Otto Ottosson the seventy-seventh was rather nervous at the moment. This was his first date with Linda Seastrider. He had had a crush on her since the first time she visited his family’s shop looking for supplies for her next journey. Otto had immediately noticed Linda’s perfectly shaped body and her beautiful blonde hair. A couple of days ago, she had returned once again to Skodvi and Otto had finally gathered the courage to ask her out.

He was now showing her his favourite place in Skodvi, the Bridge of Singing Ghosts. Otto remembered what his grandfather, Otto Ottosson the seventy-fifth, had once explained to him. Occasionally when someone dies, they decide that they don’t want to move on just yet. Sometimes they’ve got some unfinished business to handle before they’re done. Other times, they just enjoy this plane of existence too much to leave. This latter group of ghosts often find various pastimes to entertain themselves in their unlife. The Bridge of Singing Ghosts is named for the choir of ghosts that decided that they quite enjoy performing under that bridge for both the living and the dead to listen.

“Their music is beautiful,” Linda said as they sat down on the grassy slope next to the bridge under the full moon. “So many talented singers among the dead.”

“They might not have been so talented when they were alive,” Otto replied. “You see, ghosts consist of psychic energy and appear as they believe themselves to be. Some of them might while they were alive have believed themselves to be really good at singing, but those that heard them might not have agreed. Now that they’re ghosts, since they think they’re good at singing, they actually are good at singing.”

“That’s fascinating,” Linda said. “I didn’t know you were such an expert on ghosts.”

“I learned most of it from my grandfather,” Otto replied. “He was a professor of necromancy at Skodvi University when he was alive.”

“Oh,” Linda said. “Do you miss him?”

“Well, he still hangs around. He just decided to retire when he died. He felt that the teaching took too much time away from his research, especially now that he had such a unique opportunity to study ghosts.”

“Do you have a lot of ghosts in your family?” Linda asked.

“Well there are a few,” Otto answered. “My great-grandfather, Otto Ottosson the seventy-fourth is in the choir, he’s down there in the middle. He actually was quite famous for his singing voice while alive as well.”

“My family are quite devout Helinians,” Linda said. “They believe that when you die, you’re supposed to move on. Staying around as a ghost is against the natural order of things.”

“What do you think?” Otto asked.

“I don’t know,” Linda said. “It might be nice to have your loved ones around for a little while longer. Sometimes I really miss my grandparents.”

Their conversation was suddenly interrupted by a scream. Another person in the audience had been bitten by a cucumber and was swiftly shrinking and turning green. Then they saw hundreds of cucumbers with tiny teeth rolling down the hill.

“W-what?” Otto managed to stutter.

“I have no idea what’s happening,” Linda replied. “But we have to get away from here.”

Linda grabbed Otto’s hand and dragged him running towards a small cottage nearby.

“Antonia!” Linda cried as she desperately knocked on the door. “Please let us in!”

The door opened. Linda and Otto quickly entered and closed the door behind them.

“What’s going on?” a woman with curly light brown hair and a black dress asked. Otto guessed that she was Antonia.

“Cucumbers with teeth!” Linda replied. “They’re all over the hill outside!”

“Were-cucumbers?” Antonia said. “I’ve read about them, but I thought they were gone forever.”

“You know something about them?” Linda asked.

“They were created by a great wizard named Otto Ottosson the seventy-fifth.”

“Grandpa?” Otto interjected. “Why would he do something like that?”

“You’re his grandson?” Antonia said surprised. “Well, he didn’t do it on purpose. He was experimenting to create a new source of food. A cucumber that would replicate itself, so that there would be enough for all the starving people in Skodvi. Unfortunately, he miscalculated. He discovered that matter can’t just be created like that. Rather than just creating new cucumbers, the cucumbers started infecting people and turning them into cucumbers.”

“Is there a way to turn them back?” Linda asked.

“Well, they will only stay turned for as long as the full moon is out. In the morning, they will turn back to people and will remain that way until the next full moon.”

“How come this isn’t known to the public?”

“Professor Ottosson quickly developed a cure, located the infected and cured them. He only told his two most trusted students.”

“Who were they?” the young Otto asked.

“One was Joulie, well Professor Joulie nowadays. She’s the current head of the university’s necromancy department.”

“I’m guessing the other one was you?” Linda suggested.

“Way to spoil the dramatic reveal,” Antonia replied annoyed.

“Do you always have to make everything so dramatic?” Linda asked.

“Well, you know me,” Antonia answered.

“How do you two know each other anyway?” Otto asked.

“We...” Linda hesitated.

“We used to be a couple,” Antonia said.

“Well yes,” Linda admitted. “But that was a long time ago.”

“Oh,” Otto said. “Well, it’s cool that you’re still friends. I’ve always said that just because the romance didn’t work out is no reason to end the friendship.”

“Anyway,” Antonia interjected. “If the were-cucumbers are back, then that must mean someone has re-created Professor Ottosson’s experiment. You can stay here for the night. Tomorrow we’ll get to the bottom of this.”

Next Chapter: The Bridge