My name is Rive.
Age: sixteen.
Talents: average student, professional procrastinator, part-time overthinker.
Dream in life: pass exams, eat good food, and maybe confess to my crush before graduation.
Current status?
…Dead.
Yeah. I know. Not exactly how I imagined my future.
The strange part isn't that I died.
The strange part is that I woke up.
When I opened my eyes, I was lying in the middle of the road.
First thought:
Great. I overslept again and collapsed dramatically. Typical.
Second thought:
Why is the sky not moving?
The clouds were frozen. Completely frozen. Like someone paused reality.
I sat up slowly. No pain. No scratches. No broken bones.
"Okay… maybe I'm just lucky?"
Then I looked at my hand.
I could see the road through it.
I blinked once.
Twice.
"…Ah."
Very scientific reaction, I know.
I waved my hand in front of my face. It looked like badly rendered game graphics. Slightly transparent. Low opacity setting. 60% ghost mode activated.
I stood up.
And almost floated.
I didn't step.
I glided.
"Why do I feel like a budget superhero?" I muttered.
The street around me was my city. Same buildings. Same shops. Same annoying tuition center banner that had been hanging for three years.
But everything was silent.
Cars stood frozen mid-road. A bird was stuck in the air like someone forgot to update the animation.
I walked toward a parked car and peeked inside.
There I was.
My body.
Very unconscious. Very not-moving.
"…Oh."
Silence.
Then—
"WAIT. WAIT WAIT WAIT."
I slapped my own ghost cheeks.
No pain.
I screamed.
No sound.
I tried touching the car window.
My hand passed straight through.
"Okay. Calm down, Rive. Think logically."
Step 1: You had an accident.
Step 2: You died.
Step 3: Congratulations, you unlocked Ghost Mode.
Honestly? 0/10 experience. Would not recommend.
But something felt off.
If I was dead… why was everything frozen?
And why did this city look exactly the same — but empty?
A chill crawled down my non-functioning spine.
This wasn't heaven.
This wasn't hell.
This was… my city.
But not alive.
Then I noticed something.
At the end of the street, the traffic light flickered.
Just once.
Red.
Green.
Red.
But everything else stayed frozen.
"…Okay. That's not normal. Even for being dead."
And then it hit me.
One name.
"Arin."
My best friend.
The last person I was with before everything went dark.
If I'm here…
Is he here too?
I looked at my transparent hands again.
I might be dead.
But I wasn't done.
"Alright, Ghost World," I said, cracking my nonexistent knuckles. "You kidnapped the wrong guy. I'm not haunting houses. I'm looking for my friend."
And with that, I took my first step into the silent city.
This time…
Something in the distance moved.
And I suddenly wished I had stayed average and alive.