Esme looked up to see the tall man with the crow. Her body waved from very transparent to barely transparent.
"I didn't mean to," she sobbed, fresh tears coming. "I told him to stay away. I told him..." she wrapped her arms around her legs. "I don't want to be like this. I hate this. I hate it! I'm a monster and he doesn't care! He doesn't even know my name! He didn't even ask!"
She struggled to contain her tears, to stop crying. If only the pain would stop...
"It hurts," she told him, her voice calmer now but still shaking. Her hands pressed against her chest. "It hurts. I'm a ghost. Why does it hurt?"

It took her a few more minutes to get to her feet, still shaking. "What do I do? Please, tell me. I don't know what I'm supposed to do."
Esme felt lost. All of her focus had been on finding her brother and now that she had... she didn't know what to do next. It was obvious her brother didn't care enough to guide her in this new life he had condemned her to.
Well, [i]after[/i]life...