Chapter 10. MY FUNERAL

We sat in an old van that we stole from the desert. It was abandoned in an old house. Thankfully, it was still alive. Billy was the one driving. Alexa and Robby sat with him in the front seats. The rest of us sat in the back seats. I was sitting next to Kyra, who was silent. Her eyes were now dried, but she seemed pretty lost in her thoughts. Malachi was not talking much too. Jona was hanging by the window looking on outside, and I was sitting quietly listening to Yusuf, who was nagging about making it to the world of the living. I was completely ignoring him.

After a few hours of driving through the dark desert, we finally arrived in the town area. It was a long drive, and everyone except for Billy and me was asleep. I was too excited to fall asleep, and also, my new nosy partner was still talking.

We drove on inside the town, and Billy pulled over after a few meters.

"Guys. Wake up." He called them out.

Once everyone was awake, Billy took us into this apartment. He said it was his dad's, but he had abandoned it. So it was a good place to crash while we were in town, he said. We strolled into the apartment and placed our things safely, then took a rest.

"We will see each other in the morning," Billy said and hopped into bed.

In a few minutes, everyone was asleep.

"Don't be a bother. I have to sleep." I said to Yusuf

"Okay. Alright, nephew." He spoke, and I slept.

****

"Good morning," I said as I opened my eyes. Everyone else was already awake. They were sitting down and talking.

"Good morning, sleepy head," Alexa responded.

"What did I miss?" I asked.

"We. It's we." Yusuf spoke. I wanted to talk back to him but thank God I didn't. The last thing I wanted was for everyone to suspect I was lying about letting a ghost in.

"Everybody is going to do whatever business brought them back here, and then after we all done, we will meet here and go back home.

" Home?" Malachi asked.

"Yes. Side B," Billy spoke.

"Do we have to go back?" I asked, and everybody shot questioning glances at me.

"Did I ask something stupid?

"We can't stay here for long. Our bodies will start disintegrating and eventually disappear. No longer a free ghost or trapped. " Alexa explained.

"And how long can one be here until the disintegration starts?" I asked.

"The disintegration starts once you land here but the effects are not severe until a few months later." She added.

"With time you will start feeling the changes," Jona spoke.

"I don't know why we are even discussing this. We are not here to stay. We have to go back before people in our world notice we are gone." Billy spoke.

"We have today to complete whatever we wish to do and then tomorrow we are travelling back " he added.

"Just today? I have a lot of people to meet. I have a lot.''I asked, recalling I had Yusuf's grave to dug.

"Narrow down your little visits, new kid," Billy responded.

"You are the new kids here. Remember you died before me." That was supposed to be some kinda joke, but no one laughed. I felt a little stupid.

"We have only today. We will meet here tomorrow," Billy said.

"Okay. Let's get moving." Alexa spoke.

"I'll go with Chase boy." Robby volunteered.

"No. I am not going anywhere with you." I protested because Robby was the last person I would want to follow me.

"No. I am coming. You can't stop me."

"Let him come. We might need him." Yusuf spoke.

"We don't need him," I said.

"What?" Robby asked.

"Nothing. You can come with me."

" I'll stay here. I have nowhere to go now that my parents are dead and now Kelly is gone." Kyra spoke.

"No. You can come with me. You don't have to stay here all alone." Malachi suggested.

"Really?" Kyra asked in disbelief.

"Yeah sure," Malachi responded

"Okay. Thanks." Kyra said and smirked.

****

We left with Robby and headed to my parents' house. We had hopped on a taxi by the roadside without the owner's knowledge and dropped off still without him noticing we were in his cab.

"Should I knock?" I asked Robby nervously. I was so excited to see home again finally. I was also so nervous to see my family again.

"No. We just walk in." Robby said and pushed the door open. We stepped inside. It looked exactly like it was before I died. Our family picture was still hanging on the wall. I stared at it thinking of all the good times we had together.

"Your family is beautiful," Robby said politely.

"Thank you. I miss them a lot."

"And with that, where is everyone?" Robby asked. I had been carried away by our family picture that I had not noticed it was awfully quiet.

"Mom! Mom," I called out, but there was no response.

"Dad? Mitchell?" I called out again. Mitchell was my younger sister.

"They can't hear you, halfwit. They are not here. I can't smell anyone." Robby spoke.

"Ooh, God! Where the hell are they?" I wondered. My mom was always home unless she was attending to something serious.

"I can help track them. You only need to give me a scent. Your mom's or whoever you want me to find." Robby said, and of course, my mom hit my thought first. I was pretty close to her. She loved me more than my dad ever loved me.

"I want you to find my mom but.....how are we going to get her scent?" I asked.

"Just bring one thing from her closet. I'll do the rest. " Robby said, and I rushed over to my mom's room and grabbed one of her scarves. She was so fond of scarves. The scarf just smelled like my mom's. Her perfume of all the time hit me. It was a perfect choice for Robby.

I walked back downstairs and handed Robby the scarf, and we left the house. Robby followed the scent, and eventually, we ended up in the cemetery. I had not expected my mom to be in a cemetery.

We strolled over to where people were sitting down. At the front, there was a white wooden coffin on the table, and next to it was a priest from my mom's church. He was talking to the people sitting. I spotted my family in the front seats.

"Ooh, God! It's my funeral!" I exclaimed in shock, staring at my photo that was placed on top of the coffin.

"Yes. It's your funeral." Robby spoke.

"Ooh, God! I can't believe it. I can't believe I am attending my burial." I was still talking when suddenly my mom walked to the front, and the priest handed her the microphone.

Her face was pale. She looked broken.

"My son. My chase was a good boy. He was a good baby and..." My mom stopped talking to wipe a tear. She then continued.

"Chase was my boy, and some careless driver took his life. That reckless bastard killed my son. He took everything from me." My mom said, sobbing. She was broken. My dad and Mitchell walked to the front, and both stood by mom's side, caressing her shoulders. Mitchell was crying too. My dad was not crying, but his face was saddened.

"My brother was my best friend. He always watched over me. He defended me. He loved me, and I loved him." Mitchell spoke, then broke into tears. "I loved him so much, and I am going to miss him every day. " she continued talking with a breaking voice. I dropped a tear watching how broken they were.

"I'll not rest until I find my son justice. I'll get the bastard who hit my son and ran away." My dad spoke and then escorted my mom and Mitchell to sit down.

"Chase will remain in our hearts forever. He will never be forgotten. May his soul rest in eternal peace." The priest spoke.

There were a lot of people that I recognized from the seats. To my surprise, people who I thought would never show up at my funeral were there. Some of the people who hated me were crying.

"I can't believe she is even crying," I said, looking at Joan, who was sobbing, sitting behind my family.

"Who is she?" Robby asked.

"Joan. My ex-girlfriend. She left me for Dario. Some stupid guy." I said angrily.

"Maybe she left you but she never wished you to die. You know dumping someone does not mean you can't cry at their funeral." Robby said.

"It makes a lot of sense," I said and started walking to the front.

"Where are you going?" Robby asked.

"To talk to my family. " I said.

"Mom. I am here. It's me." I said, tapping on my shoulders. She was not turning to me. It's not like she was hearing me.

"Mitchell?" I called my sister, waving my hands to her face. She did not react too.

"Come on Mitch. It's me. Your brother. Dad. " I turned to my dad.

"They can't see or hear you idiot. You are a ghost and so no one can see apart from other ghosts." Robby said, reminding me that I was a ghost.

"Shit." I had not thought of that, I said.

"But I am here. I have a body. So then who is there?" I asked, pointing to the coffin.

"Your body," Robby spoke.

"How many bodies do I have? How can I be here and inside the coffin at the same time?"

"You are a ghost and that's your human body there."

"Can I see it? I mean, my dead body?" I asked. I asked, and Robby nodded. We strolled to where the coffin was and stood beside it. The priest was still talking. He asked people who were interested in viewing the body to do so. That gave me a perfect chance to view the dead me.

"Shit! It's me. " I said, looking inside the coffin. I looked great, dressed in a grey suit and a white shirt. I even had a black tie and a pair of black shoes. The only thing that looked awful was my face. It was very grey and pale.

"I thought you hated collared shirts," Robby spoke.

"Yes. I did but remember I didn't dress. I was dead and so no one cared what I liked or not. They just followed the protocol. Everyone gets buried in suits and collared shirts and Ties." I said.

"I gotta go. I'll see you back at Billy's apartment." Robby spoke.

"Where are you going?" I asked.

"I have somewhere I need to be. You will be safe on your own.".

"Okay. See you tomorrow." I said, and Robby walked away.