Ghost In Red

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"What do you mean, Ma'am?" I asked Marcella, and we followed her when she walked a distance and sat at the nearby bench fronting a closed store.    

"She told me she wouldn't help any ghost." The guy following the woman answered me, and OJ and I looked at him in skepticism.    

"What do you mean?" OJ asked him, and he let out a deep sigh and shrugged his shoulders.    

"I don't know. She just won't. She said she's not allowed. I only wanted her to tell my family that I got into an accident yesterday. My unconscious body is at the hospital right now, and none of the staff knew who to call. No one knows me around here because I just got here from Mexico the other week. I only need to tell my parents I'm about to die or not. They have no idea what I have gotten myself in here. And this person was the only one I knew who could hear me. I'm Joseph, by the way. Nice meeting you both!" He explained and reached for a handshake, and I nodded my head and shook his hand.    

"Damn, I'm so sorry about your situation, man. But yeah, I am Sydney, and this is my girlfriend, Olivia. Nice meeting you, too." I said and turned my head and saw OJ grinning so widely at me, and she also shook Joseph's right hand.    

"We all have tragic stories. That's why we are like this now. But anyway, I hope you will be okay. We will be okay." She told the guy, who smiled in reply.    

I looked at Marcella while she was looking at her dog, and I really had this urge to ask her.    

"Ma'am, please, can you tell us why you wouldn't help any of us? We are actually about to ask you to help us tell our loved ones about our... You know... It's... We need your help... Or service."    

I hope she reconsiders because... It's about our lives we are talking about here. We all have almost the same cases and asking for her help.    

"Well, we are willing to pay for your service, Madam. Name your price. I'll give it to you once I get back on my feet. I assure you that. Just help us tell my father that I don't want to die yet. I only have about twenty-four hours left before he lets me go forever. I believe I only need more time. I know you can convince him because you are an expert in this kind of... you know, you have powers to see people's futures, pasts, ghosts, and anything magical. Please?" OJ begged her, and I held her left hand tightly as we both hoped she would agree.    

"It's not that easy, my dear. If it's all about material things, I could have helped a hundred like you. But no. It's a life for a life. It took me to lose three lives before I realized that it was a wrong decision to help people who don't belong in the living world. I had helped ghosts to have their second chances to live. And in exchange for that... I lost my husband first, then my eldest son, and lastly, my daughter. I only have Max left. That's why I stopped when I knew the real reason why my loved ones died after I helped people, their ghosts, that are meant to depart. It's because what I have is not a talent or a blessing. It's a curse. I'm so sorry. And I hope you all understand." She answered, showing us a sad smile while sorrow is evident in her voice, and this information surely left us all stunned.    

"Oh, no! I'm so sorry. We didn't... We don't know." I gasped and felt sad for what she had gone through. That's tragic.    

"That's not... good. Oh, I'm sorry, Madam. And it's okay. We understand if you can't help us. Oh, can I give you a hug? I know it will feel weird, but I want to give you one." OJ said with a face that seemed like she was about to cry and asked the woman to give her a comfy embrace, and she lightly nodded her head in reply. OJ's the best hugger, for sure. It could really make you feel better.    

"Great! I guess we really have no other choice. If we are meant to die, we are going to die. That is what I understood." Joseph let out and sighed, and I looked at him about to turn his back on us to walk away.    

"It's nice meeting you all, though! Adiós!" He waved his hand goodbye, and I noticed he was fading from my sight.    

"Whoa, what's happening?" He asked in wonder as he turned to look back at us, and he looked at himself in shock, seeing that his hands were starting to fade.    

I was too stunned to speak, and both OJ and Marcella were curious to know what was going on.    

"Am I dying? Damn, I guess this is it." The panicking guy said and looked at us for the last time and smiled, and he said, "Good luck with your lives, gays! I guess this is my final adiós. Ciao!"    

"Goodbye!" OJ and I muttered, still shocked with what we had witnessed, and he totally disappeared.    

What the hell just happened before me?    

"What happened to him?" I asked Marcella, and she smiled a sad one and turned to her dog and petted him when he barked.    

"He's gone. His time has come." She answered, making me gulp. And OJ went near me to hold my right hand with both of hers.    

"Oh, sh*t!" I cursed and turned to my girl when she cursed, too. "Oh, sh*t, indeed!"    

Is that what will happen to OJ soon? I better expect it like that.    

"You saw it coming, didn't you?" I asked the woman, and she inhaled deeply before nodding her head.    

"Yes. But I couldn't tell him. I shouldn't, the same as the two of you. Your fate lies ahead of you. It would be okay if you were here, physically, and I could see you. In that way, I can tell you about your future or past, but not in this form of yours. I'm so sorry. But I can give you a piece of advice, Sydney." Marcella replied and made us curious about what she wanted to tell me. I hope it could help us greatly.    

"Yeah, sure. And we understand. It's alright." I answered, and my girlfriend gently squeezed my hand.    

"You shouldn't stay too long away from your physical form. That's all I can tell you. Good luck, girls." The woman said and stood up from the bench, and I was quite puzzled about what she told me.    

"What? You mean... Syd should stay inside her body? Well, me, I have been away from my body since... For over a month. You think I could have woken up if I stayed in my body?" OJ asked as it's making us flabbergasted. What does she mean by I shouldn't stay too long away from my body?    

"I said what I said. And it's only for Sydney, dear. As for you, Olivia... I... I can't tell." She explained and looked our way.    

Does it mean bad for me? This woman really is… I don't know. It creeps the heck out of me, hearing her words.    

"Okay. I guess we need to go back to Chicago right away, Syd." OJ worriedly told me, and I shook my head.    

"No. I guess we can't yet, Oj. I have read the scheduled flights back to Chicago at the airport earlier. And the next one will be tomorrow at eight-thirty AM. Will that be alright for me, Ma'am? Is it too long? I mean... I woke up about… eight or six hours ago and left my body to go here." I replied and asked Marcella.    

The woman only smiled at us, and what she said next made us worry more.    

"Good night, girls."    

And she turned her back on us without telling us anything else, and she walked away to the pedestrian crossing as the cars on both lanes stopped to let people pass.    

"Damn. This isn't good. I'm so sorry, OJ. I have already failed you too many times." I mumbled and sighed, and I took a seat on the bench. I want to cry so bad right now.    

I noticed OJ kept looking at the woman walking across the road.    

I tried to think hard about what had just happened and what would happen to us, to my girlfriend. This is not going in our favor—any of it.    

Then I felt OJ sit beside me and rest her right hand on my lap.    

"Hey, Syd. It's going to be okay. At least we tried." She assured me, and I scoffed.    

"No. It's not okay. Well, I guess the better thing to do is always expect disappointment so you will be less disappointed with the result. A mindset of a negative thinker, but it works perfectly great. It makes total sense."    

"Mmm. Yeah, I guess that's partly right. But... We really need to go back to Chicago first thing in the morning, Syd." OJ said and held my left hand as she stood up. And I let out a sigh and shook my head.    

"No. I don't want to go back, OJ. I want to die." I uttered while staring straight at the ground, and I heard a long silence from her.    

I don't know, but this thought suddenly struck in my head.    

I'm losing hope. What is there to keep living for if I lose her, too? It's all nonsense if I'll live but suffer being alone.    

Right?