This wasn’t the story I was going to write tonight, but the night got away from me

“Sam, where are we going anyway?” Melissa asked as the blonde ghost led her towards the cemetery gates.

“I’m going to level with you, Mel,” Sam said without slowing, “I have no idea. But I’m taking you out of this place. We’ll figure it out once we’re beyond the gates.”

“Uh… okay,” Melissa said with trepidation. “Oh, look!” She tugged on Sam’s sleeve. “That’s the old guy who comes and sits by his wife’s grave,” she pointed to an elderly man in a threadbare brown tweed jacket sitting on a folding chair next to a marble headstone.

“That guy?” Sam stopped, pointing.

“Yeah,” Melissa confirmed. “Isn’t it sweet?” she swooned.

Sam gave her a look, shook her head, and started walking towards the gates again. “Mel, you’ve got a lot to learn…”

The man in the tweed jacket watched the two ghosts go and then spoke to the grave. “Did you hear that? That new ghost thinks you’re my wife!” He chuckled as a low groan rose up from the grave. Then a translucent gnarled hand reached out from the ground and the groaning rose in pitch. A second hand emerged from the grave, its long bony fingers flexing experimentally.

Before either arm rose beyond mid forearm, the old man casually reached into the paper bag next to him and tossed a handful of salt onto the grave. The salt crystals hissed as they contacted the grave while the crystals that touched the translucent hands sparked into tiny flares and the low groan turned into a shriek of pain as the two hands were pulled quickly back into the earth.

“When in fact you’re an unspeakable evil, aren’t you? As long as I’m around I’ll make sure you never escape the confines of that grave to steal any more souls, you foul revenant.”

He smiled as a little boy and his mom walked by. “Come on, Kyle,” she said to the boy. “Grandma is just over here.” The woman met the man’s eyes and smiled. “Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning,” the old man smiled back and threw another handful of salt onto the grave after they passed. A muffled shriek came from deep within the earth and he smiled more broadly.