Death Day

Chapter 5

He stopped mid-sentence, his face draining of colour, looking like he'd just seen a ghost. Amy supposed he had, in a way, she was supposed to be dead, and her she was standing in her living room.

"A...Amy?" He stuttered rubbing his eyes as if he could wipe away her image and return to sanity.

"But you're supposed to be...I was getting.... tenant...new...you.... dead."

The prospective new tenants were furtively looking back and forward between the landlord and Amy.

"Is the flat free or not? You said it was available. What's going on man?" Asked the tall male.

"Could you uh...give us a few minutes?" Asked the landlord.

Disgruntled, the couple glared at Amy then made their way outside.

"Stan I'm so sorry...I know how this looks...and I know it's a whole ball of weird...but..."

She sighed watching him wipe his sweat laden brow.

"Amy, love, you're supposed to be dead. I was just looking for a new tenant with you gone and all. I didn't mean to look insensitive, its you know...business." He shrugged trying to look apologetic. She might have believed him, had she not been his tenant for twelve months already and not had a hint of him, apart from the rent demands and his false insistence he'd fix defects in the flat that he never did.

"Well yeah I was supposed to be...you know...dead...but eh...here I am!" She tried to laugh but it came out like a squeak.

"Jerry listen, there has been a bit of change of plan, can I stay a bit longer, just a couple of weeks until I get this all sorted out. I'm hoping it won't take that long, but I don't have anywhere else to go."

Straight away Amy could tell her request was going to be denied, by the way his facial expression.

"I'm sorry Amy love, I've already signed the paperwork with the couple outside and they paid a three-month deposit upfront. You know I'd love to help you, but you know..." he shrugged. "It's just business."

The will to fight had never been something Amy had learned, and so she simply nodded her head and left the flat, forcing a smile to the new tenants, and emerging back into the street.

All around her the world went on. People hurried here and there, buried in their own little lives, totally unaware to the turmoil she was going through. She had no home, no money, no belongings and no job. She was supposed to be dead. According the system she'd be automatically moved to the deceased list. All her records, medical, insurance, licenses, banking, all cancelled. She was a ghost. The irony.

For the next two hours she walked the streets until her hands were numb and her eyes red and puffy from crying. She had walked on auto pilot not really paying attention to where she was going, with no destination in mind. When her wandering mind finally came back to reality, she realised she was standing outside the library, her old place of work. As usual the door was open, but no one was going in or out.

With a quick glance around she slipped inside. No one was manning the reception desk, and for a split moment she felt a sense of jealousy that someone else was probably doing her job today and they were currently stacking the shelves with her books.

The warmth of the place was welcome and instantly helped her chilled digits. She snuck into the main room keeping herself alert for anyone but of course there was no one. Whoever was working her position was nowhere to be seen.

Slowly and quietly she climbed the staircase, avoiding all the steps that creaked until she got to the converted little loft space at the top that doubled as a kitchenette/stockroom/office. Peeking around the door she was relieved to find no one there, as she made her way behind a row of filing cabinets, where there was a space big enough for one. She grabbed a few cushions from the seats around the little dining table, and one of her old coats that hung on a peg still and sought to make herself comfortable. It wasn't home, and she may well still get caught by the new employee before they closed for the night, but for now, it was safe, somewhere warm and a place she could gather her thoughts and determine just what in the hell she was going to do next.