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Even with a wide plethora of pop culture staples to study, Julie Molina couldn’t have told you one true thing about ghosts – until three literally popped into her life.
After that, the studying came along with the territory.
“Please tell me you’re not forcing us to watch Ghost,” Luke said with a groan as the four of them – Julie and her three ghostly bandmates – sat in the living room in front of the flat-screen TV.
“Why? You got a problem with Patrick Swayze?” Julie teased while she sat with a bowl full of popcorn. It was a good thing she didn’t have to share because she could polish it all off by herself in just one movie sitting.
“You know, I always had a – what do they say these days? – man crush on him,” Reggie said good-naturedly from his seat beside Luke.
“Definitely can’t argue that the man is hot,” Alex agreed.
“Agh, you guys, we need to practice, not sit here watching some stupid movie!” Luke exclaimed, running his hands down his face.
“You need to learn to relax a little,” Julie said. Right then would have been a good time to flick a piece of popcorn at him, but she resisted because the piece would have sailed right through him without question.
“I didn’t become a ghost to play around!” Luke said, gesturing to the screen as if it was the bane of his existence.
Julie huffed out a sigh and hit pause on the movie. “What is your problem?” she asked, rounding on Luke with what surely was fire in her eyes.
Luke wilted a little under her stony gaze. “I just think we should get our priorities in order. We still have to find out what our unfinished business is, and watching this movie isn’t gonna help us!”
“Hey, Luke, we all need some downtime,” Reggie said. “Just because we’re ghosts doesn’t mean we can’t have a little fun.”
“Yeah, why are you being such a jerk over watching a movie? Lame, man,” Alex said.
“You know what?” Luke stood up and glared at Julie and his other bandmates. “I don’t need to hear this. I’m going to create some music that will go down in history while you all enjoy your little movie night.”
Then, before another word could be said, Luke disappeared with a small poof. Julie just stared at the place Luke had just vacated.
“Don’t let it bother you,” Reggie said with his usual peacemaking attitude. “Luke has never been able to sit still. Must come with that spastic creative brain of his.”
“Yeah,” Alex said, “don’t mind him. Let’s just watch the movie.”
Julie just frowned as she hit play again, settling back into the couch even though her thoughts were far from the movie starting in front of her eyes.
*
After the movie was over, Julie left Reggie and Alex to their devices (she had a feeling they were readying a ghostly prank on her little brother, who was still hell-bent on communicating with the ghosts haunting their home). She quietly went to the studio where, sure enough, she could hear the strums of a guitar. The sounds were far from Luke’s usual finesse: when he was in a bad mood, his music showed it.
She knocked on the doors before opening them a creak just in time to see Luke look up. “Hey,” she said, “got a minute?”
Luke let out one more strum of his guitar before he set it to the side. “Yeah, sure,” he said, not sounding at all like his usual self.
Julie sat behind her keyboard and ran her fingers along the keys without playing one note. It was tempting to just continue into a new melody that might cheer Luke up in some way – but for the moment she was at a loss for music and words. Funny, how with Luke things could be so easy, yet at times she couldn’t even muster a simple string of thought.
“What was that back there?” she asked, her fingertips trailing back and forth across the keyboard. “You seemed . . . touchy.” At least much more than usual.
Luke ran a hand through his hair. “I don’t know,” he said. “I guess I’m just feeling restless. Nothing seems right unless I’m playing or making music.”
“You really live for it, don’t you?” she murmured – only to realize a moment later what exactly she had just said. She looked up to see a sad smile on Luke’s face.
“Yeah, I did,” Luke said, “and I guess I’d die for it too, all things considered.”
Julie wished she could have hugged him right then because he looked like he would have cried if he could have. But her hands would have just passed through, like a touch through water. She clenched her hand above the keyboard. “There’s more to life – and death – than music, though,” she said.
“Not for me,” Luke said. “Music is the one constant.”
What about me? Aren’t I a constant to you now too? But she couldn’t say those words. They were too raw and honest, like something that belonged only in the language of song.
And she could voice it in song. It would be easier than talking. She slowly began to tap out a melody, and she could feel Luke’s eyes on her as the music began to lift into the air.
“I get that,” she said, her voice rising over the notes, “but how dull would it be if you could only make music about music? Whole songs would blip out of existence.”
Luke’s mouth settled into an easy grin. “I know a challenge when I hear one.”
Julie laughed as Luke picked up his guitar and began to play alongside her, the notes balancing each other out in bursts and sparks.
This was their language, their element, and they spoke it fluently. The only thing that could have made it better was if Alex and Reggie had been there adding their music to the mix as well.
Then it was only a breath, a note, before Alex and Reggie appeared in the room.
“Staging a jam session without us?” Reggie asked, retrieving his guitar. “For shame, dear bandmates, for shame.”
“Yeah, we could hear you all the way in the house,” Alex said, settling behind his drum set. “Talk about rude.”
They all grinned at each other as they began to play in unison.
Julie didn’t know how she had gotten so lucky to be a part of this band, but she hoped she got to keep her ghosts for as long as possible.