Chapter Six

 Their father's ghost was stood beside them at that very moment.

"I'm not over there I'm right here!" he said, waving his hands frantically in front of their eyes.

 "It's no use young man," said a voice in that part of his being he still identified as his head.  He turned to see a figure standing next to him who he recognized from the portrait.

 "Dad, is that you?" he asked.

 "Dad?" replied the other, looking puzzled.  "Who are you, young Raimon?"

 "No I'm Josep."

 The other ghost looked puzzled.  Then from somewhere in the depths of his being a memory arose:

 "Oh yes, the youngest.  Let me see there was Raimon, Francesc and the other one..."

 "That was me Josep,"  said the younger ghost trying again to attract the children's attention.

 "They can't hear you or see you, I'm afraid," said his father.  "It's frustrating at first, but you get used to it eventually."

 "Er, we are dead then?"

 "Oh most definitely."

 "I thought I must be, but then I also considered that I could be having a prolonged and rather unpleasant dream."

 "Not much difference in my experience," said the old ghost glumly.

 "Have you been here since I arrived?" Josep asked his father.

 "Yes, I saw you come in but I kept out of your way at first.  It's best to give newcomers a period alone to accustom themselves to their new state."

 "Newcomers?  Plural?  How many of us are there?"

 "Oh there's only you and I at the moment.  Your Uncle Manel was here for a while, but I haven't seen him for ages."

 "And is this it?" Josep's spirit demanded.  "Is this life after death?  I thought it was all either a myth or else there'd be bands of angels to lead you up to St Peter's gate and all that."

 "Apparently not," his father replied gravely.  "There may be something else, but I think we only go on to that when we're ready for it."

 "What do you mean?"

 "I think if you've still got unfinished business here, then you stay until you've sorted it out."

 "What sort of unfinished business?"

 "Well, in Manel's case I suppose he hung around till that hussy he married found someone else.  In your case, I've got no idea.  I don't know you very well.  I died when you were still a snotty nosed brat who cried all the time.  I'm hanging around to keep your mother company until she's ready to join me.  Then I reckon we'll both head off and find out where we're supposed to go."

 "But what is my unfinished business?"  Josep asked.

 "You'd be the best judge of that," Granddad replied calmly.  "Could be that you want to see what becomes of your good lady, or else you want to see how your kids turn out."

 Josep's ghost tried to think.  He loved his wife and his two children, but he was supremely confident that they would survive quite well without him.  His father had also aroused his insatiable curiosity and thirst for knowledge by speaking of further adventures to be had somewhere beyond the time and space he was currently occupying.

 "What's to stop me just floating off then?"  he asked.

 "Try it," his father suggested.

 In what seemed like two minutes the ghostly son was back in the room.

 "It's no use, I can't seem to go beyond the confines of this house."

 "Me too.  Ah well, there are worse places," his father stated with a resigned air.

 Josep realised suddenly that he had been so astonished at seeing his father's ghost that he had taken his mind off his children.  He focused his attention on the room again and was surprised to see Marta sleeping peacefully and the first rays of morning sunshine slanting through the blinds.

 "I can't get used to the way time blinks on and off," he remarked to his father.

 "Oh you will, you will," the older man assured him.

 "I mean it's morning now.  What happened to the night?"

 "Oh don't even think about it son, this could be weeks later for all we know.  Thank goodness it is like that too, or else every second would be interminable."

 "What do you do all day?" he asked his father, who had sat down in the old armchair.

 "Well, what have you been doing since you arrived?" the old man asked.

 "Well, this and that, you know," the younger ghost replied.

 "Exactly,"  said Granddad with a ghostly grin.  "Same with me.  It feels different and yet strangely similar.  You'll get used to it."