Ghostfinders 02 - Ghost of a Smile

Kim didn’t. Happy glowered after them and went back to join Melody, who was giving all her attention to her equipment as it hissed and purred and blinked coloured lights in an important sort of way.
    “I can’t believe they’re still together,” said Happy. “The dead and the living aren’t supposed to be together, for all kinds of really good reasons.”
    “It’ll all end in tears,” Melody said vaguely, peering from one glowing display screen to another. “I mean, they can’t even touch each other. Ever.”
    “There is more to love than the physical side,” said Happy.
    “Couldn’t prove it by me,” said Melody.
    “You worry me sometimes,” said Happy. “Actually, you worry me a lot, but . . . JC and Kim worry me more. It’s like watching a train crash in slow motion, and not being able to help anyone.”
    “Sometimes, people have to sort things out for themselves,” said Melody. “Even if one of them isn’t people any more.”
    JC and Kim walked happily along together, sticking to the factory wall. Close to each other but not touching. It was easier that way. His footsteps echoed quietly, hers didn’t, but they both pretended not to notice. Every now and again they’d walk through a falling shaft of light, and Kim would disappear for a moment.
    “I am working on refining my condition,” said Kim. “It’s not easy. Being a ghost doesn’t exactly come with an instruction manual. But I’m sure it must be possible to become solid if I can concentrate in the right way. I can become real, for you.”
    “It really doesn’t matter,” JC said patiently. “The living and the dead can love each other, but not as people do. That’s the way it is. I found you, and you found me, and I can live with that.”
    “I can’t even get into bed to sleep beside you!” said Kim. “I don’t sleep, but I do like to lie beside you. Whether you’re awake or not. I can lie down, but if my concentration wavers, I start drifting upwards, and end up bobbing by the ceiling!”
    “I don’t mind . . .” said JC.
    “Well you should!”
    They stopped and looked at each other, then they both managed a small smile.
    “I’ve had sex without love,” said JC. “Love without sex is better. Sometimes frustrating, yes, but . . . course of true love never did run smooth.” He looked at her for a long moment. “Can you feel . . . anything?”
    “Mostly, I feel cold,” said Kim. “Sometimes, when you’re asleep, I run my fingertips down your face, then I think I feel something . . . but it’s hard to be sure. I don’t have a body, only a memory of one. Mostly, I feel . . . distant. Like I’m hanging on to the world by my fingertips . . . Don’t say you’re sorry again, JC, or I’ll slap you!”
    “Like to see you try,” said JC. “Look, dead or alive, we’re both still human. Man and woman. We care for each other, in a human way. We have that in common, and that’s enough. Now, let’s get back to the others. They’re talking about us, you know.”
    “You can hear them?” said Kim. “I can’t hear them . . .”
    “No,” said JC. “But if you were them, wouldn’t you be talking about us?”
    They laughed, and returned to Happy and Melody, and the fully charged electronic equipment. They both fell silent as JC and Kim approached, and Happy did his best to look innocent but couldn’t pull it off. Melody didn’t even look up from calibrating her short- and long-range sensors. JC indicated to Happy that he wanted to walk and talk with him alone. Happy immediately looked worried and guilty in equal measures, his standard default position. JC laughed and led him away, so they could talk privately. Kim hovered next to Melody, pretending an interest in the high tech, some of which immediately stopped working, in protest to her very existence.
    “I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place, Happy,” said JC. “And I’m not even psychic. So what are you feeling? What are you seeing and hearing with that marvellous mutant mind of yours?”
    Happy scowled, looking around the deserted factory in a decidedly shifty manner. “To be honest, JC, I think opening up in here could be really dangerous. Even with all my mental shields battened down and welded shut, I can’t help picking up things. Really unpleasant things. We’re not alone in here. Something’s watching . . . and waiting. There’s no telling what might come jumping out of the shadows the moment I lower my