Three Idiots and a Ghost

Because breathing is pretty cool (Part 03)

Warrick's jaw dropped in disbelief. "But, Granny! I thought you would be on my side about this! I'm your favorite!"

Walt grabbed him by the ear. "What are you? Ten?"

"Ha! You know you can't pull that card on me. If I'm ten, so are y—OW!"

The twins returned outside—one of Warrick's stretched earlobes now looking slightly longer than the other—and began unloading the girl's body from their car.

Ever watched on from the front door, also being on the lookout for any curious eyes nearby. There was one neighbor who was watering his garden, but he quickly turned away at a sudden revelation.

"Is it organ harvesting season already?"

Ever passed the middle-aged man an odd look, figuring everyone in this neighborhood must have had a few screws loose. Even so, the ones who took the cake were the trio currently gathered around her body in the living room.

Granny began setting a circle of lit candles around the corpse. The curtains were closed, and the grandmother just had to wear a long robe-like dress today, adding to the ritualistic atmosphere. All that was missing was a sacrificial goat.

With how serious things were getting, the twins brought their conversation to a near whisper.

"Are you seriously thinking of using that chant?" Warrick asked.

Walt shrugged. "What other choice do we have?"

"It's not going to work."

"I don't see why it shouldn't."

"Are you fucking serious, Walt? We made that chant up when we were five!"

"And it worked on Fred, didn't it?"

"Fred was a rabbit!"

"Rabbit or human, we're all animals destined to return to the earth one day."

"This is not the time to be philosophical!"

"Okay, this ought to do the trick, boys," Granny said, holding up a ball of cooking twine. In her other hand was a paring knife.

She cut a sizeable piece of the twine and wound it around the girl's rigid neck a few times before making a secure tie.

Ever couldn't help thinking that she had become the sacrificial goat. Or perhaps a Thanksgiving turkey.

Just when Ever assumed the knife had served its purpose, the elderly woman didn't think twice about making a cut into her palm. Although it wasn't too deep, it was still enough to draw some blood. The twins followed their grandmother's action. While Walt didn't even flinch, Warrick squealed like a little kid.

"This house is full of fucking weirdos," Ever said as the family stood inside the circle of candles and joined bleeding hands over her body.

"You may begin, boys."

Walt looked at his brother, from whom he soon received a reluctant sigh and eventual nod.

Closing their eyes, the twins chanted, "Firetrucks are red, let's bring back the dead. Our names are not Fred, but we called our bunny that instead. Walt's getting the top bed, shut up, Warrick."

"Ugh," Warrick groaned, wincing at the regretful memories that came from the final line. He really wanted that top bunk bed, but it seemed he was simply destined to always be the bottom.

Nothing significant happened at first, and Ever was about to brush all this up as pure nonsense. But then, something magical occurred.

The beige twine around the girl's neck slowly got stained into the color of the three people's blood. Defying all laws of nature, the threaded material lumped and morphed into a single piece of silk red ribbon. It looked like a choker but acted more like a collar.

Ever gasped at a sudden force that got exerted around her neck—her ghost neck, that was. She was being pulled forward like a helpless dog on a leash. It started out with gentle tugs, only for the force to grow into a full-on yank.

The living room flew past Ever's line of sight as she got flung face-first into her body. She instinctively closed her eyes, expecting things to hurt from the hard impact. However, when she reopened them, the only thing she felt was the rapid thumping of her heart.

Ever wheezed and heaved for air, finding it difficult to do something that used to require no thought at all. It was like she had forgotten how to breathe entirely. 

"In and out. In and out," Walt repeated slowly. "There you go."

It was then that Ever finally realized everyone could see her now.