A Vengeful Intention

It all started in a remote town in the North Sea, between Norway and the United Kingdom, long, long ago. The town was named Trolldom, after the many accounts of paranormal activity, both good and evil, in the town. The town, after independence from the British crown, was a turbulent place. People were massacred. The royal family was one of the most corrupted people in the entire kingdom. Trust was one of the main things that people lacked. The royals were cruel, and so were the people with the higher status. The peasants of the lower castes suffered a lot from the cruelty of the people. Many of the kids were orphaned because of the higher castes' deeds. Children were killed off mercilessly. The entire town was in complete chaos. 

    As time passed, the royals were cast down and nationalism rose. The trust factor decreased drastically, and more people were massacred. People migrated out of Trolldom in ships and boats. Some of the upper castes were forced into hiding and the lower castes were in trouble. The middle class survived the best in this whole ordeal, and when the ministry came into being, the entire place calmed down. Everyone was safe and there were fair trials for everyone. Stability came into being, but dishonesty ruled over fairness. Children were murdered and parents demanded justice. The ministry had it all under control, but crime broke out everywhere. 

    After a while, the ministry got together and decided that a police force needed to be installed and so, the police came around. Crime was brought under control and the citizens were all content with their life. Crime still existed, and there was still a slight amount corruption, but in the end, all was in favor of justice and honesty and happiness spread. Mothers stayed at home and Fathers worked. The children, regardless of gender, learned the essentials for a good life. This was the period in which I, Benjamin, a scion of a simple middle-class family loved by everyone, was brought up in, with a childhood of no worries. I worried my parents about my mischief and the one I am about to describe was one that eventually brought peace to my town. 

   “Miss Lilly?” I said as I entered the storeroom. “Are you in there?” I looked around the room. There was a translucent lady in the room. She looked at me as I called up to her. 

   “Christopher? Is that you?” She asked me. I looked at her, confused. She floated up to me and looked down at me with tears in her eyes.  

   “No, Miss Lilly, this is Benjamin,” I asked. 

   “Benjamin? You have grown, dear,” Miss Lilly said. “It had been a long time, has it not?” She ran her hand through my hair. I smiled at her. 

   “It has,” I replied. “But Miss Lilly, who is Christopher?” 

   “Christopher was my little brother,” Miss Lilly said, looking away. “He lost his life when campaigning against the royal family. He died a brave death.” She was smiling out of pride, but there were tears in her eyes. I decided not to ask her about her brother. I had visited the storage room once before, around six years ago, and I saw the same lady when I visited. At that time, I was filled with awe and curiosity. This time, I wanted to visit an old friend and clear some doubts. I now knew more about life, and I knew that human beings are not bioluminescent, they are not translucent, and they do not float and fly around. These facts led to my question. 

   “Miss Lilly, what are you?” I asked her. “Human beings do not glow.” Miss Lilly looked at me, thinking about my question. 

   “To say simply, I am a ghost. More accurately, a spirit, but you can identify me as whatever you want, I suppose,” she said. I nodded and thought a little more about it. 

   “How? Were you born as a spirit? How do you become a spirit?” I asked her. Miss Lilly looked down and floated towards the door. She touched the doorknob hesitantly and looked at me coldly. 

   “Do you really want to know how?” she asked, a cold tone lacing her voice. I nodded. She opened the door and led me out of the door. We walked a little bit towards a graveyard that was used to bury the people who had sacrificed themselves for the village and their family members. There, she touched a gravestone with a small statue and turned to me. 

   “This is Christopher’s grave, Benjamin,” she said, smiling. She bowed to it. “He may be my dear brother, but he fought for justice, and I respect him for that.” She then turned to another gravestone to the right of Christopher’s and kneeled in front of it. She touched it and went to the one next to it, paying her respects to it. Finally, she led me to the one in front of Miss Lilly’s brother and sat on it.  

   “This is where I am, Benjamin,” she said. “I am a dead person. A spirit is the soul of a person. I roam around. Earth until I am eligible to go to Heaven.” 

   “But are you not supposed to be in Heaven right now?” I asked her. Miss Lilly got up and floated in front of me.  

   “Benjamin, there are two types of spirits. The peaceful spirits and the vengeful spirits. Normally, a spirit is transported to the Gateways to Heaven and Hell. The guardian of the two places checks our deeds and either sends us to Heaven or condemns us to Hell. But in some cases, the spirit is disturbed or angry. In short, they are not at peace. The guardian sends us back to Earth as a fallen angel or demon based on our deeds. Peaceful spirits are sent to Earth because they or sad and want to make sure their family is all right. They land in Hell or Heaven when their unhappiness is resolved.  

   “Vengeful spirits, on the other hand, come to Earth looking for revenge. They will go back to heaven when their mind is put at peace. I am a vengeful spirit. I was killed unfairly. When I was condemned to death by the royal family, I was burning with rage. Ever since then, I have taken a vow to destroy the people who wronged me. I had been staying in that storeroom for years, killing everyone who entered, except you, dear Benjamin. I am a vengeful spirit. I want my revenge,” Miss Lilly said, coldly. She had her hands clenched at her sides and face showed intense anger. I tried to touch her hand but failed. Just then, Miss Lilly turned opaque, and I could touch her hand.  

“Since you are so keen on touching my hand,” she said. I was not able to say anything, afraid that I might say something wrong. Instead, I brought myself closer to her and hugged her. I heard Miss Lilly gasp lightly in surprise. She quivered lightly and returned my hug. 

“I am sorry this happened to you, but I assure you that I shall try to help you feel better,” I tried to console her. She started crying and broke away by turning untouchable again, she smiled at me and turned away, disappearing. That was when I realized that she might have been killing people for revenge, but she was a soft person with a big heart. All she needed was a little love, and she would be at peace again, and I was willing to help her attain her peace.