I was working on my next book, my cat sitting on the table batting at my hands every once in a while, when Nigel the Ghost appeared in the chair across from me.
“It was raining the day I died,” he said. “Would you mind making me some coffee?”
“It’s supposed to rain all weekend,” I said, as I got up to make coffee.
“Even Dante didn’t have an answer for ghosts. Maybe I should transcribe what I’ve found out the past 38 years and you’d have a best seller on your hands.”
“What have you found out?”
“Most of us just settle in and give up.”
I didn’t ask him why they gave up, or what they’d given up on.
He continued. “Some people even give up before they leave the mortal physical world. You know what I always say to that.”
“Don’t be a ghost before you’re dead,” I said.
“Exactly. Do Vampires think of stuff like that?”
“I guess, maybe, we all do. You know how it is. One day you’re celebrating your 200th birthday with your friends and family, and the next day Vampire Hunters break into your home and rip your heart out. Or you wake up one day and your friend has turned to dust, or just grown old. After a couple thousand years, or even a couple hundred some folks just wear out.”
We sat with our coffee and didn’t talk about Dante or being a ghost, or being a Vampire for the rest of our visit. We spoke of art, and flowers, weather patterns, and books. We spoke of music, movies, the history of religion, and cats.
Just another quiet afternoon, with a Ghost who is usually a grouch, but today was not so grouchy.
That’s all.
~ Juliette aka Vampire Maman
Vampire Maman 