Wait, Don’t Tell Me I’m A…

The two young women floated a few inches upwards from the shock of Luciela’s yelling, and a few passerbys even looked onto the scene with confusion and surprise, wondering what in the world was going on.

“H-hey! Why are you suddenly yelling? Did you get hurt after all?” The lady who extended her hand asked with concern and panic, but Luciela, despite her acting skills, found herself unable to hold back her genuine reaction with the shock of this strange revelation.

“Y-you, you’re a-a gh-ghost??!” Luciela stammered as she spoke the statement, instinctively moving herself backwards as she continued to watch with fear and confusion at the two ladies who could not understand her seemingly exaggerated reaction.

“Uhh, hey, young girl, of course we’re ghosts. We all are. Are you trying to crack a joke? Or did you somehow hit your head way too hard when you fell down?” The second lady questioned with a raised eyebrow, trying to take a few steps towards Luciela, but stopping in her tracks when she saw the clear fear that colored Luciela’s pupils.

“Oh dear, perhaps she really did hit her head too hard…Should we call Star Health Services? They’re only about ten minutes away from the Floating Gardens…” The first lady asked her friend in concern, eyeing Luciela as she made this suggestion.

“Star Health? Floating Gardens? Where in the world am I? And why wouldn’t I be scared, when I see two ghosts suddenly pop up in front of me??!” Luciela shot her questions one after the other, trying to take even breathes as she did.

“Young miss, please relax and try to stay calm. We’re not going to hurt you, I promise. I’m not sure how hard you’ve hit your head, but everything’s okay. Perhaps you don’t remember, but we’re standing in Soleil Kingdom’s famous Floating Gardens here in the capital city. I’m guessing you might be an exchange student here to attend the capital’s famous school right? And as for your last question…I’m not sure how you’d forget this, but we’re all ghosts here, including yourself young miss.” The first lady explained slowly and carefully to Luciela, crouching down as she did.

Luciela raised an eyebrow and said, “This is ridiculous, I’ve never heard of any such place. Are you playing a prank on me right now? And I’m most definitely not a-” Luciela began to protest, but she interrupted herself as she looked at her arms. She stared in horror as she realized that they, just like the two ladies before her, were faintly transparent, although they felt solid to the touch. She also realized that she was now floating slightly above the grass.

“Wait, don’t tell me I…” Luciela mumbled to herself, examining her hands several times over, wondering if she had really hit her head and was seeing things, or if, just like the ladies told her, she was…

“Oh, I guess I am a ghost.” Luciela concluded, laughing a little to herself. She stayed still for a few seconds, and the ladies exchanged looks of concern with one another, before looking back at Luciela.

“Yes, of course I’m a ghost.” Luciela announced to herself, and without warning, she suddenly fell down and fainted, the sounds of the ladies calling out to her fading as her consciousness blackened.

…

“Hey, are you okay? Come on now, wake up!” The ghost lady shook Luciela gently as she pleaded with her to awaken. Luciela, who was now slowly regaining consciousness, opened her eyes carefully, a blurry white room and several concerned faces looking down at her anxiously.

She blinked a few times, her focus sharpening as she recalled the events that had sent her into a dream world in the first place. She then sat up straight, much to the surprise of the surrounding people-no, ghosts, who appeared to be wearing professional medical attire and scrambled to check her vitals.

Luciela was still somewhat in a daze, watching as the medical ghost staff checked her heart rate and blood pressure using a nearby monitor, asking her questions as they did.

“Young madam, are you alright?” One ghost, who appeared to be a nurse by her attire, asked Luciela as she checked her temperature. She wore a kind smile on her face and was quick with her hands, moving between checking vitals, noting things down on a clipboard, and communicating with her team, all while trying to make conversation with Luciela.

“Y-yes…I-I’m fine…” Luciela weakly responded, trying to keep her composure as she did. She was still completely unaware of what she had gotten herself into, but for the sake of her own sanity and that of the surrounding ghosts, she had no choice but to half-heartedly accept the reality, at least until she could get more information about her situation.

“You seem to still be shaken. That’s understandable, as you’ve just woken up…we were called by a young woman who you were conversing with at the park earlier today, and you remained unconscious for a little over an hour…quite unusual for a ghost I must say, but then again, you are still young, so it’s not entirely uncommon to get a fainting spell when overly stressed…” The nurse began to explain to Luciela in a calm and collected tone, Luciela staying silent and simply nodding her head in acknowledgement of the nurse’s words.

“Uhh…sure…could you tell me where I am?” Luciela asked slowly, to which the nurse raised an eyebrow and said, “Oh I thought you’d be able to tell, but then again you might be visiting from outside of the capital…you’re at Sun Scare Hospital, part of Star Health Services, which is the biggest hospital here in the capital.” The nurse explained matter of factly, as though this was common knowledge she would expect anyone to easily understand.

Of course, Luciela was the outlier in that perception. She hesitated before opening her mouth to ask any further questions, but another nurse suddenly burst into the room, panting as she did.

“Hah…wait! Sorry…w-we finally got in contact with the p-patient’s guardian…hah…” She announced as she tried to catch her breath. Her words sent a shock through Luciela’s mind; what in the world was this nurse talking about?? Luciela, while feeling like she had lost her mind a bit, was still fairly confident that she had no such guardian in this world.

But given the series of events that Luciela had experienced since heading backstage at the awards show, she figured that this was something she would just have to face, and frankly, may be the only clue she can currently use to seek better answers to her dilemma.

Luckily, she had finally calmed down enough to be able to play along with the hospital staff, without drawing any more unwanted attention to herself. “Oh, that’s a relief! I was starting to wonder when they’d call; what did they say to you?” Luciela faked her relief, already accustomed to fine tuning her expressions due to her acting experience; she could easily fabricate the role of a relieved patient who was looking forward to seeing their guardian after experiencing an unusual ordeal.

“Oh, the ghost on the phone simply said that she heard about you being admitted, and would send over a ride to pick you up from the front of the hospital.” The other nurse explained, to which the nurse near Luciela nodded and replied, “Thank you for letting us know. Well, your vitals are all flowing with the usual ghostly energy levels, so you are clear to be discharged miss, uhh…?”

“Oh…Luciela. My name’s Luciela.” Luciela responded, to which the nurse smiled and replied, “Miss Luciela. Well, I hope you continue to stay in good health, and make sure to take your scare vitamins alright?”

“Sounds like a plan! Thank you for all the help.” Luciela cheerfully responded and slowly got off the bed, assisted by the nurse as she did. When she saw that Luciela was able to easily walk around, she felt more comfortable letting her head out.

“Hah, kids these days…they always seem to get into some sort of crazy situations don’t they?” The nurse mumbled to herself with a smile and laugh, watching as Luciela walked out of the room, down the hallway and turned to the right.

…

“Uhh, well…” Luciela stared blankly at the floating vehicle hovering before her, hesitant on whether she should cautiously step forward, or slowly back away.

She had easily exited the hospital, and was currently standing in front of a bright blue road, a ride waiting for her to enter.

It was a turquoise color with a streak of bright yellow, and its seemingly new coat of paint glimmered beneath the afternoon sun. The vehicle itself seemed to resemble a car in some way, although it didn’t have any wheels, instead resting upon what Luciela could only conclude was a patch of cloud…

“Miss Luciela, please proceed to enter the Swifter vehicle. It will then promptly take you to your assigned residence.” A robotic-like voice instructed Luciela from inside the vehicle. The windows seemed to be made from one-way glass; Luciela could not make out any ghosts sitting within, and thus, wasn’t able to view whoever came to pick her up from the hospital.

‘Does whoever this is really expect me to enter a random vehicle just like that?’ Luciela, having experience in the working world already, had long since learned about ‘stranger danger’ and the importance of keeping oneself safe when out and about. And it was the most basic of knowledge to not simply climb into a strange vehicle, apparently called a Swifter, just because it looked mesmerizing from the outside, or because a robotic voice asked you to.

The door to the back then slid open, a bit of smoke rolling out from the floor of the vehicle as it did. Luciela raised an eyebrow in surprise, squinting to get a good look inside from the spot she was still standing in…

She was taken aback when she saw that the seats inside the Swifter were filled with…well, nothing.

There was no one sitting inside at all.

‘Wait, are they invisible or something? Or is that Swifter thing really just empty?’ Luciela wondered to herself, not sure whether she should voice her questions or not. While she did feel a little more relaxed since there were no stranger ghosts to confront, it didn’t take long for the apprehension she had felt a moment ago to return.

Her instincts were urging her to get away from this ridiculous thing at once, and yet she also knew that this vehicle was her only lead on how she arrived in whatever crazy world she had been involuntarily sucked into.

‘Wait, I could simply pretend I’m not interested and walk away, and then follow this Swifter to its destination.’ Luciela concluded, satisfied with the idea she came up with. After reading dozens of stories on news outlets about kidnappings over the years, she knew better than to let her guard down in such a situation.

“Thank you, but I’m not interested. Now I’ve got someplace to be, and I’d recommend you go back to whoever it is that sent you. Have a good day.” Luciela gave a look of indifference in the direction of the vehicle and turned on her heel, briskly walking across the sidewalk and away from where the vehicle stood.

At least, that’s what she did for five seconds. Then, she was forced to stop in her tracks when she felt a strong gust of wind, creating a force from behind so strong and unsettlingly familiar that Luciela had to turn her head and see what was going on.

The vehicle, still floating in its place, had somehow released a strong gust of wind that was effectively pulling Luciela towards the entrance of the vehicle, the door still wide open to forcefully welcome her inside.