Chapter Text
When the green light began to pour over her features through the key hole, Lydia immediately understood that it was not natural and that naturally, she was drawn to it. She ran downstairs and into her Dad’s study. She had to share what she just saw but he grumbled something about relaxing and sent her off to her Delia. He didn’t even flinch when she mentioned that the house could be haunted! For crying out loud, what would it take for her parents to notice anything out of the ordinary?
Armed with curiosity and an old stitch punch, she finally got through the door and found herself upon the threshold of an ordinary looking attic. She flipped the switch next to her on the wall.
The lights went on, and Lydia was left in awe. A toy model of Winter River lay spread out on a big table in front of her. All the tiny houses and buildings seemed to glow from within. Cords of wire dangled from the ceiling above, with their ends drawing closer to the model and illuminating the town. Bigger, more round lights hung higher, giving the whole scene a dreamy and enchanting mood. Lydia couldn’t help but be amazed as she walked along the side of the table. As she looked up, she could see more furniture in the room but most of it had old white sheets covering them to prevent dusting. The table and the model felt the most alive to her. Her eyes landed on a book on top of one of these sheet-clad objects. Handbook for the Recently Deceased? What kind of title is that, thought Lydia. The book itself looked old and boring, like one of those forgotten books on a library shelf. She flipped through it until the leafs landed right on the first page. She began to read. And she couldn’t put the book down for the rest of the day.
Lydia couldn’t help herself. She poured over the text and all that it had to offer her. She didn’t even stop to ask herself if she should take anything in that book seriously. It read like a school text book. As if there had been pre-established facts about the afterlife that she had no idea about and she had only just discovered them. Admittedly, Lydia has always been interested in what happens after people died and this book was satisfying all her curiosities about the dead. Eventually, she snapped out of her reading zone and realized she needed a break.
Having been seated on a stool for several hours, her back ached. It was already dark outside and Lydia was feeling groggy. She untied the string that held her big hat and shook her head in attempt to clear her mind. Can any of this be seriously true? What if this is just some joke? Lydia sighed deeply and headed for the door, book in hand. She turned around for one last look at the model in the soft light, turned off the light switch and closed the attic door with her skeleton key.
It was all going according to plan. Until it wasn’t.
Well, not like it’s a bad thing, thought Beetlejuice. Sure, he had selected the Maitlands as his newest and dumbest scam victims, and so far, they have been all too desperate to oblige and use his services. But wow, that Adam guy couldn’t even pronounce his fucking name!
Betelgeise? Seriously?!
So Beetlejuice decided to pop in on them just at the right time, as they were struggling to keep their attic door from opening and revealing themselves to their new roommates. He turned the TV on and wept up his most ridiculous salesman persona, one that always won the hearts of ditzy little couples like the Maitlands. He did feel like he was going overboard with his act though, and almost struggled to make coherent and convincing phrases towards the end.
Chew on a dog? Did he sound stupid or what?
Well, apparently not stupid enough! How dare they completely overlook the performance he had to pull off just now?! Beteljuice couldn’t believe they would rather stick to that fucking handbook. They barely even picked it up until those breathers started breaking through their last fortress in the house.
Beetlejuice watched them draw the door on the exposing brick and walk through the green light. Well, it’s not like they’ll be having the time of their afterlives in the Waiting Room. That place annoyed him enough as it is. Let them sit and wait, and try their luck at finding a caseworker that actually gave a rats ass!
He sat on one of the gravestones in the model set and tried to think of his next move. The Maitlands seriously couldn’t be his only way out, could they? Beetlejuice sighed and rubbed the back of his neck when suddenly, he heard the door make a noise. The lock clicked and the door creaked open slowly. A dark figure stepped out into the threshold and the lights above the model went on. Beetlejuice hid behind the gravestone and peered over the edge for a look.
Standing before him was a young, pale-looking girl, dressed in black from head to toe. Wow, and I thought the Maitlands were a sight to see, Beetlejuice snickered to himself. Even her giant hat was black and the entire outfit seemed to hide her completely. She held a camera in her precious little hands. Hmm, this must be one of the new breathers who just moved in. Definitely doesn’t look like she would hang with the Maitlands.
The girl’s eyes kept exploring the set and the attic. Her lips parted in awe.
Wait a minute, thought Beetlejuice. Someone was trying to break in here earlier and the Maitlands were desperate to keep them out. Could this little girl be the intruder? And why did she come back? Curious, ain’tcha? Well, you’ll soon wish your curiosity never got the better of you. Beetlejuice was feeling particularly angsty over his situation and felt like juicing up the hapless prey.
A grin spread over his face and he rubbed his hands together when suddenly, the girl’s eyes landed somewhere behind him and she stopped in her tracks. She looked more intrigued and moved to the side. Now what, thought Beetlejuice and looked over his shoulders. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing.
The girl was actually holding the Handbook. Literally touching it! How is that even possible? Only the recently deceased and the dead could do that! And she was neither one of those things. Beetlejuice considered her for a moment. What the fuck is going on?
He watched her flip through the book and begin to read. Her eyes moved feverishly, scanning the words back and forth, flipping page after page, never stopping for a break. It’s like she was trying to breathe in the book all in one go. Beetlejuice leaned against a gravestone and kept watching her, and thinking. How is she able to interact with the book? Is she some sort of witch? A medium? Or physic? She might not look like rest of the breathers, or even the Maitlands for that matter, but… Nah, she’s definitely alive, thought Beetlejuice.
Through all his pondering, he couldn’t help but notice how her distinction from the rest of her kind actually made her somewhat beautiful. Her big and colorless clothes may have hidden her but they gave her a nice silhouette and as she moved, the clothes flowed with her. She looked comfortable in her appearance but not her skin. Her big eyes revealed a natural sense of curiosity and as she read on, he watched them widen and narrow. Her hands held the book ever so preciously, like it was some sort of old artifact. Beetlejuice didn’t even notice that at one point she must have sat down on a stool. The girl would furrow her brows and turn her mouth into a slight smile, or grow more sombre and concentrated, as she got to the heavy stuff in the book. Beetlejuice crossed his arms and couldn’t help but chuckle to himself. You ain’t seen nothing yet, kid.
Beetlejuice snapped out of his reverie and shook his head. What the fuck am I doing, drooling over some shrimp? I gotta figure out how to get the hell out of here!
He looked up and the girl was moving too. She untied the string under her chin and lifted the big hat off her head. Beetlejuice watched her shake her raven locks and let out a deep sigh, as she stretched her back. Suddenly, it clicked.
As the girl got up from the stool, his mind began to race and formulate a new plan. Something about having the handbook right in front of him all day jogged his memory and he recalled that one particular rule about marriage between the living and the dead.
Oh. Oh, this is gonna be really good, thought Beetlejuice. Oh, ho ho, I’m back on track, baby!
It might actually go according to plan after all.