12 Days of Sneeze (Superstitions), Day 11
There were a variety of ways I could have gone with this one...but when I first saw this superstition, this is where my mind immediately went, even if it's not something that's likely to happen in real life.
Drita shivered, pulling her jacket around her a little tighter. While there was a cold breeze blowing through, signifying that they were now firmly into autumn, part of her wondered if the sudden chill she felt was due to where she was. Even though she'd come to this graveyard to gather the names of her ancestors and had even left flowers to pay her respects, the setting sun and the wind whistling through the graves gave her a sense of foreboding, like she was trespassing in a forbidden realm. With that in mind, she quickened her pace, hoping to reach the front gates as soon as possible.
Another gust of wind blew through the area, causing her nose to run. As she sniffed to try to contain the leak, the breeze carried the scent of decaying grass and flowers to her, and that, combined with the chill, was enough to make her sneeze. “Ekshuu!”
There was another harsh gust of air, but this time, it came from behind her. Moments later, she heard a male voice say “What in...where am I? Oh, mallkoj, just my luck.”
Confused, Drita turned around, only to scream in shock. There was a translucent man hovering several inches off the ground, with no visible legs. Even though the ghost had an annoyed look on his face, he quickly waved his hands at her. “Quiet, quiet! The last thing we need is to cause a scene.”
“Are you...going to hurt me?” Drita asked fearfully.
“No,” the man said, “I'm not about to hurt the person who can send me back to the afterlife. Even if you are the same person who pulled me out in the first place.”
“I'm...sorry about that,” Drita said, “But how did I...?”
“You sneezed near my grave,” the man explained, gesturing towards the nearest headstone, “That's bad luck. Most of the time, it just manifests in minor misfortune for a few days, but every so often, when the fates are feeling mischievous, they decide to torment the living and the dead and send the person buried in the grave to 'haunt' whoever sneezed. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to undo, but we'll need to perform a small ritual to return me to the spirit world. It should only take an hour or two, and then I can return to the ether.”
“All right,” Drita said, her fear being replaced by curiosity, “Come on, my car's this way. But as long as we're going to be stuck together, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Drita.”
“Afrim.” the man said, floating after her.
Drita paused, glancing back at the grave. She'd gotten turned around a bit while wandering around the cemetery, but she was pretty sure that this was the general area where her great-great-uncle Afrim was buried. She'd have to look through her photographs to confirm it, but if this was a relative of hers...maybe he'd be willing to give her a bit of family history before they went their separate ways.
From an unknown source: Sneezing near a grave means bad luck.
Drita shivered, pulling her jacket around her a little tighter. While there was a cold breeze blowing through, signifying that they were now firmly into autumn, part of her wondered if the sudden chill she felt was due to where she was. Even though she'd come to this graveyard to gather the names of her ancestors and had even left flowers to pay her respects, the setting sun and the wind whistling through the graves gave her a sense of foreboding, like she was trespassing in a forbidden realm. With that in mind, she quickened her pace, hoping to reach the front gates as soon as possible.
Another gust of wind blew through the area, causing her nose to run. As she sniffed to try to contain the leak, the breeze carried the scent of decaying grass and flowers to her, and that, combined with the chill, was enough to make her sneeze. “Ekshuu!”
There was another harsh gust of air, but this time, it came from behind her. Moments later, she heard a male voice say “What in...where am I? Oh, mallkoj, just my luck.”
Confused, Drita turned around, only to scream in shock. There was a translucent man hovering several inches off the ground, with no visible legs. Even though the ghost had an annoyed look on his face, he quickly waved his hands at her. “Quiet, quiet! The last thing we need is to cause a scene.”
“Are you...going to hurt me?” Drita asked fearfully.
“No,” the man said, “I'm not about to hurt the person who can send me back to the afterlife. Even if you are the same person who pulled me out in the first place.”
“I'm...sorry about that,” Drita said, “But how did I...?”
“You sneezed near my grave,” the man explained, gesturing towards the nearest headstone, “That's bad luck. Most of the time, it just manifests in minor misfortune for a few days, but every so often, when the fates are feeling mischievous, they decide to torment the living and the dead and send the person buried in the grave to 'haunt' whoever sneezed. Fortunately, it's relatively easy to undo, but we'll need to perform a small ritual to return me to the spirit world. It should only take an hour or two, and then I can return to the ether.”
“All right,” Drita said, her fear being replaced by curiosity, “Come on, my car's this way. But as long as we're going to be stuck together, we might as well introduce ourselves. I'm Drita.”
“Afrim.” the man said, floating after her.
Drita paused, glancing back at the grave. She'd gotten turned around a bit while wandering around the cemetery, but she was pretty sure that this was the general area where her great-great-uncle Afrim was buried. She'd have to look through her photographs to confirm it, but if this was a relative of hers...maybe he'd be willing to give her a bit of family history before they went their separate ways.
From an unknown source: Sneezing near a grave means bad luck.