# Moonlit in Fog

Author: Revresbo
Tags: Ghost, Halloween, Werewolf, Writing Challenge

A ghost story for the writing challenge group in which I am.

The world is different now.

I rest a hand against a wall, staring at it as if I could see through it.&nbsp; Well, I guess I could.&nbsp; I look the same, but everything else seems insubstantial, ephemeral.&nbsp; It takes a conscious effort to feel the wall and push against it rather than go through it.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; It is a strange world I live in where I have to focus to hear the traffic but could easily hear the strange whispers.

I said the world is different, but it isn't really.&nbsp; Not for me.&nbsp; The first thing I remember is the Lethe.&nbsp; Intellectually, I knew I had been a part of this strange world of ghosts at some point, but I could not remember anything.&nbsp; Time seems to flow oddly here, so I cannot even say how long I've been living like this.&nbsp; Well, on the odd occasions when someone sees me, they say I'm dead.&nbsp; But if they are alive and I can see and hear them, how can that be?

I pause to consider my own hand on the wall.&nbsp; It stands out as being solid.&nbsp; My body and clothes are the only things I cannot see through.&nbsp; Well, not quite.

I see things that stand out as solid, yet no one in this world of fog seemed to notice.&nbsp; Sometimes, I could see solid things living inside the ghosts that walked about.&nbsp; Of course, there was also the moon that dictated night and day.&nbsp; It was clearly solid.&nbsp; During the day, some of the things living in the ghosts became visible to the ghosts.&nbsp; This usually ended with their panicked fleeing.&nbsp; It was comical.&nbsp; What were they afraid of?&nbsp; The chance of becoming solid?&nbsp; Unfortunately, daylight came and went, and every once in a while, there would be two solid nights with no day between.&nbsp; Those were the days I felt most weary.&nbsp; I usually slept, such as I could.

I am still absently staring at my hand when a flash of light catches my eye beyond the wall.&nbsp; My normally latent curiosity is piqued.&nbsp; What had I seen?&nbsp; I move through the wall, looking for what had caught my eye.&nbsp; This is more difficult than it sounds.&nbsp; Yes, I could see through things, but I had to focus my sight before and after each object.&nbsp; Look too far, and I could not see what was close, and vice versa.&nbsp; I see it again and go at a faster pace.&nbsp; This time I could see it was residing in one of the ghosts.&nbsp; I had seen others like it before, but this one seems brighter somehow.&nbsp; The others looked like they were carried by the ghost except for on the brightest days.&nbsp; This one looks like it is in control.

It ducks around another corner, forcing me to change my focus once again.&nbsp; Tiring of the game, I rise above the foggy constructions and look down.&nbsp; Now that I do not have to keep changing focus, I can see it clearly, and I quickly close the distance.

I do not engage it directly, though.&nbsp; I am too wary.&nbsp; I seem to be safe from the fog and death, but some things still hurt.&nbsp; I do not wish to scare it.

It suddenly pauses, I hover above uncertainly.&nbsp; Abruptly, it looks up and sees me watching it.&nbsp; A peculiar light comes over its face, and it waves me down.

I stay above a moment longer, considering.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; It seems to be stuck to the foggy ground by the ghost it resides in, though, so I decide to descend.

I alight gracefully, automatically adjusting my mind to keep my feet from going straight through the ground.&nbsp; It looks at me with its head cocked to one side.&nbsp; I take a brief moment to study the ghost's face, but then focus on the more important physical aspect inside it.

It was certainly different than I or the ghost.&nbsp; It had a muzzle, and its ears protruded from the top of its head.&nbsp; Its teeth were sharp, and it had dimly shining fur that swayed in the wind that none of the ghosts seemed to feel.&nbsp; Lastly, I could see a tail flicking behind it.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; Odd.&nbsp; The last time I had seen something like this was on a bright day.&nbsp; That had been when one of the shapes living in the ghosts had taken control.&nbsp; Some ghost in its fear, however, had found a way to hurt the solid.&nbsp; It fled the ghost, and the ghost had fallen lifeless.&nbsp; I had felt vaguely saddened.&nbsp; The ghost seemed to try to chase all of the solidness from the world with varying amounts of success.&nbsp; Perhaps--

"See something you like?" it asks, teeth gleaming in its smile.&nbsp; I am slightly taken aback.&nbsp; Normally, there is nothing to interrupt my musings.

"Forgive me," I say with a slight bow.&nbsp; "I am unused to seeing other things like myself."

"Yes, there are few enough of us left.&nbsp; Humans seem to grow less tolerant of shiners like us by the day."

"Humans?&nbsp; Shiners?"

It looks confused by my questions.&nbsp; "Well, what do you call them?"

"Call what?"

"Well, this body I reside in," it says, gesturing to the ghost surrounding him.

"Oh.&nbsp; I never knew they had a proper name.&nbsp; I simply thought them ghosts."

It laughs loudly.&nbsp; I could see a few of the humans, as it called them, look over, probably confused by the outburst.&nbsp; I can't say I understand it myself.

It notices my gaze.&nbsp; "Sorry.&nbsp; It's just, that's what they call shiners like you."

"Shiners?"

"We glow," it shrugs.

"How did you get inside the human?"&nbsp; I am genuinely curious.&nbsp; I wonder if it can see both as I see and as they see.

It smiles.&nbsp; "I Touched it."

Somehow, I knew that the "Touch" had a capital T.&nbsp; It was clearly no normal touch.

"Why?"

"I wanted to breed.&nbsp; And to see what it was like."

"Breed?"&nbsp; I had never seen solids created, only destroyed.

"You might have seen my children.&nbsp; They stay inside during the day, but come out during the full moon."&nbsp; It sighed.&nbsp; "Unfortunately, they are just children.&nbsp; They have no control and scare the humans.&nbsp; And the humans kill them."

I am moved by his words.&nbsp; I can see it is saddened and disturbed.&nbsp; I feel a kinship with him.&nbsp; This is the first shiner I had talked to in my long existance.&nbsp; Or was it long?

"I am sorry."

It looks surprised by my sympathy.&nbsp; "It is as it is.&nbsp; They want to breed to, but too soon.&nbsp; They are not ready.&nbsp; They rush in to Touch whomever they can.&nbsp; They do not even ask if they want to be Touched.&nbsp; And so their children are unhappy and perish."

I reach out a hand to it on impulse.&nbsp; I had never tried to touch a human or a shiner before, but I reached out to it.&nbsp; It looks taken aback by the outstretched hand, but it tentatively takes it.&nbsp; I have the odd double sensation of feeling the ghostly hand and the solid paw.

"I wish I could help them with the change," it says sadly, "but they leave, and I do not see them again."

I look up to the brightening moon.&nbsp; She is nearly full.&nbsp; I look back to the shiner before me.

"Come with me."

I start to rise, but the ghost inside him resists.&nbsp; I am slowed for a moment before I tug on the paw beneath and pull both with me above the cloudlike world around us.&nbsp; It looks frightened, and its grip tightens, but I look it in the eye and say, "Do not be afraid."&nbsp; The ghost still looks terrified, but the shiner beneath calms.&nbsp; I stop when I can see the whole city of clouds below.&nbsp; It looks down in wonder.

"It's amazing."

"It is only clouds."

It looks at me in wonder.&nbsp; "You only see clouds?"

"Like the ghosts, but immobile."

Its gaze changes, but I look down to the world below.&nbsp; I want to help.&nbsp; I focus through the rooves and walls and look for the shining solid beneath.&nbsp; I look through every floor of every building.&nbsp; I look through every street and every park.&nbsp; And then I see a flash.&nbsp; Just a little beyond the city, something is looking at up at the rising moon.&nbsp; I descend quickly, maintaining my grip on the shiner.

It lets loose a yell, partly of fear, partly of exhiliration as we go back to the surface of the world.&nbsp; 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.&nbsp; It looks ahead.&nbsp; "Why..."&nbsp; It trails off.

It looks back towards me.&nbsp; "Thank you."

I look back to him.&nbsp; "You are welcome.&nbsp; I hope all goes well."&nbsp; I turn to leave.

"Wait," it says, catching my hand.&nbsp; "What can I do for you?"

"Do for me?"

"You've done me a kindness.&nbsp; I'd like to do one for you."

I don't know what to say.&nbsp; I don't really want anything.&nbsp; I am just am.&nbsp; As a matter of fact, this one moment of activity has more purpose than I had ever felt or possibly ever will.

"Here," it said, holding out a paw again.&nbsp; "Let me show you how the world looks to us.&nbsp; How it used to look to you."

I reach out and grip the paw, a little confused.&nbsp; There was a moment of nothing and then--

\*

The world is solid.&nbsp; I can scarcely believe my eyes.&nbsp; The colours were breathtaking.&nbsp; What was fog is firm.&nbsp; I could make out every blade of grass, every leaf on a tree.&nbsp; The stars are clear and twinkling, the moon more than a bright disk.&nbsp; I could see the human as a solid creature with skin and hair and eyes.&nbsp; The eyes I am looking through turn to see me, and the sight takes my breath away.&nbsp; I am ephemeral, foglike, unclear.&nbsp; I feel a sudden disorientation.&nbsp; Literally everything that was solid before was now transient.

But then the moon rises higher, and the light shines through my motionless body, illuminating it from within.&nbsp; I still do not look of this world, but I suddenly seem a part of it.&nbsp; My borrowed eyes look back to the human as it looks towards us.&nbsp; Its eyes flash in the moonlight and then--

\*

It lets go of my hand.&nbsp; Everything is fog again, and it turns to help its child.&nbsp; I look at myself, solid again, lit by moonlight.&nbsp; It's as if nothing has changed.&nbsp; Yet I have changed.

The world is different now.

Source: https://sofurry.com/s/q1xZjr8m