"Where are you heading to?" Zubie asked, following behind the white-haired man.
Aurelius ignored her question and asked her, "Shouldn't you be back in the manor? For all we know that man could be a scammer."
"I'm pretty sure, he is not."
"That is the problem with you, you are so effortlessly dumb." Zubie did not know if he was joking or was insulting her outgoing nature.
"What's up your ass this early morning?" She wasn't able to comprehend the reason for the mood swings of her ghostly friend.
"Such vulgar language will not get an answer out of me,"
"I'm not looking for an answer," Zubie murmured, scoffing.
"Good," he states, his voice was just as cold as his features.
"Good, I'm going back as you do not appreciate my company better not waste my precious hours." She stomped back, mumbling to herself. The ghost man just watched her leave, he might have overreacted a bit. She was after all doing her best to help him out, even though it was not her duty.
So effortlessly dumb indeed.
(------------------------------------)
Zubie walked back with a sour face, Abram noticed her, "what happened?" he was measuring the lengths and widths of kitchen cabinets to install new ones.
Zubie observed his skillful movements, she said, "you know I told you I don't have any money for new installation."
He chuckled, standing up from his spot on the ground, "and I told you I don't want money, I just want experience working on something so majestic. It's a shame this place was not taken care of properly."
"What about all the expenses? I'm sure the materials cost money."
"My da owns a wood shop, most of the materials I'll use are the trash to him but treasure to me." after a pause a spoke, "I always wanted to visit this place, but ma spooked the hell out of us when we were young."
"Your ma seems like a really sweet lady."
"Oh no, she might look sweet but she is a force to be reckoned with. One time she made me run laps around the town because I accidentally dropped her egg crates. Needless to say, I never touched an egg again." he ends his story with a smile.
Zubie's melodic chuckle resonated with the walls of the manor, "Aw, those poor eggs..."
"Nah, my poor legs. But my father's punishment methods are more brutal."
"How come?"
"You see, one time I had to pull the small boat all across the lake just because I broke his favorite antique piece." His expression turned serious, "almost drowned myself to death that day... He said, a man is not a man if he can't adapt to the hardships."
"Oh..."
"But!" he exclaimed, "if it wasn't for their tough training gave me my two precious assets..." he smiled mischievously.
"What are those?"
"My biceps!" he flexed his arms, striking a pose that was more hilarious than intimidating.
"I don't know what to say to that..."
(---------------------------------)
Zubie spent the rest of the day cleaning the rooms of the rooms she may use in the future. Abram on the other hand worked in the kitchen, he did not just repair it but also brutally murdered a few dozen of cockroaches and rats that Zubie was thankful for. He recommended setting mouse traps around the house.
Zubie did not see Aurelius for the rest of the day. She was wondering what he might be up to. Abram's company was delightful, he was outgoing, a little slow at times. She was surprised to learn Abram never had a higher education, but he can learn and write, and from his conduct, no one can tell he is a school dropout.
As the sun dropped lower in the sky, Abram decided to take leave but Zubie insisted that he should at least eat dinner with her but he refused, saying his ma made chicken and rice hotpot for dinner and he will never miss it. He also invited her to eat with his family.
When Abram left, Zubie went down to the basement level to take a look at the laboratory. She inspected the equipment with a fast eye. Just as expected most of the tools were outdated and old. And on top of that, they were covered in years of dirt and grime.
She must clean this place before executing any experiments. Too exhausted from scrubbing the floors, she agreed on cleaning the laboratory the next day.
Zubie went directly to her room, holding an oil lantern as electricity was nonexistent in the manor. Her eyes surveying, searching for a mop of white hair. But he was nowhere to be found. Too tired to care, Zubie falls asleep as soon as her head touches the newly washed pillow cover.
(------------------------------------)
The morning came rather quickly, she was awakened by footsteps outside her door. She left her bed and opened the door. Aurelius was standing in front of the door, giving her a scare.
"What the---why are you standing in front of my door like that? Is there a problem?"
"Yes, there seems to be an issue."
"What?"
"I just happen to come across a murder."
"What! Where!? Who killed who!?" Zubie followed him outside, and Aurelius lead her to the back of the manor.
"The rodents residing in this manor seemed to have died a mysterious death." he points at the dead bodies of the rats that Abram killed yesterday.
"I don't see anything natural about their death, seems like a planned murder." Zubie decided to play along.
"They were a nice family of rodents, I hope they find peace in the afterlife unlike me," Aurelius spoke, he looked remorseful for the death of a bunch of rats.
Zubie felt she needed to do something about this, "we should give them a proper burial, don't you think?"
Aurelius's eyes met hers, he said, "that'll be nice, but I don't know how to dig,"
"Lemme teach you," she went inside and came back with a shovel and some plastic gloves for herself, ghosts don't need to worry about getting filthy, do they?
"See, this is a shovel and you dig ground with this," she grabbed the shovel in a correct position, "your one hand goes here and the other here and then you push with as much strength as possible..." she shoved it into the ground, pulling it back up and throwing the dirt to the side and repeating the action.
"I think I get it now, let me try." Zubie passed the shovel to him, standing beside him.
His stance was awkward, to say the least, Zubie wondered how he was brought up in his life to not know how to use a shovel properly. She spoke, "you are doing it wrong."
Zubie walked up to him and placed a hand over his shoulder, "move back a little, it'll be hard doing it from this angle."
"Alright," he followed her command. After digging a hole big enough to fit a family of the rodents, Aurelius placed them in and covered the hole with mud. Zubie watched him from a distance, smiling at his small act of sympathy for the dead.