The Other Side of Life
Chapter 1
A Typical Day in My Life... Sort of
Author's Note: Alright. To tell you the truth I've been dying (no pun intended) to write this story every since I took a ghost tour in Cape May. On the tour a woman told us about how the ghosts haunting the houses died, and that made me wonder what life (or at least their life after death) was like (I'm a strong ghostly believer).
So here's a story about a teenage ghost told by a teenage ghost... who's been hanging around for 113 years. Fun, no? Enjoy!
People! Please review and let me know what you think! This story idea is only being tested! Its future depends on how people respond to it. So go and review as soon as your finished! Thanks!
Some people say that Cape May is the most haunted town in America. I can't say that this is true, but I can definitely say it's haunted by a lot of ghosts, one of them being me. That's right. I'm a ghost. I died on May 2nd 1892, my seventeenth birthday. How? Well that's a different story.
My name's Abigail Walker, although everyone calls me Abby. Over the years I've made the bed and breakfast I died in famous. You see, I'm one of the more lively, interactive spirits in town. Believe it or not it actually attracts people to the place. Tourists like staying in haunting rooms.
I haunt the front corner room on the second floor of the Victorian Garden. It's not the room where I died, but it's the room I was staying in, so I've claimed it as my main haunting ground. Because I died so long ago my clothes aren't exactly up to date, but that's all right. I like it that way.
But where to begin with my story? Perhaps a few days before he came.
It started off as a regular old day. I spent the morning and afternoon haunting my usual room, the one I had been staying in when I died, when I heard old Mrs. Jenkins crying. She stays in the room next to me. Mrs. Jenkins is my ghostly companion in the bed and breakfast. I can't stand it when she cries so I walked over to her room. Yes, it is true that ghosts can walk through walls. And yes, that's what I did.
Mrs. Jenkins was crying at her window seat. "Mrs. Jenkins." I said softly walking over to her, "You know, I hate to be blunt, but you've really got to get over your husband some time. It's been what? 113 years? But if you need a shoulder to cry on I'm here."
The old woman looked up at me. "Oh Abby." She said with a sniffle, "You're such a sweet girl. Come here, come here." She motioned to me to sit on the window seat with her. I arranged the skirts of my red dress and sat down. And then she cried on my shoulder. It's a daily occurrence.
A few minutes later, Mrs. Jenkins picked her head up. She was finished crying. For the day that was. Patting my shoulder, she smiled. "You're a good girl." Mrs. Jenkins told me, "A good girl."
"I'm glad you think that Mrs. Jenkins." I replied standing up. I walked out, or rather through the door and down the stairs to the check in desk.
Mrs. Mason was there, checking a couple in. I like Mrs. Mason. She lets me be. Mrs. Mason's the current owner. The last few have tried to exorcize me out of the building. As you can see, none of the attempts have worked. Occasionally she'll bring this one psychic in, but that's alright. I like him. He's nice and he's always very careful to repeat my messages to Mrs. Mason word for word.
"You'll be staying in room 3B." Mrs. Mason told the couple. Good. That was my room. It was always more interesting with a few living people walking around. "But I'll have to warn you, that's one of our haunted rooms. I can switch you if you'd like."
"Haunted?" the woman repeated. "Oh dear. Maybe we should change rooms then."
The man with her laughed. "Don't worry Emily." He told her, "Ghosts aren't real. And if something funny happens I'll protect you." So he was a non-believer? Perfect. Those were my favorites. And he was in for a real thrill because today was Thursday.
His wife smiled. "I know you will Hank." She turned back to Mrs. Mason. "I guess we'll take the room. Don't worry about switching us."
Mrs. Mason handed the man a key to my room. "Enjoy your stay." She told them with a smile.
"We will." Emily replied, "Your bed and breakfast is simply charming!"
Mrs. Mason laughed. "Thank you."
I followed the couple up the stairs and into my room. As soon as Hank had the door open, his wife let out a squeal. She dropped her luggage in front of the door and ran in, jumping onto the bed. "This is so great!" she exclaimed.
Hank looked down at her luggage and picked it up, bringing it into the room along with his own. "I'm glad you do baby." He dumped the bags at the end of the bed and lay down next to Emily.
I turned around as soon as they started to kiss. This was one of the only things I hated about this century. While I was living, a kiss wasn't something you just gave away like they do today. It was a rare gift given only to a person you loved dearly. And there was definitely an emphasis on rare. Oh well. That type of thinking was old fashioned now. And my opinion doesn't matter. It's not my century, therefore, not my rules. Unless of course these things are going on in my room.
When things started to get a little more heated than kissing I decided to take things into my own hands. There was a nice little cat figurine on the bedside table. I picked it up and casually dropped it on Hank's head. That stopped their little romp.
"Ow…" Hank moved away from Emily, rubbing the back of his head. "What the hell was that? Something hit me in the head."
Emily looked over, picking up the cat that had rolled over towards her. "I think this fell off the table." She said, "Did you bump it?"
"No." he replied, "I didn't even touch it."
"Do you think it was the ghost?" Emily asked, she looked nervous now.
Hank laughed. "Don't be ridiculous baby! There's no such thing as ghosts. Maybe I hit it and didn't notice. I bet that's it." He took the cat out of her hand and put it back on the table. Hank then turned back to his wife, looking to continue what they had been doing.
Emily turned away, shaking her head. "No." she said sitting up.
Her husband frowned. "Come on honey. You know I love you."
She smiled, looking back at him. "And I love you too." She replied, "But I think there's something here that doesn't want us goofing off." I grinned. Women were always the first to get my subtle messages. They were smart.
"But there's nothing here."
Emily stood up, straightening some of her hair. "We've got to unpack." Hank sighed, but got off the bed too, walking towards his bag.
I glanced over to the clock. It was seven. Time to test Hank's stubbornness. If he didn't believe in ghosts after this, he was nothing less than an idiot. I walked over to the TV. It flickered on. Emily and Hank stopped unpacking, staring at it in disbelief. The TV turned to channel 43. My favorite show was just beginning. I sat down on the trunk in front of the bed.
"Hank! It turned itself on!" Alright. With that comment Emily lost a few points in my mind. People who stated the obvious bugged me. Hank walked past the trunk and turned off the TV.
And so the war began. As soon as he turned back to his bag I turned the TV back on. I wasn't going to miss anything. If I was lucky Hank would believe in ghosts before the end of the theme song and I wouldn't miss anything. But this man seemed to be just a little stupider than I thought he was. He turned the TV back off. I turned it back on. This went on for about five more times. Then Hank tried changing the channel instead. I wouldn't have that either. The television turned back to 43. There was only a minute more until the show really started. I hoped he would give up soon.
"Emily! Go get the woman down stairs!" Hank instructed. Nodding, Emily hurried out of the room. Hank and I continued to battle over the TV.
A second later Mrs. Mason and Emily ran back into the room. Mrs. Mason stopped, watching Hank and I fight over the TV. She laughed. Hank stopped, turning to her slowly. "What are you laughing about?!" he demanded, "Your television's broken! It turned on and now it won't turn off or switch to another channel!"
"That's Abby." Mrs. Mason told them calmly. "She's our ghost. She likes it the show. Abby won't bother you if you just leave the TV alone and let her watch it. She'll even turn it off after the show's over."
"I-I think I want to sit in the living room for a while." Emily said in a shaky voice. Hank took one more look at the TV and ushered his wife out of the room.
Mrs. Mason turned back to where she thought I was. She couldn't see me. "You're scaring my customers Abby." I didn't reply. There was no point in it. She couldn't hear me. And besides, my show had started.