Caroline hadn't noticed the ghost at first. To be fair, it didn't seem like the ghost was trying very hard to be noticed. With such an old building Caroline almost expected the strangeness of her apartment. Everything was explainable.
Constant footsteps could have been from her upstairs neighbors. The tapping and banging sounds could also be from them. Their relationship wasn't the healthiest, as Caroline heard from their incessant arguing.
Flickering lights were because of the building's shitty wiring. Caroline was certain the place hadn't been inspected for safety in years. With exposed wires resting dangerously close to fragile pipes it was a wonder someone hadn't died yet.
It was only after a few weeks of strange happenings when Caroline realized something wasn't right with her apartment. Suddenly, dishes and books would be in places she hadn't left them. Her camera often went missing, returning hours later with the lens cap off and a full SD card.
Someone was breaking into her apartment, she decided. The idea was terrifying. To think that someone had been coming in and out of her apartment haphazardly while she spent long days working at the nearby Starbucks was enough to induce a constant state of paranoia.
The logical part of her wanted to go to the police immediately, but the other half of her brain, the half that had driven her to abandon her goals of becoming a wealthy doctor, made her question if any of this was real at all. Was someone really breaking in and moving her stuff? Or were there gaps in her memory, created by Caroline's fragile mental state? Proof would solve everything, she decided. She would lock her windows tight and set up her phone to film the front door. If anyone came in, she would see.
Caroline returned home from work that day and quickly grabbed her phone, stopping the video. She looked around her apartment. It looked untouched. Well, untouched except for her camera, which sat on the coffee table, lens cap off. Nausea sweeping her gut, Caroline sat down and opened the video with trembling fingers. What would she see? Perhaps some delusional man, cracking the door open. Or, worse even, herself, entering in a trancelike state.
But as she watched the video through, using her fingers to skim through the hours of footage, she began to truly panic. Because despite her camera being moved and touched and used without her knowledge, and despite the windows being very much locked, no one had come in through the door.
YOU ARE READING
Two Ghosts
FanfictionAt age 22 Caroline Benet found herself with a degree she didn't want and no money to support her true passions. Still, she had enough to survive. She had a place to live, enough ramen to last her the week, and her camera. That was all she needed. An...
