EVER SINCE SHE WAS twelve years old, Delilah woke up at seven o'clock sharp. It wasn't because she set an alarm or because she was that much of a morning person per se, but the ghost that had stuck to her, a big smile on his face as soon as he got her awake. He wasn't the first ghost she had ever seen nor was he the last, the language of the death one she was more fluent in than her own.
When she was younger it hadn't taken her long to realize her world was different from others and it hadn't taken her mother long to let her promise never to tell others. She didn't mind it to be her secret, not when the ghosts around her were all so friendly. They aged along with her and couldn't touch her, always floating around for a bit once they noticed she could see them.
Only one had stayed by her side, refusing to cross over, and right now he was singing in her ear.
"Good morning, Delilah," Mateo grinned at her, floating away from her.
"Good morning," she smiled back at him, rubbing the sleep out of her eye as she pushed herself up.
"Did you sleep well?" Mateo said happily," it's your first day of college tomorrow."
"I did actually," she said as she got up, opening the curtains so the light could spill in," and the eclipse is also that night, so everything aligns perfectly it seems."
The gold cloaked her room like dust, from the crystals on her table to the stacks of books about hand reading and the stars, beaded curtains with nazars intertwined between the silver hanging on either side of her bed. It was a colorful mess, but her mess, her walls the color of coffee swirled with milk, glittering with fairylights and dreamcatchers. Mateo was sitting cross-legged to her right, that white glow which every ghost she had met carried softly around him, like a halo almost around his head.
"I'm going to miss it here," she sighed.
"Honestly, I spent so much time here I'm going to miss it as well," Mateo said, placing a hand on his heart as he looked around. "Goodbye, my second youth."
"How's your family doing?" Delilah asked as she walked to her closet, picking out what she thought would match the energy for today.
He visited them every day, watching to make sure they were safe at night and disappearing from by her side to check in every now and then. She knew their names and stories by heart with how often he had told them, an impressive feat on it's own. Ghosts usually lost all but their most important memories while they lingered on Earth, waiting for the Grim Reaper to guide them to the next life, but Mateo somehow managed to tell her detailed stories each time.
In a way it did make it easier for him to age along with her, because outside of the appearance and his family he remembered almost nothing of his old life. Even the memories he had of his family came over the years, growing stronger the longer he stayed amongst the living. He was positive that in five years he would recall everything, not just his love, but she wasn't sure if his death was something he should remember. Still, it was his choice and she would support him, Mateo having become like a brother to her over the years, even if they didn't look alike.
Their skin was both tinted, but hers was warmer, carrying the Filipino sun inside of her mother, with eyes the color of a shadowed lake at sunrise. Mateo was more like a storm with dark hair and eyes, lightning scars appearing over his skin as he grew older with her, most of them from fights he couldn't remember. He always told her he had been quite the fighter when he was alive, but she couldn't see it, not with how kind he was.
"They're doing well," he said," Ella's off to the same camp Gabriela and I attended."
It was always strange seeing him speak of his daughter and wife with how young he looked, but she supposed he probably thought the same thing when he did so. She didn't know how he had died, but she did know his children had been young when he had, one of them now even older than Mateo appeared to be. Still, he didn't want her to contact them, out of fear that that would upset them more. Watching over them meant so much to him already.
She moved to put on the flowy white dress patterned with forget-me-nots that she had in her hands and Mateo went through the wall, giving her privacy to change. Once she was done she spoke her mantra of the day to herself in the mirror, smiling as she caught her eye. This was going to be a good day and if not, she was going to make it one. Her phone went off and she glanced at it, picking it up and trying to block Mateo's chatter next to her out as she headed downstairs.
"I'm in front of your house, bitch, get out here."
"Good morning to you too, Rosh," she chuckled, grabbing an apple off the fruit bowl in her living room and looking out of the window. "You didn't forget James, did you?"
"It's exactly because I brought him along that you need to get out here right now, he's annoying the fuck out of me."
"You know I can hear you, right?" she heard James in the background.
"Thank you for letting me know, I wasn't aware you were capable of listening."
She chuckled, walking to her front door before they could kill each other. Her mother wasn't home often thanks to work, but she never had felt lonely growing up with Roshan and James. They lived in the same neighbourhood and had done almost everything together ever since they were young, though Roshan and James' personalities clashed so much it was a surprise they could even bear to be around each other at times. Still, she knew that beneath their constant bickering was a solid friendship, even if they disagreed.
Here they were, after all those years together, ready to attend the same college. Her mother was busy, so Roshan had offered to drive them there, his navy cabrio parked in front of her house, roof open. She took two of her suitcases and pulled them outside, Mateo's hands going right through it in a futile attempt to help. She smiled at him, before greeting the woman sitting on her fence, waiting for the Reaper to guide her to the next life.
"He didn't come today either, Dolores?" she said.
"Not yet," Dolores sighed," he sure is taking his sweet time."
"He's probably quite busy," Delilah reassured her," being one man in charge of the whole world after all."
"If you really do want to move on," Mateo told her," you should get at least five miles away from Delilah here. I've been on the run of the Reaper for six years now and surprisingly he still hasn't found me."
"I don't know where you got this theory from that I scare him away," Delilah said amusedly," he might have just forgotten you, with how much he has to do."
"Hopefully it stays that way," Mateo shivered," I don't want him near me."
A lot of ghosts she had seen were scared of the Grim Reaper she had noticed, but to her he had always seemed so kind. Someone who guided the lost and lonely without a price, so pure-hearted the world would most likely glow in his presence. So above all, hopefully Mateo's unlikely assumption wasn't right, because she would love to meet him one day and have tea.
"Who are you talking to?" Roshan shouted," did a cat catch your attention again?"
"Do you need help?" James called out right after, but before she could even answer he was already on his way to her.
Delilah quietly wished Dolores good luck before turning to James, whose serious face looked concerned once he neared. He always had been too quickly worried, even if it didn't fit his normally stoic expression. Autumn resided in his skin, even amongst the lingering summer warmth, the frost in his gaze melting once you got to know him better. Science was his only law in the world, but he still never complained while listening to her talk, even when she never had cared much for logic anyway.
"Why didn't you let me know?" James fretted, taking the suitcase handles from her hands," I would've come immediately." His eyes widened once he noticed the other two in the hallway, lips parting. "There's more? What are you bringing?"
"All my essentials," she said as she started pulling on the other two," I can't leave anything important behind."
"Just because you only need one bag for the five physics books you have," Roshan shouted," doesn't mean the rest of us don't want to arrive in style."
"You think that insults me?" James scoffed," style means nothing to me."
Roshan looked over his narrow sunglasses, raising an eyebrow. "That's very clear to me."
Mateo laughed, but Delilah just shook her head good-heartedly, James trying to take another one of her suitcases from her hands on their way over.
"I'd offer my help," Roshan said," but prince Charming over here already rushed to your aid."
"Oh shut up," James scowled at him, his cheeks tinting red.
Roshan rolled his eyes, before amusedly flicking them to her. He always had looked ethereal in blue, nails matching with his sweater, his golden jewelry glittering with every movement. James took the suitcases from her hands before she could even lift them, Mateo taking a place in the backseat even though no one could see him.
"I'm telling you from my wise perspective," he said," that guy has a crush on you."
Before she could even say anything Roshan gestured for her to get in, so she joined right beside Mateo. Once everyone was seated he drove off, her childhood home far behind her as they continued on. Tomorrow she would officially be studying astronomy and her new life would start.
Little did she know that in twenty-four hours she'd be running from the Grim Reaper.