Prologue
“Dear…”
“Dear…” she says once more.
“Dearrrr…” she lets out a breath and sucks it back in.
“Dear Carter.”
“What are you doing?” Matt says, raising an eyebrow.
She jumps out her seat and throws her notebook shut.
“Nothing! Nothing. I’m doing nothing, what about you, what are you doing?
“Well...I was making brunch and I just came to ask if I could borrow your charger. Is everything okay?
“Yeah. Perfect”
Gnawing on her bottom lip, she turns to face the window. Peering out into the world around. A shaky breath escapes her lips. Matt’s still there. She knows Matt’s still there. She can feel his eyes boring into the back of her head. She continues to ignore him. The colours around her seem to be draining. Fading in and fading out. As this is happening, she spots an unusually-shaped rock in the distance. She blankly stares at it. Melissa turns back to find Matt gone but is greeted with a glass of water that sits on her desktop. Reaching for it slowly, she throws her head back and takes a swig of its content. Water never tasted so good. Glass in hand, she walks out the door. Forgetting whatever she started in the notebook. Focussing only on how good that water tasted. The ground’s ridges and bumps and curves and sharp edges. The way that felt under her feet. That’s all she focussed on as she made her way. One foot in front of the other, she thought. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. In the end, it’ll be like walking, she thought. Nothing else held her attention. Actually, no. She didn’t want her attention to be held by anything else. She forced herself to focus only on how it felt to be her. Only on how it felt to be her in that moment. The way her toes caressed each other. The feeling of knots tightening in her stomach. The tightness in her jaw as her throat was caught with words she didn’t know how to say. By this time, the glass had been long discarded on top of the kitchen counter. Half full and half empty. The wind blew on her cheek and only then did she realize she had been crying. She wipes the tears away before they develop and deepen further. Because if she started, she know she wouldn’t be able to stop. Ten minutes have barely passed. But as each continuing minute came by, she felt herself growing restless. She can see his house now. His red door. His red brick walls. The red flowers scattered all across his front lawn. His red door. His red brick walls. His red flowers. His red door, red door, red, red, red door. Her feet are now planted firmly into the sidewalk. She’s frozen still to the spot. No bone in her body dares to move. Her eyes shut. She focuses on her breathing. The bridge in between that connects her breath in and her breath out. With all her might, she forces her feet to move. Marching to his red door with determination set in her mind. She lifts her hand to knock on his red door. But the door swings open before she has a chance to.
“Heyy.” Carter says.
Though his eyes hold uncertainty.
Melissa opens her mouth to speak but only silence falls.
“Hey..what’s up?” he says as his eyebrows furrow atop his forehead.
“We..”
A tear rolls down her cheek and falls to the ground.
They both stare at the tear stain now lying on Carter’s front porch.
Melissa’s eyes glance up towards his face. She finds him staring back at her with concern written all over.
“Melissa…” he says so gently, almost as if he knows exactly what’s going to come out my frail mouth.
Megan
I stand in front of my full body mirror. Staring at what I see. When did I get so old? It seems that I’ve aged 4 years. This person in front of me, it’s not me. And yet here I am, staring right back at her. I wanna believe it’s me, but I don’t know anymore. My eyes lace with tears causing my vision to become blurry. I shut my eyes instantly. I will not let these rotten tears fall out my deceiving eyes. I’m hit with a short, immense pain as I force the tears back in. My eyelids shoot open and I’m faced with a puffy-eyed girl. A puffy-eyed girl who’s dark hair used to be home to thick, luscious, beautiful curls. Whose royal blue eyes, used to light up whenever she spoke. Whose glowing skin used to be sprinkled with freckles upon her button nose and atop her high cheekbones? I walk away from my reflection. This has become a part of my life. For 3 months now. I stand still looking at the view of my back garden from my bedroom window. I try to recall what the garden used to look like. It seems to have grown a life of its own, as if the twisting thorny vines would wrap themselves around my racing heart and put an end to my anxiety. She’s such a boring girl. She’s such a boring, basic girl. A boring, basic girl with mediocre looks. But then one day, he just asked her out. A tear leaves the corner of my eye. Though this time, I let it fall.
Melissa
I’m Melissa. Melissa Hartwood actually and I was murdered last night at 10:03 pm. Stabbed 37 times in the chest. And I know exactly who killed me. I had been looking over my shoulder and sleeping with one eye open for the past month or so. I didn’t think much of it. I hadn’t thought to alert anyone about it. I should have thought. But what can I do now? Here I am in spirit or ghost form or something along those lines. I was never really interested in paranormal activity. No, my heart belonged to the arts. Any kind. That’s what I was doing actually in the museum last night. I was admiring the colours and shapes and lines. I was admiring the figures and objects. I was admiring the message conveyed through each individual piece of heaven. That’s all I was doing. Admiring. I’ll say again, I know who murdered me. I don’t know why. But then again, I never know why.
Megan
Before Melissa, life had been good to me. Though as soon as she came, I fell. Do I hate her? Yeah. Does she deserve to die? Yeah. I’ve been standing in the same spot for so long. I don’t plan to move anytime soon. She did this to me. Before Melissa, I was happy. I find myself spiralling into a vision of the past, of myself as I’d once been, before I became a monster. Before I became this.
Melissa
I still don’t understand how this after-life thing works. I’m still here in the museum, trying to figure out how my life or my after-life works. I mean, can I walk through walls? Can real people feel my presence? Do I get hungry, and if I do, what happens then? I could barely live my real life, how’d you expect me to live my dead one. There are many people within the museum right now. Policemen and women, detectives, eye witnesses. All trying to figure out what the heck happened to me last night.
Megan
When hatred fuel everything in your life. You tend to end up doing stupid things. Stupid, awful, inhuman things.
Melissa
Mom, Dad, baby sis and baby bro. Carter, Matt. Aoife, Lex and Megan? Why’s she here?
Megan
A wide smile spreads across my face as I stare at Melissa’s cold, lifeless body.
“Miss, is everything alright?” The police officer questions.
“Yeah. Yeah. I’m fine” I respond grinning.
Melissa
Why is she laughing?
Megan
Dead.
Melissa
My mind is blank.
Megan
Carter’s mine now.
Melissa
I need to let them know.
Megan
I smile once more. Alone