The sun had long dipped behind the hills by the time Lea left school.The world outside Montclair Academy was darkening,and so was her heart. Her footsteps echoed down the quiet sidewalk.She was always the last one to leave-better to avoid the glances,the whispers,the laughter.But today,her pace slower than usual.Her arms were stiff with dried soup,and her soul was heavier than it had ever been.
That's when she saw it.
A sleek black BMW parked front of the school gate.The windows were tinted,the body gleaming like oil in moonlight.
Out stepped Clara.Lea remembers her,it's that strange woman she saw the other day when she had gone shopping with her mother. She was stunning in the way that didn't seem earthly.A cream blouse made of some delicate fabric that shimmered ever so faintly under streetlights.High-waisted black trousers with gold embroidery that didn't feel morden.A matching hat,perched delicately a top dark curls that framed a face untouched by time.
''Come with me,''she said, her voice smooth,low,timeless.
Lea hesitated.''Why would I go anywhere with you?''''Because you don't want to see ghosts forever, do you?''she asked convincingly.Lea's breathe hitched.Clara opened the door.''Come with me…if you want to break the curse.''
Inside the car Lea said nothing.Her heart raced. The car pulled up in front of a tiny music shop tucked between two art galleries.I'ts sign was old and wooden,curved in cursive DOLALASOLA.
Inside,warm yellow light spilled from windows.A soft French song played on a record player-something from the 1960s,haunting yet sweet.The display window showed violins,old vinyls,cassette tapes,vintage posters of forgotten jazz musicians.The moment Lea stepped inside,she knew it was not just a music shop.
There were three employees behind the counter:A man in his mid 30s with sleepy eyes and a kind smile.His shirt was half tucked in,and he had the soft,gentle vibe of someone who knew sadness too well.A bubbly girl in her early 20s,sat cross-legged on the counter.Her short pink hair curled around silver earrings,and her grin was quick and wild.''And then there was a boy.Around twelve.Big green eyes,curls like ink,and a kind of soft face that made you want to protect him.But something in his gaze hinted that he'd seen things most adults hadn't.All three wore jeans,blue t-shirts with DOLALASOLA snitched in cursive,and matching caps.
''Welcome,''they said in unison.Their smiles weren't fake but there was something beneath them.A shared secret,A quiet sadness.
Lea swallowed.
Clara placed a hand on her shoulder and led her behind a curtain at the back of the store.Behind it was…an elevator.It looked ancient,like something out of old theatre.Instead of buttons,it had a single bronze dial.Clara turned it to ''10'' with a whisper of her glove.
The doors creaked closed.The air turned cold.
Lea's heart hammering.''What's…on floor ten?'' ''Let's go and find out.''Clara smiled. When the elevator opened,Lea immediately recoiled.
They were underground and it was very cold.
They walked along a long hallway,the walls painted clean whitesterile,cold,too quiet.But what made her kneels buckle were the glass walls on either side.Behind them were ghosts.Each trapped in their own compartment.Screaming silently.Slammering their rotten hands against the glass.Some wept.Some cursed.Some just stared at Lea with empty,soulless eyes.One reached out its broken nails down the glass,shouting her name.''Lea…Leaaa!!!''
Lea screamed.
Clara didn't even flinch.
She walked forward calmly,heels clicking.''Ignore them.They can't touch you.Not here.''
Lea stumbled after her,eyes darting.''What is this?Who are they?''
"They are hungry spirits,trapped by their own unfinished business,"Clara said.
The hallway went on forever.
At the end,they reached a lavish living room.Velvet sofas.Golden chandeliers.A photo on the wall showed Olivia- young and unchanged-taked in the 1970s.Lea gasped.''That's you.Clara just smiled.''Yes...''
A knock.
Then-her
The ghost in the hospital.The wedding gown Bloodstains. Torn veil.Black tears streaking down the ghost's cheeks.
''YOU!''Lea screamed.''Why are you following me?''
In an instant,the ghost who was standing at the door was now at her side,laughing with jagged,rotting teeth.The laugh pierced like a scream.
Clara didn't flinch.''Olivia.Sit,''she commanded her sternly.
The ghost obeyed.Lea sat too,barely breathing.
''I died on my wedding day,''Olivia said,voice low and tragic.''He called it off.I never knew why.I crashed my car that night.''it's has been three years…I can't rest.I have to find out what happened three years ago.You have to help me,"Olivia said hopelessly.Lea's hands trembled.''Why me?''
''Because Olivia chose you,''Clara said.''You must help her or suffer.You went against the heavens' decisions and decided to end your own life whilst many souls are hoping to live again-hence you are now enslaved to those souls Lea.''
''I WON'T.I REFUSE..''Lea stood almost bursting into tears.
Then pain.A searing stab through her chest.She screamed and fell to her knees.
''It gets worse everyday,''Clara said,placing a gloved hand on her shoulder.''Two times worse until you help Olivia and move on to another soul.''
Tears rolled down Lea's cheeks when she realises that everything happening to her was real.''How am I supposed to find her husband.?I'ts impossible ''''Olivia will guide you.You are now a team until you send her to the afterlife.''Clara said.
Lea stared at Olivia-her terrifying face,and the sadness in her eyes.''So I have to see her.Everyday?'' ''Yes,''Clara said,''Welcome to the curse."
''You have to find true love-and fast,''Clara said,her voice low,almost like a whisper.''Not just any love,but where that person is willing to make a huge sacrifice for you whithin the next six months…only then will the curse be broken.''
Lea froze,the weight of Clara's words sinking in. Sacrifice?Her mind raced,images of possible scenarios flickering in and out of focus.What kind of sacrifice could anyone give?And who would be willing to make it for
her?The thought sent a shiver down her spine,the cold realisation that her fate was tied to something far darker than just love.
Later,in the shop,the others welcomed Lea.The three workers she once saw Ethan,Sophie and Harry,who were also under the same curse,still finding means to break it.
But she noticed someone else.
A girl cleaning the window.Her back looked really familiar.
The girl then turned her back.
Lea gasped.
''Chloe?''
"What is Chloe doing here...is she also bound by the curse??"Lea thought to herself.