To keep out of Silas' way, the ghost resumed work in his office and carried on because no one could see him or so he thought. As plans for his burial were ongoing in different cities, he spent his days in the office.
One day, one of his colleagues Riggs, told another colleague named Adrian, "I don't know what is wrong with this Rufus of a guy, each time I greet him, he does not respond. I don't know if I wronged him unknowingly."
Adrian responded, "All that is in the past, it is a pity that he is gone now."
"Gone where?" asked Riggs. "Has he been transferred or something?"
Adrian replied, "Have you not heard? Rufus is dead."
"What?" asked Riggs in disbelief. "When did this happen?"
"About a week ago," Adrian replied.
"That must be a joke or maybe you are referring to the wrong guy," Riggs said. "I have been seeing him every day. I even saw him this morning."
"You must be dreaming. I don't know what you are seeing, but I am sure I don't want to be close when you see him again."
With that, Adrian briskly walked away and started avoiding Riggs. The ghost overheard part of the conversation, and also began avoiding Riggs.
Rufus' office was still vacant and they were yet to get a replacement for him. A cleaner unlocked and cleaned it twice a week. Out of respect, the management was waiting until after his burial before appointing a new person.
Adrian has been eyeing that position and office. So, he began playing politics in the office, doing eye service, sucking up to the bosses and lobbying for the position. Sometimes he would just open the office and walk in and look around, savouring the feel of being there. Sometimes he will sit down in the office. He loved it because it was more spacious than his and more tastefully furnished. Adrian was average height, chocolate in complexion, very slim, and owned a very deep but pleasant voice.
One afternoon, the sky was tar-dark as rain clouds formed. The pitter-patter of raindrops sounded on the window panes followed by swoosh-swoosh on the roof. In no time at all, it was raining gorillas and hedgehogs, puddles formed and widened. Gutters were filled to the overflow and gushed as if in a hurry to catch a train. The trees swayed and danced to no rhythm. The weather was very cold but there was a bustle of activity at the office.
The ghost was in his office sitting on his swivel chair appearing to be lost in his ghostly thoughts and worries. Adrian opened and walked into Rufus' office whistling, and then he froze in shock. It was like he had stepped into Siberia. Something was not right; the office was mortuary-cold. The air conditioner was on full blast, instantly, his whole body was covered with goosebumps. The most terrifying and unnerving thing was the sight of the swivel chair spinning.
He was transfixed on the spot with his mouth open. He could hear the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. He remembered what Riggs told him about seeing Rufus. He turned and made to bolt out of the office but hit his head on a low shelf. The force sent him reeling back towards the desk. He hit his knee on the desk and cursed loudly. The trepidation of being close to the rotating swivel chair which was behind the desk almost killed him.
He noticed the chair whirled faster and faster and the sound of heart sinking laughter filled the icy air. He was so spooked that hot urine trickled down his legs. In pain, he hobbled out of the office with one hand on the side of his head. He had a cut which was bleeding. He rushed into one of the offices waving frantically at his colleague Dickson to help him. Dickson drove him to the nearest hospital where he did an x-ray to rule out skull fracture. He had two stitches done on his head.
He was still in shock so the doctor kept him under observation for a day. Dickson asked him how he got the cut after he was discharged from the hospital. He claimed to have fallen down the stairs. Dickson looked at him suspiciously, because each stair was high, anyone who mistakenly falls down the stairs would likely sustain more injuries than a cut on the forehead. "You are lucky," said Dickson to Adrian.
Riggs was passing one day and a hand grabbed him, yanked him into the store and shut the door. He opened his mouth to yell but another hand quickly covered it. He bit the hand and struggled to break free, and then he stopped when he saw who it was. He angrily said, "Don't ever spring on me like that again, this is a ghost haunted office and you are grabbing me, do you want me to jump out of my skin?" Adrian told him to calm down, that he meant no harm. Riggs saw the cut on Adrian's head.
"What happened to you?" he asked, concerned.
"It was him. I swear, he was sitting there and revolving in his chair. That office was locked with no keys in the lock, I opened it and went in, the chair was revolving, the speed even increased while I was still there," Adrian said all at once.
Riggs looked at him in disbelief and said, "What gibberish are you spinning? Who was there? Alright, calm down, take a deep breath and say something I can at least understand."
Adrian took a deep breath and started again slower this time. "I went to Rufus office; it was locked so I opened it. When I went inside, the air conditioner was on and the swivel chair was revolving. I hit my head trying to run out and the chair began revolving even faster. I heard his laughter mocking me. I almost passed out. Briggs, I freaking heard his voice."
"This is very serious, who else have you told?" asked Riggs.
"I haven't told anyone except you. Do you want people to think I am nuts?" Adrian asked.
"I thought you said I was the nut, are you not worse than me now?" asked Riggs crossing his arms with a smirk.
Adrian exploded hotly, "Go ahead Riggs, rub it in."
Riggs began to say something but all of a sudden, the store door flew open. Both men screamed in fright, scurrying away from the door. Dickson stood in the doorway looking at them with a puzzled expression on his face. "Why are you two behaving like a bunch of chickenhearted school kids?"
Adrian glared at him and said, "Dickson what is your problem, why did you scare us like that?"
Dickson replied, "I heard your voices from outside like you were at the verge of exchanging blows. What are you even doing hiding in the store? Are you guys gay? I think you should get a room or something!"
Riggs pushed past him and stormed out of the store while Adrian still glared at him. Dickson bent down laughing hard and slapping his thighs. The sound of his laughter followed Adrian as he walked away. Dickson ran after him saying, "Don't be angry man, I am just messing with you." Unfortunately, Adrian was in no mood for jokes.
Later in the day, Adrian was sitting in his office when an SMS came in. The message tone jolted him. He picked up his phone with a sweaty palm. The SMS was from Riggs and it read, "What are we going to do?" Adrian sighed and typed a reply, "I don't know, is there anything we can do?"
^^^^^^
In the same office was a man called Collins. He was tall, beefy, chocolate in complexion and sly. He had the habit of borrowing money and not paying back. The worst part was that he would buy things on credit and refuse to pay. Rufus was in the dark about this particular character trait. Collins borrowed a lot of money from Rufus when he was alive, claiming he needed it to complete the house he was building. Rufus had some money just lying in the bank. He felt since he didn't have an immediate need for it, he could lend it to Collins, which he did. Six months after the debt was due, Collins was yet to run out of cock and bull stories he was using as an excuse for not paying.
He told Rufus at two different times that he lost his mother-in-law, and that was why he could not pay. Another time, the excuse was that his Dad needed surgery. Rufus finally found out that he was dealing with a shady fellow and kept searching for ways to make him pay back what he owed. When he heard that Rufus was late, Collins gloated secretly with glee as he had no intention of paying back in the first place.
The ghost wandered for about a week, and on one occasion, he met an angel. He begged the angel to help him find rest, that he was tired of moving up and down. The angel told him there is no rest for the wicked.
"But I am not wicked," Rufus protested.
"You remember the figures you manipulated in the office, and how you cheated on your wife; how many abortions? Remember your friend's wife you had an affair with? You will pay for them all."
"Have mercy, help me," the ghost begged.
"It is too late; your punishment awaits you," the angel said.
"For how long will I continue like this? It is not as if I can die again."
"Your time is running out fast. What you do with this little window of time will determine if you will find rest or not." The Angel told him.
On an early Saturday morning, Silas took Rufus' car to the car wash. When he returned, he cut the grasses behind his house, did his laundry, and went into the kitchen to prepare breakfast. From the corner of his eyes, he saw a shadow dart. He was startled at first. He remembered the ghost. "No, he has gone, I am just imagining things," he thought. "Or maybe he came back because I moved his car!"
While he was eating, he saw a shadow on the curtain, then felt a presence. He knew it was no longer his imagination that he had company. He dropped his cup on the side table and said, "Rufus, it is ok, appear before you give me a heart attack." The ghost appeared and sat down opposite him. Silas was at a loss on how to hold a conversation with a ghost, so he just kept mute. He could not trust himself to pick up his spoon because his hands shook and his throat felt dry. However, he did his very best to conceal it.
The ghost said, "I am sorry for inconveniencing you, but I don't know where to go and I am tired."
Silas asked, "Why do you come to me? Why not go home?"
"You are the only one who can see me, you, and one other guy, but he just found out I am a ghost."
"Don't I know you are a ghost? But here you are sitting in my living room!"
"You are different, just help me. There are some things I need to do before I can finally rest. I am not sure of all the details yet, but I will let you know as they unfold. But I need your help," the ghost said.
"Did you have to scare me like that in front of your wife?" asked Silas.
"What was your plan, to tell her you found me naked in a car parked off the road in a bush? Do you know what that piece of information will do to her?" asked the ghost.
Silas said, "Hmmm, now that you are here, tell me how you died, or did you commit suicide?" Without waiting for a reply, he continued "No, I believe you were killed, that is why your spirit is roaming."
The ghost said, "The last thing I remember is having a lady ride me and that was it."
Silas' eyes widened in disbelief; then he broke out into an uncontrollable fit of laughter. The ghost rolled his eyes. He kept laughing and fell from the sofa he was sitting on. Warm tears trickled down his cheeks to his beards. He did not attempt to wipe them. It took him some minutes to regain control of himself. He unsuccessfully tried to keep a straight face and said, "Wow, you really had a nice romp, no wonder you didn't want me to give Nova the details." So, who is the lady? Was she your side dish?"
"I don't even know her. I only met her that evening. And I can't even find her, she simply vanished. That aside, I have more important things on my mind now. I am already dead and there's nothing I can do about that, so let's go after more important things. We will tackle Matilda later."
"Who is Matilda?" asked Silas.
"The girl whose lovemaking killed me!" The ghost replied sheepishly. Silas broke out into another fit of laughter. He picked up his spoon and continued eating.
As an afterthought, Silas added, "I am not sure she can be prosecuted for that, maybe it was an accident. Were you hypertensive or on drugs?"
The ghost shook his head.