Page 4 of Jacinth

“Why am I visible? Holey sheet! What is this thing?”

I knew Birdie had gone into shock when I didn’t even receive an eye roll at my creative refusal to conform to normal cursing. I had embraced my specter status, damn it, and I was funny.

“You look alive,” Birdie finally spat out as I turned this way and that, trying to figure out what had happened to me.

“Huh. Has to be this amulet thing. Ooh! Let’s go dancing!”

The look Birdie threw at me landed somewhere between ‘what is wrong with you?’ and ‘how are you not freaking out?’ Possibly a little from column A, a little from column B. I should acknowledge that my ability to adapt to circumstances had always been a point of frustration for my sister, but I guessed it came down to a short attention span and a love of shiny things.

I grabbed Birdie by the hand, intent on leading her from the cemetery, and tripped head over heels over my gravestone.

“Not cool,” I muttered, brushing dirt and leaves from the cute floral button down and jeans—now as solid as the rest of me—I had died in.

Birdie shook herself, apparently returning from wherever her freak-out had taken her. “It’s 5am. All the clubs will be closing. Why don’t we watch the sunrise like we planned, and then go for coffee somewhere?”

“Ohhh. Casper, yes. Coffee would be amazing!” In life, my coffee addiction had rivaled my shoe addiction and.... “Shoes! We can go to Ruby’s shop!”

Birdie sighed in that long suffering way of hers. “First, stop deifying a 1940s novel toon character. Second, you have one day to live and you want to go shoe shopping?! That is not in any way practical...”

Honestly, I stopped listening at that point. Partially because she was geeking out, and no one needed that kind of negativity in their life. Mostly, though, it was because we had reached the boundary of the cemetery and all I could think of was stepping through that gate.

The creak seemed to echo through my inexplicably solid bones, and as I stepped out onto the sidewalk, it occurred to me that this should be a momentous occasion.

What is dead should remain dead.

The quote from my favorite television show whispered in the back of my brain as the world around me registered for the first time in six months. The breeze smelled of wet earth. Had it rained? I couldn’t remember, but that scent, mixed with the lightening sky, hinted at the start of a new day.

A day where I would be able to walk the streets of Silver Springs and interact with the living. To talk and eat, and appreciate the things I would never have allowed Birdie to know I had been desperately missing for six long months.

Oh, boo.

Maybe I did have some small things in common with the other spirits of the graveyard. Birdie guided my distracted ass to her beetle, where it was parked a few steps from the front gate. It wasn’t one of those coolHerbietype things either. No, it was one of those ‘millennium’ beetles that were released by Volkswagen around the time everyone was convinced the machines would rise up and take over.

“You seem distracted. Are you okay?” Birdie asked as she over-cranked the engine and bunny-hopped out of her parking space.

“You are still the world’s worst driver,” I said with a smirk, neatly avoiding the discussion of my current state of mind.

Her grunt in response told me she would leave me alone for now, and I watched the scenery roll by as we moved into the center of Silver Springs. The sky was a canvas of pinks and oranges as Birdie pulled the car over and waved to the man on the sidewalk who was placing a menu board for Jewels Cafe near a lovely saffron plant out front.

Birdie opened her mouth... probably to ask if I wanted coffee. Stupid question. I nearly vaulted from my seat and power-walked across the street and in through the door after the barista.

“Can I get you a coffee?” the guy asked, moving behind the bench. His nametag read Julian.

“If you have an IV drip, I’ll take two. Short of that, I’ll take anything. I mean, anything caffeinated.”

Julian grinned, and I realized he had a pleasant face. With only one day to be alive, I should probably make the most of it, but coffee was a higher priority at present. And didn’t that say something about my chances of survivability?

“Shut up,” I muttered angrily to myself. I was alive today. No getting morose and wasting it.

“You look like you could use my special. Have you ever had a pumpkin spice latte?”

I thought for a moment. I could remember Ruby saying something about this place, but as the memory refused to surface, I shrugged.

“Whatever you wanna give me. Just make it a double shot.”

Julian nodded. “Coming right up. Anything for you, Birdie?”

Birdie shook her head quickly. “I’ve heard one too many rumors about those things. Jacinth is living for today, but she can do that on her own.”

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