Frayed

I peered beyond the rain lashing the windscreen into the dark. One moment, it was just the empty, rain-slicked road... The next, there he was, lit up in my headlights. No time to stop, or swerve, or scream.

I slammed on the brakes, car squealing to a halt. The horror I felt stared back at me from the rear-view mirror. Beyond that, the old man waved his stick at me, scowling.

The relief I felt at not killing someone was total, but short-lived. Hot on its heels comes amazement. I drove straight through him! He stumped to the side of the road and hobbled away without vanishing, or fading. He looked real, yet on some unfathomable level he wasn't there.

Ghost! My fingers trembled on the wheel. Amazement gave way to creeping, spine-tingling fear.

I started jostling against people, if I was in a crowd. Ever so slightly, just to reassure myself they're solid. Real.

I stopped when I discovered that many of them weren't.

I started seeing them all the time. A young woman on a park bench, a child running across the street. In crowded shops, empty rooms. Even, sometimes, lingering by my bed at 2am.

They were hard to spot, there were clues. Clothes. A subtle light around them. An eerie disconnect from their surroundings. Funny, how hardly anyone is really real.

That's why, that night, I didn't brake when she stepped off the curb. I didn't swerve when she stumbled. To my abject horror, my car didn't pass right through her. A visceral thud and crunch. I stared in the mirror. She wasn't moving. Her eyes stared out of her bloodied face, lit up by the lights of my car. My heart pounded. Get out. Go and check on her. Get out. Go on! Move!

She's already dead. Go. Before someone sees you. How are you ever going to explain this? Go!

Guilt ate at me. I stopped driving. Now I sit in a crowded coffee shop, wondering if it's packed with the living... or if ghosts outnumber them.

The boundary between life and death, real and unreal, has frayed. It feels like my mind is fraying with it.

+ + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + Word count excluding note: 366 Submitted on Saturday 27th July at 11.34

*Very Quick Author's Note* First of all, and most importantly: thank you so much for reading my story! The ha'penny that Vocal will toss in my hat for your eyeballs landing on this humble piece will be well-spent. If you enjoyed this one, the very best compliment you can give me is to share it, or read another! A Year of Stories: I'm writing a story every day this year. This one continues my 209 day streak since 1st January.

Please do consider lending your support to the other creators who are also on this madcap "a story every day" adventure. They are putting out excellent content every day!

Rachel Deeming

Gerard DiLeo Please do leave me a comment. I try to reciprocate as many as I can. Leaving a comment makes that easier.

The story behind the story: I was actually mulling on a whodunit style story for the Overboard challenge when I came up with this. I'm still working on that, and it'll be quite different, so should still be worth a look when I finally put it up.

Thank you! Thank you again, most sincerely. Especially if you are one of the wonderful people who has been staunchly reading these daily scribbles since the start of the year. I see you, and appreciate you very much indeed!