Chapter 1
I was a freak. Always had been. From the time I was a little kid, I could see dead people.
My old man? He thought I was full of it. Called me a liar to my face.
Mom was the only one who believed me, who tried to soothe my nerves.
But then Dad croaked, and… nothing. No ghostly Dad hovering around, no spectral lectures.
I told Mom, and she got this weird look on her face, like a lightbulb had just gone off in her head.
She ignored Grandma’s screaming about a traditional burial, and insisted on having him cremated. It wasn’t until after the flames that I finally saw him.
1
At seven, death wasn’t scary. Not really. If I wanted to, I could just tune in, see the ghosts hanging around.
Dad hated it when I talked about it. Said ghosts weren’t real.
Said I was making it all up, a kid’s fantasy. Eventually, he just started calling me a liar.
He was a jerk. A total, grade-A jerk. Never believed a word I said.
Mom, though? She always had my back. Like when the guy who ran the breakfast joint downstairs went missing. I saw his ghost, told Mom he’d been murdered and buried under that old oak tree.
Or when Mrs. Henderson’s dentures went missing after she died. A quick chat with her spirit and they were located in the backyard rose garden.
Mom never let me tell anyone I could see ghosts. She’d slip anonymous notes with clues under people’s doors.
They never suspected I was involved, just figured it was their dead relatives giving them a hand.
And in a way, they were right. Only they couldn’t see it.
But this time… Dad was just lying there, stiff as a board. Grandma said he was dead, gone. But I couldn’t see his ghost anywhere.
I hunted for his “presence,” but nothing.
Then BAM! Grandma backhanded Mom so hard her head snapped.
“You witch! You drove my son to this! You made him kill himself!”
“Goddamn it, what have I done to deserve such a useless daughter-in-law?! Now my poor son is gone.”
“I knew I shouldn’t have let him marry you. Your parent’s died when you were young, you are cursed, and now my son died because of you.”
Mom tried to explain. “Some guys came by yesterday, said Vincent owed them money. Said if he didn’t pay up, they’d make him regret it. He must have been desperate.”
“Mom, let’s get Vincent to the hospital. Maybe he’s not really…”
Grandma blocked her. “He’s gone! You wanna waste money on a corpse?”
“You knew people were after him, you should’ve been keeping a closer eye on him. If you had, he wouldn’t have killed himself!”
“All you do is cry, what a useless daughter-in-law. If you weren’t so unlucky, my son wouldn’t have been in debt.”
“You disgust me. Get in the kitchen and make me food. I need to eat before I can send my son back home for burial.”
Mom went to stop her, but Grandma slapped me. I dodged most of it, but it still stung.
I was getting good at dodging. Practice makes perfect.
Mom pulled me into the kitchen, hugged me tight. “Don’t worry, Darcy. Mom’s here. I’ll protect you.”
I said, “Mom, it’s weird. Why can’t I see Dad’s ghost? I always see them when they die.”
Mom looked away, like she was trying to hide something. “Maybe you’re just too upset. You aren’t looking closely.”
“I’m not upset about Dad dying. He was a bad Dad. He hit you, let Grandma bully you.”
“And he wanted you to go out with those men that you don’t know. I know you don’t want to. Mom always cried in the blanket. Mom isn’t happy.”
“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t tripped when we tried to run away last time, we’d be gone by now.”
“I wish I wasn’t here, then Mom could run away. But now that Dad’s dead, we don’t have to run away. Mom doesn’t need to do something she doesn’t want to.”
“But Mom, do you think maybe he didn’t die? Why else can’t I see his ghost?”
I poured it all out.
Mom’s expression changed. She stared at the direction of where Dad’s body was. She looked like she was thinking.
Mom said, “Darcy, I need to make sure something is right. Stay here, don’t move, okay?”
I nodded. “I will. I promise.”
Then Mom lost it. She charged at Dad, shoved her ear against his chest.
“Vincent! You heartless bastard! You left us with nothing, so much debt! How are we supposed to survive?!”
She pummeled his chest, screaming. Grandma tried to pull her off, but Mom was too strong.
Maybe it was just me, but I thought Dad’s face twitched, like a muscle spasm.
And in that moment, I saw something in Mom’s eyes I hadn’t seen in years. A spark.
2
Grandma and Mom were still yelling, when the door crashed open and a bunch of scary-looking guys with pipes stormed in.
The leader, a dude with a faded green mohawk and a sleeve of tattoos, yelled, “Where’s that son of a bitch Vincent Price? He owes us money!”
Grandma, who’d been so loud just minutes before, shrunk into a corner.
Mom said, “Vincent’s dead! See? He’s right there. Gone.”
Mohawk Guy said, “Tough luck. But death don’t erase debt. You’re his wife, right? You’re on the hook. He signed loan agreements, and it doesn’t matter if you file a lawsuit, he still owes me money.”
“He never gave me any of the money! He didn’t even give me money for food! I don’t know where it went!”
Mom looked pale and worn, like she hadn’t eaten a decent meal in months. It was convincing, but it didn’t work on Mohawk Guy.
Finally, Mom begged them to give her a week to bury Vincent.
After the debt collectors left, Grandma puffed up again.
“Those debts are yours to pay! I don’t have any money!”
“Mom, the company has already lost money, and is unable to pay off its debts. The house has been mortgaged. All the savings have been used, where am I going to find money to pay them.”
“That’s because you are cursed. I don’t care, you’re going to prison if you can’t pay them. And I’m telling you right now, I’m not taking care of Darcy.”
Seeing Grandma’s attitude, Mom didn’t argue, instead she said, “Mom, let’s send Vincent to the hospital.”
Grandma said, “I checked already, he is gone. And we don’t have money to go to the hospital.”
“Mom, I heard people say that people can go into a false state of shock, so if we send him to the hospital, they might save him. I always see on the news that people in the mortuary come back to life.”
Mom’s words made Grandma uncomfortable. But she was still insistent. “My son drank weed killer, I don’t think a doctor can save him, not even the god of the death.”
Mom said, “If we don’t go to the hospital, then how can we get a death certificate? If we don’t have one, then I can’t take on Vincent’s debts. Vincent is still the first person in debt.”
“Mom, I get it, you are thinking for me, so you are doing this on purpose?”
“That is a good idea, you are going to take Vincent home and bury him. When the debt collectors come, I am going to tell them that Vincent is pretending to be dead, and that he ran away. They can ask him for the money.”
“I don’t have money, and Vincent is still alive. They will have to ask Vincent for the money, this way we are safe.”
“Mom, I misunderstood you all this time. I thought you were an evil mother in law, but you are thinking of me. Mom wants the best for me.” Mom said while grabbing Grandma’s hands as she cried.
Mom’s words put Grandma in an awkward position, and she did not know what to do. She kept staring in Dad’s direction, but Dad wasn’t moving, so he couldn’t answer her.
But quickly, Grandma pushed Mom away. She said that she wanted to use the bathroom, and then went in the bathroom with her phone.
The faucet in the bathroom was running. When Grandma came out, she looked like she was winning.
“Rainy, I heard that people who die in the house, the street can give them death certificates. I also know someone who works in the street’s office. She said that she can directly give me the certificate.”
Mom said, “But I heard that only people who die naturally can get death certificates. Vincent killed himself, I think we have to go to the police office for the certificate.”
Grandma said, “Why are you so dumb, we aren’t going to tell them he killed himself, then they won’t know. If you know someone, it makes things easier. They said they can help me, so just wait.”
3
Not long after, an Auntie came and got Dad’s death certificate.
I knew the Auntie, Dad told me to call her Auntie Cindy. I saw Dad and her come out of a room unkempt.
But Dad did not want me to tell Mom.
Of course, I wouldn’t listen to Dad, but when I told Mom, she was even more sad.
Mom would yell at Dad, and Dad would hit her. So, I did not tell Mom after.
Cindy Auntie told Mom that things will be okay, and then left. She didn’t look sad at all.
Mom was using the death certificate to help resolve the debts, and wanted to keep it.
Grandma said no, but Mom said if she didn’t, then the debts would still be on Dad. Grandma agreed.
Mom told Grandma that she already contacted the bakery van. They were leaving in the morning. The van will take Dad and Grandma back home.
Mom wanted to go with them, but Grandma rejected her. Grandma said that in the countryside it was custom for only the men to attend the burial. It was no use even if Mom and I came, so it was better to stay home.
Mom reluctantly agreed to Grandma’s request.
That night, Mom cooked a lot of dishes, dishes that Grandma fished out of the trash before.
Grandma did not eat those things. She only let Mom and I eat them. She ate the food that she bought.
Mom was scared we would get sick from the food, so she never let me eat it. She would throw out the meat dishes.
Grandma kept the money, and Mom did not have money, so we could only go to the market to buy the left over meat. But Mom said that the meat was much cleaner than the meat Grandma found in the trash.
But today, Mom secretly cooked the meat that Grandma found in the trash for her to eat. She lied and said that Grandma bought the meat.
Grandma did not think Mom would dare to lie to her, so she happily ate the meat.
Grandma said as she ate, “There is too much salt and pepper in this meat. I can’t taste the meat. You need to be careful with your cooking.”
I knew that Mom did it on purpose, otherwise Grandma would have noticed something was wrong the first time she tasted the meat.
Grandma didn’t let Mom and I eat the meat, which was good, because we were scared to eat it.
That night, Grandma started screaming. She started going to the bathroom every ten minutes.
Mom quickly sent Grandma to the hospital. The doctor said that Grandma had food poisoning.
Grandma was getting treated in the hospital, and Mom was going to get her clothes, so we left.
After we got home, Mom’s arranged bakery van arrived. Mom had people put Dad in the van.
I asked, “Grandma is in the hospital, so can’t take Dad home. Does that mean we are sending Dad back.”
Mom smiled and said, “We are sending your dad, but not home, sending him to the cremation.”
“Cremation and taking Dad home, aren’t they the same thing?”
Mom didn’t say anything, she just touched my head and said, “Darcy, Mom isn’t going to let people bully you anymore.”
Mom and I took the van to the funeral home. Mom added money, so that Dad would be cremated first.
The death certificate that Cindy Auntie gave was very helpful. If there wasn’t one, then the funeral home wouldn’t cremated him.
Mom looked very anxious, like she was scared something might happen, and kept looking at the watch.
Mom kept asking if I could see Dad’s ghost. To make Mom happy, I kept looking around. After a while, I finally saw Dad.
Hearing the news made Mom feel much better.