The Faye's Secret

Chapter One

~Abby~

It was impossible to stay focused on her Art History homework with a ghost staring at her. Every time Abby lifted her eyes from the page in front of her, the woman would be standing there, blood covering her white lace blouse.

Shifting her chair so the ghost disappeared in her peripheral, Abby tried to read the words in her textbook. Taking a few deep breaths, she worked to pull her mind away from the pale and sightless woman. But her presence still sent chills up Abby's spine, making concentration difficult. This was her favorite coffee shop close to the University of Seattle; she would not let a ghost chase her away. No matter how creepy the ghost may have been.

The smells of roasting beans and baking cookies saturated the air; the low murmur of other patrons the constant background music, their voices turning into a muffled sort of hum. Abby had been coming here every afternoon for weeks, ever since she moved into her apartment. The school semester started soon afterward and she had needed a place to study, one where her roommate's loud pop music wouldn't be able to bother her.

The Lava Java was the perfect atmosphere and Abby loved it. Until the ghost had appeared, anyway. Unfortunately, the cafe wasn't the only place that ghosts were making her palms sweat.

There was one in the university library, in the back room where Abby liked to study for exams. The young man would stand in the corner of the room, staring at her, his sunken black eyes unnerving.

Another one, an old man, sat at the bus stop she took to and from her apartment every day. When she had first seen him, about a week and half ago, she had reached out to touch him. She thought he had been a flesh-and-blood old man, who fell asleep while waiting for the bus. It was obvious he wasn't when her hand went right through him.

At first she thought she was simply studying too hard, exhausting her mind to the point of lunacy. But then it had gotten even harder to ignore. Like how her normal trek from the university to her apartment was suddenly ambushed by two kid-ghosts.

It happened in the park that sat between the bus stop and her apartment building. It was a perfectly normal October day, the first time she saw them. The sun shone, making the bright yellow, orange, and red leaves dance in the breeze. She was strolling around a small pond, covered in green algae when she saw them.

They were slight and had clearly been malnourished during their lives. Their eye sockets sunken and cheekbones overly defined. The girl wore a raggedy gray dress, the lace trim falling off in places. No shoes covered her feet. The boy held her hand tightly. His hair short and scruffy looking. Overalls covered his legs and torso but left his thin arms bare.

At first sight, Abby was concerned that the children were cold. They shouldn't have been dressed like that. Where the heck were their parents? But then she had gotten closer.

Where their eyes should have been were black holes void of any life.

The only assurance Abby had gathered over the last few weeks, was the ghosts seemed to stay in their designated areas. The woman staring at her over her shoulder in the cafe never left. The man always sat by the bus stop, never on the bench outside her apartment. The library ghost stayed in the library. Knowing this, Abby could avoid them when she really wanted to. Like how she had found a way to avoid the park where the child-ghosts lived by adding ten minutes to her walk home.

But today all she wanted was a good cup of coffee and some quiet study time. She was not going to be scared away.

Trying to ignore the way her heart jackhammered in her chest, Abby took another deep breath before peeking at the corner of the room, again. The ghost woman stood there, ignorant of the world around her. If it wasn't for her black and sightless eyes, Abby may have been a little worried about the knife protruding from her sternum. But under the circumstances, Abby quickly directed her emerald eyes back to the table.