Ghost Story
Chapter 2
The next morning Kari's alarm went off at exactly 6:00 and she woke eager to meet the day. Gone were her worries from the night before and in their place were her thankfulness to have a good job, thankfulness to have a good friend, and most of all, thankfulness to be alive.
Although it started out like a typical morning to a typical day, things at the office took a very interesting turn.
Besides Don's typical greeting, "Good morning, Kari," he threw in an extra compliment, making Kari's face flush scarlet by telling her how beautiful she looked today.
She had barely stammered a thank you when he winked and kept walking to his office. Joanie, who had overheard the exchange didn't mind sharing her jealousy with Kari as she continued to spend the morning badgering her about going on a double date.
It wasn't until after lunchtime when Don poked his head out of his door to call Kari inside.
Hurriedly, Kari stepped away from the file she'd been entering into the computer and made her way into his office, shutting the door softly behind her.
She'd been in his office many times before for various meetings and occasionally just to organize things for him. Despite her familiarity with his dark mahogany bookshelves, framed pictures of his parents, and cozy leather chairs, she felt a twinge of nervousness as she took a seat in front of his desk.
"How's everything going, Kari?" he asked.
"Fine," she answered, though she knew that was not what he meant. The next question people always asked her was if she had remembered anything yet. "No changes," she said as he opened his mouth for the next question.
He nodded and Kari could see on his face how he wondered whether this was good or bad.
"I'm starting to think maybe there was nothing worth remembering," she said sadly.
He smiled faintly and Kari was surprised to see him look almost nervous.
"Okay," he said, "I know this is probably hugely inappropriate but I was just wondering if you had any plans for Saturday night?"
Kari's mouth fell open a bit in shock.
"I mean," he continued, "you've been working here for a year now. I think that deserves a celebration. I was thinking maybe we could go to dinner."
Kari hesitated. "Do you mean as an office dinner or a…private dinner?" she asked, although she didn't need to – from the way he was looking at her she could tell which option he had in mind.
His eyes were very blue, she noticed. It was an unusual contrast with his dark hair, but definitely not unpleasant. It was that deep blue color though that sparked something familiar in Kari. But just like that, the déjà vu feeling was gone, just like her dreams from the night before.
"I was hoping for just the two of us."
Kari froze. Every instinct was telling her to run out of his office. She was telling her body to do just that when an even louder voice chimed in: Joanie telling her over lunch about how it was time for her to move on. It was time, Kari agreed. She was twenty-four years old, or at least she thought she was. She could have dinner with whomever she wanted.
"Okay," Kari said. "Pick me up at eight?"
When he nodded, unable to hide his smile, Kari hurried out of his office before she gave the situation any more thought and changed her mind. Unfortunately, in comparison to how the rest of the day went, her time at the office was relatively normal.
At 4:30 she was walking down the sidewalk to the gym contemplating what her life had been like before the accident. Maybe she'd never really had a good life and this was her chance to start over. Maybe things were exactly the same and there was another apartment out there that looked exactly as hers did now, except dusty after being empty for a year. Or maybe…
There was a third option. It always hovered over her especially when she didn't really want to think about it. She stopped at an intersection watching the heavy rush hour traffic on the street in front of her instead of thinking about the family that might be missing her or a husband that might be searching for her. It was true she hadn't been wearing a ring at the hospital, but that didn't always mean anything. Maybe it was her husband who had given her the bracelet.
In front of her the crosswalk signaled she could walk. She looked down at the curb as she stepped onto the street and felt something warm and fuzzy pull in her gut. Walking toward her from the opposite direction was the man who had caused it.
Kari stopped in her tracks as he approached.
She knew him.
She had to know him.
Everything about him was familiar to her from the width of his shoulders to his long lanky body and his tousled golden-blond hair. He looked up at her in passing, sensing her wide-eyed stare. He smiled slightly at her, piercing her with his bright blue eyes. Their shoulders almost brushed as he passed and then he was gone, lost in the crowded sidewalk behind her.
Kari shivered. It was a nice, warm, spring day but there were goose bumps on her arms. Shaking off the nerves, she pulled herself together and stepped back out into the street.
Everything after that was a blur. A horn honked, a woman behind her screamed, and a speeding pick-up truck flew right in front of Kari, through the red light and into on-coming traffic. Breaks squealed and glass smashed but Kari could only hear her heart pounding in her chest.
One step further and she would've been killed instantly. Seeing that man, no, that stranger, she corrected herself, had saved her life.
A woman, probably the same one who had screamed, grabbed her shoulder and kept asking Kari if she was alright. Kari couldn't answer though because she was spinning wildly in circles trying to spot a glimpse of that messy blond hair through the now growing crowd of onlookers.
He was gone. She couldn't spot him anywhere and soon gave up trying as the woman was still holding onto her shoulder and pulling her back toward the scene.
A blast of sirens announced the arrival of the ambulances and squad cars and before she knew it Kari was in the hands of the paramedics.
"I'm fine," Kari told them as they scanned her for injury and checked her vital signs.
"Alright," said the paramedic, shining a light into her pupils, "but I have to take you to the hospital anyway to be examined."
"I don't need to go to the hosp-" she tried to say but the woman caught up to her again.
"Ma'am did you lose somebody back there? You looked like you were trying to find someone…" The woman was middle-aged with long silver hair and kind eyes.
"Yes!" Kari told her. She began describing the man she had seen but stopped when the woman asked for his name.
Thankfully, or maybe not thankfully, a policeman interrupted their conversation to ask if they had witnessed the accident.
"Yes," the woman answered for them, "and she's lost her friend in all the mayhem."
"I'm going to need your friend's description," replied the policeman, "and also for you two to make an official statement of what you saw happen."
The paramedic, who had still been attempting to examine Kari finally decided that that was enough. "This woman needs medical attention," he cried. "If you want a statement you'll have to follow us to the hospital."
Kari could see his frustration and decided not to argue as he helped her into the back of an ambulance. The hospital environment was a very familiar one to Kari after all the time she'd spent there a year before.
"Name, please?" a red-haired nurse asked after adjusting Kari onto a hospital bed.
"Kari Miko." Kari knew Miko was probably not her real last name, as she had made it up months prior. She'd needed a last name to open a bank account and she needed the bank account for her wages. "My record might be under 'Jane Doe' though," she told the nurse. "I was Dr. Matsuhiro's patient last year."
The nurse nodded and left Kari's bay.
Several long minutes later Dr. Matsuhiro himself appeared to check on Kari. Kari was glad to see him. He was a nice old man with balding gray hair and glasses that always slid down his nose.
"Ah, Kari!" he exclaimed. "How are you?"
"She was in an accident," the red-headed nurse informed him.
"Not in an accident," she corrected, "witness to an accident. The truck didn't hit me. I'm fine."
"All the same," Dr. Matsuhiro said, looking concerned, "you were due for another check up anyway, so I'm sure you won't mind if I take a look?"
Kari nodded, well used to the doctor's poking and proddings.
"So, no more changes?" he asked after listening to her heart and lungs.
"No…" Kari hesitated, "Well, I thought I may have recognized someone today right before the truck…" She looked up at the corner of the room where two men in police uniforms were questioning a few other people from the scene. One of them happened to look up and Kari recognized the officer who had confronted her earlier. He made his way over to Kari's hospital bed before the doctor could ask any more questions.
"Excuse me, ma'am," the officer said, "but we've questioned several people from the accident and no one seems to remember seeing anyone matching the description of your friend."
Dr. Matsuhiro frowned.
Kari nodded, biting her bottom lip to keep it from trembling.
The doctor patted her knee. "Everything seems to be fine. You let me know if you remember anything else," he told her before heading back to his other patients, leaving Kari to give her statement to the police.
The emergency room was so unorganized with people streaming in from the accident that it was over an hour before she was discharged.
On her way home she decided to treat herself and pick up take out Chinese food on her way back, skipping her daily work out. She even uncorked a bottle of wine to have with her dinner.
It was already dark outside when Kari finished eating. Leaving her dirty dishes in the sink (something she never ever did) she took the bottle with her to the living room to help her unwind before bed. And to get the image of the stranger's face out of her head.
