I'm Veronica Leash, another main character of this story. I was born on June 26th, 1976. I had fun growing up, judging how I was always at gymnastics practice. It was fun and when I grew up I pursued it as a career. My mother was my manager and I was number one in the finals for four years straight.

  When it came to my fifth try for finals, I walked from the locker rooms and into the people-filled stadium. People were cheering and clapping as I looked around and waved. "Ana ahibuk", I shouted to my fans. 'I love you is the meaning. I rubbed my hands and feet in powder and stepped onto the platform and took a deep breath. 

   I did a double back flip followed by a somersault. The crowd started to clap and cheer. I took another deep breath, it was time for the finale. I somersaulted round-off followed by, a double back flip. Then I attempted a triple tuck back flip. I flipped, and flipped, and flipped. I was ready to stick the landing, but I timed it wrong and didn't let go in time.

  I ended up landing right on my head in front of the whole crowd. I heard my parents and siblings scream as everything went black. My eyes slowly opened to see paramedics, my family, and the judges around me. I couldn't breathe, my neck was broken, and my head hurt like hell. I was dying.

  I had a stroke and everything went black once again. When I awoke it was dark, it was also hard to breathe. I screamed and screamed. "Help me, where am I, somebody help me"! I kept banging on the top of whatever was confining. Suddenly I became intangible and rose through what I was in. I had been in a coffin buried underground.

  "Why was alive, I had died during my performance", I thought. I turned around and cried as I read my headstone. "Veronica Leash, 06-26-79 to 10-09-97". I was dead yet somehow I was still there. I ran back to my apartment to see that luckily all my stuff was still there. I looked in the mirror and saw that there was a red bruise that wrapped around my whole neck.

  It wasn't a dream or it wasn't fake, I had died and become a ghost. There was a book on my bathroom sink. "Easy guide to being a phantom", the title read. I opened it up and read the first couple of pages. "Don't be seen by humans (since I'm famous it's a risk), don't stay in one place for too long (people will notice that I'm not aging), don't hurt humans unless they are a danger to your soul, escape purgatory". 

  "Escape purgatory", I thought. Is that where I am, purgatory? I'm stuck in a dead-on earth purgatory and I need to get out. Although I read the whole book there was nothing about why I was there or how I could escape. "Your abilities will depend on your species", the last page read. It gave descriptions of how each species will look. "To see your true species say out loud 'phantom form'", the book read.

  I looked in front of the mirror. "Phantom form", I whispered. My eyes turned darker and my skin pale. My legs were intangible, I was a wraith. I floated around the house, it was a bit fun. Maybe it wouldn't be all too bad. The grim reaper appeared in front of me. I thought that it was time for me to leave purgatory. "You need help getting out of purgatory, choose your weapon. 

There was a bow and arrow, a sword, and a bat. I picked up the bow and arrow, "Good choice". He left and I put the bow and arrow down and went back into the bathroom and in front of the mirror. I had to go through New York as a celebrity, unnoticed. I covered up the red bruise surrounding my neck with makeup. 

  I heard someone twisting the key around in the door. It was my parents. I started to panic and in the mirror, I could see I turned invisible. They walked in and I floated around unnoticed. "I just miss her so much Ahmad", my mother said. "It's going to be okay Hilda", he said, hugging her. It made me sad to see my parents hurting. "I can feel her presence in the room", my mom said.

  I walked over to them and put my hands on their shoulders. "You feel that Ahmad", my mother asked in joy. "Her spirit is still here", she said, hugging my father with a smile. I backed up against the wall of the living room. I attempted to grab the air as I fell through and as I fell through the air I was able to be seen. People at the bottom were screaming.

  I hit the ground and there was no blood, only a loud thud. "Is she okay, what's happening", a woman shouted. I stood up and ran away. As I walked into an alley I went into the form of a wraith. For 24 years I tried to learn how to get out of purgatory. I didn't know any other phantoms that could help me. I couldn't go back to my house because my apartment was auctioned. 

  I didn't need to eat, drink, or sleep so I was fine with that. I learned the name of the "Alley cat". She was said to roam New York alleys without aging for the past 23 years. I assumed that she was a phantom. I was able to sense the life in people. If I was near an alive and happy person I would feel lots of life. Near an old dying person, there would be very little life.

  If I was to meet a phantom there would be no life at all. I saw a girl with a large Afro and a person covered from head to toe in clothing walking together. As I walked past both of them I felt no life at all. I stopped walking and so did they. They both turned around and looked at me. I took off my glasses as I saw the face of the person covered in clothing.

  She was a sugar skull, a skeleton! "Run Maria", the girl with the Afro shouted.