Dancing With Ghosts

Meet Randy Barton, a 61-year-old man with an incredible passion for dancing. For Randy, hitting the dance floor was more than just a pastime - it was a way of feeling alive. When he danced, he felt powerful and confident, as though he could conquer the world. Randy was a master of his craft, moving with grace and ease that left others in awe. He was particularly popular with the ladies, who were drawn to his smooth moves and magnetic energy on the dance floor.

Despite his age and occasional loneliness, Randy never let anything get in the way of his love of dancing. He often attended local dance events, relishing the opportunity to showcase his skills and meet new people who shared his passion.

Randy often felt lonely, especially since he didn't have much family to speak of. But his love of dancing helped fill that void in his life. That is why he would often venture out to social gatherings and dance events, eager to meet new people who shared his passion.

Randy often felt upset because he believed that the world was moving too fast, and he was still stuck in the past. This gave him a deep feeling of loneliness as he felt left behind. He struggled with simple tasks such as setting doctor appointments and ordering off menus at restaurants, and he felt like he was getting slower as he aged. Even when he danced, he would sometimes step the wrong way because he couldn't move the way he wanted to anymore. Randy often said, “A growing world sucks when you grow with it.”

But, Randy would never stop dancing, he would say “I will go to my grave dancing”

One late night, Randy felt a surge of sadness and loneliness. After finally getting a doctor's appointment, he received the devastating news that he had lung cancer and that his chances of fighting it were slim. With only five years tops to live, Randy realized that he didn't have the financial means to battle the disease nor did he have any family to turn to for support. Overwhelmed and exhausted, Randy made the difficult decision to let cancer run its course and let death take him.

But on this lonely night, Randy decided he was going to try and go out and dance as much as possible until the day death decides to show up on his doorstep.

On this particular lonely night, Randy put on his black suit and climbed into his truck, and began driving along the lonely roads, searching for a place to go dancing. It was late, and he knew that most establishments would be closed, but he couldn't help himself; dancing was his passion, and he was determined to find a place to indulge it.

As he drove, Randy reflected on his life. He was an only child, with no siblings, wife, or children. He had never had any true friends; only acquaintances he had met throughout his life. Despite this, Randy was proud of the life he had lived. He had dedicated his entire existence to his love of dancing, and this realization brought him a sense of joy rather than sadness.

As Randy continued to drive along the lonely roads, his headlights illuminated an old-looking house that was all lit up, both inside and out. Curiosity was piqued, and he noticed a sign outside that indicated it was a dance club. He assumed that someone who lived in the house had created their own dance club, which struck him as strange. Why would someone use their home as a dance club that anyone could just show up to?

But Randy also realized there were no cars outside, which he found odd but he didn’t care his love of dancing caused him to pull up in front of the old house and take a step inside.

As Randy walked inside the house, he noticed something strange: there were no cars parked outside, yet the house was packed with people. Everyone was dressed in older clothes as if they were from the 1800s or even the 1900s. Randy assumed that this must be part of the theme for the dance club, so he didn't think too much of it.

As he made his way further inside, Randy felt more and more at home. People of all ages were there, talking, laughing, and dancing. They greeted him warmly and made him feel welcome. Randy felt a sense of comfort that he had never felt before, despite never having met any of these people before.

After socializing with people, Randy decided he wanted to dance as well. He started looking around to see if he could find any girl who was sitting and waiting for someone to ask her to dance. After a minute of searching, Randy found a very beautiful girl sitting alone. Randy thought he would walk up to her and ask her to dance. Being brave and smooth, he walked right up to her and asked her for a dance. She looked up at him and smiled, “I would love to dance.”

Randy asked her name and she said “Isabella!” she was very beautiful younger lady, she was wearing a long dress that looked very old like it was from the 1800s. Randy really loved the theme of the dance club. He was already having so much fun. Randy and Isabelle started dancing and Randy was enjoying the atmosphere.

Randy and Isabella danced for what felt like hours, completely lost in each other's company. However, Randy began to notice something peculiar about her. As they danced, Isabella appeared to fade out, almost as if he could see through her. At first, Randy thought it was simply his tired eyes playing tricks on him. But the longer they danced, the more he realized that something was genuinely different about her. Isabella spoke in a manner that was difficult for him to comprehend as if she was stuck in another time.

Despite her oddities, Randy continued to dance with Isabella, unable to resist her enchanting allure. He looked past the strangeness and focused on the sheer joy and pleasure of the dance.

As the night progressed, Randy felt a deep connection to Isabella, as if they had known each other for a lifetime. He felt comfortable enough to open up to her, to share his fear of death

"Isabella," he said, his voice barely above a whisper, "I'm a little scared. I was diagnosed with lung cancer, and in a way, I'm mostly scared of dying. I'm just scared of the unknown." He said in his old voice.

Isabella looked straight up at him with a slight grin, “Oh Don’t worry honey there is plenty of life in the afterlife, plenty of dancing, you will be okay.”

Randy felt very weird hearing those words come out of Isabella’s mouth.

As the night went on Randy grew very tired and decided he was gonna head back home, he begin to say his goodbye to Isabella, “It was very nice meeting you tonight”

Isabella looked straight at him “It was great meeting you Randy, and remember, there is plenty of dancing in the afterlife honey”

Randy said his goodbyes to Isabella and the people he had met at the dance club, feeling a sense of contentment wash over him. As he walked back to his truck, the cool night air soothing his skin, a strange silence descended upon the area.

Suddenly, he turned around to look back at the dance club and gasped in disbelief. The house had vanished, leaving no trace behind, as if it had never existed. Randy's mouth hung open in shock, and his eyes widened in confusion. He stumbled backward, trying to make sense of what he had just witnessed. Had it been a dream? Was it a figment of his imagination? He shook his head in disbelief, unable to come up with any logical explanation. Slowly, Randy regained his composure and climbed into his truck. As he drove away.

As Randy drove back home he kept thinking of any logical explanation for what happened. But all it did was leave him more confused.

As Randy got home and walked into his house he instantly went straight to his laptop barely knowing how to use it due to his age, but he did know how to search on Google. He begins to research the event that had happened to him. And after hours of searching and trying to find answers as to what had happened, he came across an article on the history of the area he had lived in. He found out that the dance club he had been to was caught on fire in 1896.

Randy was in disbelief at all that has happened and after reading that article he was even more confused.

Randy just figured he had to go to bed he was extremely tired after the entire night that has taken place. Randy begin to lay down in his bed and as he started to drift off into rim sleep, a thought came to his head of what Isabella told him “Remember there is plenty of life in the afterlife, plenty of dancing.”

What was the event that took place Randy thought, was it all just a dream, was he drugged he thought, or was it just ghosts giving a taste of what to expect when death calls his name, to show him that even when he dies he will get to do what he loves for all eternity. Randy smiled as he went off into a deep peaceful sleep.

THE END