The 'Ghost' Writer

Sarah stares off into the distance as her computer screen dims into a near blackness. It's cold and awfully quiet. The night seems to have slept through even the sirens from Pratkin's ambulances. Her face distorts into a loud yawn before her index taps on the keyboard once again. The screen seems to jolt as the light flashes on and adjusts to the dark room. Her eyes droop into a slim crescent as her fingers slowly return to the email that seems to delete itself with each word she manages. The darkness of her office seems to deepen into a shade of navy when it's suddenly interrupted by the soft glow of Sarah's moon lamp. Her head falls against her will and lands straight onto the keyboard, cold from the fall breath. Her eyes shut and a gentle snore follows and the email which was never sent disappears into the dark night.

Dawn arrives with dew on the basils which sit on the balcony and Sarah starts her day with a session of stretching. Her head seems to pound into her skull as she makes her way upstairs to brew a cup of coffee. Caffeine is her only friend today. As she almost slips down the stairs, her mind begins to expand with the checklist of her day. Her best friend Jamie's birthday present...the lightbulb that needs to be fixed...her laundry that has been rotting for days...the email that she never sent...the email! How could she have forgotten? Sarah nearly flies to the computer and it jolts once again. Her fingers scramble to memorize the new password she set and finally, she sees the unfinished email. But wait, it's done. Its more than done, there are attachments of her project and even suggestions to the boss. She never did this last night. Her brows pinch as she scrolls through the email. Sarah doesn't know if she should be happy or concerned but either way, she clicks 'send' and stares at the 'Sent!' notification until all she can see are the rest of her unattended emails.

___

Two months had passed and ever since then, this forever benevolent being has caught Sarah up on every risky deadline. It had become part of her agenda to leave her computer open every night for her anonymous assistant to complete. Of course she wondered who this being was, but Sarah had tried so hard just to get her job and she wasn't about to lose it by wasting time investigating an invisible writer. And so, life went on, easier for Sarah and increasingly harder for this 'ghost' writer. It wasn't until the day that Sarah got an email from Holly's publishing that she knew she swam too far into the deep end.

"Miss. James, could you share what your thought process was throughout the project?"

Sarah's head feels like it's seconds from imploding as she gets hit with questions that feel like daggers to her temple. Each one a reminder that this work is not her own. It never was, she didn't even know about it until she received that email from two weeks ago. Of course she was excited when she saw that she'd been chosen by a publisher but when 'her' book started to make it into mainstream media as a "breakthrough in supernatural novels" she started to panic. She didn't write, or even submit any of it. Whatever work she gave to her 'editor' to finish, it was never this.

The interviewer is still staring at her with eyes so wide that is feels like her pupils only grow smaller. Sarah can feel her icy palms against her lap. She lets out a long sigh.

"There's something I need to confess."

___

"Cut! Can we cut the cameras please!"

Sarah slumps in her chair as the interviewer brushes her golden wave over her shoulder and flips through the script in her hand, she's checking off things in some places and scrawling words in separate places with so much force that the paper dents. Then, with one swift movement, she turns the chair around, drops the script onto the table next to her and locks eyes with Sarah. Her eyeshadow is in a stubborn, shimmery pink and it makes her eyes look like they're glowing.

"That was not what I thought you were going to say but can I be honest with you?"

Sarah leans in as Marina's voice dims into an airy tone.

"I have a ghost too."

Sarah is about to answer when the bustle in the room is cut with a sharp, demanding voice.

"Continue the interview! Marina! Make her elaborate!"

The director drew nearer and nearer.

"We can make headlines with that." He gave a disgustingly wide smile.

"Yes director"

And so, the interview went on.

___

"Miss James, is everything you said in the interview with the Weekly News Station true?"

"Miss James, you're lying are you not?"

"Miss James, have you spoken with your ghost?"

"So technically, you plagiarized?"

Sarah's head is down and she is nearly shoved into the black SUV that's parked outside her work building. It wasn't the wrong thing to tell the world that she wasn't the author of her own work, but it was also the most emotionally draining decision. Media is knocking on the windows of the car and she sees cameras attempting to shove themselves at her face. It's horrible, having your life taken from you. She's now jobless, and she can't even stay at her studio home because her address was leaked. The engine growls as the car begins to speed for the road and before Sarah knows it, she's in front of Aqua hotel. Marina is sitting on a chair in the lobby when Sarah walks in and she gives her a smile. It'd been long since they last met, it was after the interview when Marina pulled her aside for a talk over lunch. The scene still played vividly in Sarah's memory, after all, it was the last time she got to enjoy a lunch like that.

"How are you doing Sarah?"

"Not so well." Sarah manages a smile behind her black mask but it feels like her muscled are waging a war as she pushes the corners of her lips upward.

"I can really help you. Trust me."

Sarah looks up at Marina and she doesn't know what to say. They just stand there listening to the loud AC and the sound of suitcases rolling in.

___

"I've always had an obsession with getting everything done all at once, you know? Always wanted to be commended for it. But the industry is just not a great place."

They're in a hotel room now and Marina takes long drink from her glass of whiskey.

"I kind of just laid off for a while and let people take what was mine. Then one day, the same thing happened to me. Everyone was talking about the article and apparently, it held some sort of relevance to the audience."

Sarah looks at her glass.

"So, you never told anyone?"

"No, I didn't."

"Does it ever make you feel guilty?"

Marina's glass makes a soft chime as she sets it back onto the table. She pulls her leg up onto the velvet chair.

"It doesn't. If there's anything I've learned, it's that everyone wants leverage. if you're desperate enough, that leverage will forever end up in your hands. What defines you is how you use it."

Sarah lets out a sigh as she tilts her head back to look at the carved ceiling. There are flowers and angels detailed on the corners of the walls. It looks very grand.

"Sarah, use your leverage, take advantage of it. But don't spoil yourself with it. It's not right and look where that has gotten you."

Sarah sits up and looks at Mariana and then down to her whiskey again.

She mutters under her breath, "Don't spoil yourself with it."

___

Anonymous: 9/31/24

"Is this legit?"

Margaret T: 9/27/24

"This is just ridiculous, I can't believe she's still allowed to publish"

Mathew: 9/28/24

"Honestly, I don't understand why she's getting so much hate. She might not have written 'Ghouls and Girls' but she seems genuinely sorry"

Sarah is reading the comments on her latest publishing and she sits back as she stares at the cover of her new book: "The 'Ghost' Writer" She's back in her studio again and as her 10 o'clock alarm beckons her to bed, she opens her notes app and makes sure to type in one last thing: "Please edit the first chapter of book #2. Thx!"