Pan stood before Brynn and Katiuscia, ready to receive her new job. Sotir’s prediction just had to come true, and the mentors to assign the job just had to be the stiffest.

Pan felt sick but not the kind of sick that would save her from the job. She had no fever, no vomiting, not even a headache. Why couldn’t she have woken up with a sore throat?

“Something wrong, Pan?” Kat crossed her arms.

Pan met Kat’s eyes. “No. I’m fine. Go on.”

For a beat of silence, Kat and Brynn both studied Pan.

Kat raised an eyebrow. “Go to the Philim Hospital and check on this claim of medical malpractice. This family believes their elder was terminated unethically.”

Pan scrunched her nose. She would lose her life to the ghost of an elder? And on a rare day job? What was her world coming to?

Kat spoke loud, “Do I make myself clear?”

Pan nodded. “Yes.”

Brynn tilted her head. “Why do you look so confused? Medical malpractice suits are a normal part of your duties. Are they not?”

“Yes, Brynn. I’m going to go. I just had thoughts about the job.” Pan debated telling them Sotir’s little prophecy, but then, she would have to admit that she encountered one of the men after hours.

The girls who started an impromptu after party found themselves in big trouble, especially the ring-leaders and enablers. Aria had heard the screams and tattled about the co-ed after-dark activities. If Sotir had wanted anything else from Pan, besides a promise to prevent his prediction, Pan might have found herself in a similar position. But, since she didn’t, Aria’s actions brought Pan endless entertainment. Pan found herself so far in the clear.

Now, Brynn raised her eyebrows.

Kat waited, arms still crossed. “Care to share these thoughts?”

Pan stood tall. She didn’t have to say her meeting with Sotir took place in the night. “I don’t like the hospital...and this morning I ran into Sotir. He said I would meet a bad spirit. He said...”

Brynn frowned. “What?”

Suddenly, Pan didn’t want to tell Kat or Brynn that she could die. Kat wouldn’t care. Brynn would say they couldn’t help. They only had one ghost seer. No one knew Pan’s job like Pan, not even the young girl she’d taken it from, who never got a chance to learn. Pan couldn’t avoid the hospital forever. She’d gotten out of sticky situations before. She could again. She just needed to get it over with.

Pan sighed and shrugged. “Sotir just said I should be careful. I’m always careful, but it seemed strange that he went a little out of his way to tell me.”

Kat stroked her chin. “That is strange. Can you handle it? Or, should we send someone with you.”

An offer of help? My my…

“I can handle it,” Pan said.

Kat waved Pan off. “Go ahead then. If you see anything dangerous, you turn around and come back. I trust you to keep yourself safe.”

“Be careful, Pan.” Brynn leaned on her staff and watched Pan go.

 

Inside the bright hospital room, Pan listened to the medical malpractice claim. The room had three beds, a bay of windows, and a single bathroom. Although the room could house three patients, none occupied it. Everything remained empty and clean.

Days before, the room housed two patients. One died, taken by some disease. That patient became Pan’s customer.

Pan looked at the elder’s ghost. By luck or by need, he remained, ready and willing to talk.

The spirit floated, drifted like a cloud. His arms hung at his sides and ended not in hands but in wisps of smoke. His eyes filled with white light, and his hair drifted around his head. This ghost would not be the one that Sotir warned of. It simply wasn’t scary enough.

As the family talked, Pan continued to study the spirit.

She couldn’t name the ghost’s cause of death. Some ghosts showed signs of their demise, but some didn’t. And, the living rarely told Pan the details because of privacy laws. If she wanted to know, she could just ask the dead patient. They told all their secrets, never wasting their last chance to be heard. Well, most of them did. Once in a while, a liar popped up.

The family stood by the bed. They wore clothes of grey, a sign of morning. Some had chosen garments just a shade off from their skin and seemed naked in their grief.

By the door, a couple of detectives and police waited. They watched with vague interest.

Pan stood straight and did her best to look professional. She wore an emotionless expression and glanced at the empty bed.

The doctor sighed and recaptured Pan’s attention. “Do you have any questions about what happened?”

Pan turned back. She shook her head. “No.”

“Is he here?” asked the man’s daughter.

“Yes. If you don’t mind, I need to talk to him now.” Pan waited for the woman to nod. Then, she turned away and faced the elder.

The hospital wanted the room back, and Pan also wanted to render a quick decision. She needed to get out before she met Sotir’s prediction.

She considered the family’s claim one more time. They believed the doctor wrongly terminated their elder’s life support. The doctor, of course, denied the claim. With shifty eyes, he looked at Pan. She bet he did it.

The ghost folded his now solidified hands and waited.

“Did anyone unplug your life support?” Pan asked.

The family and doctor went silent. They didn’t fidget or, it seemed, even breathe. No matter how quiet they stayed, they wouldn’t hear the ghost. They wouldn’t see him.

“Yes,” the ghost said. “I asked Doctor Riter to unplug it. I know it’s wrong, but I couldn’t take anymore. I’m not getting better. When is it going to be over? How long does it take to work?”

Pan frowned. That didn’t bode well. “It already has.” She gestured to the ghost and his lack of form.

He studied himself. His eyes widened. “Oh, I’m dead.” He laughed.

Pan smiled slightly. This man’s afterlife was headed in the right direction after all.

“What did he say?” his wife interrupted.

Pan looked at her. “He says he’s dead.” Then, she looked back at the ghost. “So, no harm was done to you?”

The ghost’s eyes widened further, more than a living man’s should. He nodded. “That’s right. I just want them to let me go and leave Doctor Riter alone.”

“Is there anything you want to say before you go?”

The ghost scrunched his brow. “Say? Like what?”

Pan sighed. “Last words? For your family?” Pan wanted to prod him more and suggest he say something nice. The concerns of life quickly fell away, but the dead man’s family was far from done with them.

The ghost considered. “I’ve said all I care to say.”

Pan gave him a tired look.

He nodded. “I’ll miss them. You can tell them that.” The ghost glanced at his family and then looked out the window. His eyes seemed to glaze.

Pan turned to the living. She would tell them that. But, first... “Your husband believes he died naturally. He’s happy to be free, and he wants you to let him go.” Pan paused. “He says he’ll miss you and that you made his life memorable, worth living.”

The doctor relaxed. Pan could have slapped him. He looked so suspicious.

The family cried and thanked Pan profusely. Pan nodded along.

Her embellishments always pleased those left behind. Most of the time, she had to add those little things, the things they wanted to hear. The ghosts rarely expressed any such sentiment.

Speaking of ghosts, Pan looked for her current customer. She didn’t know when it happened, but the dead patient had disappeared. Ghosts always left when she had her back turned.

Before she gave them her full attention, the detectives shook her hand and exited. Soon, the family left too. They filed out of the room, and Pan found herself alone with the young doctor.

Pan spread her arms. “The room’s ready. Ghost free.”

The doctor closed the door. He approached Pan. She backed away.

“How can I repay you?” he asked.

“Don’t repay me.” Pan passed him and put her hand on the door knob. She stopped and turned back. “This didn’t happen. And, don’t keep this up. You can’t keep doing it, or they’ll get suspicious.”

“I know. It’s just to be this once.” Before he could say anymore, the doctor received a message. “Excuse me.” He checked his handheld device, sidled past Pan, and left.

Pan took one last look at the room and wondered where the ghost had gone.