The wind was picking up outside, the leaves beginning to swirl in the air. Charlotte wasn’t surprised. Neither was the cat.
Together they looked out the bedroom window, although it was getting harder to see by the minute. The night was quickly growing darker, as black clouds gathered to cover the moon.
“Looks like it’s going to be a stormy night,” Charlotte said, idly scratching the cat under the chin. The cat just purred, and rubbed up against Charlotte’s hand. From the open window came a sudden cold rush of air, and they both turned their gaze to follow it.
In the middle of the room, a shimmering light began to form, like a thousand sparkling pinpoints of light all in a muddle. Charlotte and the cat continued to watch, as the strange phosphorescence gradually took shape, casting eerie blue shadows against the walls.
At last the nebulous form began to resolve itself into a vaguely human shape, first arms, then the semblance of legs, now a head. At last a face began to emerge, the face of a young man. He was wearing glasses.
The cat ran to the still faintly glowing apparition, who was looking more solid by the second. Idly he reached down and scratched her behind the ears.
The young man looked Charlotte directly in the eyes. “Thanks for looking after my cat,” he said.
When Charlotte just continued to stare at him, not saying anything in reply, the young man looked vaguely embarrassed. “Please don’t be frightened.”
“Why would I be frightened?” She asked, finally speaking up, “Because you’re a ghost?”
“Well yes, that does tend to have an unfortunate effect on some people. But you seem ok with it.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? It’s not like it’s your fault or anything.” She gave him a searching look. “Or do you think it’s your fault?”
“No, nothing like that. I’m just a ghost. No dead bodies under the floorboards or anything like that.”
“Well, that’s a relief, isn’t it?” She smiled.
He smiled back. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced. My name is…”
“Sheldon,” she said, before he could finish the sentence.
“Wait,” he said, “how did you know my name is Sheldon?”
Charlotte rolled her eyes. “Because, stupid, we’re in a book called ‘Sheldon’.”
And now, anything goes 🙂