Daylight shines through the big glass windows in the PriceCorp boardroom, as the sun slowly rises toward its peak. It illuminates the room. The sweet aromas of coffee and donuts envelope the atmosphere. Jenny Price—clad in a black sweater with a white collared dress shirt under it, a black and green plaid skirt, black pantyhose, and black high heels—sits at the end of the table facing the doorway. Sitting next to her is her administrative assistant, Breyonna Brooks.
The two of them are going over the agenda for the meeting as executives and managers trickle in. Breyonna has her steno pad in front of her, prepared to record the meeting minutes. Jenny has her laptop. Vice President of Research and Development, Ashwin Patel, stands at the opposite end of the table preparing his presentation.
*
After a few minutes, everyone arrives in the room and takes their seats.
“Good morning everyone!” Jenny says with a big smile on her face.
“Good morning Miss Price!” the cacophony of executives and managers say.
“Okay,” Jenny begins, “so as you all know the new PricePhone will be released this year. Our R&D team has been hard at work and we are excited to hear the latest updates.”
Breyonna slowly claps while awkwardly looking around the room.
“Yeah,” Jenny says, clapping. “Round of applause for R&D!”
The rest of the room begins clapping and cheering.
Jenny continues: “Ashwin why don’t you tell us about the phone and all of the… cool new features it has.”
“Sure Miss Price!” Ashwin says as he stands up. “So the new PricePhone will get a complete cosmetic update.”
He shows two pictures on the projector screen: The current iteration of the PricePhone on the left, and the new one on the right. The new PricePhone has a bigger screen and a thicker bezel.
Ashwin continues: “It’ll also have improved camera quality, more RAM and storage, built-in AI functionality, and more processing speed.”
“Awesome,” Jenny says. “When exactly will it be released?”
“This Fall.”
“Round of applause for our resident genius, Ashwin Patel!”
The whole room begins clapping. Ashwin blushes, smiles, and scratches his head.
“Meeting adjourned,” Jenny says.
The room begins to clear out.
Breyonna grabs her steno pad and gets up from her seat. “I’m gonna type up the meeting minutes and email them to you.”
“Okay awesome,” Jenny says. “Don’t forget.”
Breyonna leaves. The room is empty. Jenny sits at her laptop and checks her email for a bit. Shareholders are happy, PriceCorp stocks are up due to the announcement of the new PricePhone.
Suddenly, she hears a still and small voice in her head. “Look at the news.”
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“Another case, Naomi?” Jenny communes.
“Something similar to that.”
Jenny goes to a news aggregation site, and sees a headline that catches her attention.
*
Young Man Has Climbed Rooftop of Building in Downtown Los Angeles. First Responders on Scene.
*
“It appears he wants to take his own life,” Naomi says.
Jenny says nothing. Her eyes are unreadable.
“Jenny?” Naomi asks again. “Are you listening?”
Jenny’s body feels tense. Her mouth begins to feel dry. Then, finally, she stands to her feet. She puts her phone on the table.
She lifts her right hand in the air. Her eyes turn purple. Then, she lowers her hand down to her waist as a black and purple pixel-like aura envelops her body. Her outfit gives way to a black skin-tight suit, purple cloak, cape, and face mask. Her skin changes from brown to a bluish-gray, and her hair changes from reddish-brown to pitch black.
The Wraith turns to her right to make sure the door was closed and no one saw her and then…
POOF!
She turns invisible and flies away.
*
Rooftop, DTLA
A young, Mexican-American man with a beige complexion stands atop the roof of a massive skyscraper. He has no facial hair; his hair is tapered on the sides and back with curly hair on top; he is wearing a black hoodie, black jeans, and black sneakers. He has dark circles under his eyes, as well as tears. As he stands over the ledge, his knees bend and straighten repeatedly—his body shaking with each movement.
POOF!
The Wraith materializes behind him.
The young man turns around briskly and sees her. “The Wraith.”
“How you doin’?” she asks him, her tone soft and concerned.
“I’m assuming you’re here to stop me,” the man says before he turns back to face the street below.
“I just want to know what’s going on.”
The Wraith begins walking closer to him.
“Don’t come any closer!”
The Wraith throws her hands up. “I’m not here to hurt you. Just let me help you. Just tell me what’s going on, please.”
The Wraith slowly moves closer, as the man turns around to face her. They are just a few steps away from each other.
He begins weeping, using his right arm to wipe his tears away. He begins:
*
“Everything is wrong! My entire life has fallen apart in just one year. My girlfriend broke up with me a month ago, on my birthday; we’d been together for three years. She just sends me a text one morning, out of the blue, telling me she was done. We hadn’t had any arguments or anything. It didn’t make sense… and then… my sister…”
*
The Wraith’s eyes widen.
The man continues: “She’d been dating this gangbanger, and I guess him and his brother got in some beef and… all three of them were found dead at his house last night!”
The Wraith looks down at the ground.
“Those must have been the three people The Machete killed,” she thinks to herself. “Mendoza said something about it.”
He begins sobbing louder.
“She had nothing to do with any of it!” he cries. “She was a good person! Just… wrong place, wrong time! Why is the world so fucked up?!”
The Wraith looks back up at him. She says nothing. She just listens.
He continues: “Our mom was diagnosed with cancer last year. She can’t work, she’s been on disability—which barely covers anything. My sister was the only one working while I was in college, so now I’ve gotta drop out and take care of our mom by myself. Why me?!”
The Wraith feels a pit in her stomach.
“I ain’t got no reason to live!” he laments. “Just let me jump, please!”
The Wraith removes her hood. Her hair unfurls and blows in the wind. She walks closer to him, standing inches away from his face. The young man begins shaking.
She places her hands on his shoulders and looks deep into his eyes. “Stay.”
“Why?!” he yells. “What’s the point if all I’m ever gonna do is suffer?!”
The Wraith sighs. There is a heavy feeling in her body as she tries to keep her various “masks” separate.
“Look,” The Wraith says. “I know a thing or two about being dead. I also know a thing or two about taking another life. The moment you take that leap, ain’t no turning back.”
The young man lifts his arm to dry his tears. He sniffles. The Wraith removes her hands from his shoulders, putting them down at her sides.
“Things…” she begins, shaking her head, “might not make sense now, but one day they will. Trust me. And when they do, you’ll be grateful that you didn’t jump.”
“For real?”
The Wraith nods her head. She places her hands back on his shoulders.
“Your mother needs you right now,” The Wraith continues, “and honestly… I do too. I… can’t have any more… look, even if you decide to jump—I’m gonna catch you.”
The man looks into her bright purple eyes. Someone cares.
He collapses into her arms and begins crying louder. The Wraith embraces him, as sunlight reflects off the tears rolling down her cheek.
As the two of them embrace, Naomi appears behind them. Her skin is as pale as ivory, and her hair is as pink as cotton candy. She smiles and folds her arms.