Skylar Woods was going to be somebody in life. There was nothing much about her short-lived life, except agony. Agony resided in her. She was diagnosed with bipolar depression and was on antidepressants. Her classmates teased her, calling a maniac girl with episodes. She was a victim of bullying. Her parents were too busy with their lives not notice that she was suffering on her own. She could sit in a dark room, lock herself up and cry like somebody had died.

Her step mum Beth, was a brute of a woman who dehumanized Skylar. She treated her like dirt, calling her the child of a looney woman. Her mother was in an asylum, she was cationic and the evil step mum knew what she had done to Skylar’s mum. It did not end there, Skylar’s boyfriend, Will cheated on her with her best friend Cleo. Skylar could not take it anymore. She took a rope and hung herself.

Her tragic death taught others that life is too short while others made a joke out of this. Beth feigned being extremely affected by Skylar’s sudden death. She said, “Oh! I am so deeply sad for the loss of my stepdaughter. She meant a lot to me. She… Oh I can’t continue; the grief is overwhelming. It’s too much for me.” What a wonderful stage act. She could be the next Angelina Jolie. She had even put eye drops to fake the tears.

Mr Woods cried at seeing his only child laying there and cold blooded. He said, “I failed you Skylar and your mom. I love you and I think I am not ready to accept that you are truly gone. You still live on inside my head. I refuse to let you go.” It was really sad for a parent to bury their child.

He kissed her forehead for the last time. The coffin went down and she was now six feet under. That night of her death Beth just came from celebrating the death of Skylar. She reeked of alcohol and Mr Woods had gone to his parent’s place for a few weeks just to recuperate from all this.

She sang, “The mother in the asylum and the daughter d-dead. How sweet that sounds.” She took off her high heels. Suddenly the light went on and off. She saw a shadow-figure that resembled a human with long hair rushing to the kitchen. Her heart raced and she felt like a sitting duck. She heard a knock on the door. She rushed to open it and it was her younger lover, Liam.

Liam was a 22-year-old having an affair with a middle aged woman like Beth.

“Thank goodness you are here. I just buried my stepdaughter and my husband is mourning. I am mourning by doing this,” she said kissing the young man.

He said, “Go upstairs and put on something sexy, like that lingerie I bought for you.”

“You are naughty and I like that,” she said. He spanked her on the booty and she ran upstairs to her bedroom.

She was busy putting on that red lace lingerie when she heard unusual footsteps coming towards her room. She called out for Liam but there was no answer.

“Liam, is that you?” She asked.

She heard music coming from the other room which belonged to Skylar; the same room that Skylar hung herself to death in. She went to check what was going on. She found a radio playing on its own. She switched off the radio and as she was about to walk out the door, it switched itself on again. She panicked and wondered how a radio could play by itself and then she heard Skylar’s voice on the radio speaking to her.

“I am dead but that does not mean I can’t have my revenge. I am coming for you Beth. Nice lingerie by the way. Your lover boy is kind of cute and the question is, would he still find you attractive if I scratch your eyes out and gouge them out with my mouth.”

“You are dead. We buried you,” she said petrified.

“Nice acting by the way. You deserve an Oscar. I mean like for real. Eye drops for fake tears? Damn! that was classic. Ha-ha! who is laughing now. It is me,” the voice said.

The lights were flickering and Liam said, “She needs an electrician. Her lights are flickering. Only Lord knows what is taking her long.”

He looked at his wrist watch, noticing that it was almost ten o’clock at night. He poured himself a martini. The dogs outside were barking and howling in a very strange way that got Liam shivering. He felt a sudden cold in the room as if he was in a refrigerator.

“What’s happening?” He asked. He saw a girl with long messy black hair that hid her face.

“You better run for your life. If you value it,” she said with an evil smirk.

He knew that girl was no ordinary being. She was a paranormal being and he opened the door and left with fear all over his face, adrenaline rushing out. It was a fight or flight situation. He chose to flee, leaving his old cougar behind.

Then next morning Beth woke up lying on Skylar’s grave at the cemetery. She was shocked.

“How did I get here?”

She found a small note:

Dear Step mummy. You really made my day yesterday. You look pretty when you’re shivering like a little girl. You got lucky. Next time you will wake up on your very own freshly dug grave. Yours truly, The dead girl.

She ran to the police station to report that she had received a death threat.

Police officer asked, “Do you have any suspects who might be capable of this?”

“My dead stepdaughter did all of this to get back at me,” she said.

The officer laughed. “Tell me you are bluffing. How can a dead girl write all this or even drag a grown-ass woman like you to the grave? Do you know fabricating or wasting police resources is a serious offence? I could charge you for this but I wouldn’t do that to a beautiful woman like you parading in lingerie. If you want me not to charge you, let’s have a one night stand.”

She slapped him. “In your dreams, pervert.”

She could not sleep anymore as she saw Skylar in her dreams or just standing there. She burnt sage to exorcise an evil spirit. She even cleansed the house but the results were totally demise. She cried.

“What do you want from me? Tell me. I can’t live like this.”

“You are a wise woman. I never thought you would figure out what to ask. I want revenge and I want you to confess all of your sins to dad, that you were having an affair and you are the one who was drugging mum. Tell him every single lie you were keeping from him.”

“Why are you doing all this?” She asked.

“You know why and I do not have to remind you. If I had to do that I will have to kill you first. Do you know how it feels like to be all alone and die all alone? All I see is darkness and I am darkness itself.”

Skylar haunted everyone who ever hurt her. Her mom came out of her condition and realised that her daughter was dead; she had been dead for months. She did not even attend the funeral and it felt like a nightmare but it was real. She could have dreamt of Skylar being trapped in the darkness. This is what happens when you are holding somebody back. Maybe someday Skylar will see the light and cross over.

***

Tell us: Have you ever seen a ghost? What did it look like and how did you feel/react?