Ghosts
by Neil Schaefer
There is a man who enters the store at the same time as you. You hold the door for him and he
nods without smiling. Your jackets brush into each other as he passes and darts into an aisle. You turn your attention to the wall of refrigerators that line the back of the store—everything from
eggs to beer to frostbitten pot pie.
A blast of cold, humid air hits you when the drink fridge swings open. It smells stale. You drink in the cool for a moment while you stand in the door. It’s refreshing.
You reach towards the rows of cans and bottles.
- Grab something at random
- Keep looking with your hand out.
- Reach your other hand out.
- LUCKY QUARTER: Trivial: pick something that looks good.
LUCKY QUARTER: Trivial: FAILURE.
You paw at some kind of orange drink. Your fingers slide across the damp surface of the bottle, hooking onto its bent neck. You pull it out, the other drinks sliding forward to replace it.
RAW DATA: Some kind of manufacturing defect. It is bulbous and misshapen.
- Take it.
- ORDINARY GUY: Medium: Put it back.
- Take it and think about asking for a discount. Because it is wrong. Poorly handled.
- STRANGE BUT NOT A STRANGER: Steal it.
ORDINARY GUY: Medium: SUCCESS: You shove the drink back into the refrigerator. ANTIPODE: Wait. You need to buy something.
Your hand freezes on the bottle.
THE BUTTON: Who else is going to buy this? One more piece of waste in the world.
- I don’t see what that has to do with me.
- Someone has to want this drink.
- Nobody will buy this.
- MOTOR CONTROL: Walk away from the cooler.
THE BUTTON: Is that really what you think? YOU:
- No.
- (Lie) Yes.
Behind you, the cashier clears their throat.
ORDINARY GUY: They think you’re stealing.
- That’s not true.
- Maybe I am. What of it?
RECIPROCITY: You’ve been standing in front of an open fridge for three and a half minutes. What would you think you were doing, if you saw you?
YOU: “What?”
7/11 CASHIER: “What did you say?”
LUCKY QUARTER: Think of something normal to say, right now.
- “I’m sorry, I’m having a really hard day.”
- “This choice is really scaring me.”
- “I’ll just go.”
- FURNACE: Trivial: “Stop looking at me.”
- Find anything else to say.
YOU: Are these actually normal things to say? BEEKEEPER: Yes.
- Does anybody have a different suggestion?
LUCKY QUARTER: Look who’s too good for us now. GHOSTS: Say something about the bottle. Your feelings about it. YOU: “It wasn’t made right.”
You turn around and present the bottle to the cashier. You smile. A little trickle of sweat drips into your eye.
Their face relaxes, a little, into a polite smile.
7/11 CASHIER: “Must have gotten dinged up in the truck.” You nod.
THE BUTTON: Just buy it.
You slouch up to the register and place the bottle on the counter. Your wet sandals squeak on the linoleum floor.
But as you do, the cashier’s face falls and they back away from you, brow furrowed. Concerned. They stop, and turn towards the camera system. Six screen monitors blink back at you with big flat eyes. They display various parts of the store. It’s a lot of security for a 7/11.
TIP THE FERRYMAN: Somebody died in this building. You should ask about it.
- I am not doing that.
The cashier turns towards you again. Moisture is pooling under the drink. 7/11 CASHIER: “Did you see that man come in with you?”
You nod. Their eyes are fixed on you.
7/11 CASHIER: “He’s not in here anymore. He’s gone.” RECIPROCITY: Gone?
ORDINARY GUY: This must be some kind of test, to see how you react. Maybe you’re on camera right now.
CHILDREN OF THE SEA: Surveillance is a poison.
- RAW DATA: Medium: “Is he in the bathroom?”
- “I don’t know what to say to that.”
- “Is he a ghost or some sort of creature?”
TIP THE FERRYMAN: Where were you before now?
You came from the graveyard. It was closed, so you slid under the gate and walked around until you started to hear voices. You took photos. A pile of disturbed earth, a faint glow in the sky.
Rows and rows of stones.
DARKER THAN DARK: Something followed you home. TIP THE FERRYMAN: His liver failed.
HOLE: He misses being alive.
YOU: RAW DATA: Medium: Success: “He could be in the bathroom.” The cashier shakes their head.
7/11 CASHIER: “I already locked it. We close in thirty minutes.”
PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC LEANING: He was a ghost. Where else could he be?
- “He was a ghost.”
- “I wonder where he went.”
- FELLOWSHIP: Challenging: “Are you afraid?”
- RAW DATA: Easy: “He must be in here somewhere.”
You step back and duck your head into each aisle. There is nobody.
YOU: PSEUDOSCIENTIFIC LEANING: Challenging: Success: “Maybe he was a ghost.” VALLEY OF CLOUDS: You say this lightly, but you really believe it, don’t you?
7/11 CASHIER: “I think so. I didn’t see him leave, and neither did the camera.”
They give you a real smile, bemused. You take out your wallet and they motion for you to just leave. As you pick up the orange drink, your fingers slide over the surface.
NEST BUILDING: You are one thousand, four hundred and sixty-two miles from home.
Neil Schaefer is a writer and amateur banjo player and spinner. He likes the mountains and strange, creepy, and unsettling things. He lives in Western North Carolina and has seen ghosts there and elsewhere.