The Eternal Tenant-Part 2
I gasped and then...
I woke up in my bed. I was all sweaty and my heart was beating fast. It took me a few minutes to settle down and realize it was just a dream. I went downstairs and checked the door, it was locked; I was relieved that it was just a bad dream. The good news was that it was my day off and I could stay at my new home relaxing, taking that weird dream off my head by doing lots of cleaning and organizing, making the place all mine. I made some tea, ate the leftover beans from the night, and got to work.

Time passed so quickly that I didn't even realize I was cleaning until the evening. I felt hungry but was out of food, even the cans of beans ran out on me. I had to go to the town and get some groceries.
I got in my car and drove to the grocery store. I loved it when the grocery store was so empty, with no people around, which meant I didn't have to see their nosy faces. I picked everything I needed and proceeded to the self-checkout. weirdly enough, even the small number of people in the store seemed to be minding their own business after all and not even looking at me. For the first time, they weren't eyeing me out which was promising for them, being nosy never helped anyone.
I paid for my shopping, got out, drove back, and went straight home. Home! what a beautiful word...
Tonight's dinner was pasta, a delicious recipe with heavy cream and mushrooms that I had wanted to make for a long time but didn't have a kitchen for. I let the pasta boil in hot water and salt, then in a pan, I added some butter, my diced mushrooms, and some herbs I bought, and fried the mushrooms slowly. Then added the heavy cream and let that simmer for a hot minute. I added my boiled pasta to the sauce, mixed it well and my perfect dinner was ready!

Amazingly, this house had everything I needed. From pots and pans to cutlery and dishes. A beautiful dinner table made from oak trees and old but gold chairs that matched the table perfectly. I took my plate to the table, sat down, and ate my first homemade warm meal in years. Gone were the days of canned food and diner meals, just my perfect meal in my perfect home...

After dinner, I washed the dishes and went to bed, I had to wake up soon in the morning, had a shift from 6 to 6 and I had to get a good night's sleep. I wasn't aware that what was about to come tomorrow was going to change my life forever...
I woke up. The weather was cloudy like it was ready to rain and flood. I brushed my teeth, made some breakfast, drank my coffee, and got ready to go to the diner. Took my car keys, locked the house door, got in my car, and started driving. Wasn't that long of a drive but it was long enough to enjoy the beautiful scenery of Stonebridge's nature in the fall. The colour of the trees, the crisp in the air, and the cloudy skies. If only this town had better people, it would've been the perfect choice.
I arrived at the diner, parked my car and as always went inside from the back door, put on my apron, and started organizing the kitchen. No one was in yet, I liked the quiet before people showed up. 15 minutes later, Mary, my not-very-nice coworker showed up, I said Hi and she didn't respond. I thought to myself "What a bitch!", but didn't care enough to start my day with a pointless argument. I kept cleaning the kitchen, Mary was ignoring me the whole time and constantly going to the breakroom to call someone. I was kinda curious but didn't say anything.
Customers started showing up after an hour, I went to take their order. I asked, "What can I get you today sir?". The old man didn't even look up from his newspaper and ignored me, I always try to look at the bright side, so I assumed he probably had some hearing issue, so I raised my voice, "WHAT CAN I GET YOU SIR?". Again, he didn't even flinch. I started waving my hand in front of his face, but he didn't even notice my hand! at that point, I got angry, left his table, and went back to the kitchen.

Mary came out of the breakroom again, looking down at her phone, searching for something in there. I went to her and said, "I don't know what the hell is wrong with you today and why are you acting all bitchy, but I need you to take the old man's order, cause apparently he is having some issues with me like yourself, so maybe you should..."... But she didn't even look up and started walking the other way, put her phone in her apron pocket, and went up to the old guy to take his order.
I was fuming! to be ignored so many times in a short time by different people! "Oh my god!"! I took out my apron, threw it on the floor, and charged towards her and the customer. The old man seemed perfectly fine and his hearing was all back magically, Mary was taking his order with no issue. "Stop ignoring me you fucking brat!" she didn't even look at me, they both didn't, I lost my mind, picked the coffee cup off the table, and threw it on the floor. It broke into a thousand pieces, coffee all over the diner floor. Mary gasped, and the old guy jumped back, "Hear me now??".
To my surprise, instead of them being angry or blaming me, they were acting like they saw a ghost! Mary dropped her ordering book and ran out of the diner screaming. The old guy's face looked pale as a bed sheet coming right out of a washer; he took a second but got out of his seat, and started running towards the door, he even tripped and fell, but got up and ran even faster.
I was shocked. Standing there silently looking at the diner's door, watching the man from the diner window driving away and Mary running off along the road. "What ...". A thought appeared in my head like lightning, they were trying to prank me, and all this was a stupid nasty joke. I knew it! it was Mary's plan the whole time! she wanted to make me look like an idiot when I told the story to Martha, my boss; she even hired a witness to make a fool out of me and make me get fired.
I calmed myself down. went to grab my phone from my purse in the breakroom; I had 10 missed calls... from Mary. Now they have taken it too far. I heard the front door bells ringing. put my phone back in my purse and went to take their order. It was a young man, a deputy sheriff; "Hello? Anyone here?", he said. I collected my nerves and went to take his order, Mary and the old man had a lot of explaining to do or I would've burnt this place down.

"What can I get you, officer?" I asked. He smiled kindly and then said: "Anyone working here?".I looked up flabbergasted with my mouth open and concerned eyes; All of a sudden I got hit with a stupid thought, "What if..."... I raised my hand, extended my arm, and touched his face, it... it went right through... my hand... went... through his head...!!!
Was i... A ghost?
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