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“Those people you see, wandering the paths, they aren’t here.”
My heartbeat sped up at his implication.
“They were oncehere,of this world, but they’re not anymore.”
My mouth became dry as I tried to swallow the information, but I couldn’t. Another person walked by. It was a young man, probably in his late thirties. He wore a button-up shirt with a vest over top and a beret on his head. He looked very old-fashioned, and suddenly the severity of this situation grew extremely heavy on my shoulders.
“They are ghosts.”
My hand dropped from my face as I stared out the window. More and more of them appeared, all of them walking aimlessly around the land as night set in. They wove between each other, not paying each other any mind, each person on their own way.
“And this, Celeste,” his voice darkened, his tone haunting as it rattled the marrow of my bones. I could feel his intense stare on me, but I couldn’t bring myself to tear my eyes away from the sight outside. “This is Purgatory.”
Glass shattered
Burn every paper
Red water
Celeste
Before I knew it, my legs were carrying me out of that house faster than I could process it. I ran to the front door, flung it open, and ran down the front steps.
Normally, I’d avoid running straight into my fears, but I had to get out of there. I needed to get to my car.
My breath was caught in my throat as my feet found the stone path, at least a dozen ghosts surrounding me. I did my best to steer clear of them all, my vision circling every bit of land I could see, my body turning in odd ways to prevent myself from bumping into them.
I wasn’t even sure if Icouldtouch them.
“Celeste!” I heard a voice call out to my back. I ignored it and pressed on, weaving through mausoleums and statues andghosts.
After finally making it to my car, I got inside and turned it on. As the engine roared, the headlights flicked on, illuminating the view in front of me.
My eyes widened as my heart fell into my ass.
The ghosts were brightened to their highest opacity, forcing my aching pupils to dilate. They were bright, brighter than I’d ever seen, but even the shine of the lights didn’t faze them. They continued to walk the paths, their souls in everlasting limbo as they meandered slowly. You would thinkthe light would go straight through them since they weren’t physical beings, but it didn’t. It reflected. They had an eternal glow to them, one that couldn’t be seen in the dark. Their everlasting haze burned into my vision, leaving their bright imprint beneath my eyelids.
And that’s when I knew this picture would be seared in my memory forever.
Turning my car around, I tried to dodge my way through the ghosts. I made it to the entrance, and the man working the booth opened the gates, allowing my car through.
I didn’t hesitate to push my foot to the pedal.
But as the gates closed behind me and my car began its descent down the winding hill, I took one last look in the rearview mirror. The ghosts were still strolling as if there wasn’t a care in their world.
Maybe that was it. Maybe they didn’t care.
Because they couldn’t.
A week has gone by since the night at the cemetery.
This isn’t a cemetery.
I squeezed my eyes shut, pushing his words from my head. He was right—itwasn’ta cemetery—but in his truth, I wasn’t expectingthis.
Did I even believe it? Was it all true?
For the past seven nights, I had a reoccurring nightmare about the ghosts. I was back there, it was nighttime, and I was running to my car. But once I was there, I couldn’t get in. The doors were locked, and no matter how hard I tried to pull on the handle, it never opened. The ghosts surrounded me, staredat me, and made it known that they knew I existed. They wanted me. They reached for me. Through all that, Caius was nowhere to be found, with no desire to save me from my fears.
