Reading last night’s story isn’t exactly essential, but it’s short and it’s exactly where we’re starting tonight. Not a part 2.. more like what happened next.
As she reached for the doorknob, the deadbolt clicked in place. She tried the lock, but it wouldn’t budge.
The lights turned off all at once.
In the darkness, Julie held her breath. The kitchen light flickered on unnaturally. She watched as the magnetic poetry words moved on their own, the cloud of words spreading into a frame around a single sentence.
“You won’t leave again.”
The lights went dark again.
And then the lights came up again. Standing in front of the refrigerator, blocking the ominous words stood a short, stocky, middle-aged man with a halo of graying hair around a bald pate and matching bushy gray mustache. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” he said, holding up his hands palms out. “Let’s dial it back about a thousand notches, there, Carl.”
The door to Julie’s bedroom slammed shut.
“Jesus, Carl, settle down already!” He yelled towards the door. “Ma’am, I’m really sorry for my friend, here…”
“Who… who are you?” Julie managed to say.
“What? Oh, I’m Joe, ma’am. I’m the super.” At that point the cabinet doors started opening and closing wildly. “Carl!” Joe bellowed. “If I have to come over there…”
The cabinets continued opening and closing chaotically.
“That’s it, Carl…” Then, to Julie, “Pardon me, ma’am…” And he disappeared.
A moment later, the cabinets stopped moving, some still open, some closed. Julie stood rooted to the spot, her breath coming in fearful gasps as she stared into her kitchen. “What. The. He—”
“I’m sorry about that, ma’am,” Joe’s voice came from behind her and she literally jumped and spun to face the short balding ghost. “Oh, geez! Sorry again! I didn’t mean to scare you, especially after Carl…”
“Carl? I don’t understand…”
“Yeah, I can understand that, ma’am. You’re new here, right?”
Julie nodded slowly. “About two months.”
“Uh huh,” Joe said. “Carl’s pretty new, too. He’s only been dead about six months. He’s still holding on to his issues from when he was alive.”
“W-what issues did he have when he was alive?”
“Umm…” Joe furrowed his brow and bit his lip. “…Let’s just say he had an unhealthy relationship that ended poorly… for both of them.”
“Oh my God…” Julie said, now terrified of a homicidal ghost.
“No, no, no!” Joe said quickly. “You’ve got nothing to worry about ma’am.”
“Julie.”
“Sorry?”
“My name is Julie.”
“Oh, yeah, okay. Ma’am, err, Julie. You don’t have anything to worry about. I just had a… talk with Carl,” he winked conspiratorially. “He’s not allowed here anymore. He’s now going to be stuck in the empty apartment 3B right above you – you might hear some footsteps up there, but that’s all. He can’t come down here. You’re safe.”
“How… Who are you?”
“I’m Joe, the super, ma’am—uh, Julie.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head slowly. “I met the super. Tony. He’s very much alive and… everything…” she gestured to Joe’s translucent body.
“Oh, right, yeah, that’s understandable. Tony is the super these days. Great kid… I knew his parents – they lived up in 5D, wow, must have been thirty years ago. Before Tony, you understand. Now that I think about it, it’s funny he works at the building his parents lived in before he was born. Huh. Strange world, right?”
“Tony is the super…” Julie repeated.
“Oh, that’s right,” Joe smacked his head. “I get sidetracked these days. You’re right, Tony is the super for the living. I was the super for thirty years before I died – fixing the boiler downstairs, I might add. Since then I’ve stayed on as kind of a super for the supernatural.” He laughed, “Ha! I just thought of that! Super of the supernatural. I should get that on a business card…”
“What does that mean?” Julie asked.
“It means that when some young ghost like Carl goes messing with the living, I have to straighten him out. You see, this building is over a hundred years old. There’s been a lot of life here. And some death (ask me about that damn boiler sometime). Someone needs to make sure that the ghosts here behave.”
Julie sat down on her couch, only then remembering she was still in her bathrobe. “This is a lot to take in…”
“I know, I know. Take your time… You seem like a really good tenant. I’d hate for you to go. Tell you what, Burt haunts 2C next door. He was a doorman for a place up on East 57th Street for years. I’ll have him check your door and your windows – the things that Carl did that were helpful. But he won’t come in. Won’t make a sound – he was a great doorman.”
“Oh… Okay.” Julie nodded.
“Thank you, ma’am—Julie. I’ll be on my way then.” As he reached the front door he stopped and added, “Oh, if you need anything – even stuff Tony can fix – just write it down and leave it on the table. I’ll make sure it gets taken care of.”
“Thanks…” Julie said.
“Oh course. Have a good evening,” Joe said as he turned and walked through the door.
Julie sat in her quiet apartment, alone – truly alone. Suddenly she really appreciated the quietude.
