A Romantic Ghost Story, Page 4

No, he thought. I can’t think about this again. I’ll go insane.

  He sauntered along the beach as the waves rolled back and forth impatiently. The sound grew louder and louder.

  He sat down on a large rock in front of the restless ocean. He took out his guitar and began to strum a soft melody. He had always played this tune for Cindy when she was alive.

  She would smile and tell him how much she loved his music.

  A sob escaped his throat when he thought about her.

  A splash from the shore made him look up.

  Nothing. Nothing but a louder than normal splash.

  He waited some more, and when it was clear there was nothing out there, he returned to the hotel.

  But if he had stayed, he would have seen something. Something weird. Something shocking.

  After Ryan returned to the hotel, a wave rose high in the air, like a lion about to pounce on its prey.

  A young man in his early 20’s was walking in a trance toward the ocean. The expression on his face was happy, even blissful. The young man kept walking faster and faster toward the source, eventually breaking into a sprint.

  Soon, a young lady with long black hair appeared. She blew kisses at the young man, which only increased his attraction.

  A huge wave rose in the air, with seaweed-like tentacles thrashing about.

  The young man continued to dash toward the wave, which now towered above the entire beach. The young man dove into the gigantic wave and it swallowed him up.

  The gigantic dark wave gurgled, as though it was having trouble digesting its food. Then, the wave glowed a bright blue, and regurgitated the young man.

  He hit the beach, head first. His skin was all shriveled up. He was clearly dead.

  A brilliant light flashed and then wave receded into the ocean.

  But the young lady stayed behind. She was wearing a beautiful silky black dress, her long dark hair blowing in the wind. The night mist enshrouded her gently, bringing out her clear brown eyes, giving her a mystical aura.

  But the most noticeable feature was the sad, remorseful expression on her pretty face.

  Soon, she disappeared in a burst of crimson light, leaving behind only the night mist.

  ***

  Chapter 4

  As Nancy was staring into the mirror in her room, she replayed the whole scene in her mind. She had seduced a young man in her sexy black dress, leading him to his death. Remorseful filled her as she thought about the horrified look on the guy’s face. Although it wasn’t her first time doing that, it got no easier over time.

  That was what the Ocean King had meant when he said that she would find food for him. She thought about her life as the fiancée of the Ocean King after one year.

  He had been good to her, but only as long as she continued to catch his prey. He dined on fresh human souls. The easiest way to attract them was to seduce them with a beautiful girl, of course.

  As she stared at herself in the mirror, she thought about how she was allowing her dreams to die. She was set to marry the Ocean King in a pompous ceremony on the moonlit beach the evening of November 1, the day before All Souls’ Day, the only day she could possibly break free. On that day, all spirits are freed from their masters, unless they’re caught again.

  But after she was bound to him in a spirit ceremony, it would be permanent. The spirit world did not believe in divorce. And she couldn’t leave him right now either. She was temporarily bound to him, unless her body could be given a proper burial. But how could she give her body a proper burial? She didn’t even know where her fiancé had stashed it.

  She was beginning to lose hope that she would ever be free to feel the Californian sun on her face, or play on a stage in front of millions of fans.

  A cerulean water drop spirit, came in and began combing her luscious raven-black hair for her. “Your wedding is in a couple of days, my lady. All the important dignities of the spirit world will be there. Are you excited?”

  Nancy looked in the mirror at her faithful servant. She remained silent. Instead, she took out Lucy, her brass guitar, and began playing a sweet tune, Beyond the White Clouds. The melody filled the air and she began to relax. She didn’t want to think about marrying the demon.

  A deep voice spoke from behind her, yet she saw no shadow in the mirror.

  “You’re playing that thing again?”

  The blue servant bowed and left the room.

  She turned around and faced her captive, the Ocean King. Even after all these years, she still had not developed Stockholm syndrome.

  The man was tall, and devilishly handsome, with short blond hair and crystal clear blue eyes. It was the Ocean King in his human form, dressed in a formal black business suit, complete with a black tie.

  “Don’t play that thing here,” he said, resting a hand on her shoulder. “It’s unladylike. Beautiful ladies should be seen and not heard.”

  His touch always chilled her to the bone, but she allowed him to touch her. She knew what would happen if she displeased him. He would burn her corpse and without a proper burial, her spirit would disperse and she’d really be dead.

  But still, she continued to play her tune. All these years, the only thing keeping her sane was the sound of her guitar. She needed her music desperately, as badly as she needed air if she were still alive.

  The Ocean King frowned. He grabbed her instrument and inspected.

  “Hey!” she cried. “Give it back!”

  He shook his head. “Don’t waste time pursuing human interests. You’re a spirit now. We hate human music in the spirit world.”

  “Give it back!” she repeated, louder this time.

  His expression grew nasty. “If you don’t listen to me, I’m going to burn your corpse, disperse your ashes and your spirit will disappear. You’ll never get into Heaven.”

  She calmed down. That was the one threat that would always work on her. She didn’t care about getting into Heaven though. All she wanted to do was get to Hollywood, even as a spirit. To do that, she’d need to be free of the Ocean King. If her spirit faded away, she’d simply turn to dust.

  He put her guitar on her bed. “Stop wasting time with this. You need to start getting ready for the wedding. You don’t want to disappoint me or our guests.”

  He continued to glare at her. “You better be faithful to me after the wedding. You women are all the same. Cheating whores.”

  With that, he stormed out of the room.

  Nancy watched him leave as a sense of dread filled her. She bit her lips. If she married him, she’d be stuck with him forever. Cleaning for him, cooking for him, finding food for him - it would be worse than her spirit turning to dust. It would be the same mundane, stifling lifestyle she would have had if she had stayed in Macedonia and married Steven. A fate worse than turning to dust.

  ***

  Chapter 5

  The following night, Ryan couldn’t sleep again. No matter how hard he tried, he simply couldn’t fall asleep. Maybe it was because he felt his career was going nowhere. All day long, he had played for the customers at the hotel restaurant, but like always, people had ignored him again. He wasn’t even trying to make it big on the Island. He was just trying to make enough money to buy a ferry ticket home.

  So, sleepless, he wandered out into the crisp, cold night for the second time.

  The chilly air slivered all over his skin and he shivered. A rumble of thunder made him look up. The moonless sky was filled with dark storm clouds. It looked like rain.

  In front of him, the waves lapped at the beach. He stared at the sandy beach, which had taken another life. The morning paper had been full of deadlines about the drowning the night before, but the police had no leads and nothing further was done.

  Ryan thought it was probably because that guy wasn’t looking where he was going. There was nothing supernatural about it.

  Soon, it started to drizzle. The rain started to stir the mist, but it did not dissolve it. Instead, it gav
e the mist a green-tinged glow. It was an eerily beautiful scene.

  He stood on the beach in his cotton t-shirt and torn jeans. It was freezing, but he didn’t feel like going inside just yet.

  So, he started to strum his guitar. The night mist inspired him to play a haunting melody.

  But, halfway through his tune, he stopped.

  Something else was in the air. Another sound. It was faint yet audible guitar music.

  The hair on the back of his neck pricked up.

  Who else could be playing the guitar this late at night? He wondered.

  Like a man in a trance, he headed toward the source of the music, leaving the beach and heading into the woods. The music called to him, pleading for help, like a siren’s song. And he was a man who couldn’t resist helping a damsel in distress. And if an adventure was involved, then so much the better.

  Like long fingers, tree branches reached out to grab him as he followed the dirt path deeper into the forest.

  The guitar music grew louder. He listened carefully. A soft female voice was singing a heartbreaking tune.

  The melody echoed throughout the rain-soaked woods.

  Ryan arrived at a clearing in the forest. The music continued a little further up ahead, by the highway.

  He walked toward the highway.

  Someone in a black dress was standing by the road, someone with an hourglass figure.

  Her long dark hair was blowing in the wind as the night mist swirled around her.

  Ryan’s heart nearly stopped. She was a vision in the night, especially with twinkling green lights around her. Ryan assumed they were fireflies.

  She continued to sing a mournful tune, with equally sad lyrics.

  What do you do when you’re sad?

  What do you do when you’re blue?

  Fly with me to the clouds

  And I’ll be sad with you.

  Ryan listened, spellbound.

  The young lady then started to cry.

  ***

  Nancy looked up and saw a young man approaching. A white van passed by and shone its headlights at her, making her wince, but illuminating the young man.

  Wiping her eyes, she examined him. He was a tall, handsome young man with jet-black shoulder-length hair, and clear green eyes. He couldn’t have been much older than she. He had on a cotton white t-shirt and ripped jeans, both of which looked like they were bursting at the seams with his arm and leg muscles. Tall and well built, he was the most handsome man she had ever laid eyes on.

  What excited her most about him was that he had a guitar. He gave off a sort of bad boy musician vibe.

  “Couldn’t sleep?” she asked him.

  “I could ask you the same thing.” His voice was low and deep.

  Ryan inspected the young lady. Her big brown eyes, her glossy long dark hair, her pretty pink lips all made him stare. He couldn’t get over how gorgeous she was.

  She nodded. “Yeah, I couldn’t sleep.” She held up her wooden guitar. “Music always calms me down.”

  She began playing a tune. The sweet notes filled the fresh air.

  The rain sprinkled onto her head as she played.

  Her music was intoxicating to Ryan.

  He raised his guitar. “Music calms me down too.”

  He began strumming his instrument, playing a gentle tune. He began to harmonize with her, his music making love to hers. Their melodies entwined together, creating a whole bigger than the sum of its parts. The melody was entirely different, entirely new. They had created something beautiful together.

  A big smile spread across Nancy’s face. She hadn’t smiled this much since she was told she’d be taken to America.

  Ryan loved how they jammed together. It made him forget about his problems.

  They played a little bit longer, and then both stopped at the same time. The last of the entrancing note vibrated in the air.

  Ryan’s eyes met Nancy’s.

  He smiled shyly at her. He normally wasn’t this tongue-tied around beautiful girls, but this one was different somehow. This was one special. He could tell that she was a deep girl. To him, she seemed calm, but there was something else in her face too, a sort of sadness that was attractive to him.

  He asked, “Do you live in town?”

  She nodded.

  He reached out his hand. “Let me walk you home. It’s dangerous to be out in the dark by yourself. I’m sure you’ve heard about all those drownings lately.”

  She nodded. “Thanks.”

  Her icy hand almost singed him. He nearly withdrew his hand as he helped her down to the forest.

  “You should get indoors. Your hand is freezing.”

  She was glad she wasn’t on a mission for the Ocean King. She just snuck out to practice her music, since he wouldn’t let her practice in their underwater home. She would hate to feed this handsome young man to her master. There was something gentlemanly about him, a sort of rare, chivalrous, protective vibe that she liked.

  He got her and they walked through the forest, still holding hands.

  He turned to her. “I’m Ryan.”

  “Nancy,” she said.

  “What’s that tune you were singing, Nancy?”

  “It’s something I made up.”

  The moonlight fell softly on her pretty face. Ryan couldn’t stop looking.

  “You made that up?” he said. “It’s a very sad tune.”

  “I’m a very sad person.”

  An expression of sorrow flickered across her face.

  “Why were you crying?” he asked.

  She shook her head, her long hair spilling everywhere. She remained silent.

  Ryan continued holding her icy hand, escorting her out of the forest. He found it odd that her hand was still cold.

  “You write songs too?” he asked.

  She walked beside him, nodding. “Yeah, I guess you could say I’m a musician. You?”

  “Me too. Or trying to be, anyway.”

  She cracked a little smile. “Yeah, I could tell. Anyone who could harmonize that well has got to be a pro.”

  They arrived at a clearing and stopped. The rain was now pounding onto the forest. The wind was howling through the air.

  Ryan looked at Nancy. “The rain is coming down pretty hard. You want to stay here until it fizzles out?”

  She nodded, and together, they sat down on a moss-covered log. The branches were thick enough to shelter them from the impending storm.

  Ryan finally let go of her hand. “Are you feeling warmer now?”

  She nodded, but he could tell that she wasn’t.

  The night mist swirled around her, concealing her face. Ryan squinted to see her clearly. The rain continued to spill sloppily from the sky, pelting the woods.

  A silence ensued. A comfortable silence. Ryan wanted to know more about this intriguing girl.

  “So you live in Sunrise Beach?” asked Ryan.

  “Yes. Are you an outsider?”

  “I came to Vancouver Island from the Lower Mainland for work on a fishing boat. This town sure has a lot of superstitious people. They believe in a lot of legends and supernatural stuff.”

  She bit her lip, merely nodding.

  “Do you believe in all that?” he asked.

  A grin tugged at the corners of her mouth. “Yeah, a little bit. I mean, when you have so many people believing in it, it’s hard not to.”

  He nodded. He was gripped with the overwhelming urge to know everything about this mysterious girl. What was she doing out in the woods all by herself? Why was she all dressed up? Had she just come from a party? Where did she learn to play the guitar so masterfully? And why was she crying?

  The wind whistled by his ears.

  Turning to her, he asked, “Why is your music so sad?”

  She shrugged. “Because life can be sad.”

  “But it can be beautiful too. I mean, look where you are. The beach is gorgeous. The air is refreshing. The forest smells great.”

&nb
sp; He took a deep breath and the scent of pine flooded his lungs.

  “And listen to that sound.”

  All Nancy heard was the patter of the fall rain against the canopy.

  “You mean the rain?” she asked.

  “Yes. Just listen. When I was a little boy and my parents were arguing loudly in the kitchen, that sound made everything alright.”

  They stopped talking to listen carefully.

  The pitter-patter of the autumn spring lulled Nancy into a quiet, serene mood. He was right. Even though she was about to marry a demon and never be able to get to Hollywood, she was able to forget about her problems for a while.

  She stared at the young man next to her. All her life she had been lied to and abused and even sold. Somehow, this guy’s presence made her forget about her crappy life.

  Ryan could tell that his words had gotten to her. Although her sadness was attractive to him, he could tell that she didn’t want to be so sad all the time. So he had tried to cheer her up. It was a knack of his. And it seemed to have worked.

  The night mist swirled around her, and then cleared, as if nature itself was giving him the green light to kiss her.

  The wind had been downgraded to a whisper. The rain had been turned into a mere sprinkle.

  She had a glow about her, attracting him like a moth to a flame.

  He leaned in closer to her. She had a wonderfully fragrant scent, like the smell of roses in the springtime.

  She did not pull back.

  His heart was beating wildly. Hers wasn’t still either.

  He stared at her pink lips.

  He leaned in further still, and instead of feeling human body heat, a cool chill emanated from her skin.

  He didn’t mind. He would warm her up.

  Without warning, the wind blew aside a branch above them, so that a small sliver of dawn’s scarlet light slipped through the crack and landed squarely on the young lady’s cheek.

  Her eyes widened and she pulled back from the imminent kiss.

  It was dawn. She knew that she couldn’t be exposed to sunlight, or else her spirit would dissolve. She jumped up.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Ryan, standing up with her.

  “I have to go. My family doesn’t like me out so late.”

  “Wait, Nancy! Where do you live? How will I find you?”

  She didn’t reply. Instead, she fled from the clearing, toward the beach.

  “Let me walk you home,” Ryan shouted after her.

  But she was already gone.

  Disappointed, Ryan looked down and noticed that in her haste, she had left something behind.

  It was her guitar.