(POV: Ethan)
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There are certain universal truths in life. The sun rises in the east. Gravity keeps us grounded. And Leo Arclight will always—always—somehow casually drop the weirdest, most reality-bending story you've ever heard like he's just reciting his grocery list.
Today was no different.
We were in that sweet spot between chaos and catastrophe. You know the one. No fires. No fleeing. No small children clinging to Leo like he was their father. Just four friends decompressing with snacks and drinks, like a totally normal group of people.
Obviously, that meant something terrible was about to happen.
The conversation had drifted—like it always did—into weird territory. Ava started it, of course. She always does. We were talking about strange places we'd been to. You know, odd vibes, eerie lighting, maybe a little mold in the corners—standard spooky ambiance. I mentioned that one subway tunnel that always smells like popcorn (even though there's no food vendors nearby), and Aya talked about an alley with perfect acoustics that amplified her humming like a concert hall.
And then Leo just… tilted his head.
That's the sign. The cursed sign. The "Oh-no-he's-about-to-unleash-lore" sign.
"There was one place," he said, in that casual tone that should honestly come with a government warning label. "It was a little inn up in the mountains. Called the Silver Whisper Lodge."
Okay, pause.
Even the name sounds haunted. You don't just call a place "Silver Whisper" and expect good things to happen. No one whispers silver unless they're a ghost, a cursed heirloom, or a mysterious shopkeeper giving you a quest.
I narrowed my eyes. "Why does that sound like it comes with an automatic haunting?"
Ava looked up from her chips. "Wait—Silver Whisper Lodge? THE Silver Whisper Lodge?!"
Leo blinked. "I don't know about the 'THE' part, but yeah. It was on top of a ridge, super foggy, hard to get to. I stayed there for three nights."
Ava nearly choked. "YOU STAYED THERE?!"
Leo nodded. "Yeah. Pretty cheap."
Ava turned to me, eyes wide. "Ethan. That's the place from the ghost thread. The thread. You remember? The one with the paranormal investigators and the thermal cams and the guy who fainted because the walls whispered to him in Spanish?"
"Oh my god, that place?" I said. "I thought it was fake!"
"Nope," Leo said calmly, popping a pretzel into his mouth like he wasn't casually admitting he survived a boss-level haunted dungeon.
"WHY?!" I shrieked. "Why would you stay there?!"
"I had a voucher."
Ava slapped a hand over her face. "You risked your soul for a voucher?!"
Leo shrugged. "It was non-refundable."
I was going to scream. Actually, I was already screaming. Internally. Externally. Spiritually. Ava looked like she was considering an exorcism. Aya had taken out her phone and started looking up the post.
"Okay, okay," Ava said, rubbing her temples. "Tell us what happened. And don't you dare leave anything out."
Leo sipped from his lemon soda. "Well… first night was quiet."
Ava raised a finger. "Nope. Skip the boring night. Start with the cursed night."
"Alright," Leo said, like he was switching the channel. "Second night, around 2 AM, I heard whispering through the walls. Couldn't tell the language."
"WHAT DID YOU DO?!" I yelled.
"I turned my pillow over and went back to sleep."
"YOU—WHAT—YOU—HOW—"
"I was tired."
Ava was holding onto the arm of the bench like she was about to ascend. "Okay, then what?"
"Next night, the window unlocked itself. Three times. I locked it each time. Heard footsteps outside my door. When I checked, no one was there."
Aya looked up, pale. "You didn't think to leave?"
Leo frowned. "I had snacks in the mini-fridge."
"That is not a valid reason to stay in a haunted house!" I protested.
"It was a really good mini-fridge."
Ava, who was now googling the Silver Whisper thread again, pointed at her phone. "Okay. This part here. They captured a shadowy figure in the hallway at 2:03 AM. Security cam footage. People said it was 'the Wandering Spirit.' A lot of theories. Some said it floated. Others claimed it was eight feet tall. Tell me, Leo. Tell me right now."
He leaned over, squinting. "Oh. Yeah. That's me."
Dead silence.
Ava slowly lowered her phone.
I clutched my head. "YOU'RE THE WANDERING SPIRIT?!"
Leo gave the world's tiniest nod. "I had to use the bathroom."
Ava was spiraling. "People thought you were a restless soul searching for closure. A Redditor held a séance in your honor!"
"I was wearing my hotel slippers," Leo offered helpfully.
"That's worse!" I yelled.
Aya was wheezing with laughter at this point. Ava was still scrolling furiously.
"Here! This part! The guy who fainted after hearing whispers? He said he passed by room 207 and heard someone muttering numbers. You didn't…?"
"I was doing math in my head," Leo said. "Trying to figure out the exchange rate for room service."
Ava froze. "Oh my god. Leo. You ARE the haunting!"
Leo looked at us, thoughtful. "...Does that mean I should leave a review?"
"NO!" I shrieked. "They'll exorcise your review!"
Ava was crying with laughter now, barely holding onto her phone.
"Oh—oh no," she gasped. "There's even fan art! People drew the Wandering Spirit! With glowing red eyes and a cloak!"
Leo tilted his head. "I was wearing a hoodie."
"And socks, right?" I asked, dreading the answer.
Leo: "One sock."
Ava howled.
I laid flat on the bench, done with this entire reality. "I'm going to lose my mind. You went to the most haunted inn in the region. You survived it. And now you've got a fanbase as a ghost."
Leo finished his drink and tossed the bottle in the recycling. "Well… not the weirdest thing that's happened."
"IT SHOULD BE!"
He stood, brushing off his sleeves. "Anyway. Who's up for snacks?"
I just stared after him as he walked off, probably already forgetting he'd just shattered the collective sanity of our group and the internet's paranormal community.
Ava turned to me, still giggling. "I'm never trusting a blurry hallway photo again."
Aya, now fully recovered, chimed in: "Honestly, it's kind of comforting. The scariest ghost in that post was just Leo needing a bathroom."
And me? I just whispered to the universe: "Please. Just once. Let me be the normal one."
The universe laughed.
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End of Chapter 32.