paresthesia
or par·aes·the·sia
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The house loomed over the trio. Its windows were boarded up, its paint was nearly gone, and its door barely clung to the frame. The walls had holes in places, the roof was sagging, and the yard had been reclaimed by nature.
“I don’t like this. I don’t think we should be here.” Bill said.
“Yeah, we know. You’ve only told us about a dozen times now.” Ryan said as he rolled his eyes.
“There’s nothing to be afraid of, you wuss.” Mike agreed. “As long as you watch your step, it’ll be fine. We’ll go in, snap a few pics, maybe grab some old stuff and leave. Easy.”
Ryan and Mike barely hesitated as they went up to the old building. Bill’s head was on a swivel and palms were sweaty as he slowly followed his friends. When he entered, he shivered. There was something very wrong. He felt it. Actually felt it.
It was a tingling, or prickling feeling running down his back, like someone was poking him with dozens of tiny pins. Apparently the other two felt nothing of the sort, as they walked without care over the aged floor. The feeling passed quickly, and Bill moved just fast enough to keep the other two in sight.
The feeling came back not long after though, but this time it spread through his arms and shoulders as well. He shuddered and looked around. He looked around, trying to find what might be causing his distress. He saw something. He was not sure what it was, but it was definitely there. A small glowing area on the wall, caused by a small object that looked almost like the back of a hand. But it faded into the wall, so he could not be sure. At the same time, the feeling disappeared.
“Hey, guys? I really think we need to leave.” Bill said. “There’s something weird here.”
“It’s just your imagination.” Ryan said. “Maybe, like, a mouse or something at best. Now come on, we’re not that deep in.”
Mike and Ryan continued on, without even looking back. The feeling came back. This time, oddly enough, located at the top of his head. He looked up. There was a face. The face of a young woman, glowing faintly and slightly transparent. And It was coming out of the ceiling. Bill let out a few squeaks and his entire body stiffened as the ghost woman floated down. She looked at Mike and Ryan as they rounded a corner. She crossed her arms.
“Oh dear. They went down that hallway. Hopefully they see the hole. That can be a nasty drop.” She turned to look at Bill, who stood there unmoving. “Well, at least they have someone here with a bit of sense. Hopefully if they fall then…hmm?” She tilted her head from side to side. Then she held up a spectral finger in front of his eyes. She moved it. Bill reflexively followed it with his eyes. A wide grin formed on her face. “You can see me? How wonderful! Oh, oh, can you hear me too? Can you? Please tell me you can hear me. It’s been so long since I’ve had a conversation.”
Bill’s brow wrinkled in confusion. She wanted to…talk? “Uh…conversation?”
She squealed with glee. “You can! You can see and hear me! How wonderful! You have no idea how rare that is. Most people with the gift can only do one or the other, and it makes talking so difficult. Oh, right, how rude of me. My name is Agatha, and it’s a true pleasure to mee you.”
“Um, I’m…I’m Bill. You’re not going to, like, possess me or use some kind of ghost power to steal my soul or anything, are you?”
Agatha burst out laughing. “Kill you? I couldn’t do that even if I wanted to, silly. I’m just a normal ghost, not a poltergeist or a specter. Those you need to watch out for. But me? Nothing. You’re in more danger from a collapsed floorboard than me. I don’t think I can even touch you.” She held out a hand and laid it on his shoulder. It was cold, and his shoulder tingled fiercely. She gasped. “I…I can touch you? Oh my word, you really are something special. To be able to touch a ghost, you must be able to perform real miracles. Well, maybe not right now, but if you learned how to do things.”
“Wait, things? What kind of things? Like, magic?” Bill asked, completely forgetting his previous fear.
“Oh no, magic is the work of stage magicians. I’m talking something more like spiritual power. I don’t know enough about it to tell you what that mean, just that it can be done. Oh, but I know of some people who know more. They came by a few years ago, but they could barely feel me. Just enough to know I was there, and tell me where they could be found if someone like you came along. Oh, but please don’t leave right away. I get so lonely, being here all alone.”
“I…Guess I can stay for a little while? I’ve never really talked to a ghost before. Or seen one. But, uh what did you say about a hole?”
“Hm? Oh! Right, the hole. Yes, the floors have rotten away in the hall your friends went down. Come on, I’ll show you!” She took his hand and started floating towards where Mike and Ryan went. “You should hopefully be in time to warn them of the danger. And if you three want to stick around and, I don’t know, prove your bravery, then I’ll be sure to show you where all the bad spots are so that nothing happens. Oh, I’m so excited! This is going to be the first real conversation I’ve had in I don’t know how long!”
Bill let himself be guided by the ghost. He was still processing what was happening. Apparently ghosts were real, and he could fully interact with them. What that meant, he had no idea. But maybe finding out would not be so bad.
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I imagine that if ghosts were real, most of them would just be normal people. You know, more like Casper than The Ring girl. Just normal people who died and weren't quite done with life, but don't know what to do in death, so they just kind of hang out.
