That Haunting Love Story

Violet Fox approached the Operations Office at her work. Her hands were shaking and she could hear her own heartbeat. "Getting called into the office by a supervisor is rarely good," she muttered to herself. "Did I do something wrong? Am I getting written up?"

She opened the door. The office had a desk in each corner, each one covered in papers and logs to fill out. A dry-erase whiteboard hung on the wall to the right, with miscellaneous phrases written on it. The walls displayed photos of the park taken by Violet and given to the supervisors as Christmas gifts.

As she entered she beheld a petite gentleman with short, light auburn hair and beautiful blue eyes. He wore a button-down shirt and khaki pants and sat in front of a computer. Gazing in her direction, he said, "You must be Violet?"

"Y..yes..."

"I'm Stan Burke, your new supervisor. Nice to meet you." He extended his hand.

Violet reached out and grabbed the lightly-tanned hand.His touch is so soft and warm, she thought. He's small and cute, like a rabbit...

"In order for you to continue working at FunLand, we need you to sign a document saying you're good to come back from sick leave." He handed her a paper.

"That's it? I'm not in trouble?"

"No, you're fine," he replied.

So are you, she thought. Violet glanced at the paper, circled a few answers to questions and handed it back to Stan.

"Oops, you forgot your employee number," he said, handing it back to Violet.

Violet's heart beat so loudly in her chest that she could hear it. "My number is escaping me," she said softly. She pulled out her ID badge to reference the number as Stan chuckled. After writing it, she gave the paper back to Stan. Her brown eyes met with his, and they both smiled.

"You should get back to work," said Stan.

"Can do, sir. Nice to meet you."

After he dismissed her, she returned to her position at the entrance to the pet show. Her thoughts turned to the new supervisor.There's something about him that intrigues me. I don't know what it is, she thought.

About a week later, Violet sat with her coworker friend at lunch, Alice. The crowded cafeteria bustled with hundreds of hungry workers. The televisions played a closed-captioned movie about a haunting. A radio station played classic rock over the loudspeakers. Violet breathed in the scent of freshly-cooked pizza and sizzling french fries.

"Have you met the new supervisor?" said Violet.

"You mean Stan? Yes, he seems cool," she replied.

"For the last week I haven't been able to get him out of my head," said Violet. "There's just something about him..."

"Dude, you can't go after a supervisor! You're a regular! The company won't allow it!" She took a last bite of her burger.

"I know, but.."

"I have to go clock in. My lunch is almost over." Alice rose and departed. Stan arrived with a plate full of pizza and sat a few tables away from Violet. He set down his plate and held his head in his hands. Violet picked up her plate and headed over to Stan.

"May I join you?" said Violet.

"Sure," said Stan.

Noticing his posture, Violet ventured, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He straightened up and cast his gaze at the pretty brunette sitting with him.

"How do you like working here so far?" asked Violet.

"It's a little stressful," replied Stan, taking a bite out of his pizza. "I enjoy running the shows, though, especially the pet show."

"Do you have any pets of your own?" Violet leaned in, looking Stan in the eye. "You seem like a cat person."

"I am, but I can't officially own one because I'm allergic. There is a stray one hanging around my house that I feed, though." He took another bite.

"Awww! That's so sweet of you!" Violet smiled. "I have a cat. They're awesome. I wish I could be one. They're so beautiful and independent..."

Stan glanced at his watch. "Time to clock in. Nice chatting with you," he said.

"Likewise," said Violet. She smiled at him as he got up to leave.

That evening, Violet hopped into her sedan after getting off work. About a mile from home she heard her phone ring. Glancing away from the road, she looked down at her phone to see who was calling her. The screen read, "STAN BURKE".

Her heart skipped a beat. He's calling me! Does he like me? OMG! She answered the phone, oblivious to the tree straight in front of her. "Hello!"

"Hi Violet, are you cool with me adjusting your schedu-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a loud crash. Violet's car crashed into the tree.

"Violet! What happened?! Are you okay?" Stan said over the phone.

No reply.

She's gone! Tears formed in Stan's eyes as he realized the gravity of the situation.

Paramedics arrived and pulled her out of the wreckage, but it was too late.

A few days later, all of Violet's coworkers gathered at her viewing. The setting sun shone through the stained-glass windows of the chapel, creating beautiful patterns of light. The scent of lilies permeated the air. Violet's casket lay just in front of the altar, surrounded by the lilies. The pews contained dozens of mourners.Stan approached the casket and gazed at the beautiful girl laying in it. "I'm sorry, Violet. This is my fault." His hand reached into the casket and he ran it over her lifeless hands.

Unbeknownst to Stan, Violet's spirit hovered behind him. She rested her hand on his shoulder. He turned around, feeling the touch but seeing no one. A chill permeated his body at the supernatural occurrence. His breathing became shallow and his heart raced.

Over the next few weeks, Stan thought about her incessantly. She began to visit him in his dreams. One night, he had such a dream:

Stan and Violet sat next to each other on a train. The train stopped next to a sunny meadow. "I have to get off here," said Violet."I wish you could come too, but it's not your time yet."

"We barely got to know each other,"said Stan. "This was all my fault..."

"No, you were just doing your job. You didn't know I was busy driving," said Violet. "We will be together here someday," she said before leaning in and giving him a soft kiss. Stan's eyes widened just as he awoke.

"What an eerie dream," he said to himself. He rose from the bed and looked at himself in the mirror, where he saw Violet's reflection. He looked behind him but saw no one else. "What the hell?" Through the rest of the day, every time he passed a mirror or window he saw her reflection in it.

A few months passed, and Violet's spirit haunted Stan and his office, until he put in his notice to resign. One night, he had another strange dream:

Violet and Stan sat at a desk in an ornate office. "So we meet again, here in your dreams,"said Violet, with her hands folded on the desk.

"I have something to tell you - I am leaving the company. I got accepted into the Marines." He sat up tall and smiled confidently as he spoke.

"No! You can't leave! I need you to stay!" She rose, towering over him.

"FunLand has been too stressful for me. The twelve-hour days..."began Stan, running his hand through his hair.

"You think being in the Marines isn't stressful?" Violet erupted into a ball of fire. "If you leave, there will be a disaster you cannot avoid!"

Stan awoke with a knot in his stomach. "I need help with this," he said to himself.

The next Sunday at church, Stan approached Pastor Quinn after the service with the words, "I have a problem."

"What is wrong?" asked Pastor Quinn. He turned to face Stan.

"There's a spirit haunting me and threatening me. I don't know what to do about it." Stan ran his fingers through his hair.

"Where is it haunting you?"

"She's been haunting my office at work ever since her passing in a car accident that I accidentally caused..."

"What was her name?"

"Violet," said Stan with a sigh.

"I will do what I can," replied the Pastor. A few nights later, at 3 am, Pastor Quinn arrived at the pitch-black office. "Violet, if you're here, turn on the flashlight," he said.

A few seconds passed before the flashlight seemingly turned itself on.

"Show yourself!" said the Pastor.

A translucent figure of a young woman appeared before Pastor Quinn.

"You need to move on," said the Pastor. "You can't keep threatening Stan. He's scared for his life!"

Violet began to weep. "I'm sorry!" she cried. "I don't mean to hurt him, I just need to be with him! I love him!"

"I see. But you can't keep on doing this. You have to go."

"Where?"

"To the next realm. Your time here is through!"

"Please! Is there any way at all I can stay with him? He said he feeds a stray cat. Could you cast my soul into its body? Kind of like how Jesus let the spirits into the herd of swine?" She wrung her hands desperately.

"I can try. I will come back tomorrow with the cat and see if I can do it. Goodbye for now."

The flashlight went out, and the figure faded away.

The next morning, Pastor Quinn called Stan. "I made contact with her. She wants me to cast her into the body of the cat that you feed."

A few seconds of silence passed. "That's weird!" said Stan.

"She is desperate to be with you. I am going to try to do it tomorrow night. Can you catch the cat and bring it to your old office?"

"I don't know about this..."

"Nothing will change for you, except for the fact you won't have to worry about her haunting and threatening you any more," said Pastor Quinn.

"I guess I could..."

"Ok, cool. See you tonight."

"Thanks Pastor," said Stan before hanging up.

The next night, Stan and Pastor Quinn brought the cat into the office. Stan gave it some food to relax it. Pastor Quinn placed a hand on the eating cat. "Violet, I command your soul to enter this cat."

The cat continued to eat.

"It didn't work," sighed Stan.

"Let me try again," said Pastor Quinn. "Violet, enter this cat now!"

The cat stopped eating and convulsed a little before letting out a loud, "Meowwww!"

"I think it worked!" said Stan.

"Violet, if you're in the cat, come and sit in Stan's lap," said Pastor Quinn.

The cat immediately went over to Stan and hopped into his lap, purring.

"Problem solved!" said Pastor Quinn.

"What a relief!" said Stan. He picked up the cat and stroked it. "I will take you home and take great care of you. I may need some allergy medicine, but I'll make it work."

I must be in heaven! This is going to be great! thought Violet. I finally get to be with my love!


Violet lived a few years as Stan's cat before moving on. She had fulfilled her dreams at last.