I remember the first time that I saw a ghost.
I was twelve, and it was after school. On a Tuesday.
I was waiting for my mom to pick me up, and it was raining. A lot.
She was late, which wasn't normal for her, but after waiting thirty-seven minutes exactly I decided she wasn't coming and started poking a hole in the giant trash bag I had in my hands.
It was dark that day, with the rain clouds all heavy, and I had a long walk home. I had forgotten my umbrella, so wearing that trash bag like a poncho was the best way to make sure all my stuff didn't get wet.
Dad was very strict on me keeping my clothes presentable - I don't blame him. He's been working hard to provide for us since arriving in America, so coming home dirty or beat up would send him into an absolute rage, which I did not want to deal with. Normally, I would cross the football field onto Franklin Terrace to get home, but seeing as it was all muddy, I took Skyler Street instead, which would've sent Mom into a rage.
Growing up she always told me to be careful with intersections - I found out later in life that her youngest sister had been run over by a US military vehicle post-Korean War, while waiting at an intersection, and never felt safe about them again.
She had every right to be afraid of this intersection.
Growing up in the 90s, traffic signals on busy ass streets like Franklin and Skyler would usually have a crossing guard during after school hours, but it was late and the guard had taken off due to the weather. What made it so dangerous was because Franklin Street was this steep hill that bended right before meeting Skyler. Before speed bumps were put down to force drivers to slow down out-of-towners would blitz down not realizing how steep Franklin really was, or the bend that obstructed your view of the oncoming traffic signal.
Crossing the Everton Flats apartment complex, I really should've been focused on that intersection, but instead I was busy avoiding all the puddles in front of me. So much so that I didn't realize the larger one built up on the sidewalk - that is, until a car drove through it.
I abruptly stopped as the water crashed up and curled, like a tidal wave. It should've been the coolest thing I've ever seen, but as the wave tunnel was forming I caught my first glimpse of something that truly changed my life forever.
What was it?
Some... kid with her back towards me, wearing a school uniform I'd never seen before. She began to look over her shoulder but, before I could see her face, the water crashed down and she was gone.
Gone?
Yeah. Gone. Snap Just like that.
Even as a kid, I was in disbelief, but before I could process what I saw a car honked at me. Thinking back I'm sure it's because they didn't want to hit me with the puddle, but it was enough to scare me more than I already was and I just took off running.
When I stopped to catch my breath, I glanced up at the large windows of Joan's Beauty next to the corner store and, in the reflection of the street scene behind me, was that same girl again. This time, however, she was standing next to me, with her dark hair dripping wet.
But nobody was there when I looked next to me.
….
I know that look, I've seen it thousands of times before: you don't believe me. Honestly, I don't blame you, I wouldn't believe me - but I swear to you, I saw what I saw. Some girl, drifting from window panel to window panel, from Joan's Beauty to the corner store on Franklin Terrace.
Drift?
Yeah, drift. It's the best word to explain it. She wasn't walking but... floating. I watched her stop at the window, her eyes never leaving mine, as if she was testing me.
…. Testing you? Testing you for what?
To see if I could really see her.
At first, she had this sad, almost pleading look of disbelief on her face as she approached me from the window. I felt this sudden chill over me and before you knew it she appeared right next to me from out of the reflection. She tilted her head and reached out, almost to see if she could touch me, before looking back toward the street.
Then, just as the traffic signal turned yellow, she started to cross.
The further she got from me, the more I regained my bearings because I jolted awake to tires screeching on the slick wet road, and knew an out-of-towner was speeding down Franklin. But she started crossing anyway, oblivious to the danger and the next thing I knew, I was sprinting.
Hard. To stop her. My foot slipped out of my shoe as I screamed for her…. reached out to try and grab her, but just as she seemed within reach -
FLICK
"Why is it so dark in here," a soft voice asked as the light turned on before gasping, "Are y'all watching that Avery Kim interrogation?"
"Yeah Carl," a man responded, who acted as if he was on the receiving end of a military-grade flash-bang, before sarcastically muttering, "Feel free to come on in without knocking."
"Why? What are y'all up to?" Carl inquired with a curious tone.
"Newsum's thinking about taking him on as a client," Derek answered with a sarcastic smile as he rolled his chair back to reveal Sarah Newsum sitting in an office chair hugging her knees. Her strawberry hair was tied up in a messy bun, and Carl was sure that she wore that same blouse yesterday.
"No! Girl, you're kidding!? T-the Ghostbuster himself?!" Carl shrieked, his voice betraying his true emotions of excitement. "We all thought y'all were hooking up in here!"
The older lawyer grimaced, shaking his head before turning toward Sarah who shot him a death stare behind her big square glasses. "We were just killing time. Nobody's taking this seriously."
"Yes we are," Sarah threatened as she paused the video, causing Carl and Derek to share a look - devious for Carl, and worried for Derek.
"What the hell is going on?" Carl asked with a mischievous smirk.
"Beats me," Derek coolly replied as he leaned back into that old office chair. He had a striking presence compared to Carl, who was robust and playful, by composing himself in many situations. It came with sharing the same last name as the owner.
"Well, don't mind me guys, press play!" Carl said as he leaned on the back of both their chairs, much to Derek's chagrin, as Sarah pressed the spacebar to resume the video.
CLICK
Avery was leaning on the armrest, clearly thinking before speaking. "The driver said that I had just dove out into the street, which Ms. Joan witnessed."
There was a pause as Avery appeared to gather his thoughts. "That night caused a lot of stress on my parents."
Avery leaned forward, and for the first time Sarah took a good look at him and immediately noticed that he looked way younger than he was, with his frizzled black hair, round eyes, high cheekbones and soft looking skin. The detective, on the other hand, could not be seen on the footage.
"What kind of stress?"
"Doctors believe I suffered a brain injury from the accident and began sending me to specialists," Avery explained, his voice steady despite the gravity of his words. "They ran all sorts of tests on me from MRIs to CAT scans, dog scans, you name it… they did it all, and we didn't have insurance-"
PAUSE
"Hey, it was getting good," Carl protested, looking down at both Sarah and Derek.
"I think I've seen enough," Derek said before Sarah started it again. He paused it a second time. "What's your angle here, Newsum, huh? Why are you thinking of doing this?"
Sarah remained quiet, her arms crossed defensively.
"Doesn't matter, I'm putting an end to this," Derek said firmly, his tone dripping with a no-nonsense authority. "You are not taking on this client."
"No you're not," Sarah responded bluntly, her tone almost childish in defiance before confusing the order to which she was responding. "Yes, I am."
"Oh yeah, and why's that?" Derek asked with a raised eyebrow, his expression a challenge.
"Because I may have evidence..." Sarah trailed off, her eyes avoiding Derek's at the ridiculousness of her words. "Of Avery's innocence…."
"Evidence?" Derek questioned, his voice growing condescending. "Don't be ridiculous Newsum, evidence of what? Avery's ability to see ghosts?"
In that moment, Sarah's eyes met Derek's combatively. "Yup."
"How?"
"His videographer, Duke Wes." Suddenly, Sarah felt her confidence growing. "Yeah, claims that he has irrefutable proof that Avery can see ghosts."
Derek smirked. "Bullshit."
"Nope," Sarah responded. "I-in fact, he's the one who sent me this clip. Yeah, told me no lawyer in Vegas was willing to even give him a meeting about Avery Kim."
".... Sarah, no. End of discussion. Get out."
"W-wait!"
Derek sighed as she clung onto his coat tails. "Please let go Sarah, this is a very expensive suit."
"Derek," Sarah pleaded, her voice serious this time. "Please?"
Derek freed his suit jacket by tugging on it before looking over at Carl, who also gave pleading eyes. "Give me one good reason, besides money, on why you want to take this case."
Sarah's eyes flashed, her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Irrefutable evidence, Derek!"
Both Carl and Derek were taken back by Sarah's sudden burst of passion. Her voice quivered with a mix of frustration and determination.
"A man e-mails a lawyer asking to represent his friend," Sarah started, her voice low, "who he claims is innocent, and has undeniable evidence to support it."
Derek softened his gaze, turning towards Carl who's expression clearly sided with Sarah.
"You're telling me you don't have time to hear him out?!"
Derek sighed in defeat. "Calm down, alright? Fine, you win. Let's have a meeting. No guarantees, though. Then, we will put an end to all of this."
"Thank you Derek!"
"Now, get out of my office."
Sarah and Carl happily obliged and got ready to leave but Derek hinted at Carl to hang back.
"Find out what you can about this Duke Wes. Call the other firms, see if he's a waste of time. Got it?"
"Got it."