Unnatural Paranormal

This story is about a girl, Janice who weeps after the death of her father. Jacob was engaged in a car accident leaving him with a certain brain dysfunction. The accident took place when Nancy was at work. Her dad went to fetch his old retired documents before he was hit by an unknown car. However the person who ran over Jacob was not found and there wasn't any evidence left behind. Plus the officers around her weren't that supportive and intelligent. After the failure of his surgery, Janice had to watch her father lay on his hospital bed lifeless and decayed with useless oxygen supply and poorly dedicated doctors who gave false hope.       

Fast forward to a year, and she experiences her father’s presence in the house. She believed in God and the miracles performed back in the old days, but she also believed in the devil, and she couldn’t distinguish whether his presence was on the angel’s side or the dark satin.

Janice walks through her hallway and notices her dad.

Janice: Dad! What kind of food do they serve in heaven?

Jacob: Almost the same as what your mother serves sweetheart. But less saltier [chuckles]

Janice: Well anyways, I wanted to ask you something?

Jacob: What is it my child?                                                              

Janice: Are you indeed real? Like I don’t know if I’m dreaming. I feel lethargic and hopeless to think whether you are real or just me [cries]

Jacob: The apple tree is rotting outside.   

Janice: What? I don’t understand.

Jacob vanishes through the opposite room next to him. Jacob exits

Janice: Dad where did you go? What the hell [gasping heavily] I need to run my blood pressure test, Jesus Christ.   

The act of her father appearing and disappearing has been occurring for months. It was strange though as he only spoke very little and manages to fade away in front of his daughter.

The first time her dad confronted Janice, she suffered a stroke and was taken to the same hospital (where her father passed away) by her colleague Nancy. During her time at the hospital, she comes across his presence again but this time she was cool and composed that she accepted the fact there was a figure that was lingering across her room where she lay in the bed. The face looked exactly like he was alive and fresh. But his lower body depicted a ghost floating in the air.

She unquestionably knew that the room she was admitted in wasn’t her father’s. Unless the entire hospital was cursed by her dad which in that case, why would it only be Janice and not the other patients?    

Now at that time, there wasn’t a conversation between the two – it was more like a person who moved into a new house and discovered his neighbor next window and made eye contact and had given a hand gesture without opening the window and having a conversation.

Perhaps when Janice returned from the hospital she wondered if her father’s ‘after death’ existence meant something by god. Was it a gift from him? Or what if it wasn’t from him? What if it’s the mouthwatering devil waiting for a soul.

Nancy was welcomed to Janice’s house in the evening.  

Nancy: Hey babe! Are you doing well?

Janice: Kind of hon, but I still witness his spirit. In fact it’s now speaking to me. Sorry not ‘it’ but ‘he’. Can’t place my dad’s spirit as an object right [chuckling]

Nancy: Look Jan, this is a serious condition. I reckon we should call the ghost hunters!

Janice: You mean paranormal investigators Nan [face palming]

Nancy: Right.

Janice: See Nan, it’s not like I’m experiencing any paranormal activities in my house. It’s just my dad making Stan lee cameos in my house or whatever. Anyhow I’ve baked cupcakes…it’s in the kitchen.

Janice and Nancy exit the living room and enter the kitchen.

As they approach the kitchen, to their surprise the cupcakes are missing.

Nancy: Where on earth are the cakes Jan? Don’t tell me Jojo has eaten them [pointing to a Black German Shepard]

Janice: No Nan, Jojo is allergic to flour and cream. We have recently visited the vet and got him tested. Don’t worry there’s more batter left, I’ll make some more.

Nancy: What! We’re just going to forget about the cakes that just disappeared out of nowhere? And pretend as if a ghost has eaten it, in actuality it might have. Janice what is wrong with you…you don’t call this ‘paranormal activity’? 

Janice: Look on the bright side Nance…it’s been happening for a while now. Do you see me harmed? Not quite right? So it isn’t a big deal.

Nancy: Hold on…you knew this was your dad and didn’t tell me about…even when you denied it’s your dog?     

Janice: I told you right now!

Nancy: I assumed it for god sake!

Janice: You assumed it correct. So now what? What’s the possible deal Nance!? [Arms crossed]  

Nancy: What’s the deal? The deal is we’re getting the hunters. [Before Janice interrupts] PARANORMAL INVESTIGATORS.

 Janice: Right…No we’re not. This is my house and my business, you’ve nothing to do with it. So stay out of it…okay? [Angrily expresses herself]

Nancy: You are my friend Jan. You are like a sister to me…a wife to me… LGBTQ?  [Winks and smirks simultaneously]

Janice: Argh. [Sighs] You didn’t have to bring that up. And is that really the way you see me…especially the last part [giggles] 

Both start laughing.

Janice: Okay, I’ll make more cupcakes…meanwhile you can watch TV!

Nancy: Gotcha!

Nancy leaves the kitchen and heads back to the living room.

Nancy exits. As the sunset, Nancy decides to depart for home and waves goodbye to Janice, wishing her good health and night.

After spending the cold icy night at her balcony, Janice ends the day and heads to sleep early which was unusual as she habitually drifts off late between twelve or two o clock. While lying horizontally on bed she felt like 120 pounds of metal pounding on her chest. The blood pressure machine was right next to her and as a result she extended her arms to reach out and grasped it. 195/75 mmHg displayed on the screen signifying unprecedented stress.

Janice: Jesus Christ! 195? [Whispers] It looks like I got to take some pills. [Stretches her arms to reach out for the pills]

Jacob enters. The legs of the ghost were transparent-invisible, roaming around the room, keeping Janice unnoticed for a while. Out of sincerity for his daughter, Jacob appears to her peacefully without scaring her as the last thing he desires to do is increase her hypertension.     

Janice: What the f**k!!

Jacob: Oh no my dear did I scare you? [Janice sighs] My apologies I didn’t mean to scare you. I antecedently prepared my visit to not scare you.

Janice: You should have at least switched on the lights. That wouldn’t have scared me enough than walking in in the dark and greeting me.

 Jacob: The apple tree is rotting outside.  

Janice: Again? What are you trying to say dad? Please stop riddling me, I’m not a kid no more. You said this to me earlier too. What does it mean? [Asks frustratingly]

Jacob: Apple tree is rotting outside. [Vanishes in thin air]

Janice: Not again. Apple tree…apple tree [humming] Oh no I know where this is going.

Janice rushes out of bed while jumping into her jeans and sliding her on t-shirt. She phones Nancy to accompany her. She brings her dog Jojo to the ride. She starts her car and heads to Nancy’s to lift her up.  

Nancy: Where are we going in the night at 11 pm to be SPECIFIC!

Janice: To my dad’s workplace. [Accelerating faster] Listen Nance, my dad’s ghost has been wandering around me for a reason.

Nancy: So there’s a purpose [frowning]

Janice: Yes, I guess so.

Nancy: But why are we going to Mr. Jacob’s workplace?

Janice: Because…when I was little, sort of 12 or 13 years of age, dad would pick me up from school in the middle of work and we would head towards an area that had a pool of trees.

Nancy: Okay…so why are we going to the forest? [Confused look]

Janice: Just to explore because he mentioned a weird riddle that I guess I’m supposed to solve. He asked me a riddle based on trees-

Nancy: But he could mean any tress why precisely this?

Janice: As I was going to say until you curiously interrupted me…rude, that he revealed it’s an apple tree. Now as I reverberate, as a kid he told me those trees were of the apple kind.   

 Nancy: Woah. That’s intriguing. Slay me the riddle!

Janice: I couldn’t get half my head around. How would you? [Shrugs] But here goes – Apple tree is rotting outside.

Nancy: Dude, it basically means trouble.

Janice: I know that but what kind of trouble?

Janice and Nancy make it to the destination. The scene was dark in the woods, owl cooing and stray dogs barking out of its lungs. But that didn’t intimidate Janice as she wouldn’t bother to leave without finding out what’s happening. But Nancy wasn’t the same as she could feel anything could bulge out of the woods in this dark evening. The dog began barking signaling he has found something. The two curious beings approach towards it.

Janice: A passport! [Mumbles]

Nancy: [As Janice picks up the passport] Hey!! Hold on…[pulls out a pair of gloves] here use these, you don’t want any viruses picking on you.

Janice: You were prepared for this? [Baffled look]

Nancy: I carry these all the time in my bag. [Sigh]

Janice puts on the gloves and investigates the passport. When she opened it, she immediately understood what this was about.

Janice: Oh my gosh Nance! [Eyes bulging out] This is Mr. Gale. He was a co-worker of dad. How the hell is his passport lying here! When dad was alive he hinted to me that he had an outrage with Gale regarding work. [Panting]   

Nancy: Jan, is this the place your dad met with the accident?! [Tears falling out]

Janice: Yes… [Cries] This is unbelievable. I…I don’t understand why he would go to that lengths to kill my poor dad.

Nancy: You could see if wanted to get away with it by leaving the country. Well too bad for him because your dad helped us find his murderer [holds Janice's hand]

As Nancy comforts her dear friend, they both manifest to report this to the international police. It wasn’t an accident, but an accident meaning to happen. The filing of the report and the investigation dragged the case to several months, but only until it was declared that the case was solved and the murderer was guilty, Janice could sleep well. Alas, the case was solved by the investigators and Mr. Gale was found and arrested. Janice could feel relief in her body but not necessarily in her mind as she still lost her father regardless. The house would be empty right now with Janice being by herself, justifying that the resurgence of her father was meant so that he could serve justice for himself.

Janice: Justice is served dad. I love you [looks to the sky]