The newest member of the eternal greyness walked down the rocky path to the only light source forever - a large circle of streetlamps surrounding a water fountain. Everywhere was black, the floor, the walls, the ceiling. There was no change in pitch or shade, so much so that no one could tell if there even were any walls, or ceiling, and the only proof of floor was that they weren't falling. But who knew when it disappeared?

      So Leilani Holmes walked slowly towards the lights. 

      Waiting for her, on the massive circular bench round the spray of water, was a million ghosts over lapping, fading through one another, crowding together so they seemed to be a single body, a mass of shadow. Leilani couldn't tell any ghost apart from the next and stood at the entrance to the circle of light, staring. And then she noticed a more hurried movement from the right, or what she remembered was right. It could have been left, up, down, anything. Nothing mattered down here.

      A more distinctive shape started to form, one ghost parting from the rest. "Leilani?" It was Charlie's voice, she thought, and sure enough, the older girl was stood in front of her. "Why are you here? You're still so young."

      "I'm sixteen," Leilani said quietly, a whisper of a smile across her lips, "But any age is old enough to die." If tears existed in the shadow world, they'd have both cried in that moment. As it was, there wasn't much of anything there, so neither of them found that they could. Or perhaps, it was that they didn't remember how to. Everyone forgot everything, eventually.

      For a moment, they just stood there. And then Leilani asked, "Are you happy now?"

      Charlie smiled a little, trying to remember what muscles to use, "I was. Death was what I wanted, you know that. Since my parents died, it was all I ever asked for, every birthday and Christmas. Veronica, Brandon and Lora wouldn't let me.  They were so worried and they didn't realise it was what I needed. So last birthday, I gave myself the gift of death. I never got to see their reactions, I didn't get chance to make them feel any better about it, I even forgot to write a note. But they'll join me soon enough, because we have no concept of time here. I can only tell you came too early because of how young you look, I have no idea how long it's been. You learn to forget things, here."

      "So... Are you happy here? I'm scared," Leilani admitted to her old friend. Friend in the way that they knew each other, would recognise each other, but rarely spoke. And now they had forever together. 

      "To start with, I was very happy. It's confusing, landing in this darkness, isn't it?" Leilani nodded and Charlie continued, "But I realised fairly quickly where I was, and I rejoiced. I found my mum and dad, even Polka was here. But I couldn't stand to be with them long, and no, I'm not happy anymore. People forget things, remember? And it seems to be, those that knew most, forget quicker. See, Dad was sat by Mum but she wasn't responding to anything he said with anything more than a smile. She'd forgotten how to speak, how to react, and," Charlie almost choked up, being a newer ghost, before she found the strength to continue, "She forgot him. But you know my dad, he'd never give up on her, and he didn't understand either. It was such a hopeless sight, I just couldn't stay.. And neither of them recognised me." She turned away and led Leilani to a fairly lit spot on the floor to sit. "Polka recognised me, his memory made it the longest. I left before I could watch him forget dad though."

      Leilani was so upset she could have cried an ocean, but she couldn't remember how. "I'm sorry it's not as you imagined." 

      Charlie shrugged, turning away for a moment, "What's happening?" A orange cat, that could barely be called orange when it was as transparent as everything else, rubbed up against her.

      "Polka must remember you! Charlie, that's a good thing, right?" Leilani tried to grin, finding she still remembered what that was. 

      "Polka?" Charlie asked, and Leilani's smile started to drop. "Remember me...?" her voice faded and her eyes unfocused, ignoring altogether the cat she'd grown up with. Turning back to the young girl in front of her, she asked, "Lei... What's... Who are you?"

      Leilani grabbed at Polka and found her arms passing right through him, just as he started passing through Charlie. You see, ghosts could only touch those that they remembered, and who remembered them. Polka hadn't met Leilani properly, so neither could go to the other for support. Instead, they both sat in shared loneliness, watching Charlie mentally disappear, and walk to the fountain to join the shimmering mass. 

      Then, as one ghost disappeared, another came round the corner. "I heard your name rippling across the crowd. A new ghost, they said. Leilani Holmes, they said," came the soft voice of a pained girl who couldn't have been any older than twenty when she died. Nineteen, perhaps. Her black hair flowed down her shoulders in the calmest waterfall that had ever been seen, her eyes so dark they may as well have been black holes. 

      "Raven!" Leilani cried out, happy to see her cousin again. "How did you die? I thought you still lived with Adiaz and Cambria? Is Auntie Raven here? Is she happy? Are you happy?" She hugged her older cousin so tightly, more than grateful for the contact after all the coldness of this place, and Raven hugged her back with equal effort. 

      "Long story short, because I can't remember the long, I saved Frankie from a bullet by taking it myself. And don't worry, Adiaz and Cambria should be fine, they'll be better off without me anyway. Mum was here, yeah, but she faded long ago. She touched the water, see, and disappeared. She didn't like it here, and neither do I, but we all forget we're here before long. But we all know she's never been the patient type. Addie did the same thing, I thought you should know. Mum was never happy, no, but I'm sure she is now that she's gone. And don't worry about me. I have you now, don't I?"

      Leilani vaguely remembered the news of her cousins death, though couldn't remember anything from after it. She'd gone even quieter after that. "Why did someone try to shoot Frankie? Will she be okay without you?" She took in and then threw away the information about the rest of the family, they were okay, that was all that mattered. Except... she had one more question.

      "I don't know why they tried to shoot her, but she's fine. See, the water is also a... sort of window into the living world. You see who you want to see, and I saw Frankie. It took her a while to cope, sadly, but she's met someone new, Eden. So I'm happy, because she is."

      "Okay. I hope the twins are okay, can I see them?" Leilani whispered. "You should know, I have twins now. Keith, their dad, I hope he's okay. Mum said she'd look after them with us both but now I'm not there..." 

      Raven looked concerned, "You have kids? What are their names?"

      "Carly Bella Addie Ravenna Holmes and Brendan Ben Holmes."

     "Cute. Well, I'm sure Hayley will take care of them, and I'm sure Keith will too."

They stayed like that for a while, cousins together as ghosts, hugging, remembering, until Leilani asked, "Why do you stay? This place, it's awful."

      "Fear of the unknown, I guess. But now you're here, I might have the strength to find out. You've reminded me I don't want to forget, and become one of them." Raven Tyker looked out in mourning at the vacant ghosts and then at longing to the fountain. 

      "I'll come with you," Leilani smiled. "We can pass through together." 

      "Okay," Raven agreed, and they moved towards the fountain, hand in hand. Looking down, Raven saw Frankie again, with Eden, laughing a little easier than the day before. Leilani saw her twins, with her mum, over her own body. 

      Standing on the bench, in the middle of the other ghosts, Raven asked, "So how did you die?"

      "I followed Addie."

      Raven nodded, and together they stepped forward into the still, clear water, and felt their bodies falling apart particle by particle, turning to dust, smaller than dust, becoming part of the water. They felt themselves in a million places all at once, becoming one, neither one nor the other, nor both either, becoming nothing and everything at the same time, rising, breaking free of the darkness though they still couldn't see, spreading over the earth to become part of everything that lived, and everything that didn't. Each other and no one, together and apart forever.

      Finally free.