Tales From the Beyond (Short story collection)

Kara

I've grown weary of the dull routine of my life. My career and love life were going nowhere, and I felt like I was starting to lose my mind. Finally free of the shackles of my 8-hour desk job, I made my way home with a carton of beer in hand. Absentmindedly staring at the pavement, I realized there was nothing to look forward to at home. No one would greet me at the front door, and no one would welcome me with an affectionate hug.

"You and I will have a good time tonight, O' faithful companion." I lifted the pack of beer to level with my head and spoke to it with a forced medieval-ish British accent.

I shook my head at my own absurdity, feeling like I was losing my mind. As I walked closer to my apartment building, I noticed a woman standing on the walkway. The pale moonlight shone upon her, giving her a divine look. She was dressed in an expensive-looking maroon blouse and a dark blue skirt, giving her a vintage impression. Her stunning blue eyes met mine, and she gave me an enchanting smile. I had never seen someone as beautiful as she was, and my face burned red.

Before I could even think of something to say, my mouth started talking inadvertently. I stuttered as I asked her if she lived in the building. She responded briefly that she used to live there. As she passed me by, she told me her name was Kara, and we shook hands. I could feel the chill of her skin against mine.

"It was nice meeting you," she said as she walked away.

I watched her disappear around the corner and wondered if I would ever see her again. As someone who had been complaining about my love life, a chance like this didn't come around often. I decided to gather the courage to call out to her and ask if we could see each other again. She agreed, but as she walked away, I couldn't help feeling like it was a rejection.

The next night, I saw Kara again. She was wearing the exact same dress, standing in the exact same position as she was the previous night, only this time, she was looking directly at me. As if waiting for me to come home, she greeted me with an enchanting smile.

"I told you we'd see each other again," she said.

Surprised and pleased that she kept her promise, I asked what she was doing there. She replied that she had come to see me. 

I invited her into my unkempt apartment, hoping to show her some hospitality. I brewed a warm cup of coffee for her, but she just sat there, motionless, gripping the cup tightly. Her vacant stare was fixed on the old wooden bookshelf across the room, and her body was as stiff as a corpse. I prodded and poked her, but she remained unresponsive. Even when I yelled her name, she did not flinch.

I gazed at the shelf to see what had caught her attention, and that's when I noticed something peculiar. The bookshelf had been there since I moved in, but I had never given it much thought. I got up to inspect it, and as I turned around, I saw her standing right behind me, still as stiff as before, with her hollow eyes fixed on me. For the first time, her eyes didn't look pretty; they looked unnerving.

Suddenly, the cup shattered, and she lifted her hand eerily, pointing to something behind me. I tried to speak, but my tongue felt like lead. Slowly, I shifted out of the way, and she whispered, "Get me out of there." She appeared frightened, and her voice was quivering.

"Out of where?" I asked, but she had vanished into thin air. I was too old to believe in ghosts, but the events of that day made me question everything.

Her words echoed in my mind, urging me to uncover the truth. I pushed the bookshelf aside, revealing a hastily-covered wall with lighter shades. I felt it with my hands, and it felt too thin. I fetched a hammer and started striking the wall until it crumbled, revealing something horrifying. A mummified human body, preserved by the lack of air, was staring back at me. The corpse was wearing the same outfit that Kara had been wearing when we first met.

I called the police and numbed my senses with beer, while they retrieved Kara's body, which was cemented into the wall. They informed me that she had been missing for decades, and her body was never found. I was emotionally exhausted, and I didn't ask many questions.

As I lay in bed that night, I pondered over what had happened, and then it hit me. She had been waiting for someone to help her, and I was living in the room where she had died. I never saw her again, but the memory of that day still haunts me.