Work Text:
Was 10pm really the right time to visit a graveyard? Probably not, but Adora would have probably killed herself if she didn’t come here today. Today on a day that Adora had etched into her memory for the last four years
The graveyard was cold, a bitter winter air blowing through the area. Adora was thankful she was wearing a jacket.
As she reached the grave in question she sighed, staring at the name etched into the tombstone before her.
Adora had never known her birth family. Supposedly, they’d all been killed in a car accident when she was a baby, her mother, father and twin brother, with her as the only survivor. To her, the only family she’d known was her adopted mother Mara.
She was the most wonderful woman to Adora. Compassionate, understanding, loving, everything a mother should have been. Her death four years earlier had left an empty hole in Adora’s heart.
She’d done her best to move on, but every day since losing her mother, Adora had always had this sensation that nothing was right, that something was missing from her world. But no matter how bleak she felt, she had to keep going.
Mara didn’t want her to give up. She’d wanted her to live a long and happy life, one that wouldn’t be cut short by forces outside of her control.
As she placed the bouquet of flowers on the grave, she sighed, looking at the slab of marble in front of her.
“Hey mom… sorry I’m late,” Adora whispered. “Work was a pain in my ass today. I didn’t get out until like… two hours ago.” She sighed, pressing her head against the slab. “But I made it. I… I miss you so much.”
Adora stayed by the tomb for a moment before sighing and standing up. “I… I can’t stay long though mom. Gotta be up early tomorrow for another shift in hell.”
She groaned internally. She hated her job. Hated it with a capital H. In a fair and just world, she’d have been able to have the whole of today off just to visit her mother, but no, the world was cold and cruel like that.
Adora stayed for as long as she could, telling Mara about what she’d been doing since the last time they’d spoken, how she’d attempted a relationship with her friend Glimmer, but it not really working out and how she was considering going back to school to get her degree.
But as Adora kept reciting her recent developments in life, she found something interrupting her. A strange noise. Adora thought it was the wind, but it was a voice, an unmistakable sound… of someone sobbing.
“Sorry mom, gotta check this out,” Adora replied, before walking away from the grave.
She walked past some nearby trees to another plot of land, where some newer graves were. Adora had seen them set up some time ago, but she was surprised that there were people already being buried there.
And there she saw her. In front of one of the graves was a young woman, probably around her age kneeling in front of a grave and sobbing her eyes out. She was bawling, ugly tears flowing from her eyes.
Adora gently approached the strange woman. She knew it was probably best to leave the woman be, but Mara had always inspired her to look out for others as well as herself. And Adora wanted to help this girl.
“H-Hello?” Adora asked.
The woman stood up and Adora finally got a good look at her. She had sand-coloured skin and long, messy dark brown hair that almost looked like a lion’s mane. Her eyes were the most striking part of her, one blue and one gold, almost glowing in the low light. She looked… beautiful.
“S-Sorry, am I interrupting anything?” Adora wondered. “I just heard you crying from over there and I got worried.”
The girl was silent, staring at Adora with her glimmering eyes. It was as if this girl had never seen another human being before.
“Are… Are you okay?”
“You… You can see me?” She said in a frail, yet curious voice.
“Um… yeah?” Adora asked, slightly confused. Then she saw the name on the grave. The name was “Catra Weaver” and from the date on the grave, she would have probably died very recently, passing away at the same age as Adora was no less.
“Was that your sister or something?” Adora wondered. “I’m… sorry for your loss. I was visiting my mom’s grave just now. I know how bad you must be feeling.”
The woman then glared at Adora with rage. “You think you know what I’m going through!? Do you really?!”
“S-Sorry!” Adora quickly apologised. She could tell she’d touched a nerve… and she didn’t blame her. Right after losing Mara, Adora found herself being very sensitive, prone to snapping at people and losing her temper, even when those same people were only trying to help her.
The woman turned away, looking at the grave again. “I… Go… please.”
Adora wanted to leave this woman in peace, ashamed of what she had done. But part of her didn’t want to leave this woman. She was worried about her.
“I… I just want to help you, that’s all.” She walked a little closer. “If you wanna talk I can listen. I know it helped me after… no, no, maybe I should go.”
“No… don’t go,” The woman replied. “You’re just… you’re the first person I’ve been able to talk to since…”
“Oh…” Adora realised. “I see.” She walked to the woman’s side and looked at the grave. “So uh… I’m Adora, what’s your name?”
The woman remained silent and merely pointed at the tombstone. Adora looked at it and was confused. She figured that whoever was buried here was a family member of this woman, so the woman just pointing to the grave didn’t make sense.
Until it hit her. There was a very simple reason why this woman was surprised that Adora could see her. She gasped, taking a few steps back in surprise.
“You’re… You’re…”
The brunette nodded. “This is my grave.”
“I…” Adora was still trying to process the entire situation. It was the middle of the night, she was standing in the middle of a graveyard and right before her, clear as the stars in the sky was a…
“YOU’RE A GHOST!”
Adora covered her mouth. “Sorry… so fucking sorry.”
To her surprise… the woman before her chuckled a little at that. It sounded like it was the first time anyone had made her chuckle or smile for that matter in a long, long time.
“You… you’re okay,” she replied, before looking at her grave again.
Adora nodded and shyly walked to her side. “So um… why were you sad? Did you not get a chance to do something before you died or something?”
“No… I’m upset… was upset… look, no one came to my funeral, okay?” Catra stated. “There was no one in the entire universe who cared about me. Not my mother, nor my supposed friends, everyone hated me…”
“I’m… so sorry,” Adora apologised. “That must have been horrible for you.”
“I… started drinking, really bad,” Catra admitted. “One night, I was driving home from a bar… I really shouldn’t have been drinking that night but… I crashed and well, you can guess. And now that I'm… dead, there’s nothing for me either. I was always told in church about what Heaven would be like and… this isn’t fucking heaven. I don’t know what this fucking is!” She kicked the air angrily. “It’s just… like regular life only I can’t touch anything or do anything! It’s like I'm a damn prisoner.”
“I’m… I’m sorry.”
“Maybe that’s why all those haunted houses and whatnot always make the news,” Catra admitted. “Folks like me who died… and are just so alone and scared they’ve gone mad…”
Adora tried to put a hand on Catra’s shoulder, only for it to phase right through her. She yelped and slipped, falling flat on her face into the muddy ground below. She grumbled… and Catra chuckled again.
“Sorry…” Adora groaned as she pulled her face out of the dirt. “I was trying to like… reassure and well…”
“No… It’s okay… I haven’t laughed in so long.”
Adora got back to her feet, dusting her pants. “Well, at least I’m doing something halfway good.” She looked at Catra. “But… maybe you don’t have to be alone anymore, Catra. You can hang around me. If I’m the only one who can see you, well, I’ll do my best to keep you company.”
“You’d… be there for me?” Catra wondered.
“As my mom used to say, loving yourself is important… but it’s always good to look out for others too.”
“Your mom sounds like she was a very wise woman.”
Adora chuckled. “You don’t know the half of it.” She rubbed her cold hands. “Can you like… follow me back home? It’s kinda cold out here.”
“Really? I don’t feel it.”
“Yeah because you’re a ghost !” Adora exaggerated.
Catra had to laugh more. Adora had to smile. She was starting to love the sound of that laugh. Slightly rough, yet clearly full of genuine joy and delight.
“But yeah, I’ll follow you home.”
“Good! So uh yeah do your floaty ghost thing or whatever ghosts do.”
“I don’t float.”
“Aww, shame.”
“Trust me, it’s better this way. Floating around would just make nauseous.”
“Ah… well, then follow me! My car’s just around the corner!”
And so, Catra did, following Adora back home with her. It was that night that Adora discovered she had a special gift, the ability to see those who had died and were never satisfied with their lives or unloved.
Catra stayed with Adora for as long as she could and even when she found peace and acceptance with her undead life, she didn’t want to leave her. Adora was the best thing that could have happened to her.
And Catra wasn’t the only ghost Adora would help. Over the next few years, Adora would do her best to help other lost souls find peace with their deaths. Some would cross over to the beyond and others would stay amongst the living.
While Adora hadn’t expected her life to take this turn, she knew that she was doing her best to help others and for that, she knew her mother would be proud.