The Ghost in the Murke House

Tate neatly tied the last ribbon on the present. Her grandma, Bonnie, was turning 79 and Tate had tried her hardest to find the right gift for her. It was a small snowglobe with two people hugging and the words "World's Best Grandma" was carved into red plastic. Tate's mother had picked it out at the local grocery store and suggested it would be the best present Bonnie will receive. This created a wave of excitement inside of Tate. She stared fondly at the present, her eyes bouncing over the light pink paper and teal ribbons.

"Tate! Come on, dear. We have to get going," her mother yelled from the bottom of the stairs. Tate quickly shook her head to clear any thoughts that might come and headed downstairs. Before leaving, she quickly grabbed the letter that she had written. Skipping several steps in a row, Tate finally made the landing. Her mother smiled brightly, grabbing the child's hand. They headed to the mother's grey car. Tate got in the backseat, placing the present next to her.

Her mother pulled out of the driveway, looking both ways before driving on. Tate looked outside at the passing trees and traffic, counting the different varieties of plants and cars the girl saw. Her mother looked up and through the rearview mirror, smiling. Without knowing, the mother would run a red light. Without paying attention, the car that held both lives would soon disappear as a speeding red truck ran straight on, killing the two.

Tate felt limitless and drifting from place to place. Her memory of how she became nothingness continues to pay like a broken record player. Her mother is gone, somewhere else in the world. She worries about her grandma and saw the reaction across her face, causing Bonnie to die of a heart attack due to surprise. Tate believed it was best for her to go before anything bad would happen. She continued to drift and drift, staying out in different places. Tate, being a little kid, didn't grow or age. She met different strangers in faraway lands. But being a ghost, it kind of calmed her, knowing she was able to do different things without worrying again about dying.

Tate decided to stay in one place. Traveling does so much to a ghost. The place she decided to stay at was called New Haven, and as far as Tate could tell, there was a lot of spirits that roamed around (that's a special quirk ghost's have: the ability to see other spirits). She didn't talk to these spirits-she had already known too many in her never-aging lifetime. Tate settled inside of an old house that had ivy crawling up the sides and some of the windows were broken. Cobwebs were in the corners of the house and frames were stripped of their pictures. Tate coasted through the rooms, peering into each before leaving and going into a different room. The house was deserted and Tate decided to settle inside one of the farthest rooms, where a window looked out in the backyard.

The days passed and Tate grew more custom to the house. She even made a friend to a lonely rat that spent his time in the attic. One evening, while she was lounging around in the library, Tate heard a knock on the front door. It was then followed by the front door opening slowly and two voices whispering to one another.

"Remarkable architecture," one voice quipped while the other hummed in agreement. Tate drifted through the library wall and into the foyer where she saw a girl and a guy, both holding a camera and some other gadgets. The girl, who looked to be holding a microphone, waved it around the place. Tate backed away in one instance as the microphone came hurtling towards her.

"Is anyone here?"

"I don't think anyone would be here, Liv," the guy muttered, eyeing an antique candleholder.

Liv rolled her eyes and turned around. "You always say that, Bryan. But I think for once, with this place, we might actually get something."

Bryan shrugged. Liv sighed and continued deeper into the house. Tate watched the two in confusion, drifting just a few feet in front of them. They headed upstairs now, taking the creaking stairs. Tate quickly dissolved through the stair's balcony and watched the two strangers walk into the different rooms. They first went into her bedroom, where Bryan set up a tripod while Liv walked around the room. Tate watched from the doorway before heading in, inspecting the tripod.

"Alright, we're going to try to talk to anyone here," Liv stated. She then sat down on the bed, looking around the room. Bryan was busy fiddling with the tripod. Tate studied the dude and reached out, touching his face. In return, Bryan blinked and shot back. Liv looked over and raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong?"

Bryan knotted his eyebrows and touched his face tenderly. "Nothing, uh, the tripod is set up."

Liv nodded and pressed a button on the tripod. "This will record both movement and heat reading." She then took a deep breath and asked,"Is there anyone here?"

There was a moment of silence. Tate watched the two just sit on her bed. She figured there could be a way to tell them to get out because this was her house, but at the same time, this was the first time had seemed actual humans since her tragic death in the car accident. It kind of tore at her heart and didn't want these people to go away just yet. Tate decided then and there that should make the two enjoy their company for a while. She went over to an empty picture frame and grabbed it.

"Is anyone here?" Liv asked again. This time she got a response. A picture frame smashed into the floor, causing the girl to take stare in horror. Bryan raised an eyebrow.

"Did you see that?" Liv asked in awe, looking back and forth at Bryan and the broken picture frame.

"I'm sure there's a logical explanation," Bryan answered. He then got off the bed and headed over to the picture. Tate smiled, watching him pick up the frame. Bryan then turned back and started to explain to Liv his side of the story, but was cut off by the sound of breaking glass in the next room. Tate had broken a glass toy to catch the attention of Liv, which worked. Liv stood up abruptly, leaving Bryan with the broken picture frame.

When Liv made it to the room, there was nothing that showed to be broken. Tate giggled, moving back into the bedroom. Bryan placed the picture frame back on the bedside table and decided to figure out what Liv was up to. As he was making his way to the room, Tate decided to try one last thing. She quietly crept behind Bryan and grabbed his hand, hoping that maybe this could grab his attention, besides for the broken items.

Bryan felt a chillwave wash over his body. He looked down to see a girl slowly flickering to life. His breathing started to increase slightly as he tore his hand away from the girl, stumbling back. Tate looked confused, figuring that is how you make friends, but judging from guy's appearance, it wasn't going to work.

"Liv! We have to go," Bryan yelled, scrambling up as Tate continued to float there.

"Why are you scared?" she asked, her voice sounding distant. Her appearance flickered fully and Bryan could tell she was wearing a blue dress with black shoes. Her blonde hair floated like it seemed she was underwater and on top of her hair, there was a blue hair bow. Bryan scrambled up more until his back was pressed against the wall. "Don't be afraid. I just want to be your friend."

Bryan blacked out, laying against the wall. Tate began to worry this was her doing and drifted away, feeling a huge pit of sadness well in her stomach. Liv finally came out of the room and saw her friend, lifeless laying.

"Bryan! Hey, wake up. Come on, we have to go," Liv cried out, shaking her friend. Bryan eventually woke up, blinking at his friend. They then left later, grabbing the equipment. Tate watched, laying her head in her arms.

To this day, if you visit the Murke House, you will experience a wave of sadness when stepping into Tate's room as she tries to make friends with anyone visits.