functioned together systematically. The memory made her nostalgic for the career she had lost, but she was quickly brought back to the present by the wailing ghost.
The skeleton faded from view as the phantom continued to pound her fists on the bus and howl like a crazed banshee. Karen’s ears hurt from the shrill screams, and the scene was enough to make Karen momentarily forget Fortune’s kiss. She stood staring with her mouth agape.
“Are you getting on or what?” the bus driver shouted. It took Karen a moment to realize that he was talking to her. “I’m not keeping the door open all day with this wind. It always seems to whip around the corner here.”
Karen shook her head as she continued to stare at the spectral temper tantrum taking place in front of the bus. The driver didn’t appear to notice the phantom, but it was unnerving to watch, and Karen was dumbfounded at the violence and constant stream of expletives.
The bus door closed with a hissing sound, and the vehicle moved forward like an overweight bear through snow. As the ghost let go of the sign hanging over the windshield and jumped off the front of the bus she instantly transformed into the mousy little woman who had been sitting on the bench a minute earlier. There was no sign of anger or hostility. The ghost adjusted her glasses and smoothed the front of her pleated skirt.
Karen suddenly felt a sense of panic. The spirit was probably bipolar, she reasoned, but there would be no way to medicate her. Maybe Fate sent her here to die at the hands of this monster. Perhaps that was why Fate appeared unconcerned at the way Fortune had kissed her. Maybe she knew what would happen shortly afterwards. Maybe this was karma paying her back for kissing another woman’s husband. Karen pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead and wiped the perspiration away.
“My name in Nancy,” the woman said politely as she sat down again. Karen dropped her arm to her side and pulled her eyebrows together as she studied the woman’s face. She didn’t know how to address what had just happened, and now the woman was acting as if it didn’t happen at all.
“Did you just smash the headlight on that bus?” Karen asked quietly. What if the ghost wasn’t aware of what she had done?
“Probably,” Nancy answered with a shrug. “I didn’t notice. Sometimes they break and sometimes they don’t.” She was sitting with her hands folded as if she’d just set down her knitting. She waited a moment and then asked, “What’s your name again?”
“Karen.”
“I nearly named one of my daughters Karen. I’ve always liked that name.”
“I supposed my mother liked it, too.”
“Were you named after a relative?” Nancy asked.
“I don’t know. My parents died a long time ago,” Karen explained as she sat down on the bench, also.
“Oh, you poor thing!” the ghost reached out and patted Karen’s shoulder, but Karen cringed at the faint touch.
“What was that?” Karen finally asked as she motioned to the place where the bus had been just a minute before.
“The 9:15,” Nancy replied. “We have nine more minutes until the next one. They come every ten minutes and they’re usually on time.”
“I meant the thing you did. It’s like — you transformed or something.”
“That’s a little trick I learned,” Nancy laughed as she spoke. “I’m still working on it, but I have to get very angry or they don’t notice at all. I think I’m getting better. Right now they think there’s a wind blowing. I don’t know for sure, but I think that I might be able to make myself grow taller or even change my shape. I’m sure it will take years of practice and I’ll have to get really mad in order to do it, but I’ve got plenty of time to practice.”
“Are you trying to turn into a monster?”
“Of course,” Nancy said as if the whole situation should be obvious. Karen had thought that the day she’d met Fate had been the strangest in her life.
The skeleton faded from view as the phantom continued to pound her fists on the bus and howl like a crazed banshee. Karen’s ears hurt from the shrill screams, and the scene was enough to make Karen momentarily forget Fortune’s kiss. She stood staring with her mouth agape.
“Are you getting on or what?” the bus driver shouted. It took Karen a moment to realize that he was talking to her. “I’m not keeping the door open all day with this wind. It always seems to whip around the corner here.”
Karen shook her head as she continued to stare at the spectral temper tantrum taking place in front of the bus. The driver didn’t appear to notice the phantom, but it was unnerving to watch, and Karen was dumbfounded at the violence and constant stream of expletives.
The bus door closed with a hissing sound, and the vehicle moved forward like an overweight bear through snow. As the ghost let go of the sign hanging over the windshield and jumped off the front of the bus she instantly transformed into the mousy little woman who had been sitting on the bench a minute earlier. There was no sign of anger or hostility. The ghost adjusted her glasses and smoothed the front of her pleated skirt.
Karen suddenly felt a sense of panic. The spirit was probably bipolar, she reasoned, but there would be no way to medicate her. Maybe Fate sent her here to die at the hands of this monster. Perhaps that was why Fate appeared unconcerned at the way Fortune had kissed her. Maybe she knew what would happen shortly afterwards. Maybe this was karma paying her back for kissing another woman’s husband. Karen pressed the heel of her hand into her forehead and wiped the perspiration away.
“My name in Nancy,” the woman said politely as she sat down again. Karen dropped her arm to her side and pulled her eyebrows together as she studied the woman’s face. She didn’t know how to address what had just happened, and now the woman was acting as if it didn’t happen at all.
“Did you just smash the headlight on that bus?” Karen asked quietly. What if the ghost wasn’t aware of what she had done?
“Probably,” Nancy answered with a shrug. “I didn’t notice. Sometimes they break and sometimes they don’t.” She was sitting with her hands folded as if she’d just set down her knitting. She waited a moment and then asked, “What’s your name again?”
“Karen.”
“I nearly named one of my daughters Karen. I’ve always liked that name.”
“I supposed my mother liked it, too.”
“Were you named after a relative?” Nancy asked.
“I don’t know. My parents died a long time ago,” Karen explained as she sat down on the bench, also.
“Oh, you poor thing!” the ghost reached out and patted Karen’s shoulder, but Karen cringed at the faint touch.
“What was that?” Karen finally asked as she motioned to the place where the bus had been just a minute before.
“The 9:15,” Nancy replied. “We have nine more minutes until the next one. They come every ten minutes and they’re usually on time.”
“I meant the thing you did. It’s like — you transformed or something.”
“That’s a little trick I learned,” Nancy laughed as she spoke. “I’m still working on it, but I have to get very angry or they don’t notice at all. I think I’m getting better. Right now they think there’s a wind blowing. I don’t know for sure, but I think that I might be able to make myself grow taller or even change my shape. I’m sure it will take years of practice and I’ll have to get really mad in order to do it, but I’ve got plenty of time to practice.”
“Are you trying to turn into a monster?”
“Of course,” Nancy said as if the whole situation should be obvious. Karen had thought that the day she’d met Fate had been the strangest in her life.
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