Haunted Hearts

Anatomy of a ghost

A knock on my door echoed through the room, waking me up. I mumbled something in my groggy state granting them access to my room. I pried my eyes open as my dad walked in.

"It's time to get up! We're going to walk around town." He said. I looked around and remembered that I was no longer in my old house. My dad left and I slowly sat up.

"Good morning!" I heard. Vic appeared right at the foot of my bed. He looked the same as he did the day before; same clothes, same hair, everything was identical. I groaned at his peppiness and fell back down.

"Hi..." He flopped next to me, making the bed shake.

"Sorry, I forgot, you people are slugs in the morning." He mocked, poking my side.

"Shut up. I have to go out and explore the town." I said in a bored tone. Vic's expression fell and he sighed.

"Oh...okay. When are you starting school?" He asked.

"Tomorrow I think." He nodded.

"Alright, and what's the date today?"

"April third. Why?" He shrugged.

"Lost track a while ago...Anyway, are you excited to go to a new school?" I shook my head. "Why not?"

"Because it's school." I said simply. Vic thought for a moment but looked like he gave up the thought.

"Well at least it's almost summer." He said smiling. I shrugged; there were still a few weeks left and I had tons of catching up to do. I stretched and rolled off my bed.

"I have to get dressed, so zap out of here." I joked. Vic scoffed but disappeared. I really hoped that meant he couldn't see me. I quickly changed and brushed my hair. "Okay, you can come back now." I said to the air. Vic reappeared behind me in the mirror, making me jump. "Why can you be seen in mirrors but not pictures?" I asked.

"Why are you asking me? I don't even know why I'm still here..." He sighed. That was true, why was he still here? Isn't there like a Heaven or Hell? Or at least a place the dead go? I didn't know.

"Samia hurry up or we're going without you!" Mom shouted from downstairs. I rolled my eyes and shrugged.

"I'll see you later I guess." I said and turned to the door.

"Okay...have fun." Vic said as I left. I took Buddy's leash out of my dad's hand since I liked to walk him myself and walked past them to the door. I heard my parents call back a goodbye to Vic, and follow me out.

"Sam, if you want, you can go off on your own as long as you don't get lost. Your dad and I might stop and eat sometime." My mom said. If they were just going to let me go off, why did they want me to come with them? I sighed and nodded.

"Okay, I'll see you guys later then." I said and started jogging to the corner of the street.

"Call if you get lost!" Mom shouted after me. I waved back in response and turned right with Buddy running along side me, his tongue flapping out of his mouth and tail wagging behind him.

I slowed to a walk as I started having to dodge people in the more busy streets. We were in the heart of town and I didn't feel like mowing down my fellow pedestrians...at least not today. Buddy stepped over his leash as we walked so it was stuck under one of his legs. I groaned and pulled him to a bench. He was a stubborn dog, I would never get him to step back over it. I fixed the line and looked up just in time to see Buddy jumping in front of a skateboarder.

"No Buddy!" I ordered and yanked his leash, but the boarder just smiled an skidded to a stop. "Sorry." I sighed, looking up at the guy. He looked familiar, but I wasn't sure why. He shook his head and knelt down to my and Buddy's height.