"Excuse me, may I have a moment of your time?"
Lulu screamed. It wasn't one of those dignified movie gasps, either—it was full-throated, hands-flailing, couch-jumping terror.
When her heart stopped trying to escape her ribcage, she turned and saw the intruder.
Standing calmly in the doorway of Lulu's living room was a woman with sleek, dark hair falling past her shoulders, and warm, sparkling blue eyes.
The woman, was extremely beautiful and only the faintest translucency at her finger tips revealed her identity. She was elegance wrapped in stillness, like a beautiful portrait that had stepped out of its frame.
"Oh good," Lulu muttered, collapsing back onto the couch. "I thought I was about to be murdered by someone who looked like a supermodel."
The woman let out a laugh—light, elegant, sincere. "That's a first. I'll take it as a compliment."
"Who… who are you?"
"My name is Ariana. Ariana Pierce."
Lulu blinked. The name sounded vaguely familiar, but she couldn't place it.
"You're... very happy…for a ghost." Lulu finally answered to fill the silence.
"Well," Ariana said, smiling faintly, "I've had quite a lot of time to come to terms with my new state. Besides, what's the alternative? Haunting a wing of the hospital in a rage for eternity?"
"…." Lulu didn't want to admit that that is exactly what she thought a ghost would normally do. 'Perhaps I need to check my prejudice against the dead…'
Lulu gave a short laugh, though her pulse was still recovering. "So, how'd you find me?"
Ariana walked slowly into the room, her ghostly form casting no shadow, her aura strangely soothing. "Henry."
Lulu sat straighter. "Wait—Henry Henry? Kind of grandpa energy, gentle voice, used to follow me around offering life advice… after death? That Henry?"
Ariana nodded, amused. "That Henry. His daughter Elise was a new resident when I'd been in the hospital 11 years ago. Now she's a full oncologist. Lovely woman. Oh, how time has passed. Henry came to see her around a month ago while I was just drifting absentmindedly around the hospital. I was so happy to have someone to talk to finally! He told me about you."
'My god, Henry. How many people are you going to send my way?'
"That was… a while ago."
"I know. I didn't reach out before because… well, I didn't think I needed to." She glanced around the apartment, her fingers grazing the edge of a bookshelf she couldn't actually touch. "I've just been watching the world go by. Hospitals are good for that. Always movement. Always stories."
"You've been... watching for eleven years?"
Ariana nodded. "I suppose I thought I was just waiting…for the next destination maybe? But it never came. But recently I realized—I'm still here because something's unresolved. No one drifts for a decade because they're content. Maybe I haven't let go of the life I left behind. Especially my little boy…." She finished in a soft, wistful voice.
Lulu blinked at the suddenly sorrowful atmosphere.
"You know," Lulu said gently, "that's actually really normal. Not that I'm an expert, but... ghosts who think they don't have anything left to say usually figure out they have a lot. Henry was the same at the beginning too."
Ariana gave her a smile that was both grateful and knowing. "That's why I came. I'm hoping you can help me figure out what I need."
"Of course. That's kind of what I do now," Lulu said. "Do you want to talk now or—"
Ariana glanced at the wall clock. "Oh no. I've already intruded too much. It's quite late, and this is clearly outside your operating hours."
"You're a ghost. My entire job is built on being disturbed by people who died outside of regular working hours."
"Yes, but I was raised in a quite strict household to have manners," Ariana said. "And I've been watching you too, Luciana. You've been working very hard. Let's meet tomorrow."
Lulu squinted. "You've been watching me too?"
'That's not creepy at all.'
Ariana merely smiled gracefully in response.
"Let'd meet tomorrow over coffee."
Lulu blinked. "Wait—you want to meet at a café? Not here?"
"Yes. Is that odd? I figured it would make you more comfortable since you seem to prefer a hot beverage while meeting with your clients—living or dead."
'How long had she been watching me…'
"No, no. Not at all. It's just…unexpectedly normal."
Ariana smiled. "Well, I've always liked cappuccinos. It's nice to pretend."
Lulu couldn't help but smile back. "Tomorrow then. There's a place called ChaiTime a few blocks from here that has relatively private booths. Noon?"
"Perfect," Ariana said, and with a final, graceful nod, she turned and walked straight through Lulu's closed door.
Lulu was left blinking in the stillness of her living room.
She sank back into the couch, heart still slightly elevated. "Well. That was... something."
After a beat, she reached for her phone and put the new meeting in her calendar.
"Looks like I got my wish about going back into the field..."
She didn't know what Ariana needed yet—but something told her this wasn't going to be just another case.