And I Sang Holy, Holy

The next day followed the same blueprint as the last. Giuseppe rushed off to work in the morning, leaving Anzu to hang by herself at the house. It was a warm, Tuesday afternoon. A blinding wave of golden sunlight poured in through the windows of the apartment, flooding the kitchen in its radiance. Anzu took the liberty of giving herself a quick tour of the kitchen.

Her bare feet slapped against the white, tiled floor as she skipped over to the fridge, flinging it open. The contents of the fridge were utterly depressing. A closed, styrofoam takeout container from god knows how many days ago, single block of cheddar cheese, two bananas, a jug of milk, and a container of two dozen eggs all stared Anzu right in her disappointed face.

"I don't know what I was expecting." Anzu sighed. "He's lived alone up until now. Maybe he'll eat better from now on, since there's two of us."

Anzu closed the fridge and searched through some of the cabinets over the double-sided sink and gas oven. Salt and pepper grinders, garlic and onion powder, aluminum foil rolls, and not much else.

"He seems to work so hard. He should treat himself better than this."

Anzu's gaze wandered around the kitchen, quickly finding the framed picture on the granite countertop. Seeing the photo had been ripped nearly in half, Anzu's expression of wonderful curiosity soured into a look of confusion. She set the framed photo back down, noticing that only one person in particular was torn from the picture.

Anzu smiled. "That little boy is him, isn't it? He looks so happy here."

She turned around, spotting another family picture on top of the media console. Giuseppe and his mother were photographed in a pizzeria, both of them holding up huge slices of pepperoni pizza. Anzu focused in on his mother, noticing her olive skin and unbound, raven hair. Remembering Giuseppe had mentioned he was half Italian, Anzu figured he got it from his mother's side.

Anzu released a gentle gasp. "Wow, what a beauty! You must have some amazing parents, Giuseppe."

Looking at the photos of Giuseppe with his mother and father, seeing all the fun trips they took and moments they shared, Anzu found herself smiling with joy. Echoes of pleasant memories and familial love just oozed from each photograph, which in turn made the apartment feel like a warmer place. It no longer felt like just an apartment to Anzu, but a fully lived in home.

Anzu's chest tightened and her vision blurred. The joy she felt became an overwhelming wave of sadness and longing. Tears rolled down her cheeks as she let out a mournful sob and suspiration. She closed her wet eyes, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

"I can't...remember what they looked like..."

Giuseppe pulled into the garage that evening, the sky split in half by the faded light of dusk. He turned his car off and leaned forward on the steering wheel, releasing an exhausted sigh.

"An actual ghost." Giuseppe said. "I have an actual ghost living with me. Unless...I was just dreaming it all."

It was far more believable that Giuseppe was simply losing his mind. He opened up his glove department, pulling out his copy of Magura Dogura.

"A fetus's dream...I wonder if something that crazy could really happen to me." Giuseppe shuddered.

After calming down a bit, Giuseppe locked the car and marched back upstairs. He returned home to find Anzu listening to his music as usual again, though at a much lower volume this time around, as not to disturb the neighbors.

"I'm home." Giuseppe said, taking off his brown leather shoes.

Anzu leapt off of the couch in joy. "Welcome back Giuseppe! How was work?"

"Hey, was that Smokestack Lightning just now?" Giuseppe asked.

Anzu nodded. "Oh, yeah! I'm starting to get into all the bluesy stuff, Howlin' Wolf especially. But don't change the subject! Tell me how your day was!"

"Geez, get off my back. It was a regular work day as always."

"Okay, but that's even more reason to do something fun tomorrow!"

"Hmm...alright. Did you have anything in mind?"

Anzu scoffed. "Well that's not very manly of you, you should surprise me."

Anzu grabbed a hair tie from her pocket and wrapped her hair in a voluminous pony tail, still letting bangs of her hair drape over her face.

Giuseppe collapsed on the couch, talking with his face buried in the cushion. "I just wanna die. Go away and let me sink into the fires of hell."

Losing her patience, Anzu crossed her arms and put her foot down. "You're not going anywhere until you come up with something! Now get up off your ass!"

"I'm not on my ass, I'm on my face." Giuseppe muttered.

"Ugh! Get into something more comfortable, we're spending the night at the church!" Anzu ordered.

Giuseppe rose his face up from the cushion. "The church? Alright, I'll put something on."

Giuseppe went in his room to change into a black thermal and a pair of skinny, black sweatpants. Anzu peeked through the door while he was changing, poking her head in the room and taunting him. She made a flirtatious whistling noise to get Giuseppe's attention.

"Nice underwear, baby. What kind of service can I get for twenty-thousand yen?" Anzu teased.

"What?! Get out of here!" Giuseppe shouted, completely startled.

Anzu shut the door and snickered quietly to herself. "Gotcha!"

She went ahead and walked out of the front door, sitting at the top of the steps that led down to the courtyard. She turned her gaze up towards the moon as she waited patiently for Giuseppe to get himself ready, the evening breeze tugging at her hair. Giuseppe finally came out, and the two began their walk to the abandoned church together.

"Hey, I forget. How exactly did you come across the church?" Anzu asked.

"I just went for a walk and got a little lost." Giuseppe answered. "Before I knew it, I stopped walking and saw the church up on the hill. That's really all there is too it."

Anzu laughed quietly. "Maybe it was fate, right?"

"Yeah right. More like blind luck and idiocy."

"Maybe, but you got to meet a dead girl because of it! Pretty cool huh?"

"Anzu...you really don't remember anything about your life? Like, how you died?"

Anzu shook her head. "Nope, not at all. Just my name, some of my favorite foods, possessions, and minor stuff like that. But I don't remember how I died or anything."

"That diary. Is it still at the church? Maybe there will be some clues in there." Giuseppe suggested.

"You think so? I hadn't actually read it since I awoke in the graveyard. Learning about how I died sounds a little scary, honestly."

"But, you were so young. Aren't you curious?"

"Of course I'm curious, but also terrified."

"What, scared you died doing something dumb like drag racing?" Giuseppe teased.

Anzu crossed her arms, closed her eyes, and looked away from Giuseppe. "I'd rather die choking on brownies, like the brownies you still haven't made me for proving I'm a ghost!"

Giuseppe had completely forgotten about that bet. "Ah crap. That's right..."

The two of them completed their march up the hill and entered through the creaky doors of the abandoned church. There was an eery silence as the moon shone through the colored windows of the abandoned building, its pale light turned into waves of color.

"Oh look! Our beds are still on the podium! The lantern is probably there too." Anzu said, her voice reverberating through the sanctuary.

Anzu ran towards the podium, jumping on top of it and turning on the lantern that was left in between the mattresses. She waved from the podium, signaling Giuseppe to come up and join her. They both sat down on the mattresses together as Anzu prepared to open her diary. As she opened it, she kept the book away from Giuseppe's view, blushing as she held it close to her chest.

"What's wrong?" Giuseppe asked.

"Even if we're trying to figure out what happened to me, this is still a girl's diary." Anzu hissed.

"Okay, fine! Take your time and read whatever you want from it." Giuseppe groaned.

Anzu skimmed through the pages, looking for an appropriate entry to read out loud. "Ah! Found one! Dear Diary, today is the day Mom leaves. She's taking my sister with her, but Dad said I have to stay with him. We have to move out of our house in just a few weeks. I'm really gonna miss this place, and my mother and sister. Dad says this is happening because he and Mom can't get along anymore, but nobody will tell me why that means we all have to separate. I'll pray to god and ask him not to let my Mom and sister leave. I really hope he answers."

"That...that sounds a lot like a divorce." Giuseppe said. "Do you remember anything about your parents?"

"No, I don't. This all sounds depressing though. Should I keep reading?"

"We don't have to go through all of it in one sitting. Let's just take it a step at a time and work from there. Maybe you'll remember something that way."

"Alright. I'll read the next one. Dear Dia—"

Anzu suddenly shot up in fright, blurting out an alarmed scream.

"What's wrong?!? Giuseppe recoiled.

"There was a spider on my blanket!" Anzu cried.

Giuseppe facepalmed. "You've got to be kidding, you're scared of spiders? You realize it wouldn't even be able to touch you, right? So far, we learned that living things pass right through you and can't sense you at all."

"I...I knew that!" Anzu pouted. "I was just pretending to be scared. Haha, f-f-funny huh? G-Got ya!"

Giuseppe threw his pillow at her face. "Just keep reading!"

"God, you're so abusive." Anzu sighed. "Where was I? Oh, yeah! Dear Diary, today is the day me and Dad move. We're going to a small house in a more quiet neighborhood, and I'll have to say goodbye to the few friends I have here. I'll miss my teachers most of all, since my classmates always picked on me. Whoa, whoa whoa. Wait a minute. I was bullied? Me?! What a crock of crap, why would anyone bully me?! I'm awesome!"

"Source: Anzu." Giuseppe said.

Anzu leaned in towards Giuseppe, holding her fist to his face. "Careful what you're saying, Giuseppe! We don't wanna reenact a scene from Fist of the North Star!"

"I'm surprised you even know what that is. A little before your time, isn't it?" Giuseppe asked.

"I watched a rerun of it while you were gone. There sure is a lot of fisting in anime."

"Let's stop talking about fisting and just get back to the diary, Anzu."

"Right, you're right. Let's see...ah! Last few lines." Anzu said, finding her place again and taking a small breath. "I'm not ready to go. I really don't want to leave. But I want Dad to be happy and for Mom to stop crying. Please God, I'll do anything to make them both stop hurting."

Giuseppe sat in silence for a few moments, thinking about what Anzu was going through during her time alive.

"Looks like I had it pretty rough when I was still alive. Bullying, divorce, a move nobody wanted." Anzu said.

"If you died here in Sapporo, maybe it would be possible to find your records. A death certificate, maybe a news article. We could search for them, if you want." Giuseppe offered.

Anzu sighed and stood up to stretch her body. "I'm done for tonight. Let's not talk about this anymore, it's so depressing. Hey, wanna head over to the convenience store? I'm getting a little hungry."

"We can go, but just don't pick anything up. It'll just look like a floating item and people will freak out." Giuseppe said.

"Understood, komandir! Let's go!" Anzu cheered.

"Komandir?"

Giuseppe walked alongside Anzu with his hands in his pockets as they passed by the park, crossed the streets, and walked by the local stores. Anzu sauntered with her hands behind her back, a smile on her face, and her hair blowing in the wind.

"How can you remain so calm after reading that kind of stuff? You must've gone through a lot during your life." Giuseppe said.

"Well, I suppose it's because..." Anzu paused, coming to a stop on the sidewalk. "You take my mind off of it!"

Giuseppe felt a deep sense of worry inside, but if what Anzu said was true, how could he dare question it? It was her life, and he didn't have much of a right to make her accept any of it. He put himself in her shoes, wondering what it would be like to have died at the age of seventeen, to only be able to remember the past three years of complete spiritual stasis. The more he thought about it, the more saddening it really seemed. People are born, then they die and move on, but Anzu was stuck in the middle.

Anzu and Giuseppe entered the convenience store together, though the cashier could only see Giuseppe. The welcome chime rang as Giuseppe stepped through, but not when Anzu did.

"Alright, what do you want?" Giuseppe asked in a low voice.

Anzu's eyes widened with excitement as her lips formed an ear-to-ear smile. "Ooo! What are these?"

"Huh? You've never had Mochi before?"

Anzu shook her head. "Nuh uh! Never! My dad never let me have those when I was young!"

Immediately after saying that, Anzu gasped in shock. She slapped her hand over her mouth and stood petrified in the middle of the aisle.

"Anzu...you remembered something again." Giuseppe said.

Anzu closed her eyes tightly, still keeping her hand over her mouth. She couldn't decide whether she should be feeling anger, sadness, or longing. She didn't even know why she felt any anger at all. A tidal wave of emotions hit her all at once and she couldn't understand why. So, instead, she began to cry. It was the first time Giuseppe had ever seen the usually energetic Anzu weep. It occurred to him just how lonely Anzu's existence had been these past three years, for nobody could hear her laugh, sing, or even cry. Giuseppe embraced her as she wept, trying his best to comfort her.

"I know, Anzu. I know. It's alright. Everything is gonna be alright. Do you still want the Mochi?"

Though her face was buried in his chest, Anzu shook her head as if she was saying yes. Giuseppe grabbed the box of Mochi and made his way to the cashier. Anzu let go of Giuseppe, knowing that if he kept holding her, it would look odd to the cashier. The two walked close together as they left the store and made their way back to the abandoned church.

"Are you okay? Anzu?"

"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Just a little shaken, you know?" Anzu said, her eyes still red and swollen.

"You remembered something about your father shortly after reading from the diary. Maybe your memories are slowly starting to come back?"

Anzu nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. It was like recovering from memory loss and recognizing someone you'd completely forgotten."

"Well...I mean...that's exactly what just happened, isn't it?" Giuseppe asked.

"Not quite." Anzu said. "I can't remember who my mom and dad were or even what they looked like. I wonder if they're still out there, somewhere."

"If they are, I know they miss you sorely." Giuseppe said. "It must've been hard for them, having to bury their daughter at such a young age. Not only that, but you had a sister too. It sounded like she was about your age."

"I've got to be stronger than this, Giuseppe." Anzu said, drying the last of her tears. "As scary and overwhelming as it may feel, I've got to get through that diary. I have to remember what happened to me, who my parents were, and who my sister is. This really isn't just about me anymore."

"We won't rush though, okay?" Giuseppe said. "We'll take it a step at a time. I'll help you do it."

Anzu smiled as held Giuseppe's arm. "Thank you."

They made their way to the dirt path where they could see the church up on the hill, the moon shining upon it from the left side of the building.

"Giuseppe?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you wanna share my Mochi with me?"

"Of course, I haven't had some in a while!" Giuseppe sang.

"Okay but leave the strawberry ones for me! I love strawberries!" Anzu squealed.

"Whatever you say, princess."

With the night growing colder and darker, Anzu and Giuseppe went back inside of the church. They sat on their beds with the lantern between the heads of the mattresses, far up enough so that it wouldn't melt the mochi. They ate the entire box of mochi together, but Giuseppe made sure to let Anzu have most of it.

Her stomach full of frozen, strawberry flavored bliss, Anzu yawned and stretched her arms into the air.

"Sounds like it's time for bed." Giuseppe said.

"No way, I'm still up!" Anzu protested. "C'mon let's do something else, like play tic-tac-toe or something!"

"Don't try to hide it, your eyes look tired as all hell. It was a big day for you after all."

"Was it? We didn't really do anything." Anzu said.

"Of course we did! We read your diary, learned more about your past, you remembered something about your father, and you got to eat mochi for the very first time, as a dead girl I might add. I'm sure all the other dead girls are crying from the heavens."

"What are you talking about? When did any of that happen?"

Giuseppe's eyes widened in shock. He sat frozen for what felt like an eternity, gazing into Anzu's empty, neutral stare.

"...Anzu? You didn't forget everything, did you?"

Anzu made a finger gun with her left hand and clicked her tongue. "Gotcha!"

Giuseppe groaned as Anzu erupted into a fit of laughter. His heart had nearly stopped, all for a joke at his expense.

"You should've seen your face!" Anzu chuckled.

"Yeah yeah, I'll let you have that one." Giuseppe sighed. "Well, I'm getting sleepy. Goodnight, Anzu."

Giuseppe turned off the lantern and got comfortable in the covers. Anzu sat on her futon on her knees, pouting at the sudden dropping of the conversation.

"Hey!" Anzu said.

Giuseppe got up from his bed. "What? I said goodnight."

Anzu inched her way over to Giuseppe on her knees, hugging him tightly. Giuseppe was too surprised to hug her back. Though Anzu was a ghost, her embrace felt just as warm and genuine as anyone else's.

"Thank god I met you." Anzu said. "That was the first time someone has held me while I was crying since I died. Thank you for that."

"Of course...we're friends, after all." Giuseppe said.

Anzu smiled, put her hands on Giuseppe's cheeks, and kissed his forehead. She crawled back over to her bed, said goodnight, and the two went to sleep.

They slept in that day and were awoken by the sun shining directly through the colored windows. The rainbow of heavenly light was almost blindingly bright. Giuseppe shook out his hair and checked the time on his phone. As he checked, Anzu moved and moaned in her bed as she woke up as well.

"What time is it?" Anzu yawned.

"11:02" Giuseppe said.

"Crap, really?! I always get up early but I slept in this time around." Anzu yawned again.

"It's alright. I don't have work today or tomorrow. If you're still tired we could go back to sleep." Giuseppe said.

"Nah, I'd feel like such a douchebag. Let's get up and get out of here, get our day started." Anzu said.

Anzu staggered onto her feet and offered Giuseppe her hand, helping him get out of bed. The two of them rolled up their futons, the colored shade of the windows veiling them in a purple shine.

"Did you still want to eat breakfast?" Giuseppe asked.

"Can we? I'm starving. Natto and a fried egg on rice sounds delicious right about now." Anzu said.

"Sure, let's go get that for you."

Giuseppe smiled and held the church door open for Anzu, letting her go out first.

Anzu walked by and smiled back, impressed yet again by his politesse. "My my, how chivalrous of you!"

It was another beautiful day for Giuseppe and Anzu, a great day to have a late breakfast and a chat with a friend. Though she was dead, Anzu felt as if she was very much alive. And now, she understood what it felt like to have someone to count on.