Revenge is Best Served from the Dead

My name is Danny Donahue and I am not your ordinary fourteen-year-old boy from Southern California. Well, I guess I may be ordinary, except for one teeny thing but I guess that normal. Nobody is just ordinary, heck what does ordinary even mean, I guess I will never know. Because I am not your ordinary boy, I am Danny Donahue, the boy who helps ghosts cross into their next life. 

Movies weren’t wrong, there are ghosts on Earth and sometimes they might get stuck on Earth because they have unfinished business with someone or themselves (ugh! They can’t even get peace after they die. I thought when we die we are FINALLY at peace. I guess sadly not). 

Most of the time it’s something simple like apologizing to someone or something similar to that, but other times it was hard. It wasn’t because a task was too hard or complicated, no it was because the ghosts themselves didn't even know what they had left to do and that is something frustrating. I know what you may be thinking what do his parents think. Probably think he belongs in the lunny bin. If you thought that you thought wrong. His parents Estelle and Banrable Donahue possessed the same abilities their son had. 

But this story is my weirdest adventure yet. I still wonder if it actually even happened, it’s kind of crazy and Danny doesn’t want to brag or anything but he was quite awesome if he had to say. 

This story started when my family and I had moved from Southern California to New York City. We only had moved here because this was the city populated with wandering souls. Which just meant more stress on me. My social life was non-existent. My parents had homeschooled me since second grade (when I began helping them out), but this unbelievable (well me saying ghosts are real is already quite unbelievable) story started when I moved into my family’s new apartment in the busy part of New York. 

When my parents weren’t super cool ghost helpers they were journalists and might I add mighty fine when they did their work, but that meant they barely had time to spend with me.

I had opened the bright red door to the quite large apartment opening my arms and breathing the new place in. I was quite excited to be living here. I never had been to New York before and it seemed magical. When I had walked into my plain, empty room I spotted a ghost. Great can’t even sleep ONE night without someone barging in. Danny grumbled to himself. I didn’t think the ghost boy saw me, who wouldn't? I am pretty handsome, Danny thought, running a hand through his thick black hair. 

I don’t think the dead boy had seen me and if he had he hadn’t acknowledged me yet. Then the ghost boy had walked over to me from fiddling the sustains and slammed the door behind me. I just realized that the ghost thought I couldn't see him. After I realized that I went over to the formerly alive boy and said hi. Never thought I would have spooked a ghost, but I guess I did because it looked like the ghost seemed startled. 

“You can see...me.” The tall ghost pointed up and down to himself unsure. 

“Since I’m talking to you I’m pretty sure I can,” I said as it was obvious. “Sorry, I’m really dead. The best scenario would be that I was dreaming, but am not… right?” The ghost mumbled on. “No you are sadly dead and I’m alive and I can see you, but other people can’t. Well, most people can’t. By the way, my name is Danny.” He stated while putting down boxes of his random junk on the floor. “Well nice to meet you, Danny. My name is Nikolas.” The ghost, Nikolas smiled at him. 

“Danny! Come here, we need your help!” Danny’s dad hollered from outside the apartment. I was sure the whole floor could hear him. “Sure thing!” “Wait hold on! You and your parents are going to be living… here?” Nikolas questioned. “And can they see me or are you like some chosen one thing?” “Yes and Yes. My parents can see ghosts too. And our job is to help you move on.” Danny said opening the door and walking over to help his parents, but Nikolas had stayed in the same spot. Not wanting to talk to Danny’s parents. After all, he hadn’t had any interaction with a living or a dead person in two years. He had gotten used to staying in the shadows and just listening to other people talk. 

I had come back with another enormous and heavy box and dropped it on the floor. Making a loud WHUMP sound. “So Nikolas,” Danny said, testing his name on how it felt in his mouth. “Why are you still here?” “I don’t know.” Nikolas shrugged. “Then think of something stopping you from resting in peace.” Then I walked back out of my room to grab more boxes. 

I had told my parents I had to set up my room and didn’t want them to see it.

Only after I finished so I would have an excuse to stay in my room and plus Nikolas didn’t want to see my parents for some reason. Nikolas and I talked in hush whispers for hours that day, but he still couldn’t think of any reason why he would still be a ghost (but a ghost technically is a person who is only partially dead), but he could think of anything. 

I had though learned that Nikolas was forty-seven, but he had died two years ago in a drowning accident. I had urged him to tell me the reason for how he drowned, but he didn’t say. Until an hour of my excellent persuasion, he told me that he couldn’t swim and died before anyone got to him. I always knew I had good convincing skills. 

A couple of days passed and still nothing. Danny just wanted to bring Nikolas to his parents, but Nikolas always refused. Ugh, if I went up to him they would have probably figured out the reason for his reason to stay with the living. 

“Okay Danny, I think I might know why I am not really dead yet.” Nikolas huffed out. He seemed slightly embarrassed but more so angry. “FINALLY! Been waiting for this for a while.” Danny said stretching back on his chair, taking a break from an easy he had to complete by two hours. “Okay, so I lied. I didn’t die by drowning. Just to let you know I CAN swim, but I was drowned by my kids exactly two years ago and I think the forgive and forget part hasn’t exactly worked and I think I might want revenge on those brats.” Nikolas said in a hushed voice not sure if he really trusted Danny, but if Danny said that he could help him. He might finally get avenged for his death. 

My eyes literally felt like they might come out of my eye sockets. “Hold on buddy. Just what!” Danny said, shock clearly visible on his face. The ghost I always helped had simple tasks and maybe once in a blue moon it might be a little interesting, but this was just out of this world crazy, no more like out of the universe. 

“So basically you're telling me that you were some rich dude, with spoiled brats for kids and then when you were about to die you decided to change your will. So that your sister gets most of it.” Danny asked, still thinking this was a really small reason to kill your dad. Even if he was a billionaire and didn’t even give you one percent of it. “Yes, but you see before I could change the will they somehow found out about me changing it so they killed me so they would get over eighty percent of my money and estate.” “What happened to your wife?” Danny wondered. “She died a year before me,” Nikolas said with a sad smile, probably remembering his wife. 

“So what do you want to do? I'm assuming you want payback.” Danny said raising an eyebrow. “Yes, and I have been planning it for two years so it’s basically foolproof,” Nikolas said with a smile. Family dra-a-ma Danny chuckled a little while thinking this. 

Then that day Nikolas told me what he had in mind and I am not going to lie it was quite clever, I guess when you have two years to think of a plan and not any plan. A plan to get revenge on your killers, you would want to perfect it. 

Nikolas had been living in Danny’s room for almost a year and since Nikolas started living in this appartement he always scared future tenants. Except for the Donahues because they could see him. The strange thing was my parents still hadn’t spotted Nikolas yet. Strange indeed. Nikolas had been living in this apartment specifically because it was right next to you would never guess who, his kid’s apartments. Every time he saw them he felt sadness for what he let them become, but then the sadness turned into anger and his blood started boiling whenever he looked at them, for what he did to him. 

The next day we started putting Nikolas’ plan into action, but for one part of it, I had to borrow something from my parents without raising suspicion. I had to borrow a special drink that if a ghost drank it they would be invisible but be able to touch not too heavy stuff. 

I thought talking the elixir would be difficult, but it proved to be easy since my mom was out meeting some new friends she had made and my dad had gone grocery shopping. So I took the elixir with ease. 

After he got it he gave it to Nikolas and Nikolas slurped the dark blueish liquid down with one gulp. “Slow down Nicky! You don’t want to get a stomach ache.” Danny teased. “First off don’t call me Nicky and second I am too excited.” Nikolas seemed exhilarated. 

After the Donahues’ concoction started settling in Nikolas’ body they tested it out to see if it really worked. They even tried the classical ghost picking up book thing and behold it worked. Almost as if Nikolas were alive. After that Nikolas was extremely giddy and excited to get his plan in motion. 

After what seemed like half an hour I finally thought we had enough of the playing 

and now we had to get the work done. 

Nikolas had passed through and walked into his daughter, Stella’s apartment. It had the same layout of which the Donahue’s flat was, but theirs was more on the old side. Whereas Stella’s place was more modern and high-tech. 

Danny just had Nikolas go into the apartment and find the key to the front door and slide it over to Danny (yes the floor cracks were quite large). “Don’t worry she comes back in an hour. So that gives us an hour to play golf.” Nikolas said with a smirk grabbing a baseball bat and ruining all the expensive furniture and decor in the house. “I don’t mind, I think that this should be all yours. You deserve this.” Danny said with a dramatic bow pretending Nikolas was royalty. He practically was, he was a billionaire. “Why thank you,” Nikolas said with amusement. 

After an hour of playing "golf", they had successfully destroyed everything. Then the door opened and you could hear screaming, but in my opinion, it sounded like a cat being hit by a car. “Oh my god! Oh my go- not that painting. Not that painting! That cost too much to end up like this!” Said Stella running around looking through her apartment. Nikolas watched with enjoyment as his daughter was running around checking her possessions that she had bought with his money. After all, it was his money, so it was his stuff too. 

“Hello, Stella. I hoped you learnt a lesson about why you shouldn't kill people. Especially not family.” Nikolas boomed from standing beside the T.V. and then she shattered the expensive screen. “What are you doing! Who are you! I’m calling with the cops! Get out of my place!” Stella yelled back, visibly frightened. Trying to sink into a wall and grabbing ahold of a knife. “My dear you don’t need to do that. I got a deal to make.” Nikolas clearly enjoyed this. I mean Stella is a murder, so this should be okay. “What do you want.” Stella stuttered but tried keeping her head high. “I want you to donate all the money you got from your father's will-“ “Why is this your concern?” Stella sneered back still nervous. “DON’T you cut me off again!” Nikolas shouted. “The second thing you must do or I will follow you and haunt you, even in your sleep. So don’t you dare disobey me. The second thing you must do is that you and your brother, Jeremy will have to go to the police station and tell them you committed the murder of Nikolas Derosa. Understood me.” Nikolas seethed out. Stella just grunted and walked out the door, slamming it shut before she left her apartment. Then Nikolas walked out of the bathroom, where I was hiding behind a shower. I know it’s not the best place, but still. 

“You did good Nikolas.” Danny smiled at him and Nikolas beamed out a smile so bright it would make the sun look like a little flame compared to Nikolas. 

Nikolas and Danny did the same stuff to Nikolas’ son, Jeremy Derosa. Nikolas and Danny had to repeat this routine for two weeks before Jeremy donated his part of the will and went to hand himself in to the police. Which meant Stella only had little time left before Jeremy told the police what happened. After a week more of Nikolas’ and Danny’s torture Stella couldn’t take it anymore she went to donate her money and hand herself in with a miserable face. She only handed herself in because Nikolas had haunted her so bad that she couldn’t even close her eyes to sleep and she looked and acted like a zombie.

After Eight Months 

“I guess that’s it,” Danny said to Nikolas who was about to go to the life after death. “I guess it is little buddy. Thanks again. I never thought Jeremy and Stella would be put into prison, but I guess they git their Karma.” Nikolas thanked Danny.

Jeremy and Stella had a trial and this time Nikoals made sure they didn’t just pay the money and not get charged with anything. After eight months of watching court fights happen both of the Derosa kids, well they aren’t really kids, got sent to prison. 

“Goodbye, Danny. Thank you so much. Hope you have a happy ending to your life.” 

Nikoals said as he vanished away into thin air. Into the afterlife. 

You may think the story ends here, but you're very wrong. The Derosa kids had mysteriously died in prison and they realized that Danny was helping their father scare them, so now the Derosa kids were after me. And I am now basically a runaway that I am even on national television. So proud of myself. Stella and Jeremy are coming to kill me for messing up their lives and I am so going to end up dead meat.