Four months later...
Bella dropped flowers on her brothers grave.
She still couldn't believe how time had flown. How so much had changed within the blink of an eye.
The stench of decay assailed her nostrils. Bella inhaled sharply. Her only consolation was that at least she still had a chance to see him-to see his ghost anyway.
It still sometimes felt so weird.
Her lips curled. Still, it was necessary to do the burial.
As his only family, she was burdened with the task to plan the burial. Her eyes skidded past the burial grounds. Bella was still shocked at the amount of people that turned up.
Elders. Police officers. Doris and family.
Even, Heidi was present.
But of course, her mother didn't show.
With each passing day, she didn't really care if her mother never showed her face again.
"I can't believe he really is gone." Doris sniffled beside her.
"Such is life." She whispered. Her heart clenched.
Life was fleeting. It was short. It was best to live in the moment. To say all you needed to say. Resolve on pending issues and tension. Do all that you've wanted to do.
Bella excused herself. Grass crunched underneath her sneakers. As soon as she ducked out of the tree, the sun's rays pelted against her. Hot. Burning.
Bella could almost feel the sting of her scars.
With each person she passed, she greeted with a wide smile and a courteous nod.
Each one responded almost the same way.
They noticed the left side of her face -the ash-gray patches that swallowed healthy, glowing skin, her jutted cheekbones that had lost their shine. Then they'd force a smile before walking away.
Even when she wasn't looking in the mirror, she could see it. A disease that was forced to live with her. Something she couldn't scrub off no matter how hard she tried.
And she had tried everything. Used all sor-ts of soaps. Gone to dermatologist. Done everything and everything.
Yet, it was still here. But now, she no longer saw it as a taint or a mar to her skin.
Now, it was more than a flaw. It was a reminder of what had happened that night. The battle they won. The revenant they freed. The family they reunited.
It reminded her that in ugliness, there was still beauty. In the darkness, there was still light.
In the flames, there was still silver light.
She found Seth where she'd left him. He swiveled to look at her. His hazel eyes narrowed.
"What took you so long?" Bella grabbed the handle of the wheel chair.
"I had to meet up with someone." Bella pushed Seth's wheelchair past some muttering residents.
Just two days after the battle, representatives from the Ghost readers Bureau came. They did a couple of tests on him before declaring the final verdict.
According to them, it was a miracle Seth was even alive. The negative energy corrupted his body-something that should have killed him. But somehow, he survived it.
But, he was paralyzed from the waist down. So, he was always stuck in the wheelchair.
Ever since then, she'd started working in the library to both look after him and manage things on his behalf.
They continued walking until they reached Graystone.
It stunk of rot. Muck. Decay.
Just like everyother day she came here.
Bella paused. She fished out the seeing eye chain before she wore it.
The smell overpowered her nostrils. Her breath rang in her ears. The pelting sun rays turned jarring.
Then she saw the ghosts again. Just like every other time.
Since that day, she visited Graystone at least once a week. To see her brother. To talk to her father. Bella had kept her end of the deal from the onset but Seth had been putting off his-at least until now.
Seth was quiet.
"Are you okay?" She asked softly.
Seth sighed. He sagged in the wheelchair "I don't think I'm ready for this. I can't."
"Whyy do you think so?"
"I just..... I can't face them. What will I say? Where do I even start?"
"Well you can start by saying how much you miss them."
"But what if-"
"You know a wise man once told me-you usually know what to do, you just need to trust yourself enough."
Seth smirked. "So you think I'm wise."
Bella rolled her eyes. "I still don't believe that you came up with that."
"That's disappointing."
Bella shook her head with a smile. She stopped at a near rotting table. Two ghosts appeared before Seth.
Bella retraced her steps, wanting to give him space. She sat on the grass. Bella watched the ghosts trickle by, lost in their own worlds. She mentally counted.
He'd be here in 3.
2.
1.
"You're late."
Bella rolled her eyes. "You always say that. Isn't there a better way to welcome me oh dear brother?" She raised an eyebrow.
Miles folded his hands over his chest. "Don't call me that, Broker."
"I can call you what I want, half-face."
Miles placed a hand on his chest, gasping dramatically. "That's cruel, you know? How could you?"
Bella snickered. They shared a look before they laughed.
Then Bella filled him on all the details of the burial. All the people that had come. The troubles she had gone through just to be able to get Miles' corpse so that they could conduct a proper burial ceremony.
All the while, Miles features slowly dropped. After Bella had finished, a long silence stretched between them.
"How is Doris?" There was pain in his voice. Ache. Longing.
She pulled her knees to her chest. "She isn't taking it very well."
Miles sighed. He was quiet before he spoke again. "I wished I allowed her to be there for me. She did so much and I couldn't even thank her." A shuddering breath escaped his lips. It formed a small mist that disappeared just as quickly as it had formed.
She wished she could pat his shoulder-to comfort him. To dispel the pain-the regrets.
But that's the thing about life.
It was filled with pain. Regrets. Envy. Jealousy. Anger. Malice.
Everyone was burdened.
Some grieved for a dead loved one while some had a skewed self image. Some were taught that starving themselves would get everything while some barely had anything to eat.
The world was haunted by demon incarnates as people. That terrorized nations. That broke homes. That raped. That killed.
But those incarnates weren't always the way they were. They weren't always bad. They weren't always evil.
Many times, they were innocent. They once sought for peace and joy. Love. But they never found it-they never got it.
Bella knew that it would take a lot to heal the world.
But in her own little way she'd make the light a little brighter-the ride a little smoother.
For a girl. Boy. Man. Woman.
In her own little space, where her music pulsed out of deep wells, she would do what she had to.
What she needed to.
She'd make a difference.
One lyric at a time.
THE END