Unlocking the door, they walked into the apartment and began looking around.
They had been told to take anything they fancied by the grieving father. The previous occupant had been a good friend and they were still reeling from the tragedy. He had always been a bad driver. Whenever they travelled with him his impatience with other road users had made them both uncomfortable. They began to look around. He was looking for the letter opener he’d always admired, along with anything else he fancied. She had her eye out for kitchen stuff. He found the things that he wanted. She too had rummaged around and found the gold rimmed tea cups and the large wok. Finally, they returned to the lounge with what they had gathered.
She said, “You know, I’m not sure about this.”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, he’s not yet cold in his grave and here we are scavenging his flat!”
“Don’t be silly! We were told to take whatever we wanted before his parents clear the place out.”
“I suppose your right, but I don’t know what makes me more ill at ease… being driven by him or being here.”
He chuckled. “I know what you mean, he was a madman behind the wheel. Just an accident waiting to happen, I think. Anyway, we’ve got what we came for, let’s go.”
They made their way out, locking up as they went.
The spirit of the previous tenant, hovering near the downlight in the corner of the lounge room, had watched as they had taken what they wanted. It had also listened to their comments about his driving.
It considered this to be rather scathing.
There again, it thought the eulogy that he gave at the funeral was nice.