Credit for the cover image: ~biszkopciik

A/N: I've been playing with the idea of ghost/human interaction and decided to give it a shot. Sorry it's short! It's a prologue, though. Feedback appreciated!

The Veil Drops

Prologue:

Alicia Rivera flattened out her slightly wrinkled concert tee as she got ready for her shift at the bakery. Unlike her friends who were probably at one of the end-of-the-year keggers before graduation, she couldn't get out of her shift. It was a slow late afternoon and she grew bored quickly and picked up a Sudoku book off the bookshelf her boss Mr. Potter kept for the customers to enjoy some light reading with their warm butter croissants and double chocolate éclairs.

"Let's see…" She tapped her pencil against her lips.

She was so engrossed in the challenging puzzle that she didn't hear the front door swish open and the bell ring indicating that.

A teenage boy walked in with his hands in his pockets, his letterman jacket faded and disheveled from the wind. He looked at the cakes on display and licked at his lips. He then noticed Alicia sitting at the counter.

"Excuse me?" He asked.

Alicia raised her head from her book, nearly falling out of her chair. "I didn't hear you come in. Sorry. Can I help you?"

"Yeah, can I have a blueberry muffin?"

"Sure thing." Alicia sprung out of her chair, happy to be productive.

But still, not even all the Sudoku puzzles in the world could help her with forgetting about her dumb ex.

Once she got his blueberry muffin out of the display case and placed it in a Potter's Baked Goods bag, she gave it to him and he handed her a five-dollar-bill.

"You know something? I dated a guy who you sort of remind me of."

The boy looked at her in shock. He stared at Alicia with his mismatched colored eyes: one green and one blue. She wondered if he put a contact on one of his eyes. "So which eye color is your real one?"

"Uh…" The boy was shocked that she was talking to him like they'd known each other for years.

Alicia then asked, "Or is it possible that you're wearing two different ones?"

He combed his fingers through his hair and looked at her, waiting for her to attack him with another round of questions.

Alicia realized that the boy was a complete stranger. He just wanted his muffin and his change back. "Sorry about that. Here's your change."

He smiled at hey sympathetically. "It's okay. Thanks. Uh, I actually had a question."

"Sure." Alicia knew the least she could do was help him out. She'd never seen him before. He must've been new to town or visiting.

"Do you know Kristen Gregory?"

Kristen's Alicia's best friend but she wasn't sure what this guy's intentions were, even if he was attractive and polite. She frowned.

"Sorry. Let me rephrase that. I'm Kristen's old boyfriend, Cam Fisher."

Alicia had nearly choked on air. "Excuse me?"

"So you do know her." He confirmed as he saw her reaction.

"But…But you're…"

"Um, I can explain…But it would take a while…"

Alicia couldn't believe what she was hearing. She'd never met Cam before but Kristen told her about him. They had a summer fling a few years back but then he disappeared. Then, the news came out with the story about the disappeared teen being found.

Dead.