“Thank you, have a nice day!” I called to the last customer as he left with two huge pots of poinsettias.

Whew. Another long day at Vale Valley’s premier garden and landscaping shop. I brushed my dirty hands on my apron and went to check on the plants. We didn’t sell trees here, no, but for just about every other kind of festive plant or decoration, people came to us.

I’d been on my feet all day, and even though I’d slept more than usual the night before, I felt like I was about to fall asleep. Mentally running through the closing-up-shop list in my mind, I was already picturing a hot shower and a cozy blanket.

At least, that was what I wished I could be doing. As it stood, I had a little problem.

A ghostly form poked its head through the glass, peering right at me. I flinched back a few steps. I managed not to scream this time, but my heart still raced.

“It’s you again,” the voice said in a wispy, ethereal voice. It floated through the walls and glass as easily as if they were smoke. Lifeless eyes followed me. “We’re not supposed to be able to see you.” 

I huffed. “I’m not supposed to be able to see you, is more like it. Get out of the way, so I can lock up and go home.”

Not again.

For whatever reason, I had the ability to see ghosts. Spirits. Dead people, if you wanted to call them that. And dead people, as it turns out, are extraordinarily chatty. Not to mention they always pop up at exactly the wrong time, like that annoying neighbor you can never seem to avoid.

“It’s Nellie, Will,” the ghost said. “Over at the Dozing Dragon.” 

I cocked an eyebrow. I’d been over there more than a few times. After all, Nellie was one of my best customers. Since she and her family were dragon shifters, they’d named the place The Dozing Dragon as a cute play on words. She loved color. Loved flowers. We made deliveries over there just about weekly, with the most outrageous stuff I could find and put together.

But what did that have to do with anything? Come to think of it, I hadn’t seen her in the shop in quite a while...

I was pushing through the door, trying to ignore the nagging voices altogether, when the spirit spoke next.

“The Dozing Dragon is closed. Saw the sign just today. You will too if you go up the hill and look.”

My hand froze on the doorknob. Closed. That couldn’t be possible. This was peak travel time for Vale Valley. The Bed and Breakfast was always booked months out in advance this time of year, and the Christmas dinners Nellie cooked up were nothing short of legendary.

“What are you talking about, closed?” I asked when I found my voice. 

“We felt her pass over,” the spirit wailed in a mournful sigh. “To our side. She’s...she’s dead.”

“What?” I cried. “Is this your idea of a joke? Really tired of you guys popping up everywhere when I’m just trying to live my life. Go haunt someone else.”

The spirit sighed, if spirits could sigh. A rush of cold air hit my back, and I shivered.

“Leave me alone,” I said through gritted teeth.

“Wish we could,” the spirit wailed, floating along beside me when I barged out the doors and bent down to lock up. “But something’s keeping us around. We can’t move on from here any more than you can.”

I tried to make sense of their words. Vale Valley was no stranger to supernatural occurrences, sure, but speaking to the dead? Trapped spirits that only I could see? That was just crazy.

Maybe I’d been working too hard. Maybe I needed some sleep. Or a strong drink. Or both.

I walked down the path home, shoving my hands in my pockets for warmth. My boots crunched in the packed snow and I wrapped my scarf tighter around my neck. The icy wind picked up as the sun went down, making the air even chillier than usual. As much as I loved Christmas and all the holiday cheer that went along with it, I could do without the cold, thank you very much. I was small, even for an omega, and I didn’t really retain heat that well. No insulation, I joked.

So I gathered the puffy coat around my waist and hurried on home, trying to ignore the wispy spirit trailing behind me.

“If she’s really dead,” I said without looking behind me. I knew he was still there. He didn’t have anywhere else to go. Nothing else to do but to harass me, apparently. “Then why haven’t I heard anything about it yet? News travels fast here in the valley. It would be all over town by now.”

“Or maybe you were too caught up with all the holiday orders to open your eyes and ears. Maybe, Will, you don’t want to see what’s happening around you.”

I frowned. My hands clenched into fists in my coat pockets and I clenched my jaw together. That wasn’t true. I paid plenty attention. Some might say too much attention, since apparently I was the only person seeing these spirits. I didn’t want to deal with them and their problems. I had enough going on in my own life.

And at the root of it all, I was scared. Who could I even tell about this? We had witches, shifters, supernaturals of all kinds, but those...well, made sense. This? Having dead people following me around? Not exactly common.

And, well, I’d tried so hard to fit in here. Not to make waves. I wanted a ‘normal’ life. Normal as one gets in Vale Valley, anyway. I respected all the supernaturals around us, and it had given me a very diverse outlook on life and the world, but me? No. I was simply Will. Never did too well at school. Never was told I was going to ‘amount’ to anything. Not to mention, growing up being able to see the spirits of the dead kinda put a damper on my social life. Plants were about the only thing that calmed me. The only things that didn’t judge me during those tough transitionary years between childhood and adulthood. I’d always been a little too nerdy. A little too awkward. A little too...omega. 

So I kept my head down. Did what I did best. Moved to Vale Valley, opened a plant nursery, and took each moment as it came.

Today, I was tired. Tired of being on my feet. Tired of filling way too many orders in way too little time. I wanted to go home and cook dinner and rest. Not deal with naggy ghosts. It didn’t look like I was gonna get that luxury.

By the time I made it home, my ghostly pursuer had disappeared. They always did, eventually. I didn’t know where they went, but as long as they weren’t bothering me? Not my problem.

I dropped my keys into the bowl by the door and checked the crockpot in the kitchen. As soon as I stepped in the door the scent of beef and veggies hit me. Crockpots were probably one of the best inventions ever, in my opinion. I could toss in all the ingredients in the morning, turn it on, and have a piping hot meal ready when I got home from the nursery. 

Even as I sat down for my dinner, though, I couldn’t help but think about what the spirit had told me. Nellie, the well-loved owner of The Dozing Dragon B&B, had died.  Could it really be true?

Nellie was almost as much of a staple of this little old town as Rosemary Vale herself. Nellie Wallace seemed to know everyone by name. She threw the best holiday parties and always had a reputation for being a collector. Her old Victorian-style house was like a museum of ancient trinkets and kitsch. But then again, that’s why so many people liked staying there.

I finished the stew and cleaned up, sinking into bed with a sigh. Tomorrow. I’d go investigate tomorrow. But for now? I needed sleep.