The Ghosts of Your Past

IV

"Now I know what a ghost is. Unfinished business, that's what."

― Salman Rushdie

Maddie sat at the very edge of her couch, her mind too rattled and her body too restless to even attempt to settle into the soft cushions. Her leg jiggled up and down impatiently as her gaze zeroed in on the blank screen of her laptop. Her chin rested on her hands as she contemplated the questions she wished to be answered. The little orange bottle of pills sat on the coffee table next to her laptop, silently waiting for her to make a decision. She needed to take her next dose in an hour, but for some strange reason Maddie was starting to feel hesitant. She couldn't understand why her mind was resisting the familiar routine.

Checking the time on her watch, Maddie sighed as she clicked open the search engine on her computer. She felt horribly silly as she typed in her first question.

Do ghosts exist?

She knew it was futile, attempting to get straight forward answers from the Internet. But it was her only option, no one she knew would understand why she wanted to know such things. A few articles on a blog dedicated to hunting ghosts made her feel even more pathetic. However it did give her a basic understanding of what a ghost, if they were even real, was.

"A soul that has not yet moved on after death for some unknown reason." Maddie read out loud, her whiskey eyes roving over the many essays written about spectral figures. There were even "real" photos depicting wandering spirits. With an irritated roll of her eyes, Maddie clicked the exit button and brought up a new search page.

Why do ghosts stay on Earth after death?

This question was answered better than the last. Maddie read from an article that spoke about some spirits having "unfinished business" on Earth, and that the only way for them to be at peace is to have their problem solved. Whether by time fixing the situation, or an actual person helping them move on. That struck a cord with Maddie, she remembered how desperate the couple seemed to be about their son. If they were in fact spirits or apparitions, then they wouldn't be able to move on. Reading further, Maddie discovered that some spirits who have already passed on can be brought back from where ever they go due to a traumatic experience happening to a loved one who is still alive.

Maddie made a theory about the man's parents. If they had already moved on, something must have happen to their son that was so traumatic it brought them back in the form of wandering spirits. And that's why they tried to reach out to her.

"This is ridiculous. Crazy. Even more crazy than I am." she muttered to herself, pushing her computer away from her, as if distancing herself from the article would reduce the temptation of searching further.

She sat in silence for a few moments until the alarm on her watch started beeping, signaling that it was time for her second dose of medication for the day. Maddie quieted the alarm by pushing the button on the side of the watch. With hesitant fingers, she popped open the bottle of pills and shook one of the tablets into her waiting palm, rolling it in between her thumb and forefinger in contemplation. The time ticked away on her watch, a few minutes turning into fifteen, then twenty, then an hour.

Sighing in exasperation, Maddie clenched the small pill in her hand and tossed it in her mouth. However she couldn't get her tongue and throat to work together and swallow it. It sat on her tongue for a few seconds, slowly dissolving into a sour taste. Standing from her couch, Maddie walked into her kitchen and slammed the bottle onto the counter and spat the pill out into the sink. The bitterness still lingered, so she turned the tap on and swished the taste out of her mouth, spitting in the sink and watching the remnants of the tablet wash down the drain.