Ghost Stories

Nir and Rain purchase food at the market, hearing about a strange local tradition, with some rumors attached.

The food merchant hands Rain a dish that looks like curry. “Ohh!” - She voices out, happy to see the dish. He then hands one to Nir as well.

“Bon appetit!” - Says the food merchant. Nir notices this phrase, thinking: This one too, seems weird to hear in this world”.

-”Thank you!” - They both answer in unison. They start walking away without a specific direction in mind.

-”Nir, how about we go and check out the house of worship right now?” - Rain asks.

-”Sure, is it nearby?”

-”It’s probably on the other side of town, actually. If it’s the building I’m thinking of - you can see it from the castle”. - She explains. “Let’s ask for directions just to make sure”. - She says, returning to the merchant to quickly ask.

Rain talks to him and comes back, affirming her suspicion about the location of the place.

They walk towards the castle, eating on the way. As they reach it, Rain points out the far away building to Nir.

As they walk, they pass by some houses that are located nearby.

-”Let’s ask someone in the area if they’ve seen or heard anything, you know… Like detectives!” - Rain tells him.

-”After you, your highness!” - Nir says.

-”Follow me, brave one!” - She replies.

They knock on a door to one of the houses. It’s made of old wood and has a special feel to it, emphasized by the knocking sounds. The house is relatively darker in shade than most of the ones in the market’s area. It’s assumingly mostly made of stone. The materials, colors and overall design - remind them of the empire’s castle.

-”This building must be old”. - Nir tells her.

The door is opened, and a lovely old lady gets out. -”Oh! It’s the two of you!” - She says happily. Rain recognizes her as the nice lady that sells flowers.

-”Do you grow your flowers here?” - Rain asks.

-”Oh! You remembered me! Yes, I grow them in the back! They are all lovely!”

-”We actually wanted to ask you something”. - Rain explains. “We heard some rumors about… Ghosts of babies… And what not… Can you tell us more about this topic?”

-”Ghosts, huh?” - The old lady wonders, as if she has some sort of experience with the subject. “Years ago… I found a baby boy on the street. Of course, I couldn’t just abandon him. My neighbors warned me of the rumors that babies who appear on the street disappear - so I should be careful with my decisions… But they wouldn’t really want me to look the other way… In fact, they would have done the same thing if they were in my position”.

-”So you adopted the baby?” - Rain asks her.

-”I did. And I raised him with the rest of my children. With love and care. I named him ‘Ronald’. However…” - She pauses.

-”However?” - Rain asks, curious to hear.

-”One day I noticed that the rest of my children have grown up somewhat, while he… Didn’t really… ‘Why are you so late to grow up?’ - I asked him. Ronald - of course, was too young to answer… And the very next morning… He disappeared”.

Nir and Rain have been successfully spooked.

“I searched the streets all over town, calling ‘Ronald, Ronald!’ - yet I couldn’t find him. Some say they saw a baby, or a ghost of one. It happens every now and then… But I never managed to find the little guy. So eventually I started to consider… He may have really been a ghost”.

-”How long ago was that?” Rain asks.

-”That was 40 years ago”. - The old lady answers. Nir and Rain are shocked to hear that. “And people still say they are seeing baby ghosts…Not to mention, they said that before I even found Ronald”.

-”Wow… Thank you for telling us. We are sorry to have taken your time”. - Says Rain.

-”Not at all”. - The nice old lady replies.

They then part with her in order to move on to their destination.

They keep walking towards the building, and finally, they reach it: The house of worship. It is a big building that looks like a church. Its design - being also close to the castle’s, seems to be common in the older parts of the town.

They stand in front of a double-door. Each of them grabs a handle and they open the doors simultaneously. The inside looks somewhat dark despite the lit torch lamp that is hanging from the ceiling and the rays of sunshine that enter through the windows. There are a bunch of seats, arranged in lines one after another and a main stage with a stand, possibly for preaching.

Nir and Rain walk forwards and look around. Then, they suddenly hear a strange sound.

They look in all directions, trying to find the source of the sound. Then, they hear it again.

-”What is that?” - Rain asks.

-”The ghost?” - Nir suggests.

As they see the room looks empty, they become confused.

-”Nir, I definitely heard something…”

-”I know, I heard it too… Maybe it’s just a mouse?”

-”I have an idea”. - Rain declares. She focuses, and uses her night vision. Her eyes glow red, with some touches of green.

Rain looks around, now seeing better the darker parts of the room, then she notices something unusual. A sort of silhouette is present in the corner of the room. No light gets there. Rain comes closer to that spot as the visuals get clearer and clearer. It’s a baby.

She lifts the baby, completely mesmerized by this find.

“Nir… Look!” - She shows him. “Do you think it’s him?”

-”I… Don’t know. She told us it happened 40 years ago. This one couldn’t be older than a year or two… I think…”

-”Can you check his age?” - Rain asks, giving him the baby.

-”Are we sure this baby is a ‘him’?”

-”Not really… I’m just somewhat hopeful it’s the same baby from the story… But it wouldn’t really make sense, now would it?”

Nir looks at the baby and says: ”I… Don’t see anything…”

-”Dang it…” - Rain says, seemingly disappointed since she wanted to get more information. “Let me hold him, I want to try something”.

She takes the baby and walks towards one of the sunshine rays that are visibly beaming into the room through the windows, then she stands in it. The baby is now seen in a shinier shade, yet nothing happens.

“Doesn’t seem to be a ghost…” - She says.

-”Is that how ghosts work?” - Nir asks.

-”I don’t know…”

She then lifts the baby up, above the ray, while still standing in it herself. “You are quite cute, aren’t you?” - She says with a smile.

The baby is somewhat shocked by the positive treatment. He notices the ray of light now shines on Rain’s chest. He can’t help but stare for a moment, then he looks away, blushing.

Rain catches that moment and appears as if frozen in place. She is looking somewhat mad while the rays of light slowly diminish, as it gets slightly darker outside, letting the lamp color most of the inside in an orange shade. She then walks away to the preacher’s stand and puts the baby on top of it. She walks back a certain distance, standing next to Nir, draws an arrow and aims at the baby.

“Who the hell are you?!” - She asks aggressively.

-”RAIN! WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”

-”Something is not right with him…” - She replies.

-”What do you mean??”

-”He was looking at my chest”.

-”That’s all???” - He starts blushing. “I assume babies also like to… Look at them… You know…Ti…”

-”It’s not just that he looked at them!” - She interrupts him. “It’s that he looked at them the way you do!”

-”Wha…” - His blushing doubles in horse power.

-”He looked the other way afterwards, as if he’s cognitively aware he should be embarrassed! What kind of baby knows to do that??”

Nir looks at the baby with great focus, putting pressure on his eyebrows as suspicion rises. - “That is weird…” - He admits.

They remain like this for a few seconds, until the unexpected happens.

-”HAHAHAHAHAHA!” - The baby laughs in a male adult’s voice. “Hahahaha, HAHAHA!” - He seems to enjoy himself, like he can’t get enough of this situation. “All those years of running away, hiding, just trying to survive… I would have never imagined that’s how I would be caught…”

Rain lowers her bow, curious to hear what he has to say.

“I apologize, young lady”. - He says.

Nir and Rain look at each other, trying to process that the baby sounds older than them and even addresses Rain as young.

”I could be your great great grandpa, you know? Well, in age at least… Ah! It feels so refreshing talking to someone who isn’t my own self. I don’t believe… I’ve ever had the chance to do that…”

-”But… How are you…” - Nir attempts to find the words, struggling to believe his eyes.

-”Maybe it’s time to stop running”. - He ponders to himself. “I will tell you my story”.