Lily looked around wildly. She was in a small clearing in a slightly wooded area, a few bricks here and there indicating the ruins of a mansion behind her where nature had encroached. The sun filtered through the leaves, and although she did not recognize the area, there was an air of familiarity about it. Finally, she looked down to discover, to her shock, that she was completely naked, and...floating a good foot and a half off the ground.
"Whoaaa?!" Lily shrieked, flailing madly in midair, completely discombobulated at the apparent zero gravity of her situation. "What the...what is going on?!" She reached out to try to grab a small sapling and pull herself down, only to discover...her hand went right through it. "Am I...dead?"
"I suppose in a certain sense, that might be true, my lady, but you did not want this life to begin with, correct?" A jovial voice emanted from the darkest shadows of the wooded area. Lily turned her head and squinted, managing to make out a familiar suit and gloves; the face, as always, remained in shadow. "Then again, if life is consciousness, as long as you are able to remain yourself, perhaps you might consider yourself immortal now instead."
"What do you mean?" Lily squeaked out. "What did you do to me? What ARE you?"
"Just a passing friend," the shadowy man smiled. "As for what I did, I answered your wish, m'lady. After all, did you not desire to have any life but your own? In this form, you may inhabit any human body you so choose. Of course, you must be able to come into direct contact with it in order to occupy the vessel, but that is a minor matter. I'm sure you will eventually find one to your liking. Of course, no thanks are necessary, it was my pleasure." As Lily was trying to digest what the strange man was saying, she realized as he bowed he was melting back into the shadows.
"Wait! Don't go, how do I go back?! What if I just want to be me again?! WHERE IS MY BODY?!!" Lily yelled desperately, but all she got in response was the rustle of the leaves in the wind. Lily couldn't believe it. She was stuck here as some sort of disembodied spirit with no way to find the weird man, get her body back, or even move from this area. Of course, the man did say something about taking other bodies by direct contact, but in this deserted place, who would conveniently show up for her to catch a ride with? And how would she fix this? Her body still had to be somewhere, right? How would she go about finding it? No one would believe her, even if she told someone. She was completely on her own.
As Lily brooded over her fate, realizing how hopeless her situation was, she suddenly heard a sound. Something crashed through the trees and came to a rest just past her.
"You're gonna go get our ball for us, Horace," an overbearing yet childish voice growled on the other side of the trees, out of Lily's line of sight.
"That is, unless you're a scaaaredy cat," a similiar voice joined in.
"I hear it's haunted!" another one piped up.
"Scaredy cat, scaredy cat, Horace is a scaredy cat," the voices began a singsong chorus.
"I ain't scared o' nothin'," a little voice waveringly spit out, and something else began to rustle through the trees towards Lily. To her surprise, a young boy of about seven or eight popped out of the underbrush, looking around warily for the soccer ball. He looked rather small and skinny, with large glasses and clothes a bit too nice for wandering around the woods, as well as a backpack on his shoulders. It was obvious he was being bullied by the other children into this test of courage, but as he saw no way out, he had managed to enter the clearing. Spotting the ball, his eyes lighted up and he ran towards it, passing right next to Lily.
At first, Lily hesitated. She didn't know what the consequences might be of touching another person. What would happen to their consciousness? Would they cease to exist, or get stuck out here as she had? Would they just suffer a bit of amnesia for the time she possessed them, or would they remember everything, a prisoner in their own body? She didnt want to hurt anyone, and the shadow man had left without giving her many answers. Then again, she would accomplish nothing by simply waiting out here as a spirit until she went insane.
"Sorry, kid," Lily muttered to herself, and just as Horace turned around with the ball to make his exit, Lily reached out with a ghostly hand and grabbed for his shoulder. Almost as through he felt a chill, Horace looked back over his shoulder and unintentionally looked Lily directly in the eyes. Before Lily could react, she felt as through she were being sucked in by those eyes.
Blinking, Lily squinted through the thick glasses down at the ball in her hands. No, his hands. Horace's hands. It had worked! Although, what would happen to Horace, she wasn't sure. Nevertheless, that ship had already sailed. Now all that remained was for Lily to decide what to do with Horace's body. Although not familiar with such a little form, Lily managed to heave the soccer ball through the air and back out of the woods. She heard the exclamations of the bullies as they grabbed the ball and took off, unconcerned for Horace's fate. Then, sitting down, she began rifling through Horace's backpack for some answers.
Locating a notebook, she found a label with his full name: Horace Winthrop. It also had his age and address, confirming that he was rather small for a boy of 8. Standing up and dusting herself off, Lisa pondered her next move as Horace.