Ghosts. Part four.

The sand has a way of getting into anything. The shower drain of the dinky motel begins to clog with it as the water bounces off our bodies, to be clean, and unclean. She steps out of the shower before I do. I let the downpour spray into my face, testing the capabilities of the water heater to keep the supply of hot H2O coming. After some time my fingers begin to prune. I shut the water off, still hot. Steam covers the mirror, I do myself the favor and leave it covered. I wrap the towel around my waist and step from the bathroom dripping wet. Yumi lays on the bed nude, flipping through the channels on the TV. Voices cut in and out as the blue light washes over her skin. She shimmers, almost as if she wasn’t there, but there. I walk to the bed leaving wet footprints on the carpet. Sitting down I slip into the clothes we bought at a nearby thrift store. “You getting dressed?” I ask, though honestly, I didn’t want her too. “In a minute.” She answers in a monotone voice. I walk to the window and slide open one of the thick curtains. The morning light comes in, I feel the warmth of it on my chest as I button up my shirt. “Want to get brunch?” I ask turning to her. She sits up from the bed “Your Mom isn’t sitting in the car is she?” My smirk turns into a frown. I mumble “I wish.” to myself.

The diner is old and character oozes from the walls. “What can I get started for you folks, or do you need more time?” The elderly women asks without a bit of age to her voice. “Two coffees!” Yumi squeaks. “You got it, hun, say have you two been in here before?” We exchange glances then in sync shake our heads ‘no’. “Well, I be darned, guess old age is catching up to me after all.” She walks off to fetch the coffees. Yumi stares at the menu, not giving the moment a second chance, all the while it eats away at my insides, extinguishing my appetite.

She bolts to the car like a child, pulling at the driver side door but nothing happens. “I’ll drive!” she shouts. “Do you know how?” I ask walking next to her. She gives pouting lips and walks around the car. Sticking the key into the lock “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you.” her pout turns into a smile.

I’m a terrible teacher. “Is it bad!?” she asks hanging out the driver side window. I pick up a piece of red plastic that used to be the taillight as I examine the twisted remains of the backend. “It’s not too bad. I think that’s the end of the lessons for now, though.” She jumps out of the window and walks over to review the damage herself. “No, not the red thing!” She looks utterly shocked. “No worries really, it can be fixed.” Walking up to me he gives me a sympathy hug. “I’m sorry I broke your car.” I hug her back. “It’s alright.” We leave the parking lot with a dangling plate and one taillight still intact.

We drive down the coastal road as she hums while writing in the tiny notebook. “So what do you want to do now?” I ask. Yawning a little she clicks off the radio to speak. “I kinda want to go back to your place.” I must have looked confused because she elaborated. “It interests me, to see where you live day to day.” I think of the envelopes and empty bottles. “You sure?” She takes her time to answer, cranking the window down. The rushing air almost masks her response. “Yes, I am.” Too drawn into her, I don’t notice the highway patrol behind us with flashing lights for some time.

With the car off, the sound of the gravel crunching under his boots as he approaches is almost deafening. With one hand on his sidearm the other on the car, he leans in the window. “Do’ya know why I pulled you over?” Before I can get a word in Yumi guesses. “Is it the broken red, oh what was it, is it the broken red light?” His face curls into a smile “No mam, you two seem as if you misplaced your plates. Can I get your ID and registration?” I begin to reach for my wallet when he does a double-take into the backseat. “Sir, I’m going to need you to step out of the car.” His voice is stern and serious. He backs from the door as I reach for the handle. The car comes to life, I hear the gearshift thud. By the time the officer or I have any idea what’s happening Yumi is stomping on the gas.

I take the wheel, looking in the rearview mirror I watch as his much newer and faster car catches up to us. I try to take the winding turns at this speed, but the car is built for straightaways, not turns. “Why, why would you do that!? Should I pull over? Oh, fuck!” The turns become sharper and harder to manage. “I’m sorry, you just don’t follow them anywhere, it’s not safe!” She shouts back. I look over to her once, then two more times. “Put you buckle on!”  I yell. She struggles with it in the corner of my eye, one last turn, and the forces slide her next to me. The road opens up, the V8 roars a monster’s sound as I push all my might into it. “Make us disappear, use your lighter!” She fishes into my pocket pulling out the device. “It’s not that easy! Someone could get hurt!” ignoring me she wedges the lighter into my hand, causing us to jerk into oncoming traffic. Placing her arms around my neck she yells over the sound of the car. “Do it!”. I grip the device, I think of her, I think of the car, I think of the lake.

The car barrels down the dirt road. I push both my legs onto the brake. The moonlight ripples on the ever closing water. We hit the lake at a slow enough speed not to hurt, but enough to stop. A pause for a moment shocked that it worked. Opening the door with a hard shove water flows into the car. I help her out as the cold liquid licks my ankles. “Are you okay?” I ask. Splashing down she turns to face me. “We’re fuck-ups…” She was probably going to say something else, but dammit if there was ever a time for a kiss, this was it.

We part lips in her apartment. “What about going to your house?” she asks even though she flops down onto her bed. “I think I’ve had a bit too much excitement for the day.” She smirks and motions me closer. I feel her hand slide into my pocket, but there were other things worth feeling. I bite my tongue so I would stop. “Goodnight.” I say as her body disappears from underneath me.

The hardwood has a chill to it as I stand myself up. A green LED flashes from the cell phone on the table. Picking it up, the bright screen makes me squint. 3 missed calls. I check my messages as I walk to my room to undress. “Hey, I don’t know why you would call me and not say anything. It hurts to see you like that. I don’t understand…” the voice drifts away as I pull the tiny paper from my pocket. I throw the phone on the bed and click on the light. In tight handwriting she filled the tiny paper.

we drift in then out
of the night is ours to take
we simmer like vapors
let into a draft somewhere
we become solid at will
to take each other
we are ghosts
in a life unwitting and unwinding
we are ghosts
of the night is ours to take
we become solid at will
let into a draft somewhere
we simmer like vapors
to take each other
we drift in then out
in a life unwitting and unwinding

I guess I can say now, what I couldn’t say then, or maybe even later. We are haunted by our past or future. A haunting that changes us to the good or bad, but us. Even now I whisper to myself “We are ghosts.”

-Karl