The Ghost Of Wayne Manor

1

Alfred noticed almost immediately. Bruce was gone on his training, and the house was empty, but not as empty as he had first thought.

Lights would turn themselves on, books would take themselves off the shelf. The hallways were colder, and there were strange noises at night.

One day he came home from shopping early to hear amateur fingers playing the piano. The study door was open, and soft, unsure keys fluttered out as if in thought. It sounded vaguely like a nursery rhyme, but every third note was wrong, and the player kept back tracking to get them right.

Alfred peered into the room with critical eyes. Nobody sat at the stool, but the keys were pressed down gently by an unseen force. His gasp made the invisible pianist hit a sharp note. The sound reverberated for a moment, followed by silence. The song was finished.

He waited for almost an hour after he knew it had gone before cleaning the study. The scattered books were more noticeable this time, and he observed the common topic with interest. It seemed his ghost was an astronomer. He frowned on another thought. There weren't many astronomy books in the study.

The dull ache mixed with boredom of his absent master. The man was living with the guilt of his parents death. Once he was old enough to go off on his own he went training in the mountains. Alfred doubted he wouldn't come back unchanged, but this ghost... a phantom that desired to learn, it was a phantom he could teach.

The ghost would find an abundance of space books the next time it wandered into the study. Or perhaps it would take an interest in beginner piano music.