Chelsea grapples with what it means to be (half) dead.
At the end of a training session for Chelsea, Danny sat on a park bench and patted the seat next to him.
"Let's sit for a minute," he said. "I have something to talk about with you."
"Okay…" Chelsea said as she sat. He was acting strangely serious. She watched him while he stared off into space, then looked away. What had him so contemplative?
After a while, he sighed. "You've been pretty happy since becoming a halfa." He fidgeted with the hem of his shirt.
"Yeah," Chelsea said cautiously. "I haven't been so healthy in a long time."
"Here's the thing," Danny said. "...You know you died, right?" He let that sink in.
Chelsea froze. She had never thought of it that way before. The concept left her numb, unsure of what to say, what to even think.
"I know it's hard to wrap your head around," Danny said. "Just know that I'm here for you. If you have any questions, or you need to cry, I'm here."
"N-o," Chelsea said slowly. "That doesn't seem right."
"Where do you think ghosts come from?" Danny asked gently. "At least half the ghosts I've encountered had human lives before becoming ghosts. I don't know why some people become ghosts and others don't–"
Chelsea shook her head. Her chest was taunt. She transformed into a human so she could breathe. Feel her pulse. She was alive. Didn't he see that?
"No," she said. "We're alive. I was going to die, but I was saved. We're not the same as other ghosts. We can't be."
"Chelsea–"
"No! I don't believe you! I'm not dead!" She transformed again and flew off, needing to be alone.
The cool air felt good on her ghostly skin. She flew without a destination, just wanting to ease her mind. Thoughts swam through her brain, drifting in and out.
Danny was wrong. She wasn't dead, and neither was he. Their ghost powers came from something other than death. After all, he said, only half of the ghosts were once human. That meant the other half came from something else. Chelsea was very much alive.
Maybe for the first time in her life.