Chapter Text
IRyS was a weird kid. It wasn’t that she was intensely obsessed over something incredibly niche or failed to fit in with everybody else. No, she just had imaginary friends. Lots of them, in fact.
Her parents had merely smiled when she introduced them to her first imaginary friend, but they grew progressively worried as she continued to meet new ones wherever they went.
Things boiled over one day while the family was at the grocery store. Her mom and dad were too busy placing their items on the conveyor belt and failed to notice her wandering off on her own. IRyS had walked up to a random stranger, tugging on her coat to get her attention. The woman had knelt down with a warm smile, leaning closer to hear what the girl was whispering.
“Jake wanted me to tell you to check the bottom of the sock drawer.”
The woman’s eyes widened to the size of saucers as she sharply gasped, backing away from the girl.
“What did you say?”
“The bottom drawer. Jake says he hid the engagement ring there.”
The woman began hyperventilating, brows furrowing in anger.
“Is this some kind of joke! Don’t ever say his name again, you brat!”
By this point, IRyS’s parents had noticed the commotion and ran up to diffuse the situation, pulling away a teary eyed IRyS.
“I’m so sorry. My daughter ran off while we were in the checkout line. Did something happen?”
“Yes! Your daughter said that ‘Jake’ told her he had hid an engagement ring in our sock drawer!”
“I apologize for her actions. Our daughter tends to talk to her imaginary friends a lot, so–”
“No! Jake was my boyfriend! He died in a car accident last month! Tell your daughter that her jokes aren’t funny and to be glad that all I did was yell at her!”
The woman stormed off before IRyS’s dad could get another word in. The family grabbed their groceries and fled the store after noticing all of the eyes on them. The ride back was silent, only broken by the occasional sniffles from the girl in the backseat.
“IRyS, I know you have a lot of imaginary friends, but you can’t be talking to other people about them. Some people don’t understand you like we do.”
“But–”
“No buts, dear. Promise us that you’ll stop talking to your imaginary friends, please? You know how much we love you and that we only want the best for you. Your imaginary friends will only bring you nothing but trouble as you grow older.”
IRyS begrudgingly nodded, not wanting to disappoint her parents.
From that point on, IRyS never brought up her imaginary friends again. She had been mopey for the next few days, but bounced back like nothing had happened like all children do.
Around a month later, IRyS’s father was in the grocery store picking up some last minute things they needed for dinner that night when he felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around, surprised to see the same woman who had screamed at his daughter in this very store. He looked around nervously, ready to issue another apology, until the woman spoke up.
“Do you remember me? I yelled at you and your daughter a while back.”
He slowly nodded, wary despite the gentle tone the woman was using.
“I really wanted to apologize about that. I’ve been coming back to this store everyday since then in the hopes that I would catch you.”
“It’s no problem, really. My daughter shouldn’t have–”
“No, no! She was right. Your daughter was telling the truth. When I went back home that day, I couldn’t get your daughter’s words out of my head, so I searched through our sock drawer and…”
She proudly displayed the engagement ring on her left hand, IRyS’s dad gawking in disbelief.
“We were together for 4 years and our anniversary would have been a few days after the accident. I’m sure he was planning on proposing to me, but he never got to. Please, tell your daughter that I’m so sorry that I yelled at her and that I’m forever grateful that she told me.”
IRyS’s dad nodded dumbly, robotically finishing the rest of his shopping and returning home. He remained silent all throughout dinner, something that his wife picked up on. Only after IRyS had been put to sleep and the two of them were in bed did she choose to bring it up.
“You were pretty quiet today. You’re usually so attentive when IRyS tells us about her day. I don’t think she noticed though.”
The older man let out a deep sigh, massaging his forehead.
“That woman who yelled at IRyS in the grocery store a few weeks back came up to me while I was there.”
“Oh god, did she cause another scene?”
“No, no, she wanted to apologize for yelling at us and asked me to give IRyS her thanks.”
“What for?”
“Apparently IRyS’s advice had been right, the woman found an engagement ring exactly where she was told to look.”
“How is that possible?”
“It shouldn’t be, but it might explain a lot. Why IRyS always saw imaginary people wherever we went and knew things she couldn’t possibly know. Maybe… she’s been seeing ghosts this whole time?”
IRyS’s mom scoffed until she realized that her husband was being serious.
“Ghosts? You’re saying our daughter has supernatural abilities? Dear, that’s crazy.”
“I know it sounds crazy, but I can’t stop thinking about one of the first times she introduced an imaginary friend to me. She kept asking me if I was happy–about my life after graduating college. When I asked her why she wanted to know, she told me that it wasn’t her, but George who wanted to know. I played it off and kept a poker face, but at that moment my blood froze and my heart damn near leaped out of my throat. George was my best friend in college who died a week before we graduated. We had done everything together those four years and his death hit me hard. We had so many plans on what we wanted to do after college together that it didn’t feel real when he passed. I never spoke of him to IRyS, so there’s no way she could have known about him.”
IRyS’s mom was silent, still trying to process what she had been told. “So if you’re right, if IRyS can see ghosts, what do you think we should do about it?”
“Nothing. Hope that it goes away. She hasn’t mentioned them ever since she made that promise with us. I’m sure she’ll grow out of it. If she doesn’t, then we can cross that road when the time comes.”
Both of IRyS’s parents couldn’t help but be worried for their little girl, though the next twelve years would pass by without further incident, or so they thought.
…
IRyS was no longer a kid. In fact, she had turned 18 a few months ago and was currently in the middle of graduating from Cover High School. She beamed when her family and friends cheered loudly for her after her name was called. The next hour was spent taking photos with every single person in her extended family, even the ones she hardly knew yet her parents were adamant had helped raise her.
Once she finally had a moment of reprieve for herself, she relaxed underneath the shade of a large oak tree, her back against the sturdy wood. With a deep breath, she took in the fresh summer air and what would likely be her last look of this place.
Casting a glance upwards, she noticed a girl on the rooftop standing on the opposite side of the railing, feet dangerously close to the edge. Even from this distance, IRyS could see the lifeless look in her eyes. Wasting no time, she rushed into the school and up the stairs to the rooftop.
She crashed through the door, struggling to catch her breath as she called out, “Hey! Be careful! I don’t know what you’re dealing with, but I’m sure we can just talk it out. There’s no need to do something so drastic.”
The girl turned to her with wide eyes, mouth agape. A beat of silence passed before she phased through the railing, floating towards IRyS with her hands in her pockets. IRyS groaned upon realizing her mistake, immediately turning on her heel and stomping off.
“Hey, wait! You can see me! You can really see me?!”
IRyS skipped down the stairs, the ghost following her down by simply phasing through the floor.
“Don’t ignore me, you can’t act like you didn’t just yell at me.”
IRyS was going to do exactly that, an indifferent expression on her face. Just as she reached the bottom of the stairs, the ghost floated in front of her while wearing a pitiful expression.
“C’mon, at least just hear what I have to say.”
IRyS rolled her eyes, moving to walk through the apparition. Shockingly, she collided with the spirit and fell on her butt. The girl seemed just as surprised as her, glancing back and forth between her own hands in disbelief. She offered a hand out to IRyS, which she hesitantly grasped.
After the ghost pulled her to her feet, IRyS reached her hand out towards the girl’s face and tried to poke her cheek, but her hand completely passed through.
“Hey! Don’t just touch someone like that!”
IRyS pulled her hand back like she had been burned, stuttering out apologies in embarrassment.
“Sorry, I just wasn’t expecting…”
“Yeah, neither was I.”
They stared at each other in silence for a bit before the ghost continued, “So, are you willing to hear me out?”
“I guess. You don’t look like you’re going to leave me alone.”
“Not a chance, it’s not everyday you meet someone who can see ghosts. Especially not one so cute.”
“Huh?!” IRyS felt her cheeks flush, completely caught off guard.
“Oh, my bad, was that too forward? I should probably introduce myself first. I’m Kronii. Ouro Kronii.”
It still didn’t feel right shaking a ghost’s hand, but she did it anyway.
“IRyS. Let’s cut to the chase. What are you doing here?”
“Uhh, I died.”
“I know that! I mean why haven’t you moved on yet? Once you die, your soul is supposed to be taken straight to the afterlife, but if you die and still have something tying you to the mortal plane, you’ll be trapped in a state of limbo. You’re dead, yet your soul still exists in this realm–you become a ghost.”
“You seem to know a lot about this.”
“I’ve seen ghosts my entire life. Even when my parents made me promise to stop talking to my imaginary friends, I kept doing it but just didn’t tell them. A few books on the paranormal helped me understand the reason why ghosts existed. And I had seen firsthand that ghosts were able to move on once I aided them with their problem. So, mind telling me what’s keeping you attached here? Lingering regrets? Embarrassing secret? A shocking confession?”
Kronii hummed, her arms behind her head as she lounged in the air.
“Nah, I got nothing.”
“What.”
“Can’t think of a single reason why I’d become a ghost, to be honest. I was pretty content with my life.”
“Well, good for you! I’m sure you can find out why you’re stuck here by yourself!”
IRyS strode off, Kronii catching up to her and floating by her side.
“You said you would hear me out!”
“And I did. Look, I’m sure you can figure out whatever it is on your own since you were so happy in life. I’ve been gone from my own graduation long enough, so if you don’t mind?”
Kronii pouted, arms crossed, but she moved out of the way and allowed her to return to her family. IRyS made up an excuse of being in the bathroom when they asked her why she had been gone so long. The rest of the day passed by in a blur and IRyS didn’t get home until late at night.
As soon as she got into her room, she quickly removed her gown and collapsed onto her bed, drained from all the talking and posing and moving around she had to do today. Her eyes had only been shut for a few seconds when she shivered at a cold sensation around her mouth.
Her eyes fluttered open, taking a moment to process that a face was mere inches away from hers before she recoiled back. Her surprise turned to irritation once she saw that it was Kronii floating backwards with an infuriating smirk.
“Why are you here?!”
“I told you, I need your help so I can move on.”
“You said you didn’t know why you were even stuck here! How am I supposed to help you with that?”
“Okay, I wasn’t being entirely honest. I might have an idea on why, but I’m not 100% sure yet.”
IRyS nodded at her to continue, but Kronii seemed hesitant.
“I don’t really want to go into the details, but I know a place we can start.”
IRyS bit her lip, debating on if she should help Kronii or not. In the past she had tried helping every ghost she came across, that is until their anger and frustration were inevitably directed at her if she was unable to. She didn’t necessarily blame them as they had no one else to vent to, but years of this treatment whittled away at her goodwill and forced her to be selective with who she helped.
Kronii looked kind, someone who wouldn’t lash out at her just because she couldn’t help. She seemed special too. Kronii was more tangible than any ghost she’d encountered before and was the first ghost to ever touch IRyS.
“I’ll help you. We can go tomorrow,” A yawn interrupted her, “I want to sleep right now since I had a long day.”
Kronii nodded, eyes still fixed on her.
“Could you go away, it’s a little hard to sleep with somebody watching.”
“Right, right!”
IRyS shut her eyes and let sleep take her, drifting off into a well deserved slumber. As the sound of soft snores filled the room, Kronii descended and watched over the sleeping girl, relief washing over her at the peaceful sight.