Jared was making his way down the stairs, just being woken up by a loud crash.
He turned on the lights, seeing that once again a potted plant had shattered and covered the floor.
Jared sighed, sounding annoyed as he rubbed his eyes hard.
“God damn it…again?” He asked.
He went to his closet and grabbed a broom and dust pan. He made his way over quickly to sweep up the pot pieces and the dirt. He carried them to the kitchen and dumped them into his metal trash can.
But as he stood in the kitchen, the stove suddenly flickered on with a violently large flame, a towering inferno that cast everything in a hellish red and orange color. The room was filled with heat, causing Jared to sweat, yet he still seemed annoyed.
He walked over with ease and turned off the burners.
“Can I just have one night without any of this crap? Please? It’s very annoying.” Jared said.
He reached up to scratch his chin covered in thin stubble.
It was silent for a few seconds.
Until the microwave suddenly flickered.
The timer flashed rapidly before it suddenly turned on with a screeching alarm sound.
Jared didn’t seem too bothered by it as he went over and opened the microwave, making the sound stop.
He then reached up into his ears, pulling out two ear plugs that he had put in a while before.
“I’m going to sleep. So do whatever you want because I just don’t care anymore.” Jared said as he left the kitchen and went back up the stairs.
He gripped the railing tightly as his legs seemed to struggle to lift high enough for each step. It was painful for him to trudge up, like his body was weak.

The next morning, Jared was standing in the shower as hot water hit and ran down his body. The entire room was cast in a thin layer of steam before Jared got out, reaching around for his bathrobe.
Once he put it on, he turned to look at the mirror.
The fogged up mirror.
Writing suddenly started to appear.
Writing like an invisible finger was tracing every letter.
“Can you see this?”
Jared looked at it rather curiously.
“Do…do I just speak or do I have to write too?” Jared asked.
The words on the mirror were fogged back over.
“I can always hear you. I can always see you.” Came up on the mirror.
Jared softly scoffed.
“Yeah that’s not creepy at all.” He mumbled to himself.
The words fogged back over.
“I haven’t had any other way to communicate with you. Nothing else works.” Came into the mirror.
“Well, what have you been trying to tell me huh?” Jared asked.
A few seconds passed of silence before the mirror suddenly began to write. Starting at the top of the mirror in small writing and rather quickly making its way down, the letters were much less clean and clear than before.
“I want to help you. Ever since you moved in here I couldn’t help but notice and see your mind struggling. I don’t really know what’s going on since I can’t leave this house, but I want to help you feel better. It really hurts for me to watch you alone.”
Jared swallowed hard and rubbed his eye.
“Look it’s…it’s nothing. Don’t worry about it and don’t worry about me alright?” Jared responded.
The mirror fogged up again, yet the fog all together was beginning to fade.
More of the glass and reflection of Jared was becoming visible as he sighed.
“I don’t want you to repeat the same mistakes as me.” Appeared in the fog.
Jared sighed.
“Alright, thanks.” Jared said softly.
He left the bathroom and kept the door open.
The steam was rapidly escaping through the doorway as the mirror was very quickly disappearing from the glass mirror.
“I don’t think he’s…”
But the fog fully disappeared before it could finish.

Jared was sitting on a public bus dressed in a nice suit that was slightly oversized.
He put his head against the window and just stared out onto the busy and packed sidewalks and streets all around him.
So much noise.
So many people.
Jared sighed and continued to watch without any thought or care.
The bus came to a sudden halt, everyone lunging forward. Jared just sighed as he got up from his seat, walking off with his head hung low. He stared at the ground as he walked, entering a large business building without even caring to look up at the people passing by him.
“Morning Jared.” The front desk worker said, sounding very energetic and happy.
Jared just gave a weak and careless wave in the direction as he groaned.
He made his way to the elevator, looking around.
There were only a few people waiting, but Jared could see more moving towards the same elevator section.
Jared sighed quietly before turning and walking to a door, pushing it open to look up a tall flight of stairs.
He once again seemed to struggle as he walked up a set of stairs.
He continued to walk up the concrete stairs.
Step after step after step.
Seemingly never ending as he rose up more and more flights of stairs.
His entire body was sore, struggling to move without experiencing pain.
He climbed up 30 flights of stairs.
His legs were burning up inside as he opened the door to a large floor full of plain, boring, white cubicles.
Jared was limping as he went to his cubicle.
He sat down in his chair and reached out, gripping his desk before struggling to pull himself forward.
“Hey Jared, how are you feeling today?”
Jared turned to see a young woman.
She had short hair that was both blonde and brown covering half of her face. She was dressed in a black suit jacket that was buttoned tightly to hide whatever she was wearing underneath. She had matching black pants and even eyeliner that was the same shade of her clothing. She had a small amount of faint eyeliner around her eyes, yet they still looked smudged. Like she had cried in the morning and did her best to hide it.
Jared suddenly began to smile, his tired eyes beginning to sparkle as he looked at her.
“Hey…um…Jillian. It’s good to see you.” He felt his face start to heat up, his head and body already sweaty after climbing all of the stairs.
“Yeah.” She said with a warm and inviting smile.
Jared swallowed hard and wiped sweat from his forehead.
Jillian softly laughed, her face looking tired but forcing herself through it.
“Did you climb all of those stairs again?” She asked.
Jared laughed, going too loud at first before quickly laughing softer and quieter.
Jillian gave off nervous laughter as she looked around.
“Just to keep you updated. There’s going to be a mandatory meeting for everyone today at noon. Make sure you’re there.” She said.
“Yeah, of course I’ll be there. But more importantly, how are you holding up?” Jared asked.
Jillian swallowed hard.
“I still miss Peter, but it’ll just take some time.” She said.
“Take all the time you need. We’re here to support you. Losing a fiancee…”
Jared was interrupted by their boss.
“Jillian, I need those reports on my desk. And I need to discuss the expansion plans with you. Chop chop.” He said as he walked down the hall between cubicles.
Jillian gave a soft smile and wave to Jared before turning and following their boss.
Jared watched her as she walked. He felt nervous with his skin red.


Jared opened his front door, looking with pained eyes.
Both of his arms were holding a large cardboard box full of the things that had covered his desk.
He very slowly dragged his feet before dropping the box onto the floor, things spilling out and breaking all over.
He kept the front door open, not bothering to turn back and close it.
He flopped down onto the couch, laying face down and just groaning into the cushion.
The front door suddenly shut closed, which was quickly followed by the television flickering on.
“Fuck off.” Jared groaned.
The television continued to flicker before settling on static. Static that was so loud and painful that Jared had to get up, making his way angrily to the bathroom.
He immediately turned on the shower to fire the hottest water it could before he shut the door. He leaned against the wall and crossed his arms as he watched fog begin to cover more and more of the mirror.
“What?” Jared asked.
The writing once again began to appear.
“How was your day?” Appeared in the mirror.
“It was shit. Got let go. Most of the company did. Now I won’t get to see Jillian.” Jared said.
“You could always invite her over.” The writing said on the mirror.
Jared softly scoffed.
“No way she would.” Jared replied.
“I’ll bet you $40 she’ll come here.” The writing suddenly said.
Jared looked confused.
“How can a ghost bet money?” Jared asked.
There were multiple seconds of silence.
Almost an awkward silence.
“Don’t check your wallet.” Suddenly popped up.
Jared quickly stood up straight with anger covering his face.
“Hey!”
The mirror fogged up again before writing began to appear.
“Just trust me. You should call her. Invite her over.” Appeared through the fog.
Jared sighed and seemed to think it over for a while. His leg was slightly bouncing as his arms squeezed tighter around his torso.
“Alright fine.” He said, giving in.
The mirror began to fill with drawings of hands clapping and fireworks.
“Jesus you draw fast.” Jared said as he grabbed his cellphone.
The steam continued to fill the room more and more, making Jared sweat through his suit and struggle to breathe.
“I’m going to take it out here. This is…getting hot.” He said as he left the room. He opened his contacts, and Jillian was the only person in his entire contacts list.
He taps it and listens to it ring.
And ring.
And ring.
Jared looked upset and moved his finger to hover over the end call button.
“Hello?” Jillian’s voice suddenly came through the phone.
Jared jumped, caught off guard by her actually answering.
“Um…hi Jillian…it’s Jared.” He said nervously, still drenched in sweat.
“Oh, I totally forgot I gave you my number. Haha.” Jillian replied, sounding sweet and even playful.
Jared softly chuckled, as if thinking he was playing along.
“Yeah it’s okay. I was just…well considering I’m free now…and for the next few days…if you wanted to meet up for a meal or drinks or something. It was just an idea and I thought…”
“That sounds lovely. When and where works best for you?” Jillian interrupted.
Jared looked surprised at the response.
“I…well I’m currently…unemployed…so it would really be whatever works best for you.” Jared replied.
“Well I’m free tonight.” Jillian said quickly.
Jared continued to look surprised.
“That’s great. I could make a good homemade meal if you would like.” Jared said.
“Sure thing.” Jillian said.
Jared began to smile more and more as the call continued.
“I’ll send you the address and you can show up whenever you want.” Jared said, but then immediately bit down on his finger. He realized what he said was stupid, but didn’t want to be audible.
“I think I’ll get there around seven.” She replied.
“Yeah, that’s a good time. I’ll see you then.” Jared said with a nervous chuckle before hanging up.
He groaned and put the phone against his forehead.
“Well…that could’ve gone better.” He said.
He looked back at the bathroom, the steam still coming out as he sighed and got to his feet.
He walked inside and turned off the shower before looking at the mirror.
“Told ya so.” Waas written in the glass.
“Yeah yeah. But now I have to think of what to cook for her.” Jared replied.
“I bet she’ll like fish.” Appeared.
“How do you know that?” Jared asked.
The fog filled the mirror for a few seconds.
“You should get to cleaning. Don’t want her to think you live in filth. I’ll help the best I can.”
Jared softly laughed and rubbed his eyes.
“Cleaning a house with a ghost. Sounds fun.” Jared sarcastically said.

Jared was downstairs cleaning the ground floor, using a vacuum and wet rag at the same time.
Music was playing loudly on the radio as Jared sang along.
“ACDC. Good choice!” Jared shouted over the music.
All of the picture frames and paintings on the walls began to sway to the music, rhythmically dancing with the slightest of movement.
Jared continued to dance and sing along as he cleaned.
“I will say, you’re not that bad.” Jared said.
All of the power suddenly shut off.
All of the lights went out, clouding the home in complete darkness.
“Ghost? Hello?” Jared asked.
The lights all flickered back on, but nothing else was working.
“The fuck?” Jared asked as he went to the bathroom on the ground floor.
He shut the door and turned on the sink as hot as it could go.
A few seconds later and steam finally began to rise up from the ceramic bowl.
He shut the door and waited as the steam was very slowly moving.
“God this is going to take forever.” Jared said.
He leaned against the door and just watched and waited as steam filled more and more of the room. He pulled at his clothing, beginning to sweat as the steam slowly clouded everything around him in the small room.
“Alright, what’s going on?” He asked as he looked at the small mirror hanging on the wall.
“That was an accident. I don’t really know what happened.” Appeared on the mirror.
Jared scoffed.
“Yeah, sure. Just…don’t do anything like that during the date, okay?” Jared asked.
“Sure thing buddy.” Was written onto the mirror, followed by a drawing of a thumbs up.
Jared sighed and left the bathroom.
As he left, everything was slowly beginning to work one thing after another.
Jared finished the cleaning before going to his kitchen, starting to cook sea bass.
Nearly 2 hours of cooking without any issue.
Jared yawned and looked annoyed at the food.
“It’s not getting hot enough. Think you can help out?” Jared asked.
He didn’t get a response, but had this feeling of needing to step back a few steps.
The stove erupted into a massive burst of flame that almost instantly disappeared.
Jared went over to look at the fish.
A perfect cook that was a slightly darker shade of golden brown.
Jared nodded, looking impressed.
“Wow, nice.” He said as he took the fish and plated it, pouring a honey glaze on it afterwards.
As he did so, the doorbell rang and almost made him jump.
Jared put the things down and lifted his arms up.
“How do I look?” Jared asked.
A strong gust of wind suddenly washed over his body, pushing his hair back and fixing his clothes to make them not as wrinkled.
He made it to his front door, opening it to see Jillian standing in a dress shirt and dress pants.
She gave a warm smile, her eyes still sparkling.
She looked around, as if observing the street and home.
“This place feels familiar.” She said.
“Oh really? How so?” Jared asked.
“Not sure. Just like…it feels familiar.” She said before stepping inside.
Jared smiled as he shut the door, his eyes unable to move away from her.
“Well, I hope that makes you feel more comfortable.” He said.
She looked around the living room. She seemed to be observing the space, as if observing and remembering the longer she stood in the room.
“I made some seabass for us.” Jared said.
Jillian quickly turned and looked surprised.
“Seabass? How did you know that’s my favorite?” Jillian asked.
Jared walked past her, hiding his confusion.
“Oh, just a lucky guess you could say.” Jared said.
Jared pulled out the dining chair for Jillian, letting her sit down before he went to the kitchen.
The lights flickered in the dining room as Jillian looked around.
A freezing gust of wind blew over her, making her shiver and put her hands on her shoulders.
“Hello?” She asked quietly.
The lights continued to dim more and more.
But then everything began to rapidly flash, the light bulbs burning brightly and strobing as Jillian screamed.
Glass began to break wherever it was, covering the floor in shards as Jillian ducked and hid under the table.
Jared could be heard screaming from the kitchen as Jillian looked from under the cloth, staring at the door.
The flashing was even more violent, flashing through the gap between the door and floor.
Everything was rapidly flashing and shattering until it stopped.
There was only a single light that stayed glowing, dangling over the table and creating waves that washed over the walls, before swinging away and casting everything in darkness again.
The kitchen door opened as Jared stood, looking around.
Jillian very slowly crawled out and to her feet.
The two stood rather still.
The light swung to illuminate Jared’s face.
His eyes were pure white as they stared at Jillian.
Yet she had this strange sense.
Like she knew the eyes belonged to someone else.
Like she was looking at an entirely new person.
“It…is it…” Jillian started to whisper, a tear running down her face.
“Hi Jillian.” Jared’s face smiled, yet there was a different tone to it.
Jillian’s eyes went wide as her hands quickly went up to cover her mouth.
“It can’t be. How is this possible?” She asked.
“Well, it’s a long story. What do you say we talk about it over your favorite dinner?” Jared smiled.
Jillian’s face of shock was quickly changing to one of pure happiness, despite the tears continuing to run down her face.
“I would love that…” Jillian said.
“Peter.”

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