What happens when we die and remain among the living?
How many of you have ever thought on this theme "Is there life after death?" If so, "What awaits us on the other side?" There is no one who can tell the truth because there is no one who has returned from that side to tell us the living. Well, one thing remains clear "This life is not over until you are honest about what you owe. Get it right. Settle your debts. Only then can you move on."
- Ronan O'Connor
Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, I am Ronan O'Connor and I have always lived on a fine line, I have lived the life of a criminal since childhood. I've robbed and fought for the crucial importance of survival, and for most every meaningful crime I committed, my skin was tattooed.
I got my first tattoo when I was a child, a dollar sign as a memento of a wallet I stole.
My next tattoo came when I was stabbed with a knife while trying to steal a car from its owner, The Grim Reaper, with the inscription Cheated Death.
Later, I was arrested for street brawls and grand theft auto, which I successfully completed. This period of my life also took its place on my skin.
The maximalism of youth turned into my pride and became an integral part of my life. But there comes a time in everyone's life that changes you and your views, it happened when I met her. My wife Julia, her brother Rex helped me get settled in the police station and thanks to my extensive criminal background, I took the position of detective.
My criminal knowledge combined with deductive thinking found its application and I got the opportunity to express myself.
The following tattoos were meant not as proof of a crime, but as an affirmation of a better life, it was two roses, symbolizing the link I share with Julia, and the inscription Forever.
After her death, my life, like the rose, became dark and empty, without her I was shriveled as a person, I felt in self-hatred like a caged bird, the passage of time no longer mattered like the final tattoos on my skin, being in the precinct became even more uneasy, if you were a criminal before you were looked upon with awe then when you showed your emotions and sorrow you were looked upon as the enemy.
Now for the story, the Bell Killer murderer who's growing list of victims become one more murder longer, with mine.
Seven shots were fired directly into my torso from a gun that as my mother’s present, Bell Killer proved to be stronger and more agile than me, he killed without mercy.
Just a moment ago, I caught myself thinking that cigarettes would take my life.
The town of Salem is well known for its unfriendly history, directed mostly against women who were unjustly insulted and killed in various ways, age was not the dividing line.
The Bell Killer wasn’t just an ordinary killer with a direct interest in someone, he was a killer with a purpose.
His knowledge of this town’s history, the precision with which each murder was committed, the connection of this thread we found out too late, because as in the days of the Salem’s witch-hunts, the number of victims grew faster than they could be counted.
The victims were women, younger girls and older women, but as we later found out each of them had the ability, the ability to talk to the ghosts, to see and hear them. At each crime scene, the Bell Killer left not only his signature as an abstract bell symbol, but also small poems telling about witches and their deeds.
My self-confidence became the cause of my death, aware of the possibility that I could single-handedly capture him. Yes, I couldn't do it when I was alive, and I couldn't do it after I died.
And here comes Joy Foster, the latest possible victim of the Bell Killer. I saved her life when I came after the murderer, of course the price was my own life. Joy became a witnesser of my death.
She is the daughter of a well-known medium in the town, Cassandra, she had disappeared recently, and Joy was eager to find her.
Our goals were different, but our paths were over crossed. Without helping each other we wouldn’t have succeeded; it was the trust we gained towards each other that gave us strength to cooperate.
At some point she reminded me of myself in youth, a rebellious spirit, a troublemaker always on her own mind.
Without her this mystery would remain unsolved and no one would be able to reunite with their beloved and be at peace with life or after life.
Salem may be a small town but its streets are always full, filled with ghosts like me, similarly to my situation, they were stuck in the afterlife phase called Dusk, if I at least knew that I am a dead man and had passed in to the afterlife then most of these wandering souls didn't even realize they were dead, but the unenviable ones are those who didn't know what kept them here and why they couldn't leave Dusk.
This is where detective skills come in handy, each ghost acquires unique abilities that become the individual traits we possessed when we were alive.
Everyone can learn new qualities that they have seen in contact with other ghosts, such as reincarnating into a living being, incarnating into a human is not always pleasant, because mediums feel the presence of a spirit unlike others they are sensitive to such manipulation.
But incarnating a cat is not complicated, if walking through walls is not possible, then with cat's body you can jump to places that cannot be reached otherwise.
Manipulating objects can not only frighten unsuspecting house inhabitants, but also attract attention. Of course, you need to get into the house first, not all the doors of the house are passable, the inhabitants of Salem are religious people and sometimes holy water and signs carved into the wood create wonderful barriers for ghosts.
But not every barrier can stop demons.
The spirit world is not a safe place for souls, demons only need to sense your presence to sneak up on you and eat you on the spot, it is better to be swift and stealthy in finding a place to hide and if you are lucky enough you will have a chance to banish them, otherwise you will not have a chance for a third life.
When death happens suddenly no one is able to prepare for what comes next, there is no time for goodbyes, no time for regrets, no time to remember who you were and are this transitional form between life and death giving neither time nor place your after death choice is given only one way, reach your unfulfilled life purpose and go towards the so called light.
When the murderer was found, the riddle was solved, everyone got their own relief, at least for this night the nightmares become less bothering, my wife was waiting for me illuminated by a ray of light. No matter what happens next, one thing remains clear my life story ends here.
