Like every other person, Shelly was still figuring out her life. Her life looked like what those people would call 'normal'. Her boyfriend is named Daniel and they have been together for about three years now. She was studying in a cafe for her associates degree in Journalism and was getting rather good at writing short novels and interviewing people. She was studying for a final in one of her classes when Daniel interrupted with another one of his crazy stories. "Have you ever heard of the daughter of death?" Daniel asked Shelly who was eating a tuna sandwich.
"No, but you are going to tell me aren't you." Shelly sarcastically replied, stuffing another bite of sandwich into her mouth and keeping her gaze on her notes.
"They say if you see this girl in a black sweatshirt it means that you are going to die that day. They also say she has the ability to kill you with a touch of a bare hand." Daniel told Shelly while stuffing his face with clam chowder.
"Ha-ha very fun...ny." Shelly cut off removing her gaze from her notes and realized that the girl he was talking about was beside him. She choked on her sandwich and pointed at the girl.
Daniel looked where she was pointing and shook his head with doubt. "What?" He asked turning back to Shelly, who was ghostly pale.
"You don't see her?" Shelly spoke shakily, before returning to her food. She took a bite of her sandwich to remain calm. Shelly knew the girl was dead. After her own death she was reincarnated by some miracle. Now she had the ability to see ghosts as well as control water in the surrounding area. She tried to hide her new found powers from the people she loved to protect them. It was a secret she had not told Daniel.
"She's standing next to you." Shelly spoke nervously as she noticed the water start to tremble in Daniel's cup.
The daughter of death smiled at the fact of she wasn't the only one trying to stay on the earth and said "Hello, I can see you are not of this world anymore! My name is Leasel and you are quite an interesting find." She said walking over to Shelly. Leasel placed her hand on the flower arrangement in the middle of the table and watched as the flowers wilted then rotted into nothing in the palm of her hand.
"Shelly what is happening?" Daniel stuttered watching the flowers die and water from Shelly's glass rose. Then he saw the girl standing next to Shelly. He lurched backwards tipping back in his chair. "Shelly, can you see her? Or is this some kind of joke?" Daniel wheezed regaining his balance.
Shelly sighed.
"Well, are you going to tell him? You know, your dirty little secret." Leasel hissed looking over her shoulder. She took her hand off the flowers and placed the glove back on her hand. "Or do I have to teach him about your true self?" Leasel smirked stepping back to give Shelly some space.
"No, I will tell him myself. So you can leave now. If we need to talk about the whole light thing then we can later." Shelly spoke quickly as people in the cafe started to stare.
"Shelly, how do you know ancient Greek." Daniel questioned as he looked around the cafe. He stood up, grabbed Shelly's arm and rushed out of the cafe. Shelly looked back at her notes, computer, and half eaten tuna fish sandwich sitting on the table for anyone to take.
Leasel laughed and walked out of the cafe unnoticed by anyone else.
Once around the corner, Daniel stopped and stared into Shelly's eyes. "What the actual hell is going on. There is something you are obviously not telling me!." He exclaimed. He watched as her innocent green eyes shook with grief. Then her head lowered with great disappointment.
"I wanted to tell you, but it's complicated and we do not ha-." Shelly was cut off by Daniel.
"We obviously have time now, especially when we have a demon on our tail. So please explain in detail." Daniel commanded forcing them to keep walking.
"Okay." Shelly sighed "I'm not of the living anymore." Shelly stated, giving him the basic essentials.
"What!?" Daniel looked over his shoulder. "That is impossible, that means I've been dating a ghost. Yeah right." He laughed to himself.
"Daniel I'm not joking, I can prove it. We can go see my grave. This isn't my body, I found this one in a deadly car accident, the girl was dead." Shelly pleaded. She sat down forcing him to stop, she put on her best puppy dog eyes and hoped he would break.
"Fine. I bet you are lying still, so prove me wrong." Daniel huffed as he pulled Shelly to her feet.
"Thank you." Shelly whispered to herself, now dragging Daniel through the crowded sidewalk.
After a thirty minute walk, they reached the cemetery, there was a gated fence with a guard
"Who are you?" The guard asked
"Angelina Bretts. I'm here to see my stepsister's grave, her name is Shelly Downert." Shelly spoke with confidence. She flicked her hair over her shoulder and winked.
"Go ahead miss, wait who is this?" The guard asked glaring at Daniel.
"He is my boyfriend." Shelly spoke giving the guard an evil eye. She thought she had seen him shiver in fear.
"Does the master know of him?" The guard pushed, before placing his palm on Daniel's chest.
"No, but can you keep him a secret for me, he's only temporary."Shelly pleaded using her puppy dog eyes.
"Fine, just this once, though." The guard sighed before letting them in. Shelly walked hastily by the guard and into the cemetery, with Daniel trailing behind her with a look of disappointment.
"Temporary huh...go figure." Daniel sighed dragging his feet. He looked up to see Shelly looking bubbly at him.
"What is wrong?" Shelly asked worriedly noticing his troubled face.
"You called me temporary, do you mean it?" He asked with disgust not even able to look at her.
"What, no. The master is ruthless and I have to date those he wants me to date." Shelly explained stopping at a tombstone, with the name Leasel etched in the stone. She stared at it for a while noticing the girl was only alive for four years. She cocked her head to one side then continued walking.
"What was that all about?" Daniel asked noticing the curiosity in Shelly's eyes. He glanced at the name not knowing anything about it.
"Here we are." Shelly stopped in front of a tombstone. There her name was followed by the day she died.
Daniel turned pale and his stomach twisted into knots. He couldn't believe that she was dead, but now she was alive. "Why didn't you tell me sooner." He rasped hunched over.
"Because I wanted to be normal, someone that wasn't dead, I didn't leave the earth when I died. Daniel, please." Shelly snapped at him, then ran her finger through her hair.
Daniel looked up through glassy eyes and they stared at each other.
Shelly grabbed his face in her palms, and kissed him. She could feel the warmth rushing to both of their cheeks and his arms wrap around her. Then the warmth of his mouth disappeared, she opened her eyes to see him looking away.
"Was it something I did?"Shelly asked a bit confused and her judgement a bit blurred.
"I was just making out with a ghost." Daniel mumbled to himself.
"You've known me for four years now, we've been dating for three. Daniel -"
"I have just met the real you, right now." Daniel stated angerly. He was now looking deep into her beautiful green eyes, he saw his reflection in her eyes. He couldn't believe the fact she had lied to him for so long. He looked away angrily refusing to look in the direction of the creature he once loved.
"I shouldn't have told you." Shelly whined standing up and bolting away. Shelly didn't look back or forward, her eyes were fixated on the girl standing by a tombstone and laughing. Shelly ran into something large and as hard as concrete knocking her dizzily to the ground where she passed out.
Shelly stood up rubbing her head and wobbly held onto a tombstone. It was now night and the faint noise of someone screaming rang through the chilled air.
"Daniel?" Shelly slurred noticing the screaming had stopped. She collapsed onto her shaking legs. This time, she stood up with a needle of pain. Her legs were less shaky and her head wasn't spinning as much. With the last of her strength, she hobbled over to the last area the screaming was heard. She stopped dead in her tracks when a blackish body started twitching behind a tombstone.
"Daniel?"Shelly whispered keeping her distance as the first wave of stench reached her nose. Her eyes started to water and her throat burned with the taste of rancid meat.
"Sh...sh...el..ly." The body sputtered through the blood. It shivered with a new wave of smell protruded from the body. "It...b...bur...ns so bad." He was able to stutter as an earsplitting scream interrupted as live coals raced through his neck to his face.
"I can help...Daniel." Shelly choked as her hand felt for her phone. She looked at it's shattered screen in disbelief and the phone didn't turn on. She went to touch him, maybe having the ability to cool him off.
"Don't touch me." His voice echoed as another cough of blood that forced Shelly away. His eyes were the only thing that weren't affected by the poison and shook in pain and fear. "Run." He whispered as the last breath escaped him and his body went limp.
"Daniel?" Shelly whimpered in the hope he was still alive. There was no response and her worst fear was confirmed. She sniffled and stood up with tears filling her eyes taking his last word to heart. She bolted to the only place she could call home, a little run down condo, she had bought off a druggy in need of the money.