Banished Divinity: Learning to be Human

2:30 PM. The Shoe Cabinet.

I found the flat ballerina shoes. White. Simple. Unlikely to attack me or send me crashing to the floor.

"Those are cute," Human Sera said, floating beside me. "Practical. Safe. The opposite of everything I stand for."

"You stand for nothing. You're a ghost. You hover."

"Hovering is standing for ghosts. It's the same thing."

I put on the shoes. They fit perfectly.

"Okay," I said. "I'm ready."

"You're ready," Human Sera agreed. She floated in front of me, her form bright, her smile wide. "You're going to go to that park. You're going to meet my darling. You're going to eat ice cream. And you're going to have a good time. For me."

"For you," I said.

"For me," she repeated.

I picked up my bag. I walked to the front door.

Mum was there, pretending to water a plant that did not need watering. Dad was there, pretending to check the mail that had already been checked. Mina was there, pretending to not care while clearly caring very much.

"Text me when you get there," Mum said.

"Call me if anything happens," Dad said.

"Don't embarrass the family name," Mina said. "The little dignity we have left is hanging by a thread."

"I will do my best," I said.

I opened the door.

The afternoon sun was warm. The sky was blue. Somewhere, in a park full of flowers, a boy with nice shoulders was waiting to share ice cream with a ghost's replacement.

Human Sera floated beside me, practically bouncing with excitement.

"LET'S GO!" she screamed. "D-DAY IS UPON US! THE ICE CREAM OFFENSIVE BEGINS NOW!"

I walked down the front path, my flat shoes silent on the concrete.

Behind me, I heard Dad start crying again.

"SHE'S LEAVING! JANET, SHE'S LEAVING! WITH FLAT SHOES! WHAT KIND OF WORLD IS THIS?!"

"Daniel, stop using my name and get back inside."

"I'M MOURNING!"

"You're being ridiculous."

"I'M BEING A FATHER!"

The door closed, muffling his cries.

Human Sera laughed. "I love them," she said. "I really, really love them."

"Me too," I said quietly. And for once, I didn't regret admitting it.

I walked toward Blossom Haven Park, toward Jaehyun, toward ice cream and flowers and all the things that mortal girls did on dates.

And somewhere beside me, a ghost was the happiest she had been in a very long time.

"LET'S GO! LET'S GO! THE BUS IS COMING! WE CANNOT BE LATE FOR DESTINY!"

"The bus is not destiny," I said, grabbing my bag. "The bus is public transportation. There's a difference."

"Not today! Today, the bus is a chariot of love!"

The bus was full.

Not "a few people standing" full. Not "slightly uncomfortable" full. It was crammed-like-sardines-in-a-divine-punishment full. I was pressed between a man who smelled like onions and a woman whose elbow had somehow located my ribs and declared war on them.

And Human Sera would not. Stop. Talking.

"OMG!" she squealed, floating through the ceiling because ghosts had no concept of fair public transportation etiquette. "What if he asks me to be his girlfriend? I mean, I would say yes."

My eye twitched.

"OMG! Sera, you twitched your eye! And it's the same eye as Mum! OMG! The family genetics have gotten into your Celestial bones, girl. You are so screwed."

I did not respond. I could not respond. There were people everywhere. Mortals with ears. Mortals who would think I was insane if I started talking to the empty air beside me.

Human Sera took my silence as encouragement.

"OMG! What if he asks for another date? What if he wants to hold my hand? Eeeee... I'm so excited!" She spun in a circle, her translucent body flaring out like a very happy tornado. "Well, technically, he would be holding your hand, but it's my body, and I'm calling the shots! Ha! You can't do anything, oh brave warrior, because if you—"

"SHUT THE HELL UP!"

The bus went silent.

Every single person turned to look at me.

The old lady next to me clutched her purse like I was about to steal it. The onion man edged away. The elbow woman retracted her weapon.

I felt my face burn—a sensation I had grown to hate almost as much as I hated the Tribunal.

"What is wrong with you?" the old lady who was clutching her purse asked, her eyes wide with concern. "I was just trying to ring the bell."

"Oh, sorry, Mdm. I didn't mean—" I started, but the damage was done.

Whispers spread through the bus like wildfire.

"Poor girl. So pretty, and yet her mind is not right."

"Yeah, I've seen this girl before. She talks to herself. I mean, is she either possessed, or is she really coo coo?" A girl about my age I mean human sera’s age was talking to her friend, not even bothering to lower her voice.

Her friend gasped. "Eww... my goodness, we are in the same bus as her. I think we better get off before we get whatever is possessing her."

Humans, I thought. To think I am getting any better at liking them, and here they are, judging someone without knowing or understanding. I should have just stayed home.

Human Sera, meanwhile, was having the time of her afterlife.

"HA! HA! HA! OMG! Sera, you burst out! You are such a human now!" She was floating upside down, her face inches from mine, laughing and giggling like a maniac. "I thought Celestials should have, like, long patience that is deep to the bottomless pit of the deep blue ocean. But here you are! Shouting at air! Hahahahaha! Gaw-ly, you should have seen your face."

"Not. Helping." I whispered through gritted teeth.

"For what's worse," Human Sera continued, completely undeterred, "at least you didn't say something stupid like 'Peasant, leave me' or 'I am a Celestial Being, I am divine in every way.'" She paused. "Oh! That reminds me. Please do not do that when you meet Jaehyun. I mean, I need him to think I am not you."

I blinked innocently. But I could hear the begging in her voice.

"We shall see," I said, smirking.

Human Sera's face went through approximately twelve emotions in two seconds. Then she straightened her ghostly spine and spoke with the authority of a very small, very translucent warlord.

"Seraphyne, Celestial Being of Whatever You Are. You would not. And if you do, I will make your life miserable while you are in my body, starting with singing all night from tonight."

"Bite me," I whispered.

"Oh... game on, sister. You are so dead."

"I am already dead. I am a ghost possessing your body."

"Semantics!"