Prologue

It was supposed to be a normal day. A boring day…

Instead I am here watching the strangest thing I ever seen. But maybe it’s better to start from the beginning.

I am what you could call average. I am not a genius nor a stupid, I simply do better in the things that I like. I am a 16 years old boy in the 11th grade and today we were supposed to have a school trip in Rome. My name is Mark Ravenwood

I was not the first of the class, at least I was in the middle, but that title belonged to the beauty of the class. A beautiful girl with black hair and blue eyes that was always wearing a charming smile.

… My childhood friend…Bianca… Or at least we were supposed to be friend, but as the time progressed we gradually became distant. We never disliked each other… well, at least I never disliked her… We definitively distanced ourselves six months ago after a quarrel… She left me saying that I was insensible and that I didn’t understand anything about how she felt.

The people that know me will describe me as insensible, but it’s not like I don’t feel emotion, it’s just that I don’t like to show them.

All the member of our class (including me) were walking in the street listening to the boring explications of the guide about old monuments and their story. Nobody expected that in that moment a terrorist would start to shoot madly on the pedestrians.

Some of my classmates were hit by some random bullets but fortunately it didn’t seem to be fatal.

I was thinking on how to exit that situation alive, when I saw Bianca watching me with eyes full of tears and fear. In that moment I felt something clicking in me, I abandoned all the toughs of escaping and started to run in her direction. While I was running it was as if everything was slow and clear, most likely for the effect of the adrenaline, and I noticed that the terrorist was about to shoot at Bianca. I sprinted with all my force and right before the gun shoot its deadly bullet I embraced Bianca with my back at the terrorist.

And here I am, watching Bianca crying over my dead body as the Italian police (Carabinieri) apprehended the criminal.

I watched as the police tried to calm down Bianca and my classmate while the ambulance came and the paramedics attended to the wounded and desperately tried to save my life.

“It seems that I am dead…Now… What should I do?”

As if answering to my question I saw a white light in front of me. It was warm end I felt like it was inviting me to move forward and forget of my pain, to start again a new life.

Without thinking I made a step toward the light, before stopping.

Why should I forget everything? Wouldn’t that be the same as erasing myself.

“I don’t want this.”

The light reacted to my words and slowly started to fade. I watched as the last sparkle disappeared in silence. Without me noticing it was already evening and my classmates were long gone. Probably at the hospital.

“Now what can I do?”

I should be what is commonly known as Ghost or Spirit but what can I really do beside being apparently impossible to see, touch or hear?