"How can I do that? I'm dead," I said as I rolled my eyes. This woman was clearly out of her damn mind.

"I can take you back, as a ghost of course," she said smoothly as if she said this every day or something.

"How am I supposed to catch a murderer as a ghost?!" I panicked.

"Well, that...is something you're going to have to figure out," she replied with a shrug. "Time here works differently than down there. I am giving you 20 minutes to figure it out."

Twenty minutes?! My eyes widened as I got ready to protest. She held her hand up to silence me as she continued.

"Which means...you will have 3 months down there."

I nodded my head slowly and tried to wrap my head around this ridiculous situation. What I knew was; I was murdered, someone is being framed for it, the real killer is somewhere I don't know and I had to find them.

This seemed like something out of a horror movie. I'm not even good at word searches, how am I going to find a murderer that had expertly evaded the police?

"What do I do?" I asked. I was completely overwhelmed.

Three months on Earth as a ghost with no memories of anything, chasing a murderer?

"I am going to leave you at your home. After that, you can go where you need. Keep in mind that as a ghost, to be able to touch anything will require a lot of energy. Be careful and do not scare anyone!" She said as she clapped her hands together excitedly. I couldn't understand her elation but I chose to ignore it.

"Okay," I said with a sigh. This seemed like an impossible mission but I had no other alternative. It was either get a chance to move on or stay in this place forever.

I refused to stay here.

The red-haired lady in front of me snapped her fingers and a moment later we were in front of a brick house. The house was in a quiet neighborhood surrounded by other small houses.

If I hadn't been killed I would think that nothing bad ever happened here.

The ringing of a bicycle bell interrupted me out of my thoughts. I almost thought that the kids on the bikes saw us but I was proved incorrect when they rode right past us.

"That house right there..." she began as she pointed at the brick house. "Is yours."

I nodded as I glanced at the small house and I turned back to her. "Now what?" I asked.

"Well, I am going to be taking my leave now," Death said as my mouth dropped.

Is she just leaving me here? Before I could voice my thoughts she spoke up again.

"Take care of yourself. I'll be back in twenty minutes," she joked. She turned to walk away but abruptly stopped and turned around to face me again. "I don't know if I mentioned it. But if you do not figure it out within the time provided, you will be stuck in purgatory."

I glared at the woman in front of me. "Yeah, I kind of figured that out with the whole 'you cannot pass on'. Although for future reference maybe point that out in the beginning."

She gave me a sheepish smile and snapped her fingers, disappearing from my sight.

What do I do now? I looked around the neighborhood and my eyes landed on the house next door. A shirtless boy was washing a car in the driveway.

If I was going to be stuck here maybe I could enjoy it a little bit. I shamelessly gawked at the boy, scanning him from head to toe.

He was tall, maybe around 6 feet. His curly brown hair hung down his forehead and he had to move it multiple times but it kept falling back down over his eyes. He wore denim jeans and his tan and toned upper body was on full display. The man wasn't muscular or anything, he was slender but he was still cute.

I tore my gaze off of him when I heard the front door of the house I previously lived open. A short older woman woman with puffy red eyes stepped out. She tied her black hair into a bun and held her keys in her hand, walking towards her car.

The lady walked past me and a familiar scent filled my senses. I tried to place the scent and my head began to throb.

I groaned in pain as I held my temples. I leaned on the car in an effort the steady myself, and a memory flashed in my mind.

"Mom, he broke up with me," I cried.

My mother walked away from the dish she was preparing in the kitchen and walked towards me, arms spread open.

"I'm sorry sweetheart," she said as she enveloped me into a hug. Her cinnamon and vanilla scent filled my senses and I felt at home. I took a deep breath in and let my troubles disappear on my exhale.

I stood up straight, looking at the woman.

She was my mother. I remembered her and the cinnamon buns she used to cook for me when I was sad. I remembered how every morning before school she would write me a note and slip it into my bag.

I looked at her more in-depth this time and gone was the lively and bubbly woman that raised me. In her place stood a tired and sad woman, struggling to do mundane activities.

Is it because I died?

"Hey, Mrs. Monroe," the boy next door came over to where my mom was near the car.

"Hello, Carter. How are you?" She asked, offering him a small smile.

"I am as okay as I can be," he said softly.

"You miss her too?" She asked. I knew my mother enough to know when she was about to break down. I hoped he would end this conversation soon so it wouldn't have to be in front of him.

"I do," he replied. Did he know me? They were talking about me, right? I just died, who else would they be referring to. "It's been a tough couple of months Mrs. Monroe, but we will all get through it. It's what she would have wanted," he said as he squeezed my mother's shoulder.

I smiled at the kind gesture. I was glad she wasn't alone.

I looked at the boy again for a long time, waiting for another headache and memories.

But nothing came.

"I know Carter. I know." With that my mother gave him one more fake smile and got into her car.

Carter. That's his name.

I let his name roll off my tongue a couple of times but still, nothing came to mind. Maybe it would come later.

I need to focus on why I'm here, I thought as I took my eyes off of Carter. I turned to the house that I now recognized as my home and took steps towards it.

I reached to open the door but my hand went through it completely. I tried a few more times but the same thing kept happening.

Death told me that it would require a lot of energy but how do I do it?

I closed my eyes and took a few deep breaths, mustering up all the power I had. Instead of being met with the wind, I felt a cold doorknob.

Before I could lose the grip I had on the door I quickly twisted the knob. It was locked.

"Ughhh," I yelled as I kicked the door, forgetting I was a ghost. My foot went through the door and I lost my balance, falling into the house.

Could've just walked through the door. Why hadn't I thought of that?

I picked myself  up off the ground and dusted off my jeans and grey sweater.

Taking a look around the cozy house and I saw a living room with beige walls and white curtains.

A red love seat was against the wall and across it was a TV hanging against the wall. On the floor was a brown furry carpet and on top of it was a table made out of glass and wood.

I walked towards the table when I saw a pamphlet out of the corner of my eye. On the cover it said:

𝙸𝚗 𝙻𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝙼𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚘𝚏 𝙰𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚊𝚑 𝙼𝚘𝚗𝚛𝚘𝚎
𝟸𝟶𝟶𝟸-𝟸𝟶𝟷𝟿

There was a picture of me smiling on the cover and my black hair hanging in waves down my face. I couldn't remember where the picture was taken, but I looked happy.

I flipped through the pages and there were quotes from people that knew me. They were sharing their favorite moments they had with me.

𝚂𝚔𝚢𝚕𝚊𝚛 𝙻𝚎𝚡𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚝𝚘𝚗: 𝚂𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚜𝚝 𝚏𝚛𝚒𝚎𝚗𝚍 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍𝚗'𝚝 𝚍𝚎𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚍𝚒𝚍. 𝙸 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚝𝚒𝚖𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚜𝚗𝚞𝚌𝚔 𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚔𝚎 𝟷𝟶𝚙𝚖 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢.𝙸 𝚠𝚊𝚜𝚗𝚝 𝚐𝚘𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚐𝚘 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚍 𝚊 𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚍𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚘𝚋𝚋𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊 𝚋𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚒𝚗 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚗𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚌𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚊𝚠𝚊𝚢 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚒𝚝.𝚃𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚊𝚛𝚝𝚢 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚛𝚊𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚍 𝚋𝚢 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚘𝚕𝚒𝚌𝚎 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚠𝚎 𝚛𝚊𝚗 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚕𝚒𝚟𝚎𝚜. 𝙸𝚝 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚜𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚗𝚒𝚐𝚑𝚝 t𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚒 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚟𝚒𝚗𝚌𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚓𝚞𝚖𝚙 𝚘𝚏𝚏 𝚊 𝚛𝚘𝚘𝚏 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚑𝚒𝚍𝚎 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚌𝚘𝚙𝚜.𝚈𝚎𝚊𝚑, 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚐𝚘𝚝 𝚖𝚎 𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚘 𝚊 𝚕𝚘𝚝 𝚘𝚏 𝚝𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚋𝚕𝚎 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝚜𝚑𝚎 𝚖𝚊𝚍𝚎 𝚖𝚎 𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚣𝚎 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚕𝚒𝚏𝚎 𝚠𝚊𝚜 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚛𝚒𝚜𝚔𝚜. 𝙰𝚜 𝚕𝚘𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚜 𝚒 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝, 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚋𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚝𝚑 𝚖𝚎 𝙰𝚊𝚕𝚒𝚢𝚊𝚑.

I smiled as I read the quote. I didn't remember her but I wished I did. A tear fell down my cheek as the whole situation fell back into perspective for me again.

All these people were hurt because I was gone, and I couldn't even remember them. It was shitty.

I heard the door in the kitchen open and I hid in the closet in the living room, forgetting that I was invisible.

I was expecting it to be my mother but I was sorely mistaken when a person wearing a black hoodie and matching jeans walked in. I peeked through the crack in the closet and tried to get a better look at their face but I couldn't. Their black hoodie was obscuring my line of vision to the mysterious person's face.

I held my breath as the person went through drawers and cabinets in the house. They carried on for a few minutes and turned to go elsewhere.

I heard the footsteps coming towards the closet. Towards me...and I immediately put a hand over my mouth. My heart started beating quickly and I felt dizzy.

The person stopped in front of the closet door and reached out to open it. But the sound of a car pulling into the drive-way stopped them dead in their tracks.

I saw the person's head snap towards the door and they ran out through the kitchen door from which they entered.

The breath I was holding left my body and I laid my hands on my knees, trying to catch my breath. If my time on Earth was going to be anything like that, I wasn't sure I was going to survive it.

What if it was the person who killed me?

I sighed as I remembered that I was a ghost. I didn't have to hide. I could've stepped out of the closet and solved this mystery once and for all.

But I couldn't help the chills that ran through my body while I was in the presence of the person in black. They only left because they were interrupted...they were searching for something.

I had no doubt they would be back, and when they do come, I won't cower in some closet. I'd be ready to face them.