A Ghostly Awakening

“I can’t really be seeing this right now. It’s a dream, a hallucination, or something,” I thought to myself. But when I opened my eyes, it was as if the image was magnified. There was what appeared to be a huge ghost in front of me, standing in between the bench and dresser. It was a woman, and she had a slight olive glow to her.

“Hello?” I stammered. The ghost shrunk back to normal size.

“Hello. I’m sorry, I don’t mean to impede your sleep,” the ghost replied.

“Why are you here? Can I help you with something?”

“It’s just that in my former life, I was always in seclusion. I married, but shortly after my husband went to prison. I thought that if I could find someone nice among the living, I could have a friend. I would understand if you didn’t want to be friends with a ghost though.”

I paused, processing what she’d just said. “Well, let’s start off with your name,” I said. “Mine name is Tanya.”

“I’m Alice,” she said smiling. “I’m sorry, I should’ve told you that first. I suppose you’re wondering how my death came about?”

“Yes, that was going to be my first question,” I admitted.

“Well, it was rather tragic. It was about 30 years ago now, but I still remember the day vividly. That is, until the bullet went through my brain.” She paused, observing my reaction. “I was sitting on the couch in my living room watching TV,” she continued. “I thought the apartment could use some ventilation, so I got up and opened all the doors and windows. After that, I went into the bathroom, and right after I’d opened the door to come back out, I was shot in the head.”

“Oh my goodness I’m so sorry to hear that. Was anyone else in the complex killed?”

“Yes, at least half of the residents. It was just some crazy guy with a gun, killing innocent people. I was only 25 when I died.”

I shuddered. “I hate stuff like this. It’s so horrifying, and sad. I’m very sorry you had to be a victim of that.”

Alice smiled. “You have a big heart, don’t you Tanya?”

I returned her smile and said “Yes, I do. But I myself, have been alone most of my life, so not many have seen it.”

Alice didn’t show any expression. “Do you work today?” she asked me.

I looked at my watch and said “Yes, as a matter of fact. I should be getting ready.”

“No problem, I’ll be on my way. I’ll be back to visit later, if that isn’t a problem. Have a good day Tanya.”

Before I could reply, Alice was gone.

As I got ready for work, I did my best to replay the conversation in my head. I still thought this was a little bizarre, yet I knew it was real. I hoped it was real at least. I liked that idea of having a ghost friend. It seemed almost like having an imaginary friend as a kid.

I went downstairs to the coat rack to grab my fleece pullover, but it wasn’t there. I thought for a minute, and then re-traced my tracks from when I got home from work yesterday. The first thing I did was go upstairs and take a shower. Sure enough, it was in the bathroom. I put it on, grabbed my purse, locked the house, and went out to my car. “Back to the daily routine,” I thought aloud. Except for the fact that I was looking forward to coming home tonight.