Puzzles

“So, where did you wake up?” The tall man at my side mumbled.

I understood why he was mumbling. If people saw him talking to nothing, they would think he’s insane. I didn’t want that to happen. He was decent enough to help me, so I didn’t want to ruin his life. My eyes wandered the area, looking for something familiar. “That way,” I point in front of us, seeing the window I had looked at my reflection in.

We walk in silence, only breaking it when I had to point out where to go. I was curious about the man beside me. Who exactly was he? All I knew was that he was a bit of a jerk who could see ghosts. “This is odd,” he muttered after walking for a while.

“What’s odd?”

He glances over at me, “Ghosts are normally tied to one place, whether it be the place that died or something they had a deep emotional attachment to. You’re able to wander. That is very unheard of.”

I shrugged, “Well I can’t remember my life and I’m a ghost. I’d say that everything about my situation is unheard of.”

He chuckles, “Touché.”

We continue walking down the busy street when he opens his mouth to speak again. I was surprised at how much he was talking. “Speaking of that,” he murmurs. “Do you at least remember your name?”

I shake my head in reply, making him nod. “Well, my name is Andy,” he hesitates. “Can I just give you a name?”

“Sure.”

Andy scrunches his face as if in thought. I interrupt his line of thought when the familiar alleyway comes into view, “There!”

I rush ahead of him, walking straight into the dark alley. Despite the daylight pouring over the city, this place seemed to be untouched. I approach the exact spot I got up from. It was next to a dumpster. “Anything coming to mind?” Andy questions from behind me.

“No,” I mumble, kicking at a rock on the ground, but my foot just went through it.

“Welcome back kiddo,” a gravelly voice says from in front of me.

I look up to see a taller man with grey hair and a beard. He seemed to be smoking a cigarette, but I didn’t understand how. “Who are you?” I tilt my head. “Do you know me?”

He snickers, “If ya call watchin’ ya run off like that knowin’ ya, then yeah. As to who I am, I’m Garrett.”

“So then, you can see me?”

“Course I can, kiddo,” he smirks. “Ghosts can see each other, y’know.”

I could hear Andy groan behind me, “I’m not helping another one.”

Garrett looks from me to the tall man behind me, “Ah, you’re a breather, aren’t ya? But ya can see us? That’s interestin’.”

“How are you smoking?” My curiosity got the best of me.

He waves the cigarette around, “Died like this. Was just out here for my break and then BAM, shot.”

“I’m sorry,” I rub my hands together nervously.

He shakes his head, “No need for that. I’m dead, it happened ten years ago, it’s alright. I’ve been stuck here for a decade, but it never gets borin’. Get to watch all of the breathers live, and occasionally see somethin’ juicy. Like last night.”

“What happened here last night?” Andy suddenly walks around me to talk to him.
Garrett sucks another breath of smoke from the cancer stick in his hand. “Saw a kid not much older than ya,” he points to me. “He threw a bag in the dumpster here. Never seen ‘im before last night. I assume he was dumpin’ somethin’ dirty.”

My eyes widen as I look at the man beside me, him doing the same. We both had the same idea. He rushes to the dumpster, ripping open different bags. It had to smell bad from the stuff I was seeing in there, but I couldn’t smell it. I watch as he opens a bag that makes him stumble back. His hand was over his mouth, eyes wide. “What?” I question, slowly walking over to it.

“No,” he insists. “D-Don’t look-“

I peered into the bag before stumbling back like Andy did. A scream comes out of my lips from seeing the contents. Blood, lots of it, and my face staring at me. My body started shaking uncontrollably as I fall to the ground. “Th-That’s m-me,” I choke out.

Garrett had a look of sympathy as he walked over, “I’m sorry kiddo…”

“I was murdered,” I whispered.

“Did you see their face?” Andy interrogates the older man.

He shook his head, “No, sadly. He had a hood up when he dumped it.”

I gagged, but no bile rose up my throat. I couldn’t throw up because I was dead. And I was lying in a dumpster. I looked up to see Andy’s blue eyes observing me with a look of concern. It suddenly came to mind that he was alive, and he helped me. “Th-Thank you, Andy.” I
mumble. “I-I know what happened to me. You can leave now.”

I close my eyes, bringing my knees to my chest. Tremors ran through my body as I sobbed. What did I ever do to someone to make them want to kill me like that? Who would ever do something like that? “Hey,” I hear his soft, raspy voice coax me to look up at him. “You wanted to remember who you were, and I agreed to help you. And I don’t go back on my word, Dahlia.”

“Dahlia?”

The cheeks of his face turned pink, “Well, I just thought of something I could call you…you don’t want to know where it comes from.”

In spite of the ache in my heart, I smiled softly, “It’s pretty. Thank you.”

I get up from where I was sitting, staring at this man in front of me. He said he despised ghosts, yet he’s willing to help me more. I couldn’t work him out. There was nothing in this for him. Why would he continue to do this? “Kiddo,” Garrett gets my attention. “Find the son of a bitch who did this to ya, and make ‘em pay.”

“I plan on it.”

Notes