‘No Means No’ Body Arrived

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Emily entered their living room, a two-story house at the back of the funeral home. Dawn was there, freshly showered but something wrong with his clothes.

"Hey, are you going out in that? It's pretty chilly tonight. Put on some long pants," Emily said. Dawn, relaxed in his knee-length pants and a white t-shirt with his favorite cartoon on it, sat on the sofa.

"That detective come again?" he asked.

Pops was in the kitchen preparing a snack for himself when he decided to bring a bowl of fruit to the living room and sit beside Dawn. Emily glanced at the old man, and Pops happened to look at her too. Both seem to get used to that situation before.

"That's, uh, he was just visiting, happened to be around here," said Emily.

Pops understand Emily's gaze on him. It meant they needed to keep something from Dawn. He offered Dawn a piece of fruit.

"Here, eat this. It's fresh."

Dawn looked at the fruit, then opened his mouth to eat it.

"You said you were going into town. Why aren't you ready, Dawn? Put on your long pants, you'll catch a cold," Pops asked looking at Dawn from head to toe.

Dawn chewed his food, then looked between his grandfather and Emily. He swallowed and answered.

"Em, I'm not going, Em, can I see the new body?" he asked innocently. Emily's eyes widened. She shook her head.

"No, you can't!" but her reaction was over the top; Dawn would surely suspect something. She smiled.

"Uh, I mean, Frank's going to embalm it, it'll smell really strong. You know we can't get near the bodies after they're embalmed, right? You'll see it later in the funeral room anyway. Is there something that makes you interested in it?" Emily was stupid; why did she ask like that?

Pops smiled. He offered a piece of fruit to Dawn's mouth again.

"This kid, why would you want to see it? Just looking for trouble, are you bored or something?" the man asked. Dawn thought hard, then opened his mouth and ate the fruit his grandfather offered.

"Em, I'm just curious."

Pops looked at Emily, who looked nervous.

"Just keep your curiosity to yourself, quickly change your clothes, and come with your aunt to town for shopping. Don't forget my dinner, and don't be long, I'm hungry," the old man said.

Emily pursed her lips. At least, even with her wide eyes, her father had helped her from the hard situation with Dawn's questions, she looked so nervous. Pops knew his daughter was hiding something.

"Yeah, fine," Dawn replied, getting up from the couch, though it sounded a bit forced.

Pops watched Dawn head to his room upstairs, then glanced at Emily, who looked nervous. The young woman approached him with a somewhat relieved expression.

"What are you hiding? You look so nervous."

Emily looked at her father, her eyes wide.

"Me, nervous? Does it show?" she said, touching her cheek.

Pops nodded.

"Yeah, it is. What did that detective tell you?"

Emily took a piece of fruit from a bowl on the table. Ate it whole with her big mouth.

"He asked us to delay the embalming of a body that just arrived this afternoon. I haven't even seen it yet. Dad, please take a look later. I asked Frank to store it in the cooler; he almost filled it with formalin, ouch it was nerve-wracking."

Pops frowned.

"Hey, I already said we don't accept bodies of murder victims and such. Why do they keep sending them here? Don't they understand 'no means no'?"

Emily glanced towards the stairs, making sure Dawn wasn't eavesdropping.

"The detective said the family stopped the investigation and accepted the death as a suicide. It's not a crime victim, but Detective Hogan thinks it's highly likely the body is a murder victim."

Emily's words stopped Pops mid-motion. He'd been about to eat a piece of melon but paused, staring at his daughter wide-eyed.

"The detective said? If the family's okay with it, why should we bother? I'll have Lena arrange for the body's transfer tomorrow. We can't keep it here. You know how sensitive Dawn is. We can't let that happen again. Remember what happened when we took in a murder victim before? That kid almost died from the evil ghost. I won't let that happen again."

Pops put down his fruit skewers, reached into his pants pocket, and pulled out his phone.

"Lena's coming later, just talk to her then. I need to get ready," Emily said, getting up from the couch and heading to her room. Pops stopped mid-gesture, watching his daughter go.

"How am I going to talk to her? Dawn's here, uh…"

 .....

*Bang!*

Emily was ready and sitting behind the wheel of her bright yellow VW Beetle. Lena had just arrived from the funeral home and sat with her in the front. Dawn was walking out from the back of the house.

"Dawn, come on, it's getting dark. You know Grandpa's a real nag; he wants to eat," Emily called out.

While approaching the parking lot in front of the funeral home, Dawn kept looking at the building where the embalming room and the cold storage were located. He could still see black smoke coming from the window that led to the cold storage. Had Frank finished embalming?

"Dawn!" Emily yelled.

"Yeah, Em," Dawn replied, heading towards the car and opening the back door. He glanced back at the window where a pair of red eyes were watching him.

Emily noticed Dawn's reaction and looked at Lena, the young girl with shoulder-length curly hair beside her. The girl, who had been working as an assistant at the funeral home for several years, nodded slightly. It seemed Pops had already told her.

"Yeah, tomorrow," she answered.

Emily glanced back at Dawn, who was now sitting comfortably. Dawn looked at her intently.

"What?" he asked.

Emily started the car, drove towards the gate, and pulled out.

"I should be asking you that. Why did you keep staring there the whole time? I remind you, all the new bodies are being embalmed by Frank and Ross, so you're not allowed near them, not tonight, or tomorrow. Pops will be furious if you do, remember that, Dawn."

Dawn just stared straight ahead. The young man was used to minimal expression, barely ever responding to anything Emily or anyone else said. Emily was used to it, but she still wasn't satisfied without an answer from him.

"Dawn, did you hear that?"

Dawn turned to her and nodded.

"Yeah, Em," he replied briefly.

 ....

The main streets of Lumino, a large city on the west coast, were surprisingly calm. It had a generally warm climate but experienced long winters. Rain was frequent, and the city's palette was mostly black, white, and gray. For half the year, the sky was a beautiful, bright blue, with strong winds. The other half was dreary, with gray clouds, cold air, and occasional snow. As the center of government, it housed many vital government buildings and several foreign embassies. A nearly sleepless metropolis, it grappled with a thousand and one problems that constantly shifted and changed.

Black Orchid Funeral Home was located in District Three, quite a distance from the city center. It took Emily's VW at least twenty to thirty minutes to reach the downtown area. The city center was visible, with its tall buildings, wide branching roads, and, most noticeably, the dense traffic of all kinds.

Emily's yellow VW had pulled into the hospital parking lot. She got out after turning off the engine and rolling down the window for Lena and Dawn, who would wait while she went inside for her errands. She leaned down to check on Dawn, who sat quietly in the back seat. The young man was easygoing enough, content to sit and read during the drive, but stubborn; Emily had to remind him of things often.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in, Dawn? Dr. Regan might want to see you, maybe even check you over while he's free."

Dawn turned the page of his book, not immediately answering. Emily had to bend down quite low by the window. She pursed her lips until Dawn finally looked up.

"I'm fine, Em. No need for a checkup."

Emily narrowed her eyes. This kid was incredibly stubborn. She straightened up.

"Okay, then. Just wait here. Lena, keep an eye on him," Emily said.

Lena, in the passenger seat, nodded.

"Of course, Em. Don't worry."

Emily headed towards the main hospital building. Dawn followed her gaze until it landed on a figure standing near an ambulance that had just discharged a crash victim. Dawn unconsciously saw the dark figure, surrounded by swirling black smoke, as if he could hear its screams. He quickly looked away when the spirit turned its head.