What the hell is happening to me? If this is a bad dream, please, I want to wake up! Rita screamed, tears streaming down her face. After a while of crying, she decided to leave her home and return to school.
I don't know what happened to me or the reason why I woke up in the old section of the school. But something went down. However, I don't know exactly what. I'll have to retrace my steps to find out what happened, she thought to herself.
After trying to figure out the next step to take, Rita noticed a familiar face in a group of students walking toward the school gate. Wait, is that Ryner? I mean, it looks exactly like him. What is he doing here, and why is he so big now? The last time I remembered seeing him, he was about eleven years old, and now he's attending high school. She said to herself, trying to wrap her head around the situation.
I didn't imagine life after death would be like this, but I must really be dead. It seems like I died a long time ago, but what happened to me? I can't seem to remember anything. Was I murdered? Or did I commit suicide? Was it an accident? Rita asked herself. I can't remember anything. How could this be happening to me? I didn't do anything to deserve this. I'm scared. I don't know what to do anymore, Rita said to herself as she started crying again.
Rita suddenly heard strange noises, someone calling her name in the old section of the school again. Rita, Rita, Rita, are you listening? Come closer, said the voice. That's the same voice that I heard calling out to me last night, Rita thought, a shiver running down her spine. Maybe it's connected to what happened to me, she added, feeling a chill of fear.
Curiosity began to take hold, and Rita mustered up the courage to follow the voice. Huh? I could have sworn I heard something, she said to herself as she scratched her head. Then, just as she thought it was her imagination, a loud "Boo!" startled her. Rita screamed, jumping back, as a face popped out of the wall right in front of her.
A ghost! It's a ghost! Someone help me! Rita screamed, staggering backward and falling to the ground. Calm down, you idiot, or did you forget that you're dead too? said the ghost. Rita froze for a moment as she realized the truth of those words. He's right; I'm no longer alive, Rita thought, looking down at her pale, fading hands. Sigh, good grief, you really are stupid, said the other ghost.
"Who are you, and how do you know my name? Why were you calling out to me?" Rita demanded, still shaken by the encounter.
One question at a time, said the other ghost, his voice somewhat impatient. If I'm being honest, I don't know how I know you. The only thing I'm certain of is that I knew you before I died, the other ghost explained.
As for my reason for calling you, I saw you in the old school building as soon as I was conscious, and I recognized you right away, so I was compelled to call you, the ghost continued. So, he woke up here just like me. He must be as confused as I am, Rita thought to herself.
"So what's your name?" Rita asked, trying to calm herself.
"You can call me Thomas, or at least that's what I think my name was when I was alive," said the ghost.
"So, Thomas, do you remember how you ended up like this?" Rita asked, trying to find some answers.
Unfortunately, I don't know. I'm at a total loss here; I don't remember anything at all, said Thomas. However, I think I have an idea why we are still here, Thomas added.
"What do you mean?" Rita asked, her curiosity piqued.
If I'm correct, normally when a person dies, their soul either ascends to heaven or descends to the underworld. However, we are still bound to this world, to be more specific, the old section of the school building, said Thomas, his voice tinged with uncertainty.
"This means that this was the place where we both took our last breaths and also the place where we had a regret or something holding us back to this world," said Thomas, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
Rita felt a chill run through her as she processed what Thomas was saying. So, you're saying that our deaths were a homicide, and we are still in this world because we have a regret? she asked, her voice flabbergasted by his vivid explanation.
Yes, I believe so, said Thomas with a sigh.
Rita could hardly believe what she was hearing. She was dead, and her soul was still bound to this place. But why? What had happened to her? Why was she still stuck here, in the old school building, unable to move on? She tried to remember her life, her death—anything that could explain what was going on. But there was nothing, only an aching emptiness where her memories should be.
"Do you think we can move on? I mean, how do we get out of here?" Rita asked, her voice shaky. She wasn't sure if she was ready to face whatever she would find on the other side, but she couldn't stand being trapped in this place, with only Thomas for company.
I'm not sure. I think we need to figure out what's keeping us here, what's tying us to this world, said Thomas. He glanced around the dark, abandoned school building, his ghostly form flickering slightly. I've been here longer than you, but I still haven't figured out how to move on. I think that's why I called out to you. Maybe, together, we can figure this out.
Rita nodded, feeling a strange sense of comfort in Thomas's words. For the first time since she woke up in the old school section, she felt a glimmer of hope. Maybe she wasn't as alone as she thought.
"Do you remember anything? Anything at all that might explain what happened to us?" Rita asked, desperate for answers.
Thomas shook his head, his expression pained. I don't remember anything, really. I have flashes—brief moments of something. But it's all so blurry. I know I died here, just like you. But how? Why? Those questions haunt me, just like they haunt you, Thomas replied.
Rita sighed. She had so many questions, but no answers. She felt lost, confused, and utterly alone. But the thought that maybe, just maybe, she wasn't the only one in this situation, made her feel a little less frightened.
I can't even remember how I died, Rita thought, looking down at her faded hands. But if I died here, if this is the place where I took my last breath, there must be something I need to figure out. Something I need to confront.
Maybe we both need to face our regrets, Thomas suggested softly.
Rita nodded slowly, realizing that perhaps that was the key to moving on. If they could uncover what had happened to them, if they could find peace with their pasts, maybe they could leave this place.
But where would they go? What would they find on the other side? The uncertainty weighed heavily on her, but she knew one thing for sure. She couldn't stay in the old school forever. Something had to change.
Maybe, just maybe, if she and Thomas worked together, they could find a way out of this ghostly limbo. Maybe they could both move on and finally be free.