{welcome to the first "+" chapter! These kind of chapters are short & meant to give the reader insight on the world building, character views, etc. Next + chapter will be Junko's. Next story update will be a regular sized chapter (2000-3000 words). As always, I'd like to remind everyone that if you enjoyed the story, please leave kudos or a comment. It helps me improve the story and give you the opportunity to influence the story. }
+ 1: Anatomy of a Ghost
„She had come to be a thing of spirit only, she wasn't altogether real.
She didn't altogether live, she was committed to the darkness, she was already in the world of shades."
-Charlotte Mew, from The Selected Shorter Fiction; "A White Night"
How much time do people waste on thinking about their own funeral? Not as much as you'd think. You just assume you get a funeral one way or the other and you're not actually experiencing it, because well, you're dead.
Not everyone is lucky enough to receive a funeral, me included. First, my body was impaled by a dozen of little spears, then it was put into a freezer, to keep it fresh…only to have it blow up in my former classmates faces. My death wasn't romantic and it didn't serve a real purpose, except despair and betrayal. But then again, I didn't serve another purpose either. Sometimes, people do get what they deserve. I deserved death as much as Junko and still it doesn't feel like punishment enough, not even this state of being, or rather not being. But what is a suitable punishment, when you can't get enough of punishments? That's the question I had to ask myself and the great big void, but my question is not just regarding myself but also regarding Junko. My reasons for wanting to be punished are not the same as hers, but still in the end, they equate the same.
The moment I died, I didn't really die. My body did, but that little tiny bit of self awareness that every soul contains did not. Energy can neither be created, nor destroyed. That's why so many souls are stuck in limbo.
The moment you leave your body, you feel a strong pull, almost violently yanking you out of your former shell. You hover above your body, which is already beginning it's process of decomposing, even though your body isn't cold yet.
You look around, well known faces look back at your body, eyes wide in shock, the screams will follow seconds after. You don't hear the sound and after a couple of seconds, your view turns black.
You lose all consciousness. There's a tugging at you, what's left of you, and then you're pulled into the great black void. Congratulations, your journey has come to an end without an end.
That's how you become a ghost. The last spark that made your soul you, floating in a large space.
Would it have mattered to have a proper funeral? Would I have been able to go to heaven, or hell? Would I have known peace? There's no one that could give you an answer for that. Maybe there is no heaven or hell. Maybe there isn't even something that resembles peace, because no human being can tolerate peace without a fight here and there.
All I know is, that I have a purpose. It's still the same in a way, as when I was still alive. It's Junko. It will always be Junko, as long as she's able to destroy everything in her way, even without a body. How do you kill a ghost?
I'm eager to find out.