Life In The Mansion
Chapter 1: Neville Branches Out.
Deep in the dark woods, full of cawing crows and other such creatures often deemed spooky, there lies a large mansion. It is an old and decrepit home, the whole exterior colored a sickly dark green color. It is quite an unappealing sight, to say the least. But, being a mansion, it is expansive, with plenty of room to explore. Everyone who has had the idea of exploring it, however, has never returned. Inside this mansion, however, there lives spirits and spooks of all kinds. They don't exactly live in perfect harmony, but for the most part they've agreed to leave each other to their own things. Some friendships bloom, others are stomped...This is the story of a family that was separated after entering the afterlife. In time, they will meet the other inhabitants of the mansion.
Tick tock goes the great grandfather clock. In the Study, the studious ghost, Neville, reclines in his chair. He looks up towards the clock that ticked so, giving a small sigh. He starts to rock the chair back and forth as he reads a new book titled "The Intricacy of Family Dilemma". He had been drawn to it due to the terms he agreed to bide by with the rest of the ghosts - that of which being "do not disturb your fellow spirit when they do not wish to be disturbed".
"Oh, I remember the days when I was with Lynda...This afterlife is supposed to be a dream come true for me, with all the books I could possibly read, but all it has done is make emptiness more apparent in my life. Now she's cooped up in the Master Bedroom, spending all of her time making her hair look the fairest it has ever been. But what use is that when no one is there to marvel at her?" Neville says.
The lonely, bored ghost continued to read his book. So far, his afterlife had been spent reading and nothing more. Sure, it helped him catch up on his favorite past time and get away from the family drama, but it appears that the continuous reading has gotten stale to Neville. He finds himself wanting to see his family again - Lynda, Chauncey, Henry and Orville...It's a small family, but a family nonetheless.
"That's it, I'm tired of rummaging around the Study. I'm tired of this lonely feeling biting at my heart! I need to see Lynda, Chauncey, Henry and Orville, at least this once!" Neville tells himself.
That is when he decides to go on a trip around the mansion. It had been many years since the old ghost that was quite young compared to most other ghosts had even been out of the Study, so he already forgot what room most all of the doors lead to in the enormous mansion he and hundreds of other ghosts, the majority of which were unable to inherit the looks of their corporeal form, call home. Neville phased through the door of the Study, finding himself in one of the many hallways in the mansion. If there's one thing he remembers, it's that the Study, Master Bedroom, Nursery and The Twins' Room are all in the same hallway. Moving towards the end of the hallway, he came across the door that lead to the Master Bedroom. He attempted to knock, but realized that he was unable to due to ghost physiology.
"Honey, may I come in?" He asked.
Lynda looked towards the door to the room she's always cooped up in. With an expression of irritation, she continues to brush her long blonde hair, trying to get it absolutely perfect.
"Uh, just a moment, dear!" She calls out to her husband.
For a while, Lynda continues to do this. Neville sits at the door, waiting ever so patiently - he knows how his wife naturally is when it came to these kinds of things, and of course he doesn't want to start any problems. Soon enough, the blonde decided her hair was good.
"Okay, you can come in now, honey!" Lynda announces.
Neville promptly enters the Master Bedroom after hearing his wife's response. He takes a moment to look at his surroundings a bit before focusing his attention on Lynda. The two both wear smiles and Neville twirls his brown handlebar mustache; in all this time, he forgot just how beautiful his wife looked, especially nowadays. He remembers vividly the day he first met her...It was quite a nice time. Looking to catch Lynda offguard, he rushes in for a kiss. It successfully catched Lynda by surprise. He let out a hearty chuckle as she goes in for a kiss as well.
"Oh, honey, I missed you so much. You spend all this time brushing your hair, and that seems a little pointless when you don't have anyone to marvel at it. But now, you do! Ohohoho!" Neville says.
"Pointless? Dear, you don't understand - my hair is very precious! But I suppose its nice to have someone actually see it." Lynda replies.
Both ghosts laughed. The lonely feeling biting at Neville's chest earlier had been quelled for the most part. Seeing Lynda again after such a long time of solitude really inspired life inside the spirit. His mind moved towards another subject that he had been thinking about often at the Study.
"Oh, Lynda, how's Chauncey and the twins doing?" Neville asks.
"They're doing great! Chauncey can speak in coherent sentences now and the twins are having fun in their little bunker room." Lynda answers, looking to be quite happy as she spoke.
Neville nods in response. He's happy to know that the kids are doing okay, and the fact that his youngest son can speak in full sentences now is nice for a father to know. With this reconnection, Neville feels inspired. He finds himself wanting to make a sort of family get together...
"Lydia, do you think you could set up a family get together? Chauncey and the twins never get to see their daddy, and I'm in the mood for it." Neville suggests.
"A family get together? Why, that sounds splendid, honey! Let's do it tomorrow. I'll let the twins know. We're going to have to have it at the Nursery though - we wouldn't want to bring Chauncey into unfamiliar territory." Lynda responds with enthusiasm.
And so, a ghostly father that was separate from his family for a large amount of time due to his seclusive nature decides to become part of it for good...