Short Story Challenge

The conclusion of ‘the ghost kid': As the weeks went by Ethan had experimented and come to learn these powers where real. He could become invisible, go through wall, fly, hover, and blast ecto plasma. He found little use for the ecto-blast ability, and he found that he took the most to invisibility and intangibility. The intangibility he actually didn't use to go through walls that much, but rather just to further complement the power of invisibility, so that if he was hiding in plain sight and someone might walk into him they would just walk through. Ethan wasn't sure why he decided to hide so much, of course he didn't tell himself he was hiding, he was ‘avoiding small talk' in conversations he didn't need to have where he might embarrass himself. He had always been few in words for that reason, making sure to say no more than absolutely needed, but now even less would be needed of him to say if people don't see him to start conversation with in the first place. He progressively started doing this more, going intangible and invisible when no one where no one could see and leave off on his own. However, his habit of doing this didn't truly grow until the day he went invisible as Emily walked by. He had already become invisible when she came in view of the locker banks. Ethan wasn't quite sure what he would do now that he had these powers. He knew the man that gave them to him seemed to do so with an interest that he actually talk to her, but he still didn't know what to say, and he had already gone invisible, it would be weird if he just appeared in mid-air out of nowhere,…But he did want to try, maybe he could now that he had these powers. So Ethan followed her (invisible) for a while hoping to see an opportunity to become visible again in a nearby spot where he wouldn't be seen doing that, and also maybe he would know what he would say by the time that happened. Well a few locations he did pass he thought he might be able to go visible again without being caught be he was still unsure of what he would say, and didn't use any of them. Eventually she had gotten on her bus and was taken home. Ethan missed his but that was okay he could fly. The next few days he tried to work up the nerve again, but always ended up just kind of stalking her as a ghost. He didn't feel to bad about that though its not like he followed her into the bathroom (though he had thought about how he could go in there now he hadn't dare do it yet). As he overshadowed her he couldn't help but watch the things she did, listen to the people she was talking to, or take note of the places her schedule brought her. He had known she was active, and now Ethan was getting to see those clubs or groups she was in that he had always thought about joining but talked himself out of. It was kind of fun discovering what these clubs were actually like if you went to them. They didn't know he was there of course since he was invisible. After about 2 weeks of overshadowing Emily, Ethan realized she was already dating, so he knew there was no point in trying now, yet he still kept ghost following her for some reason. And even more odd, eventually he started ghost following her boyfriend, and later on some of his friends, and so on until one day he could take to following about anyone, but he usually stuck with some of his favorites that he found the most fun to be around, who did the coolest things with there lives. After Graduation and Ethan moved out on his own the people that knew him stopped seeing him. When asked about him and what happened to him they answer like ‘oh, Ethan I remember him, I'm not sure what happened to him he was around less during his senior year and he kind of just faded out of my life' Somewhere at the gates of Heaven….. The shady figure that gave Ethan his powers stormed up to one of the archangels with a confused and frustrated look on his face, he knew he had somehow messed up somehow, surely he wouldn't get his wings anytime soon but he wanted to know why! ‘Clarence, I don't understand. When I spoke to that boy hoping to encourage him to live his life, his reasoning was sound I thought, He gave an excuse for why in that particular moment it was too difficult for him to live and I took that excuse away from him. Yet it has become far worse now that I gave him a super-hero's powers. Why did it not give him confidence and why did he start following people who did not matter to him? I thought he was trying to work up the nerve to talk to the girl when he started doing that but I realized I must be mistaken when he followed others.' Clarence gave the angle in training a patient look. And then explained ‘Just because you remove an excuse they give at the time doesn't mean they cant make another, and giving a persons more gifts, talents, or powers than they have naturally to begin with is not what changes there character. Ethan would act the same with extra powers as he would with only the ones he was born with.' Clarence paused for the angle in training to soak that in before answered his second question. ‘When a human watches a James Bond film, if you watch them close you might see them get caught up in it. Though it is just a story, and actors pretending to do something, it does not matter to the watcher. Through the movie hero they vicariously feel like they are living that in some small degree, just by watching it. They of course have to return to there lives when the film is over and this kind of enjoyment of the film is harmless. However by giving Ethan those powers you removed that factor that would keep him going back to his own life. Ethan found he could vicariously live his through others by just watching real people as if they were a TV program to follow and watch.' "We will send other better trained than you to try and stop this but if Ethan continues to live as he does vicariously through others, he may be doomed to live a ghost of a life as a literal ghost.' The end