A short story I wrote at Christmas

In my local newspaper, they do a competition where you can send off a christmas story, but there's a twist; it has to be a ghost story too. I tried numerous different approaches for a story, and I was looking over my documents and came across it and have updated it. So have a read, and I'd love to hear what you think about it, I've been considering extending it into a possible book as I feel I've got a lot to give on this story.


     I knew that when I woke up, I wouldn’t be alone. I would feel the same presence I have felt since I can remember. I know what day today is, 25th December, Christmas. Great. My least favourite day of the year, maybe even of the whole existence of the world. No offence to ‘religious’ people and that guy that wears a nappy on that cross, but I don’t believe in that gobbledy-goop. I once had some faith, but no one listened when I needed someone to help me.
     I don’t want to hear ‘I wish it could be Christmas everyday’ blaring out from some boy racers tacky car. If it was I would be living my nightmare everyday. Ten years ago my dad disappeared. My mum was waiting at the front door when I got home from my grandparents, a handkerchief in one hand catching her tears; I had never heard some one cry and scream the way she had done. My parents were together since secondary school ‘high school sweethearts’ and after more than a decade they were still madly in love, I don’t know how that’s possible. My mum always told me she had no idea what happened to my dad that jolly noel day, I had many theories, but as I grew older I gave up. Along with my beliefs. Now I’ve become heartless, except on this day, which brings out my humanity.
   Every morning I wake up and feel someone watching me, ever since that Christmas. I tried to figure out some meaning behind it; I’m delusional from grief to someone having an invisible cloak and watching me. Now, I just live with it. I get on and do my usual routine, but on this day I try my best to not let the anonymous eyes know that I know. I don’t have Christmas decorations, no tree no lights no measly chocolate advent calendar, nothing what so ever. I stumble down the stairs in my lonely house. I prefer to be alone; it’s quiet and I have my own rules and I’m left to my own thoughts, so I’m happy, as close as I can get anyway. In silence I eat my non-festive breakie and my mind gazes over the subject of my dad. I flinch as I feel a wave of emotion run through my veins. Shivers and goosebumps appearing all over my skin. I hate feeling this way, if I could turn off my feelings I would. With this wave I feel faint and drop my bowl of cereal “damn it” having to clean might take my mind off of things..Or do the reverse.
     She can’t see me. Every day she can’t see me, she doesn’t notice me, apart from these little glitches here and there where I swear she knows I’m here. I need to do something drastic to get her attention today…
     Once I had wiped away the remains of my corn flakes from the laminate floor I decided to have a kip, to be away from this world today. I got to my bedroom and lay on my double bed. I tried to get comfortable, but when something is playing on your mind it’s hard to relax. It’s silent everywhere, eerie, I turn on the TV to drone on. Scrooge is on, the one about the three ghosts haunting a dude that keeps his money to himself. This feels even more unsettling. It’s reminded me of that space in the corner of each room that draws me to it, like a magnet and a piece of metal, me being the heavy metal. When I look over to that space I feel all hazy like I am about to pass out from the strength of this pull. I need to confront this at one point or another, it’s been ten years of this, trying to ignore someone or something gets very tiring when you don’t know what or who it is. So I tore the covers off with my eyes on that point of my rectangular room, feeling a power inside of me like I’m being sucked in. As I walk closer my vision becomes shakey, I swear I can see something, I swear I can see the outline of that someone...wait no. It can’t be. Hair, arms, hands, torso, legs, and feet appear before me. It’s him it’s actually him after all this time.
     This is it, my big moment. I don’t have too long; I must be quick, before it ends.
“I can’t believe this.” I managed to whisper. He's staring at me the same way I must be staring right back at him.
“Hello.”
“Whe-where have you been?” I have shortness of breath like I’ve got whiplash from a car crash.
“It’s complicated.”
“Well I’ll let you off then! No, tell me why I have made myself isolated because you disappeared off of the face of the earth!” I’m enraged as to why he’s been the missing father figure, why my life never pieces together.
      “All I know is that I am stuck in this alternate dimension for the rest of my days. I can watch everyone but no one can see me, apart from you. You are the only one that can sense my presence, not even your mother. That’s why you feel me here all the time. I feel like I’m dead, but I never died.”
“Right, I find that hard to believe.”
“Your mother was out, and I was finishing off the presents, one of the ornaments on the mantle piece fell to the floor. I went to investigate and touched a fragment, and I felt this jolt through my body. Like I was being torn in half. I had left my body...a-and I could see it, me collapsed on the floor...and the old me started to dissolve before my eyes, and left this version of myself trapped here, when your mother came back I tried to tell her in every way I could but she couldn’t see or hear me.”
I couldn't believe what he was telling me. It must be lies. There's no reasonable explanation for him disapearing.
“I don't believe you. You vanish for years, a decade! And come back with some lousy excuse.” As I was shouting at him, my vision was going blurry...no my dad was the one who was blurry...
"Dad? What's happening to you?" a sudden sadness has now filled me.
“I’m so sorry I'm running out of time, I love you.” And he was gone, but never forgotten.