The Dangerous Beauty of Silence- Chapter One

When I wake, I am slumped across the ground. My cold feet are tucked in, and my hands are curled into loose fists. Slowly, I sit up, my faded orange hair swinging in front of my face. Wait. Faded? My hair was normally a brilliant red! I examine myself, taking in the sight of my small white hands which are trembling slightly.

I stand up, my feet crossing as I almost topple over, unbalanced. Something feels off. What is it? But it dawns on me as I walk across the dewed grass. I make no sound. As I travel, there isn’t a single whisper of movement, not even my harsh breathing.

But there is peace in silence. I am able to listen to the faint sound of birds chirping and the leaves rustling on the trees. Soon, the beautiful voices of nature are interrupted by the roaring of vehicles on the road.

I stand on the edge of the pavement, the sudden gushes of wind blowing my hair back. Only, they aren’t. My hair is at a complete standstill. I don’t seem to be affected by the cars rushing my. What is going on?

A sudden, horrible thought starts to form in the far corners of my mind. Unable to quell my growing curiosity and dread, I step onto the road. I stand in the center of the pavement, watching as a yellow Hummer grows closer by the second. I close my eyes and brace myself for the impact. But the impact never comes. I don’t even hear the squeal of brakes. My eyes open slowly and I turn around. The Hummer is fading into the distance, the only clues it was ever here at all being the thick smoke it left behind.

As another car approaches, I don’t close my eyes. Instead, they are wide open and attentive, focused completely on the expression of the driver. Their eyes are trained on me, only not. They’re focused on some point behind me, like I’m invisible. Like I’m not there at all. The car speeds right through me, and I don’t feel as much as a tingle.

I had read books about ghosts, fiction ones that is, and I begin to see a dreadful similarity between those stories and my existence at this particular moment.

Am I a… ghost?

Once again, a vehicle approaches. At the last moment, I launch myself up and land on the roof. Only, I don’t stay there. Instead, I fall right through it. Great. I’ll have to settle for walking.

I pad along the side of the road, watching my pale feet flash like streaks of snow. Eventually, after what seems like hours of walking, I come across a building. And beyond that, more buildings. I can see houses, a few schools, and more.

As I walk through the town, I listen to the sound of people interacting. And yet, despite the many people walking around, no one notices me. My hunch on being a ghost intensifies as time goes by.

The sun begins to set, casting warm colors across the town. How long have I been here? When I woke up, the sun had just barely been above the horizon. People begin to drift inside, shutting their doors firmly behind them.

Intrigued with my new abilities, I follow them. Through their closed doors. I people watch for hours, listening to the banter of siblings, watching babies fall asleep in their mothers’ arms.

In one house, I wonder upstairs and into a bedroom. In it is a small child, her pale hair shimmering in the moonlight peering in through the window on the far wall of her room. She murmurs something in her sleep and hugs her worn blanket closer to her body. Entranced, I reach out, stroking on white hand across the smooth skin of the girl’s cheek. It’s very hot. Perhaps she has a fever? No, that doesn’t seem right. I think back to when I first woke up, the chill that is settled deep in my bones. It’s me. Me and the cold I carry.

The bedroom door creaks open, casting a sliver of light across the room. A boy walks in, looking to be about sixteen years old.

“Lizzie?” He whispers. When the child does not stir, he tip-toes across the room and peers down at the girl’s sleeping form. A tender smile graces his face as he covers her with a soft blanket and brushes her fine hair out of her eyes. He turns to leave the room.

And he sees me.

“Hey! Get out! Haven’t I told everyone to get out? I don’t need you old people hovering around my little sister.” Old people? I didn’t think I was old. I frown, my eyebrows drawing together in my confusion.

I step closer to him, throwing my form into the light that has grown as the door continues to open. “Am I old?” My voice surprises me. I don’t really know what I had expected, but it certainly wasn’t the soprano sound escaping from my mouth.

The boy examines me. “No. You don’t look old. In fact… you look about my age.”

I lean forward intensely. “Really? What do I look like?”

He ignores my question completely, instead asking one of his own. “Who are you?”

The inquiry stumps me. I rack my brain, searching for some fragment of a name, anything really, to give him. I come up empty-handed. “I… I don’t know.”

He frowns. “You don’t know?” He says something else, but I’m still trying to remember. Suddenly, I come up with something. A name. My name… I think.

I interrupt the boy mid-sentence. “Linnette.” He looks at me, confused. “My name is Linnette.”

“Well,” he says, “Well, Linnette, you need to leave.”

“Leave? What do you mean? And go where?”

He stares at me. “You really have no idea what’s going on, do you.” I shake my head. “Linnette, you are dead. And now you’re basically stuck here for eternity. Stop feeling sorry for yourself and go.”

I turn to leave. “I’ll be back, whoever you are.” As I’m walking out the door, he says something.

“Derek.” He says, “My name is Derek.” And with that, I officially leave the house.