?” Smiling, Vicky scooped Polly up in her arms.

“You don’t have to make this decision right away, my darling. We can just relax… and you can tell us when you’re ready,” Isis reassured as she led her partners to the dining area so they could have their dinner.

“Thanks… I still don’t know about that, though,” Polly coughed. … Uh-oh.

“Polly, are you pretending to be sick?” Vicky asked, giggling as she set Polly down on the couch. Yeah… that could work!

“Yeah, silly Polly! Feigning sick so my lovelies can take care of me!” Polly laughed, coughing again. That cough was a little harder. That was definitely more than a tickle. “Maybe some of that wine will make me feel better!”

“Oh, alright,” Isis giggled, bringing forward lemon potatoes for her and Vicky, and the wine for Polly. Drinking that wine allowed her to get that cough back down to a tickle. This is fine… this is fine.

“I still think it’s thoughtful of you two to think of making a body for me… but I’m not sure if that’s for me, y’know?” Polly said after practically chugging down her glass. “I’m happy being a ghost. It means I get to surprise you two by phasing through walls, making things float and shit.”

“Eh, it was worth a shot,” Vicky replied, taking a lemon-seasoned potato in her mouth. “It’s your choice, after all.”

“We just… we were thinking of ways to keep you with us… keep you from…” Isis mumbled, her mouth bandages undone so she could eat with her new lower jaw prosthetic.

“… keep me from moving on…” Polly deduced. This had been on her mind for a long time, ever since the road trip, even before Spriton called her informing her that their parents had moved on. And yeah, Polly didn’t want to move on. “Girls, you don’t have to worry about that. We’re getting married soon. You two are gonna have many, many years with your lovable fan-favorite wife, Polly Geist!” she declared, pouring herself a second glass of wine, and subsequently drinking it all while suppressing another cough.

“Well, that’s good,” Isis smiled, pulling Polly’s ghostly form in for a hug. “Because I was planning a Greek honeymoon! Thoughts on Santorini?”

“Ooh~! I think we talked about going there at some point!” Vicky chirped, swallowing another piece of dinner. “Didn’t we, Honey Bunny?”

“Yaas! Going to Greece sounds fun!” Polly cheered, coughing again. Coughing harder. Coughing violently. “Oof! Chugged a little too hard!” Polly laughed, coughing some more.

“Polly?! What’s wrong?!” Vicky cried, reaching for her. Polly was gasping for breath, her whole form flickering with the intensity of her struggle so that she went through the couch she was sitting on.

“I… I don’t know!” she choked out, another wave of coughs making her body writhe as she made her way to the sink for some water. Maybe that’ll help? Polly hadn’t drank water in a long time. All the while, she was making dry, raspy noises, growing more desperate with each step, each spasm. She was feeling a burning sensation in her throat; she needed that water.

Isis had made her way to Polly’s side, Vicky also rushing to the sink to get her some ice cold water for Polly to drink. “Polly, this isn’t normal. Are you… are you in pain?”

“I’m… I’m fine!” Polly lied, getting some more coughs in before Vicky helped bring water to her lips. Thankfully, the coughs seemed to die down again, with one final one in the glass. “Yeah… I’m fine,” Polly coughed, rubbing her throat. But then she looked into the glass. Floating in the water, its delicate purplish-pink edges tinged with a faint, iridescent shimmer, was a singular flower petal.

… Now Polly was just confused. Did she ingest a flower and not remember it?

“Well, mystery solved then,” Vicky answered, also confused. “What happened?” she asked, helping Polly back to standing position. Polly just stood there in confusion. Where did that flower petal come from…? Suddenly, involuntarily, she began to laugh.

“Oh so that’s where that went!” she laughed. “I went to a work party and I may have eaten one of my coworkers lotus flowers!” That wasn’t true at all. That was just a lie she came up with on the fly to explain how this could’ve happened. Or was it? She didn’t know. “And hey, my cough is gone. Now then, back to wine!” Polly then marched back to the couch, pouring herself a third glass of wine.

“I… guess that’s okay, then?” Isis responded, sitting down next to her, with Vicky joining soon after.

“So… no body suit for you?”

“No body suit, Kitten,” Polly answered, sipping on her wine this time. “But thanks for the offer, though.”

“Ey, no problem!” Vicky answered, pulling Polly in for a hug. “Speaking of parties… wanna head over to a boardwalk party later?”

“Yaas!” Polly cheered.

“Good thing there are boardwalk parties a plenty here,” Isis giggled. “There’s one over by the carnival here. Wanna do that one?” Polly just gave a thumbs up as a response. That decision was easy, at least. As the three of them later got up, placing their dishes in the sink, they took off, ready for a night of partying.