video;

[gotsomebadnoose]

[a burst of static. Shadows blot out the corners, dip into the frame. Dim. Dreary. Lee's been thinking. It's a dangerous place to be. Makes him lament. Reminds him of things he didn't have or of what he did have, but lost. Out of reach. Out of grasp. Close enough that maybe, just maybe the tips of his fingers could brush it, but then he'd just knock it away. Weighed down by a heavy heart. Heavy mind.

The audio kicks in with a loud crackle and adjusts into a tolerable almost hum in the background. A corpse, well tended to- dressed in a jacket, black sweater, and jeans, slumped in a chair- head lulled to the side, tilted back against the backrest of the chair, and craned against the cement wall, lies. At a glance, the figure was only in a deep rest. A sleep of ages claiming both body and breath, stilling his pulse and stealing his color. Blue lips parted. Words left unspoken, silenced by a descended crowbar. The scene faintly illuminated by a pale blue glow.

The video remains stubbornly glued to the body. The speaker standing somewhere behind the device.]

I've b__n th_nking again...I r______…what my life was __ke bef___ this place an_ _ rea____…there w_sn't m_ch th___e. I ___ed my life with___ RE__LY living it. Then again, everything in between ___ ____ght, I ___ss. __ o___ it hadn't ended the way it DID.

[silence slips in, the static simmering to a barely audible level. His words easier to hear. Images of the last few hours he had lived float on the surface. Lee speaks quietly. He didn't want to startle those memories.]

Anyways, what do y_u do when you're feeli_g bl-...down?

I'd really like to k__w.

non-static version I've been thinking again...I remember...what my life was like before this place and I realize...there wasn't much there. I lived my life without REALLY living it. Then again, everything in between was alright, I guess. If only it hadn't ended the way it DID. Anyways, what do you do when you're feeling bl-...down? I'd really like to know.

Comments

[1800deadguy]

Not really. You know how ghosts lose their memory, briefly, when you die? I just never got mine back for some reason.

[gotsomebadnoose]

I-I'm sorry to hear to that.

I didn't lose my memory. Not really, but I lost MYSELF if that makes any sense. Did it happen to you?

[1800deadguy]

Uhhh. Hm. I'm afraid I don't know what you mean.

[gotsomebadnoose]

oh, well. It was kind of like losing my memory, only instead of me forgetting, I was lost in myself. I was locked in my own psychological maze and I couldn't find my way out...and...there were some THINGS my ghost self did in the meantime.

Am- am I making any sense?

[1800deadguy]

So... it's like your body was manipulated and you couldn't control it. Is that what you mean?

[gotsomebadnoose]

Something like that. It was like...the GHOST in me was running rampant while I was in the dark.

[a pause]

Can you MOVE things?

[1800deadguy]

Yes, I can. Though I guess that's pretty rare for ghosts.

[gotsomebadnoose]

It is?

[1800deadguy]

Yeah, I guess so. I only knew two other ghosts who could do it.

[gotsomebadnoose]

[hopefully]

You KNEW other ghosts? So, they were like US?