A Ghost Story

You don't often walk into a space and think; what if I died in here?

But at some point we’re all going to die. In some place. It could be anywhere. It could be here she thought to herself.

She stared suspiciously at the nibbled olive pit sitting at the bottom of her half-drunk martini.

Fuck. Imagine if I just threw that back and choked to death…

Chocking is one of the more embarrassing surprise ways to go.

She eyed the pit with added caution, going slightly cross-eyed as she lifted the glass to take her next thirsty sip.

…on that gross little sucker too. Shit.

She looked around the bar, sneakily scanning the scattering of seven or so faceless people in a new light. 

{Though it should be noted, making sure to once again avoid the gaze of the guy sitting directly to her left at the bar-top. He was the only other ‘lone drinker’ in the dive and the last thing she wanted was to create any unwanted anxiety, which might make him feel like he should talk to her.}

Just imagine dying in this weird bar?
Surrounded by these strangers?

The question was silently pondered and prompted a near immediate response as she had come to expect.

You're death would become just a ‘crazy’ story for these people. Something to whip out at parties. As time went on and their retellings naturally mutated with embellishments to untether from the facts they’d likely pretend to be more disturbed by your untimely demise than they actually were, just to hold the room.

Fuckers!

She was shocked that these people would do such a thing. But on the other-hand she wasn’t the slightest bit surprised. 

Definitely this lot's best anecdote, she thought, considering the characterless forms around her.

She stared down at her drink while her brain looked to her left.

That sad fucker'll probl'y use it to get laid.

She went on pondering and realized what was most shocking about the entire idea was that SHE hadn't thought it before… 

One day she was gonna die 'somewhere.' It could easily be out and about? In some weird, but definitely cool place like this dimly-red-lit bar, playing trippy Indian music with Depression era furniture and a long, gold, tinsel fringe curtain surrounding a window looking out onto Greenpoint, Brooklyn on a chill Wednesday November night.

Considering she was so into ghost stories these days (and whatever other creepy, late-night Internet brainlessness she could get her hands on) she could hardly believe that she'd never contemplated that she herself could some day become the unwitting star of someone else’s scary story.

From now on I'm gonna remind myself that I could die some weird death anytime… She promised.

Imagine… in the end, it turns out that's what you were worth? Fucking-90s-TV-special-cheap-reenactment,-dickhead-BuzzFeed-'reporter'-punchline… She thought.

... you choke like a fool in front of a bunch-a randoms and losers, only to become the ghoul of this dive bar.

She thought it felt disrespectful… then she thought about it a little while longer and figured;
Cool. More than most. Better than forgotten. Being a ghost story might actually be just my style. Become a legend in some homemade ghost Youtube ‘show’. A fanny-tickling, sleepover tale… The excuse bar employees use for every glass they break or thing they misplace - a reason for them to demand not to close alone.

Maybe I should make a note of this idea in future? Whenever I go somewhere new, I’ll consider that I could actually die there and become a ghost story.

It happened. To people. Real people. In the real world. Not often. But it did happen.

You gotta die some time. Getting immortalized in a lame creeeeepy ghost story…
She smiled. It was sort-a right up her street.

Plus, she reasoned, she didn't have that much more going on in [her] life right now anyways…

"I’ve actually never even seen the Matrix."
Said a young woman’s voice from somewhere behind her.

She looked at the couple chatting in the reflection of the mirror bind the bar, directly in front of her.
Two 20 something hipster chicks, probl'y on a date, looks like the Asian chick who said it, erg these people suck… who hasn't seen the Matrix? What a shit date… . She thought.

Then she felt like she had let them distract her from some great revelation, searched her head, saw something about ghosts, figured it was stupid and left it.