Night Walk

Drew always suspected that he would see the Mid-air Ghost again, but he didn't think it would be so soon after their first meeting. The first time was during Drew's one and only time skydiving. He initially thought the ghost, which hovered nearby during free fall and vanished shortly after the parachute deployed, was some amazing illusion projected from the airfield until the tandem instructor later confirmed the sighting.

"Did you freakin' see that?" barrel-chested Bailey exclaimed once they were on solid earth again. "It was like a real life ghost, man!" He continued to alternate between wild laughter and saying "I mean...I mean," shaking his head nonstop as he undid the safety harness that connected him to Drew. They were connected in another way after that, so they exchanged phone numbers.

For his own part, Drew never quite felt like himself after the sky encounter. He would oftentimes stop whatever he was doing and look up to see if the sky held any more ghosts, ones that could be seen from the ground.

The second time Drew saw the Mid-air Ghost, it was only a few months later, during one of his night walks on Trower Avenue. This time it appeared to be standing firmly on the ground, causing Drew to think that he might need to reconsider his name for it. He was sure the ghost was the same, however - there was no mistaking its raincloud skin and beckoning arms. Drew stopped a few feet shy of meeting it directly.

"What do you want?" Drew directed toward the ghost's midnight sea foam face. He realized then that Trower Avenue was empty in a way that it usually wasn't. Even the homeless people who camped in concrete nooks along the buildings seemed to be away on vacation. Dawn was near, but no cars passed by them, and the streetlight on the next block blinked red for no one in particular.

"I want to grant you a wish." the Mid-air Ghost said. Its raspy voice didn't come from the ghost itself, but seemed to be trapped in Drew's skull, like a firefly captured in a mason jar.

A wish. Drew considered his options as he tried to not shiver. In the months since the skydiving incident, he had begun waking up mid-slumber with horrible panic attacks, jumping out of bed drenched in cold sweats. Each time he would feel as though the wind were pushed out of his lungs. Then the free fall would start all over again and, for several seconds, Drew would feel as though he were plummeting through the sky, only this time with no Earth to return to. Once the sensation passed, he would usually find himself on his bedroom floor, wide awake.

The first dozen or so times it happened, Drew called Bailey to help calm him down. However, Bailey didn't seem to have the same alarming side effect, and would often sound exhausted during these calls. And then, after a few patient minutes, his voice would become annoyed. Drew took the hint and looked for other means to cope. One night, he walked outside and felt a little better. Through this, he found out that walking up and down Trower Avenue after an episode was the closest thing to a cure that he could muster. Sometimes, he was even able to get back to sleep before sunrise.

But during his second meeting with the nightmarish thing - in his comfort zone, no less - he was frightened to think that the Mid-air Ghost had taken the cure away from him.

"Whatever happens," Drew finally said. "I need to be able to walk it off. Completely."

An oily, flickering rainbow invaded the ghost's ethereal skin, shimmering like crow feathers.

"Walk it off," the Mid-air Ghost repeated from inside Drew's head.

"Yeah, I need to be able to deal with whatever is bothering me by just taking a walk. Day or night. That's my wish."

Without getting any closer, the ghost reached out and Drew felt something like a cool blanket of fog surround his feet, like a thick dry ice smoke pressing around the joints in his ankles. There was a slight jolt that pulsed through his legs and then Drew felt very still.

The ghost rose into the dark early morning sky and disappeared.

Drew stood there for a moment, looking up. It occurred to him that a ghost whose home was somewhere in the sky might be confused by his wish, maybe even a little pissed off. What would the Mid-air Ghost ever need to walk off? Drew had plenty.

He began walking again and instantly felt better with each step. Several cars passed by and the world seemed normal again, the Earth firm beneath Drew's footsteps. After a few blocks, he took out his phone to let Bailey know that he might be getting another visit from their ghost, if he hadn't already, but then Drew decided to get an early breakfast instead. He had a feeling that he would need the energy.