{"sf1_id":301521,"sf2_id":"q1xZjr8m","title":"Moonlit in Fog","author":"Revresbo","words":1877,"posted_at":"2011-11-01T01:06:00.000Z","tags":["Ghost","Halloween","Werewolf","Writing Challenge"],"url":"https://fse.anthro.fr/stories/301521-moonlit-in-fog","original_url":"https://sofurry.com/s/q1xZjr8m","image_url":"https://cdn.sofurryfiles.com/submissions/thumbnails/f8/8c/f88c9be3-e893-444e-9d3c-50533002c908","description":"A ghost story for the writing challenge group in which I am.","content":"The world is different now.\n\nI rest a hand against a wall, staring at it as if I could see through it.\u0026nbsp; Well, I guess I could.\u0026nbsp; I look the same, but everything else seems insubstantial, ephemeral.\u0026nbsp; It takes a conscious effort to feel the wall and push against it rather than go through it.\u0026nbsp; By the same token, I could focus on the wall or through the wall just like most people can either focus on a chainlink fence or look past it.\u0026nbsp; It is a strange world I live in where I have to focus to hear the traffic but could easily hear the strange whispers.\n\nI said the world is different, but it isn't really.\u0026nbsp; Not for me.\u0026nbsp; The first thing I remember is the Lethe.\u0026nbsp; Intellectually, I knew I had been a part of this strange world of ghosts at some point, but I could not remember anything.\u0026nbsp; Time seems to flow oddly here, so I cannot even say how long I've been living like this.\u0026nbsp; Well, on the odd occasions when someone sees me, they say I'm dead.\u0026nbsp; But if they are alive and I can see and hear them, how can that be?\n\nI pause to consider my own hand on the wall.\u0026nbsp; It stands out as being solid.\u0026nbsp; My body and clothes are the only things I cannot see through.\u0026nbsp; Well, not quite.\n\nI see things that stand out as solid, yet no one in this world of fog seemed to notice.\u0026nbsp; Sometimes, I could see solid things living inside the ghosts that walked about.\u0026nbsp; Of course, there was also the moon that dictated night and day.\u0026nbsp; It was clearly solid.\u0026nbsp; During the day, some of the things living in the ghosts became visible to the ghosts.\u0026nbsp; This usually ended with their panicked fleeing.\u0026nbsp; It was comical.\u0026nbsp; What were they afraid of?\u0026nbsp; The chance of becoming solid?\u0026nbsp; Unfortunately, daylight came and went, and every once in a while, there would be two solid nights with no day between.\u0026nbsp; Those were the days I felt most weary.\u0026nbsp; I usually slept, such as I could.\n\nI am still absently staring at my hand when a flash of light catches my eye beyond the wall.\u0026nbsp; My normally latent curiosity is piqued.\u0026nbsp; What had I seen?\u0026nbsp; I move through the wall, looking for what had caught my eye.\u0026nbsp; This is more difficult than it sounds.\u0026nbsp; Yes, I could see through things, but I had to focus my sight before and after each object.\u0026nbsp; Look too far, and I could not see what was close, and vice versa.\u0026nbsp; I see it again and go at a faster pace.\u0026nbsp; This time I could see it was residing in one of the ghosts.\u0026nbsp; I had seen others like it before, but this one seems brighter somehow.\u0026nbsp; The others looked like they were carried by the ghost except for on the brightest days.\u0026nbsp; This one looks like it is in control.\n\nIt ducks around another corner, forcing me to change my focus once again.\u0026nbsp; Tiring of the game, I rise above the foggy constructions and look down.\u0026nbsp; Now that I do not have to keep changing focus, I can see it clearly, and I quickly close the distance.\n\nI do not engage it directly, though.\u0026nbsp; I am too wary.\u0026nbsp; I seem to be safe from the fog and death, but some things still hurt.\u0026nbsp; I do not wish to scare it.\n\nIt suddenly pauses, I hover above uncertainly.\u0026nbsp; Abruptly, it looks up and sees me watching it.\u0026nbsp; A peculiar light comes over its face, and it waves me down.\n\nI stay above a moment longer, considering.\u0026nbsp; I had wanted to observe it before making contact to ensure it was benign, but now I am faced with two choices: stay and risk or leave and never know.\u0026nbsp; It seems to be stuck to the foggy ground by the ghost it resides in, though, so I decide to descend.\n\nI alight gracefully, automatically adjusting my mind to keep my feet from going straight through the ground.\u0026nbsp; It looks at me with its head cocked to one side.\u0026nbsp; I take a brief moment to study the ghost's face, but then focus on the more important physical aspect inside it.\n\nIt was certainly different than I or the ghost.\u0026nbsp; It had a muzzle, and its ears protruded from the top of its head.\u0026nbsp; Its teeth were sharp, and it had dimly shining fur that swayed in the wind that none of the ghosts seemed to feel.\u0026nbsp; Lastly, I could see a tail flicking behind it.\u0026nbsp; It reminded me vaguely of the four-legged ghosts that sometimes went with the bipedal ghosts that were more common here, except, of course, for the fact that it was bigger and on two legs.\u0026nbsp; Odd.\u0026nbsp; The last time I had seen something like this was on a bright day.\u0026nbsp; That had been when one of the shapes living in the ghosts had taken control.\u0026nbsp; Some ghost in its fear, however, had found a way to hurt the solid.\u0026nbsp; It fled the ghost, and the ghost had fallen lifeless.\u0026nbsp; I had felt vaguely saddened.\u0026nbsp; The ghost seemed to try to chase all of the solidness from the world with varying amounts of success.\u0026nbsp; Perhaps--\n\n\"See something you like?\" it asks, teeth gleaming in its smile.\u0026nbsp; I am slightly taken aback.\u0026nbsp; Normally, there is nothing to interrupt my musings.\n\n\"Forgive me,\" I say with a slight bow.\u0026nbsp; \"I am unused to seeing other things like myself.\"\n\n\"Yes, there are few enough of us left.\u0026nbsp; Humans seem to grow less tolerant of shiners like us by the day.\"\n\n\"Humans?\u0026nbsp; Shiners?\"\n\nIt looks confused by my questions.\u0026nbsp; \"Well, what do you call them?\"\n\n\"Call what?\"\n\n\"Well, this body I reside in,\" it says, gesturing to the ghost surrounding him.\n\n\"Oh.\u0026nbsp; I never knew they had a proper name.\u0026nbsp; I simply thought them ghosts.\"\n\nIt laughs loudly.\u0026nbsp; I could see a few of the humans, as it called them, look over, probably confused by the outburst.\u0026nbsp; I can't say I understand it myself.\n\nIt notices my gaze.\u0026nbsp; \"Sorry.\u0026nbsp; It's just, that's what they call shiners like you.\"\n\n\"Shiners?\"\n\n\"We glow,\" it shrugs.\n\n\"How did you get inside the human?\"\u0026nbsp; I am genuinely curious.\u0026nbsp; I wonder if it can see both as I see and as they see.\n\nIt smiles.\u0026nbsp; \"I Touched it.\"\n\nSomehow, I knew that the \"Touch\" had a capital T.\u0026nbsp; It was clearly no normal touch.\n\n\"Why?\"\n\n\"I wanted to breed.\u0026nbsp; And to see what it was like.\"\n\n\"Breed?\"\u0026nbsp; I had never seen solids created, only destroyed.\n\n\"You might have seen my children.\u0026nbsp; They stay inside during the day, but come out during the full moon.\"\u0026nbsp; It sighed.\u0026nbsp; \"Unfortunately, they are just children.\u0026nbsp; They have no control and scare the humans.\u0026nbsp; And the humans kill them.\"\n\nI am moved by his words.\u0026nbsp; I can see it is saddened and disturbed.\u0026nbsp; I feel a kinship with him.\u0026nbsp; This is the first shiner I had talked to in my long existance.\u0026nbsp; Or was it long?\n\n\"I am sorry.\"\n\nIt looks surprised by my sympathy.\u0026nbsp; \"It is as it is.\u0026nbsp; They want to breed to, but too soon.\u0026nbsp; They are not ready.\u0026nbsp; They rush in to Touch whomever they can.\u0026nbsp; They do not even ask if they want to be Touched.\u0026nbsp; And so their children are unhappy and perish.\"\n\nI reach out a hand to it on impulse.\u0026nbsp; I had never tried to touch a human or a shiner before, but I reached out to it.\u0026nbsp; It looks taken aback by the outstretched hand, but it tentatively takes it.\u0026nbsp; I have the odd double sensation of feeling the ghostly hand and the solid paw.\n\n\"I wish I could help them with the change,\" it says sadly, \"but they leave, and I do not see them again.\"\n\nI look up to the brightening moon.\u0026nbsp; She is nearly full.\u0026nbsp; I look back to the shiner before me.\n\n\"Come with me.\"\n\nI start to rise, but the ghost inside him resists.\u0026nbsp; I am slowed for a moment before I tug on the paw beneath and pull both with me above the cloudlike world around us.\u0026nbsp; It looks frightened, and its grip tightens, but I look it in the eye and say, \"Do not be afraid.\"\u0026nbsp; The ghost still looks terrified, but the shiner beneath calms.\u0026nbsp; I stop when I can see the whole city of clouds below.\u0026nbsp; It looks down in wonder.\n\n\"It's amazing.\"\n\n\"It is only clouds.\"\n\nIt looks at me in wonder.\u0026nbsp; \"You only see clouds?\"\n\n\"Like the ghosts, but immobile.\"\n\nIts gaze changes, but I look down to the world below.\u0026nbsp; I want to help.\u0026nbsp; I focus through the rooves and walls and look for the shining solid beneath.\u0026nbsp; I look through every floor of every building.\u0026nbsp; I look through every street and every park.\u0026nbsp; And then I see a flash.\u0026nbsp; Just a little beyond the city, something is looking at up at the rising moon.\u0026nbsp; I descend quickly, maintaining my grip on the shiner.\n\nIt lets loose a yell, partly of fear, partly of exhiliration as we go back to the surface of the world.\u0026nbsp; Aware of his ghostly body, I slow, alighting gently on the ground not far from the ghostly shiner, yet far enough to not be seen.\u0026nbsp; It looks ahead.\u0026nbsp; \"Why...\"\u0026nbsp; It trails off.\n\nIt looks back towards me.\u0026nbsp; \"Thank you.\"\n\nI look back to him.\u0026nbsp; \"You are welcome.\u0026nbsp; I hope all goes well.\"\u0026nbsp; I turn to leave.\n\n\"Wait,\" it says, catching my hand.\u0026nbsp; \"What can I do for you?\"\n\n\"Do for me?\"\n\n\"You've done me a kindness.\u0026nbsp; I'd like to do one for you.\"\n\nI don't know what to say.\u0026nbsp; I don't really want anything.\u0026nbsp; I am just am.\u0026nbsp; As a matter of fact, this one moment of activity has more purpose than I had ever felt or possibly ever will.\n\n\"Here,\" it said, holding out a paw again.\u0026nbsp; \"Let me show you how the world looks to us.\u0026nbsp; How it used to look to you.\"\n\nI reach out and grip the paw, a little confused.\u0026nbsp; There was a moment of nothing and then--\n\n\\*\n\nThe world is solid.\u0026nbsp; I can scarcely believe my eyes.\u0026nbsp; The colours were breathtaking.\u0026nbsp; What was fog is firm.\u0026nbsp; I could make out every blade of grass, every leaf on a tree.\u0026nbsp; The stars are clear and twinkling, the moon more than a bright disk.\u0026nbsp; I could see the human as a solid creature with skin and hair and eyes.\u0026nbsp; The eyes I am looking through turn to see me, and the sight takes my breath away.\u0026nbsp; I am ephemeral, foglike, unclear.\u0026nbsp; I feel a sudden disorientation.\u0026nbsp; Literally everything that was solid before was now transient.\n\nBut then the moon rises higher, and the light shines through my motionless body, illuminating it from within.\u0026nbsp; I still do not look of this world, but I suddenly seem a part of it.\u0026nbsp; My borrowed eyes look back to the human as it looks towards us.\u0026nbsp; Its eyes flash in the moonlight and then--\n\n\\*\n\nIt lets go of my hand.\u0026nbsp; Everything is fog again, and it turns to help its child.\u0026nbsp; I look at myself, solid again, lit by moonlight.\u0026nbsp; It's as if nothing has changed.\u0026nbsp; Yet I have changed.\n\nThe world is different now.\n\n  \n  \n\n"}