Please Don't Take My Sunshine Away, chapter 7
"Mia?"
I know he can't hear me speak so I hug him. I wipe the tears from his eyes and hold him for what seems like a lifetime. I wonder if the whole think-talking thing works with people who are still living. I'll try it.
'Frank,' I thought, 'can you hear me?'
He looked at where he thought I was and he smiled. Then the frown returned to his face. 'Why did you do it?' he asked me.
I pushed him away and run outside. I sit on the front porch and cry. Frank comes out and puts his arm around me. He lifts my head up and looks at me, right in the eyes.
"Y-You- you can see me?" I asked through my tears.
"Of course I can now. You know I could always find you when you were crying."
[Three Days Later]
"Are you ready to go?"
"Ready as a girl can get, going to her funeral I guess," I reply to Frank. But inside I'm terrified. I've never been to my own funeral before. I wonder if all ghosts go to their own funerals. Frank brings a friend, yes, the passed out guy from the party, who I am told is Billie Joe. Actually, I'm not told this, I have to catch onto their conversations, because if Frank talks to me, everyone will think he's insane and they'll send him to an asylum and he'll become addicted to antidepressants and he'll be known as 'that crazy guy with the straightjacket'. Yes, still going. But I would live with him in the asylum and keep him company. Well.. only if they have cushiony walls.
For some strange reason I feel like I should talk to Billie Joe, find out more about him. A little voice in the back of my head tells me that there's something I have to tell him, something that I was kept on earth for. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to him, it's really confusing. So I just think, using my ghostly powers to think-talk to him. I don't know anything about him, so I'll talk about myself.
'Why are you at a funeral for a girl you never knew? You never talked to me. You never knew me. You never even saw my face. Why do you think it matters?'
He looks deep in thought. Maybe he's thinking of a way to answer the question.
'I guess I'm here because.. because.. Tre loved her. He told me. He loved her. When he met me he never told me about her. Not until he took me to see her. He cried. He cried. I had never seen him cry. He loved her more than anything. That's why I'm here. I'm here for Tre.'
At that moment he turns to me. He's frowning. He looks at the messed up body in the coffin, then back to me. He laughs. 'So,' he thought. 'There aren't voices in my head. You're really here. Wow.'
I nod. I don't know what to say to him so I decide to just tell him.. everything. Life's too short to hold everything back, and I learned that lesson the hard way.
"Billie, I'm Mia. You've heard of me from Frank, or Tre or whatever you call him. You probably heard that I died a few days ago. It wasn't pretty, I didn't have the life all the people here will tell you about. I didn't have a peaceful death with all of my family by my side. I jumped off of the hospital roof. Anyways, I heard you, well, 'think' that Franky loved me and, well, I love him too. But I'm dead, and that could never work out.. I decided to talk to you because I feel somehow connected to you. So... I want you to tell me everything you know about yourself so maybe I can figure out why I had to stay on earth instead of going to hell or heaven or whatever. Start."
'Wow,' he thought-spoke to me. I was getting quite used to this. 'My name is Billie Joe Armstrong, born February 17th, 1972 to Ollie and Andy Armstrong. Got a bunch of brothers and sisters, had a good life until five years ago, my dad died.. uh... I was sad? I play guitar, sing, and I love to write songs. I-'
"Wait a minute. Did you say your dad died? I think I've found my missing link. Thank you!!"
Well that was easy.
I know he can't hear me speak so I hug him. I wipe the tears from his eyes and hold him for what seems like a lifetime. I wonder if the whole think-talking thing works with people who are still living. I'll try it.
'Frank,' I thought, 'can you hear me?'
He looked at where he thought I was and he smiled. Then the frown returned to his face. 'Why did you do it?' he asked me.
I pushed him away and run outside. I sit on the front porch and cry. Frank comes out and puts his arm around me. He lifts my head up and looks at me, right in the eyes.
"Y-You- you can see me?" I asked through my tears.
"Of course I can now. You know I could always find you when you were crying."
[Three Days Later]
"Are you ready to go?"
"Ready as a girl can get, going to her funeral I guess," I reply to Frank. But inside I'm terrified. I've never been to my own funeral before. I wonder if all ghosts go to their own funerals. Frank brings a friend, yes, the passed out guy from the party, who I am told is Billie Joe. Actually, I'm not told this, I have to catch onto their conversations, because if Frank talks to me, everyone will think he's insane and they'll send him to an asylum and he'll become addicted to antidepressants and he'll be known as 'that crazy guy with the straightjacket'. Yes, still going. But I would live with him in the asylum and keep him company. Well.. only if they have cushiony walls.
For some strange reason I feel like I should talk to Billie Joe, find out more about him. A little voice in the back of my head tells me that there's something I have to tell him, something that I was kept on earth for. I don't know what I'm supposed to say to him, it's really confusing. So I just think, using my ghostly powers to think-talk to him. I don't know anything about him, so I'll talk about myself.
'Why are you at a funeral for a girl you never knew? You never talked to me. You never knew me. You never even saw my face. Why do you think it matters?'
He looks deep in thought. Maybe he's thinking of a way to answer the question.
'I guess I'm here because.. because.. Tre loved her. He told me. He loved her. When he met me he never told me about her. Not until he took me to see her. He cried. He cried. I had never seen him cry. He loved her more than anything. That's why I'm here. I'm here for Tre.'
At that moment he turns to me. He's frowning. He looks at the messed up body in the coffin, then back to me. He laughs. 'So,' he thought. 'There aren't voices in my head. You're really here. Wow.'
I nod. I don't know what to say to him so I decide to just tell him.. everything. Life's too short to hold everything back, and I learned that lesson the hard way.
"Billie, I'm Mia. You've heard of me from Frank, or Tre or whatever you call him. You probably heard that I died a few days ago. It wasn't pretty, I didn't have the life all the people here will tell you about. I didn't have a peaceful death with all of my family by my side. I jumped off of the hospital roof. Anyways, I heard you, well, 'think' that Franky loved me and, well, I love him too. But I'm dead, and that could never work out.. I decided to talk to you because I feel somehow connected to you. So... I want you to tell me everything you know about yourself so maybe I can figure out why I had to stay on earth instead of going to hell or heaven or whatever. Start."
'Wow,' he thought-spoke to me. I was getting quite used to this. 'My name is Billie Joe Armstrong, born February 17th, 1972 to Ollie and Andy Armstrong. Got a bunch of brothers and sisters, had a good life until five years ago, my dad died.. uh... I was sad? I play guitar, sing, and I love to write songs. I-'
"Wait a minute. Did you say your dad died? I think I've found my missing link. Thank you!!"
Well that was easy.
