Ghosting

Chapter 1 - Years in the Woods

Do you know what it's like to be dead?
I do. I've been dead for years. I stopped counting time a while ago. I don't remember how I died, but I've been stuck in this forest ever since. A lost spirit that no one had ever come to guide me home.

Walking through the undergrowth, a fox skids past me, not even giving me a look. Of course, it didn't. After all, I'm not there in its eyes.

My name? I don't have one. The other spirits I've seen all know theirs, but not me. Once, maybe, I did. Yet I wonder if that's true.

The others call me the Lost Girl. Perhaps I've been wandering here for years. Decades even. I've seen countless humans and spirits pass through, each trying to find something they might've lost. Or find something they've already found. A loved one, an heirloom, something they could've lost behind. Not once did anyone ever come for me.

Why haven't you left? Spirits ask. I can't, I respond. I've tried. It's like a barrier enclosing this forest, a prison just for me. When I try to leave the trees, it's like hitting a wall. And that's how it's been. For years. Decades. Centuries maybe.

That was how it was, at least. Before the day, in this forest in this spot. The spot where everything finally changed.

***

I floated through the trees, mind blank, staring at the forest. When will I be free? I ask. No reply. Not that there ever is one.

Will it be the same today? Nothing except wind blowing in the trees, the constant whistle in the breeze.

A bird flew through my body, and a chill raced up my arms. It continued to fly away, not even aware anything had happened. I hate the feeling. I used to daydream about warmth and what it might have felt. Alas, I'm afraid that'll never happen.

The trees creaked, and I could hear faint steps from behind me. A cat, perhaps?

I turn, but there's nothing there. Odd. I could've sworn I heard steps, though.

I wouldn't say I enjoy haunting humans, but it's the only way I'll ever form interactions with people. And seeing them makes me remember some things from when I was alive. That's all I ever want.

What if I saw the border today? If I'm lucky, there may even be a few humans nearby. I sped up, almost flying through the trees. I wanted to see the border. No, I needed to see the border. It's almost like something was pulling me there.

I tried to stop, but I couldn't control my form. My silver hair whipped past me. It only floated, almost suspended in time.

I could feel the ground beneath my feet. I was running, trying to get to somewhere I'd never reach. The twigs were crunching under my feet as I ran.

I saw my breath in this air, white against the trees. I was cold, colder than I'd ever been before. It was almost like someone had poured cold water down my back. But how would I know what it would feel like, and if I did, why do I only know now?

My feet stumbled, and I tried to look down, but my eyes couldn't register what was happening. Everything was blurry.

How big was this forest? It shouldn't be taking me this long to get to the border. Ice crunched under my feet as I ran. I could feel the snow melting into my bones.

I crashed into something solid. I felt myself topple over, hitting the icy ground. I had finally stopped running. Did I hit the border?

I looked down and saw a human under me. Scrambling back, I tried to scream, but my voice came in a croak. A croak? I looked back at the human. Staring at her now, I realized it was a girl. She looked at me, her green eyes wide in shock. And she was looking at me. She could see me.

"He said it wouldn't work," she murmured. "It shouldn't have worked."

"And yet it did," a voice said behind me. I turned around to see a man walking out of the undergrowth. He looked familiar. And yet I couldn't place him.

I tried to say something, but my voice couldn't form any words. The man looked at me, something like pity in his eyes.

"I apologize for this, Miss Ghost. It wasn't supposed to have worked." He smiled at me, and then I was gone.