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There is a legend in this old suburban town, passed down for generations. I think that it isn’t scary, just a bit sad. The more sad fact is, I may end up the same way. So… do you want me to tell you?
The legend is a ghost story, it’s not scary like I said. But if you think that you aren’t up for it then you may leave right now, while you still have a chance! The legend features a girl, young women to be precise. I don’t know her name, the rest of her remaining family moved away years ago. The girl was tall with olive skin and multicolored eyes. Or so some say. She had long straight hair that went to her shoulders. Everyone who saw her said she was… mediocre, not amazing but not ugly they say. I don’t believe them, I’ve seen her, she’s really beautiful. But I think that so is everyone, so that doesn’t help much. She appears near her old home and school, by the street. On the side of the street that she can be seen has a ditch and line of bushes. You can always see her sitting on top of the bush, wearing a dark blue sweatshirt with the school colors on it. Every time I’ve ever seen her she is staring at something, her pale eyes are a bit unsettling. If you’ve ever had her stare at you… it’s like she’s sizing you up. Her expression is bored, never happy or vengeful or anything really. Just, staring. There have been a number of people who have seen her, and if not for her clothing people would have thought her from Bachelor’s Grove. I have decided that I will tell you more, reader. You seem to be intrigued by her story. So I shall tell you more.
I have to apologize, I lied to you. There is one relative who lives here still. The great-great-great-great-great niece of the ghost. That niece’s mother was the cousin of the ghost. Confusing right? Well that niece, Marie, knows all about the ghost and her best companion. Marie says that the way the ghost died was, well… it’s a bit hard to describe you see. The ghost’s name was Gianna. And Gianna was 18 when she died, the year of 2025 three years after that famous pandemic. During the pandemic Gianna had started to change, she became more quiet, detached from people. But she always hung out with Aislin, her cousin, they could have been sisters. Shared everything! And Aislin knew, she didn’t know exactly what had happened to Gianna, but she knew that something had been happening. Aislin minded her own business, always taking what Gianna said as a joke. Gianna used to stay inside a lot, doing something no one knew. But then one day she went out. It was a spring morning, sunny and warm. She went out and didn’t come back for hours, where did she go? Her family wondered. They never asked. And it turned out she went to the graveyard, not the haunted one, no. A normal one. Every day she could she picked flowers, bringing them to that graveyard. And she would wander around. No one she knew was buried there, her family was fortunate enough for that. Not one person could figure out why she went there so often! Or even at all. And then one day, she didn’t come back. Her family worried, they called and looked. Aislin and her family were away, so they couldn’t help. No one found her yet. Not until Aislin opened her phone. There was a voicemail, it was from Gianna. Relief flooded through Aislin knowing it would be ok. It wasn’t. The voicemail said to have Gianna’s mom pick her up in a park bathroom. Her mom went, questioning why such a place. When the stench hit her nose, realization hit. Her mom screamed and called 911. But it had been days, too many days. Gianna had moved on.
And now she’s still here, her attempt failed in a sorts. Gianna has never bothered anyone, not even when she was alive. No one knew why. Not to this day, why she moved on before her time. People now know that she spent her remaining days in the graveyard and say she became a ghost because of it. That she could talk to the lingering spirits and they drove her mad.
I’ve talked to her. I caught her staring at me, so I walked forward. I then called her name. The sound of it jolted something in her, her expression changed for once. She responded with a wave, and let me come forward.
“Hello. How do you know my name? No one has ever known my name,” she said when I walked over and looked up at her. She came down, off the bush and sat down next to me.
“So, will you tell me or are you just gonna stand there and stare. It’s kinda rude actually,” she laughed. Her laugh was… I’ve never heard one like it before. I got myself together and responded with, “You- you’re a legend here! Almost everyone knows of you! They call you the lady of the bushes! But one relative of yours still lives here, and told me your name.”
“Oh. I thought they all left. To forget about me,” her eyes went distant, and changed to match the bored solemn look she usually wore.
“So, you want something from me?” she asked, her tone changing once again. This time her tone changed to something sharp and on guard as if I would hurt her.
“Oh, I guess I just wanted to know more about you,” I replied. She laughed again. “What’s so funny?!” I asked defensively.
“Honey, in the world I lived in, everyone wants something from you. Even if that something was to get good grades. So then, what do you want in return?” I contemplated, what do I want from her? That was the question. “I want you to answer all of my questions, no matter how uncomfortable for you,” I said. I know, I know. It isn’t fair, but she said so herself that life wasn’t fair.
“Ok,” she said, after a moment of thought, “what do you want to know?”
“I want to know how you actually died,” I replied.
“I left,” she said bleakly. “I left and now… well I’m here. This is my punishment for leaving. The things I hate the most, silence, thoughts, no distractions.” It was sad, how Gianna looked, her voice went soft as she said the things she hated the most.
“Ok,” I said after a moment. “I will come back tomorrow and ask you another question.”
“Fine,” she replied simply as she floated back on top of that bush. I came back the next day, she was still there. She answered my questions truthfully no matter how uncomfortable they seemed to make her. After we went through the deep stuff, or “deep shit” as she calls it, I started asking more simple questions. Like her favorite color for instance, it was sunset orange. Or what used to be her favorite song, “Blood Water”. Or what she did for fun, or what her friends were like. And I soon realized, she was my dearest friend. She knew everything about me. I still didn’t know why she went to the graveyard when she was alive. But it didn’t matter anymore. And soon I realized it. I was in love. With a ghost, the last part echoed in my head, day and night as I came to terms with it. Should I confess? No! She’s a ghost you dumbass! You can never be together! She won’t even like you back! She’s probably straight, too good to be gay, yes. Yes. That was my train of thought, day in and day out. Gianna seemed to notice.
“What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. Her voice was soft, it seemed to change in an instant. From scratchy and sarcastic to soft and soothing.
“I love you!” I blurted out. No, no! What the hell were you thinking! Agh! She’s gonna leave! Tears poured down my face, I was crying. She gaped, opened and closed her mouth. Then saw me crying and wrapped her hands around my back. Yes she can do that, if she can sit on a bush and move objects she can give hugs too.
“Come here honey, it’s alright. Why are you crying?”
“Because your gonna l-leave,” I choked out.
“No, I will never leave first. That has to be you.” I stopped crying and looked into her multicolored eyes, they were bright blue, the same blue I used to find so unsettling.
“But I warn you, it’s gonna be a bumpy ride with me darling,” she whispered in my ear. We were still hugging