Falling Capricorn (6 page)

“Sorry, I know. I’m being insensitive.” Joey sat there with a shocked expression. So he was dead; but then, where the hell was he now?

“I just wanted to help stop the war, like you,” he said quietly. “Where are we?”

“We are in purgatory; remember that place where people who aren’t going to hell and aren’t going to heaven go, but are stuck in-between? Basically, my brother, we are stuck between this world and the human world. Welcome to the land of ghosts.” He said it so happily, but the words fell short to his dead ears.

“Ghosts? You got to be kidding me. Now I must be alive… I am just dreaming,” Joey muttered. His brother sighed, glaring at him.

“Fool! Do not let your mind perceive things as impossible. There is no time for that shit!  Now there is something you forgot to do, or rather someone you are watching over who is still in the world of the living. Listen to me carefully. You were the one I was watching over, so there isn’t much time left before I finally get my sentence to either heaven or hell. You need to figure out who it is you are watching over, and get them to let you go. The longer you stay here, the more uncontrollable your powers become. The more uncontrolled you become, the more likely you will turn into an angry spirit.” His brother explained quickly.

“And how am I supposed to do that? Aren’t people here trapped for eternity?” Joey muttered his question with a long sigh.

“…Well maybe if you would stop interrupting me, and let me talk. Seriously? You act like all superstitions follow a guide-line or rule book.” He placed a hand over Joey’s mouth as he looked like he was about to interrupt him again. “Catch one of the creatures crawling around on the floor and let it bite you. You will fall asleep for an hour, which means you only have 2 days to visit the human world. Go find what is holding you here. Now, do you understand what it is you need to do?”

“All of this is just going way to fast. I was alive like ten minutes ago!” Joey exclaimed as his brother was starting to get scooped up by the purple light of the moon.

“Brother, you have been dead for a while. They just started your funeral now. Just let one of the creatures bite you if you don’t believe me,” he told him, before starting to disappear.

“Wait! I still have questions to ask you!” Joey exclaimed trying to grab his brother, but his hand went right through him.

“Go to your funeral! You act like anyone can just decide to leave whenever they please! My… do you still have a lot to learn about this place.” He gave his younger brother a smile before disappearing into the mist.

Joey stood there for a while, staring at his hand, which had just gone through his brother. He stared at it, processing everything he was told. Who was the one holding onto him still? With that thought, one name came to his mind: Christen. He stared at the ground, which was so dark that he couldn’t see his feet.

“Just let the strange creepy creatures you can’t see bite you, he said. How hard can that be?” he muttered before reaching his hand down, onto the ground. As if on cue, he felt the fangs of something sinking into his hand. “Ah! AH! That hurts!” he exclaimed before collapsing forward, passing out on the ground.

When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to find that his brother was correct. The funeral was, in fact, taking place. He floated in the corner of the room, observing with wide eyes. There weren’t a lot of people there, from the requests of his parents. It was a cold day, and Joey’s eyes softened as he saw Eric and Christen who stood side by side.

“Oh Christen,” he mumbled to himself, seeing exactly what was keeping him there. The engagement ring hung around her neck, hanging from the necklace. He also noticed her painting that sat next to what he presumed to be his coffin.

The painting was filled with blacks, blues, and white dots. It was the day on the beach, when he proposed to her. The waves were dark and sullen looking, crashing into the sand. Some places sparkled when the waves hit just right, while other places were pitch black. The sky was also dark. One nearly couldn’t tell where the water and sky met if it wasn’t for the radiance that shined from the moon. The white stars sparkled even, with a soft shine of light around them. It was a gorgeous and detailed painting.

Joey’s coffin was closed as his parents spared their family and friends the pain of what had happened to him. Was it painful? Was he in pain for a long time? Christen couldn’t help but wonder. Eric was rather quiet like always, sighing as the pastor started to speak of the man he didn’t even know. It killed Joey to see everyone like this, but his eyes were most focused on Christen. She played with the ring, as if feeling close to him. How much pain was she in? It made the pain he had just experienced seem like a memory watching her desperate fidgeting.

The pastor’s voice droned on as Joey continued his watch before the pastor looked at the audience. "Now Joey’s father will say a few words,” he announced.

  Joey’s father came up to the front. The wrinkled man gave a slight smile to everyone. His blonde hair was faded to a sandy gray color, but his blue eyes were still very bright. He was a happy-go-lucky man just like Joey, and also rather imp-like. He was a lot like his father. Joey’s mother stood up straight as his father walked up; as if supporting him, and also trying to remind him to stay strong. They promised each other that they wouldn’t hold onto the past.  It was said that being missed is what keeps a person who has passed from rest.

“My boy Joey…so many words come to mind when I think of him. He was a compassionate and friendly boy; always making others smile and happy. He gave it his all for everyone else without a want in return. He was childish at times, and a bit foolish. He was a bit of a daydreamer, but he lived life the way he wanted to.” The man stopped for a moment, licking his dry lips. Joey felt tears threatening to escape him. They nearly did when he realized his father also had tears brimming on his dark ringed eyes, but he pressed on.

“He was going to get married to a beautiful girl and they were going to have amazing grandchildren. He was going to be one of Eric’s partners, and build an amazing art gallery. His dreams are gone with him, but his lessons to us are not. He wanted everyone happy, because focusing on anything else… that is what creates wars. It’s what creates pain and misery. He wanted us all to live by his simple way of living, to live to be happy. To be happy with what we have, happy for the friends and family we have, and to be happy just to be alive. So I beg of you all….” tears couldn’t help but escape him. His youngest son of age fifteen walked up and gave his dad a hug, giving him support to continue. “I beg you all to live life well and appreciate all the good things in life… that’s what Joey would have wanted for us.” With that he broke down, hugging his youngest son. His wife got up and hugged him as well with tenderness. Seeing the family like this brought tears to everyone’s eyes.

Joey wanted to run up and hug his family. He longed to hold them all close to him. He wanted to scream to them that he was right there, but he knew it would all be in vain. They wouldn’t hear him, so there would be no point in even trying. He turned from his mourning family, and stopped to see Christen crying as well. That broke his heart. Joey fell to his knees before her.

“Christen, don’t cry,” Eric muttered, glancing at the girl standing next to him who was sobbing rather hard. She looked up at him, wiping away her tears with the back of her hands.

“I’m trying not to,” she whispered back to him, muffled by the sobs that were choked down in her throat. He sighed, wrapping his arms around her shoulders, a hand pulling her head to his lapel. She cried into his chest for a while before it eventually died down.

Joey looked up and saw Christen’s hand still gripping the ring. He knew she had to let go. There was a selfish part of him that wanted her to keep holding onto it. He didn’t want to leave her and his family behind. He wanted to stay with them for as long as he could, but he knew that it would make everyone miserable…especially Christen. He couldn’t let them live in such misery. Another reason dawned in the back of his head when he heard his brother calling.

“The longer you stay here, the more uncontrollable your powers become. The more uncontrolled you become, the more likely you will turn into an angry spirit.” His voice echoed in his mind. No, he couldn’t turn into that angry spirit. He loved them all too much. Who would be so selfish and do that to the people that they cared about?

When it came to the end, everyone had to say their good-byes. Christen and Joey were the last to leave before they buried him.

“Well, I guess you never got a chance to read my letter, huh?” Eric asked him, though he knew there wouldn’t be an answer. “Or you wouldn’t have returned in a body bag,” he sighed, rubbing his head. “Guess I wanted to say thank you, Joey. I regret not getting a chance to say that to you,” he tells him before turning back to Christen. Joey frowned at him.

"Thank you? For what?" Joey asked himself. “I read the letter, Eric; I just didn’t get a chance to reply though,” he murmured, knowing it was impossible to talk to him, all the same.

Christen and Joey took each other’s spot and it was her turn as she stood over his coffin, holding the ring tighter. She needed it close to her. She was afraid if she were to just let it go,  Joey’s memory would just up and fade away from her. If she got rid of the ring, then would she be ridding herself of Joey? She didn’t want to let go of her true love. She didn’t want to let go of her soul mate.

“Joey come back to me,” she pleaded to him. Joey clenched a hand to his heart. He would come back to her if he could. They would live out the plans they had created if he were allowed to return, but he wasn’t. He couldn’t. He had to speak to her no matter what, so he took a deep breath and tried to whisper to her.

“Christen, let me go,” he whispered in her ear. Christen straightened up as she swore she heard whispering. Joey was relieved he was able to break through.

“Let him go?” She thought for a moment to herself.

“I want you to be happy, can’t you see?” he whispered to her, ghostly tears rolling down his face as he spoke.

Christen looked up to the sky. Was that what he wanted? He was always a selfless soul, and it made sense that he would wish her to move on. It would hurt, she knew, but something made her decide to let go.

“For you, I will try to be happy,” she whispered.

Christen opened the coffin just barely to give him the ring back. Joey placed his arms around her, not caring if it went through her or not. She straightened up from a chill that went down her spine before she dropped the ring. Once it fell out of her hands, she took a step back with a heavy breath; going right through Joey whom she was still unaware was there.

“Joey, be happy. Please, rest in peace.” With that she turned away from the gravesite. She shut her eyes tightly as tears streamed down her face. She slowly walked away, giving one more glance over her shoulder as his casket disappeared under the ground.

Joey watched them leave with a sigh, "Oh Christen......Christen." The pain in his chest reverberated throughout his ghostly form. He thought this would be last time he would see his beloved. The thoughts of never smelling her hair, watching her laugh, kissing her lips or seeing her create her beautiful work brought him to his knees. He wailed after his lost Christen who had already disappeared with Eric. Anger stirred deep in his soul. Suddenly fear consumed him.  He reached through the coffin and grabbed the ring, which surprisingly didn’t go through him.

“Joey, don’t be selfish,” he groaned, but then sighed. "No… I don’t want to be forgotten; besides… what if there is another way?" he reasoned to himself. Joey flew to Eric’s house while Eric drove Christen home.

Joey beat Eric home, getting into the house just as Roxie and her friends walked out the door. He mused on the lady, Roxie. She was really something. He remembered meeting her a few times; she was rather funny, though very straight forward. For Eric, she was perfect for him.

Joey managed to pick up a piece of paper. After some thought, the note Eric had sent him popped into his hand from thin air. "I guess being dead has its perks," he joked to himself. He grinned and wrote on the piece of paper, writing a sentence or two before placing it in the envelope with Eric’s letter. He went into Eric’s room and placed it on the night table with the ring on top of it.

As if on time, Eric unlocked the door. Joey went to the corner and waited to see his reaction. Eric first checked the table where Roxie had left a note for him to read.

              
Eric,

          I went with the girls to pick out the outfits for the next performance.

          Don’t wait up; there is some food I cooked in the fridge.

          And call me if you need me for anything. Wish you would let me be there for you.

          I’m sorry for your loss honey. Love you.

                                                                                                                          ~Roxie

Eric rubbed the back of his head. He really needed to talk to her, but he knew he would have to get over it. He sighed and headed into his room. "Ohhh...to just go to bed," he thought. He walked into the room as the door slammed closed behind him. He spun around to find no one there.

Joey had simply pushed the door closed, not meaning to slam it shut. His eyes widened; he didn’t know he was so strong.

“Stupid wind,” Eric mutters to himself, sitting on his bed before glancing at his night stand. He sat there in a surprised shock. The letter he had sent to Joey months ago laid on his night stand. The ring, he clearly saw Christen put into the coffin, was sitting right on the letter. “W-what is this?” He rubbed his eyes, swearing he was seeing things, but once he moved his hands from his eyes there the envelope and ring sat, nearly mocking him. He slowly reached over to grip the letter. Sweat rolled down the back of his neck as he opened it. His other hand caught the ring, and placed it back on the night stand. His letter was in the envelope along with another that he was sure he didn’t add with it. He opened the other letter, and felt like all the blood drained from his body as he read it.