Chapter one
The look in her eyes, the disappointment plastered all over her face. The man she once loved was now laying in their bed with another woman, this wasn't the first time either, but she decided to trust him and now she's regretting it “Amelia wait” was the last thing she heard with tears streaming down her face, she ran out of the apartment, all the memories they've made flashing through her mind making her cry even harder, the lump in her throat grew bigger. She runs down a couple of blocks before she suddenly stops, letting her now very heavy body slide down the cold brick wall of an alleyway, her gray t-shirt sliding up letting the cold bricks touch her back as she rested her head against them having trouble catching her breath as her chest rising and falling at a rather quickened pace.
Her thoughts raced a million miles an hour as she tried to calm herself down, but sadly with no luck. " I should've left him the first time" she frustratingly whispers to herself, scouting the alleyway to see if she was followed by the biggest mistake in her life. But not even the shadow of him was anywhere to be spotted. Her thoughts suddenly being interrupted by a dark rumbling voice "hey, hey are you okay?" She looks up and sees a small dark-skinned guy standing above her. He couldn't have been much older than 24 and not much taller than 5ft, his face was chiseled but somehow his features were still soft. Stern but still kind, as ruthless as a wild river, yet calming as the peaceful ocean. She found herself studying his face a little too long. He had this worried yet questioning look on his face. He was wearing a big bumpy jacket, some loose-fitting joggers and maybe the ugliest orange hat in the world, but even with all the clothes on she could tell that he was quite muscular. "I…I'm fine" she muttered and tried to force a smile, thinking that then, hopefully, the stranger would leave her alone, but secretly hoping for someone, maybe him, to just hold her and let her let all of her worries and feelings out. "Are you sure? I swear that I just saw you cry." She looked out to the city behind him. The busy cars roamed the streets of Eastern London. It had just passed noon on a normal day in November and the cold air kept brushing against the girl’s arms. Just by looking at the naked trees you could tell that it was a windy day and the wind felt like it krept under her skin and made a nest there making it hard for her to get even a little bit of warmth in her body. "umm…. Hello?" she snapped back into reality hearing the stranger's voice again, the rumbling of it getting her out of her own thoughts. "I told you I'm fine!" she said in a strict and kinda hissy voice as she lightly bumps the guy's shoulder walking past him, suddenly feeling like she walked straight into an iceberg. She kept going and thought nothing of it, leaving behind the stranger and the alleyway.
“ Hey where are you going?“ He shouted from behind her, not wanting her to leave. “None of your business!” she shouted back. “You're going to freeze to death out here love,” he said, with what the girl sensed as genuine care in his voice, maybe even sadness? Amelia didn't know why a stranger that she had just met would be sad to see her go. “ God I hope so..” She said to herself, looking up to the sky, with her arms slightly crossed, in a desperate try to get some warmth in them. The sky turned a slight shade of a lighter gray than before and to her fright, she saw a snowflake delicately landing on her hand. This day couldn't get any worse could it?
she felt herself feeling more and more lost, maybe even hopeless. She turned around ready to admit defeat of her stubbornness and accept the help from a complete stranger. But when she turned around she felt the all too familiar feeling of disappointment when she saw that the guy was gone, just like that… Right, what was she thinking? They were strangers so why would he stay for some random girl he found in an alley.
She sighed and turned around and as she did she let out the biggest squeal you can imagine coming from a 20-year-old 50kg young adult, the reason for her squeal stood in front of her, absolutely grinning from ear to ear. The guy she thought was long gone by now and whom Amelia was beginning to think might be a bit of a stalker was now standing merely centimeters from her. “H..How did you get here so fast?” she asked, looking him up and down slightly squinting her eyes, trying to figure out what his deal was.“ I walked,” he said with uncertainty, a small grin and a cheeky attitude. As her eyes wandered back up to his face she noticed something behind the unzipped jacket. His white t-shirt
stained with something dark on the right side of his lower chest right in the middle of his ribs. “Oh God is that.. blood! Are you okay? Do you need help?” the words just came rushing right out of her mouth, not entirely knowing why she suddenly cared for a complete stranger. “ No no I’m fine,” he said, sending her the kindest eyes he could muster not wanting to scare her in any way. Her mouth slightly opened, her thoughts now only focusing on the blood,” how could you be okay? you’re bleeding!” she almost yelled.
Amelia’s hand went in for the t-shirt wanting to lift it to get a good look at the damage on the poor man. To her frightening surprise, her hand went straight through him, she slowly pulled her hand back and she looked around for the first time since meeting the stranger, hoping that other people saw what had just happened as well. A couple of people looked at her strangely through the cafe window beside her, but no one on the street shared the same absurd experience as her. The last thing she saw was the snowflakes falling towards her and then it all went black.
She woke up in a whirlwind of faces surrounding her. She just laid there for a second before she slowly got up unsteadily on her legs, the snow still falling and clinging to her blonde hair that was pinned in a high ponytail as always. But one face in the small crowd that had gathered around her caught her eye. The stranger stood there laughing hysterically; she even swears that she saw him roll on the ground for a while. She gestured for him to follow her back to the alleyway where they met not that long ago. “What's so funny?” she said angrily raising her left eyebrow, “ you…. you should've seen your face” he blurred out still laughing. “So you're not real right? I mean you mustn’t be real, I’m probably just really stressed and this is all in my head” she put a hand on her forehead and tried to control her breathing, and the spinning going on in there. “ouch Love that kinda hurts, I mean I know I´m dead, but I am quite real” he said with this weirdly charming glint in his eye, “ you're dead?!” “like dead?” she asked, still trying to convince herself that she was in fact awake and that this was actually happening. “Yes I’m dead, I’m a spirit or a ghost if you'd rather call me that” she looked at him trying to sort out some of the questions she wanted to ask him but there were so many and so much that didn’t make sense in her head.
“ So why can I see you?” “ When everybody else is clearly normal?!” she said ferbril and pointed her arms out to the street where people kept rushing by to get to wherever they needed to go. “Beats me, Darling, I was just as shocked as you when you answered me” He looked down at the ground for just a second before he continued. “ No one has even noticed me for a real long time” he almost whispered “you’re the first person I’ve talked to in I don’t even know how long” his guard was down but just for a second before his confidence returned. “What's your name?” she asked.
“Leo'' He breathed, “ well hello Leo, I’m Amelia” she was about to raise her hand for him to take but then she remembered the situation she was in and she let out a quiet chuckle. “Pleasure to meet you Darling” he said with a slight laugh as well.
“ If you don't mind me asking, how did you… you know” she looked down not really wanting to finish the sentence. “ I...I don't remember” he said slowly whilst scratching the back of his neck. “ Okay then, well, how long have you been dead?” she gasped a little surprised at what came out of her mouth. “ Maybe two years,” he said “ but I don’t remember anything from before, one day I just woke up in this alley and everybody I tried talking to couldn’t see or hear me” he gestured his hands to the alleyway that was made up by the brick walls of the two shops that were on either side of them. One was a nice looking local cafe and the other was an old antique shop both with that old look of being there for more than a century. “C'mon,” he said and gestured out towards the streets, “ let’s get you somewhere warm.” They walked away from all of the people, leaving the busy streets behind them.
They went up to a really fancy neighborhood where there was one Victorian villa after the other neatly placed with lights in the windows making them look all cozy. She looked at her watch, it was almost four but the sun was already on its way down and the air almost grew colder by the minute, something her t-shirt and bear arms didn’t help with. The thick layer of snow was crunching under her boots and in the middle of all the fancy houses lay one she would only assume was abandoned. It looked like it could fall apart at any time, most of the windows were either boarded up or smashed completely, but somehow it had kept the pretty facade that could take your imagination right back to when it was first built. She walked up to the white marble stairs that led up to the most beautiful wooden front door, with little roses carved in it. Amelia was about to open the door when she saw Leo walk right through it, she stood there frozen for a bit until his head popped out of the door, “coming love?” he asked, giving her a cheeky smile, “right..” she whispered knowing that it would take some getting used to. She opened the door and stepped into this big entree with a big double-sided staircase right in the middle of it. There was carpet on them but it was too damaged to see what color it was, there were leaves all over the marbled floor, it smelled like liquor and spraypaint and you could hear the wind howl through the windows making the wooden panels on the walls creek
. “It’s so pretty,” she said, mesmerized as she walked into the room right next to her. It was big but still homely and there were white sheets over some furniture. Amelia couldn’t help but wonder how long exactly it had been standing empty. She uncovered one to reveal a nice velvet couch. She ran her hand across the couch feeling the fabric on her pale skin before she sat down on it, suddenly feeling the day's events taking a toll on her mind and body. “What's wrong darling?” Amelia looked up with a slight jump, “ you looked tired” Leo stated, “ still trying to comprehend today” she said. Letting her gaze follow the mahogany panels in the ceiling.
“ So you didn't see other ghosts till today?” Leo glazed at Amelia waiting for an answer. “ No I don't think so at least” she tried to think if she’s ever experienced something weird like this when she roamed the streets of Shadwell. “But why you?” she whispered finally putting her thoughts aside, “I mean I didn’t know I could see or talk to the dead before I met you” she exclaimed kinda frustrated. “Look,Love all I know is that I’m not supposed to be dead and I'm still here so clearly I have some unfinished business left” he shouted so loud that she was sure that if the neighbors could hear him they definitely would’ve heard that.
“I need some rest” Amelia exclaimed and swung her snow-covered boots and her slightly wet jeans up on the couch so she was now laying down completely. “Just come find me when you wake up” Leo declared, “where are you going?” “ nowhere if it was up to me darling” he smiled cheekily, “but when the sun rises again I end up back at the alley.” She looked questioning at him, ‘“and what makes you think I wanna come to find you?” she hissed rolling over and looking into the pink velvet of the couch. “I don’t” “but the fact that you’re the only one that can see me must mean something” Leo started pacing the room you could almost hear the wheels turn in his head as he was thinking. Amelia looked at him, not sure what to say. All of this was so new to her and she didn’t exactly have the best record with strangers either and this whole ghost had her kinda on edge to say the least. “I don’t need your help anyway” Leo added and disappeared through the wall. Amelia turned around again and felt her eyes getting heavier as she drifted off to sleep hoping all of this was just a really surreal dream.
She woke up coughing and sweating. It was unbearably hot all of a sudden, she sat up to find the very room she was sleeping in surrounded her in flames. She looked outside and saw Leo just standing there, she ran out the front door and as she ended up beside him she heard the loudest noise she's ever heard. she turned her head just to see that the once so beautiful house was now nothing but a ruin in flames.
“what just happened?” Amelia blurted out, ending the silence that they were just standing in. “why were you just standing there Leo? you could’ve woken me up when the house started fucking burning” she fumed, Amelia was done she started storming off when she heard a faint sentence coming from Leo. “No,” he whispered, “I...I couldn’t, I tried but it was like something wouldn’t let me in '' he snapped. “Bollocks'' she spat, ready to leave for good this time.“Amelia wait, just look” he stuttered, “why…” “Just look!” Leo yelled. She looked at him with crossed arms, she was ready to be disappointed. Leo slowly but determined walked up to the ruin, he passed where the marble stairs were but nothing, Amelia rolled her eyes, even ghosts lied to her. But just as Leo reached for what would have been the wooden front door it happened.
A little ball of blue purplish light appeared, it grew bigger and bigger until it covered the house’s ruins thoroughly. Reflecting bright blue light over what felt like the whole of Shadwell. The ball towered over them, it was almost as if someone put up a forcefield to protect the house, which seemed pointless at this point. Leo got closer, reaching out to it, but as soon as his finger touched it he got flung back by some kind of force, he just laid there peacefully on the ground for a second if she didn’t know that he already was, Amelia would have thought that he was dead, then he disappeared.
“L...Leo?” she called softly… nothing, “Leo!” she called again feeling herself getting more frantic. “Right here, love” he appeared less than an inch from her face, “ oh I hadn’t noticed you had blue eyes,” he said with a smile on his face that exposed his perfectly white teeth. “Shut up!” she snapped and backed away from him out of pure instinct.
“So what was that?” she pointed faintly in the direction of where the light appeared but had vanished. “I don’t know,” he said looking at the house, “that’s the first time I’ve seen anything like that.” Leo now looked just as confused as Amelia did earlier that day, “ what’s the time?” he asked, Amelia looked down at her watch, “six o’clock” “ okay so we have about 2 hours before I return to the alley” Leo’s face turned into an expression where Amelia knew he was contemplating something. “who would be able to do something like that?” He whispered, “maybe that’s what we gotta figure out” Leo sighed pointing his finger between the two of them. “We?” She looked at him scrunching her eyebrows together, “we’re doing nothing, I’m going home to get some sleep” she spat as she started walking back towards the lights in the lively city, the morning frost almost hurting her nose every time she took a breath.
Amelia turned the corner of Esign street and sped up as she couldn’t wait to get back to the familiarity of her flat, seeing the shops she knew made her sigh of relief without her noticing. Slightly out of breath she reached the front door of her flat on the third floor, she bent down removing her doormat with the word welcome embroidered on it to reveal her key still laying there from when she left it only about a week ago. She unlocked the door and stepped into her one-bedroom flat, everything still exactly the way she left it, her bed made surrounded by her dark oak bookshelves. Amelia had always loved reading, as she moved a lot in her childhood. Reading books made her feel like she actually had something stable in her life. She ran her fingers across the spines of her books. She’s a simple woman her apartment had the normal furniture, a couch, a table to eat at, some chairs, her walls completely empty, the only place you can get a glimpse of who she really are, is her bedroom that’s not only filled with books but had some pictures placed above her bed, most of them were of her alone on her travels, but one picture hung among the rest, it was of her and her grandma the only women who’d always been there for her and actually understood her. Amelia laid back on her bed staring at the ceiling, the smell of paper and her vanilla-scented perfume hung in the room. Her thoughts were all over the place trying to figure out what in the world had gone on for the past twenty four hours. What did it mean for her future now knowing she could see and talk to the dead, and how many people over the many years of her life were actually alive. The thought of that actually scared her a little bit, so she pushed it away almost as quickly as it came.
A loud sound broke through the silence from the kitchen. She slowly stood up and tiptoed to the hallway she grabbed the bat she had hidden behind her door. As she turned to the opening of the kitchen door she was ready to swing when she saw who it was that had made the noise. She turned the door opening and saw a pot spinning on the ground, “Hello?” She yelled out to the empty kitchen, “Hello Darling” the familiar voice of Leo’s came from behind her, Amelia turned around and swung the bat in the direction of his voice, the bat went straight through Leo and when she saw that it was just him she sighed and dropped the bat. “God I hate ghosts' ' she breathed out wishing she never had found out that she could talk to the dead. “ I still need your help,'' he whispered, looking down at the ground.
“Nope forget it” she yelled, blasting past Leo to her room with so much attitude that her ponytail basically floated as she did. “Look Amelia you can’t deny that some pretty strange stuff has been happening since we met” he exclaimed trying to get Amelia’s attention “and I’m pretty sure it all means something bigger, something that has to do with you and me” he continued secretly wishing that she would just help him move on from this endless and punishing cycle he was stuck in. Amelia looked out her bedroom window, the light from the small layer of snow outside almost hurting her eyes. She waited a moment before speaking “even if I were to help you, I wouldn’t know with what or… or where to bloody start.” Amelia felt herself getting overwhelmed, so she looked over at her safe place, her little library. Amelia took out her favorite book, the family diary that had been going through generations of tough and smart Greenwood women and now it was hers. It’s a leather bound book with black leather which was once pretty but now had its scratches, on the front and along the spine it had a painted picture of a blue orchid painted with the ink made from the flower itself the family initials formed from the stilk. Sometimes when she looked at it for longer periods of time she could've sworn that the whole book lit up.
Amelia felt a cold breeze that let her know that Leo was right behind her looking over her shoulder. “I've seen that exact flower somewhere” he studied the book intensely, “I just don’t know where” they didn’t think more of it. The sun was yet again setting and Amelia didn’t feel tired but she knew that Leo would be going in a matter of hours. She didn't want to help Leo the exact opposite actually, but she couldn’t imagine being dead and still not getting peace. So she finally mustered up the courage to say the words that came out of her.
“Okay I’ll help you.”
“Thank you” Leo whispered.
