The ghost floated up the Victorian mansion’s stairs, her mid-length hair flowing in a non-existent breeze behind her. She glanced this way and that, brows furrowed. The house loomed above her, all gothic turrets and big, intimidating windows; if her heart had still been puttering inside her chest, it would’ve broken in half from the anticipation that gripped her. 

     She had an appointment to get to, and even though she had all the time in the world, her nerves propelled her forward. What if she couldn’t find a match? What if the witches sent her away? What if she was the only one that their world renowned magic didn’t work on? What if–

      “I think you missed the doorbell.”

     At the sound of the voice above her, the ghost’s head snapped up with as much force as her incorporeal body could muster. “Uh… what?”

      A beautiful woman with tan skin and golden-brown hair looked down at her, amusement clear on her face. “Like I said, darling, I think you missed the doorbell.”

     The ghost looked around to discover that in the midst of her thought spiral, she had completely passed through the doors to the mansion and now found herself in the foyer. 

      “Oh holy ghost, I’m so sorry!” the ghost exclaimed. She bent down in a bow, her eyes squeezed shut. “I wanted to make a good impression, but I really messed that up, didn’t I? I know your magic is formidable – please don’t place a curse on me for my breach of conduct! I will do whatever it takes to make this up to you–”

     “You really are a high-strung one, aren’t you?” the woman said, cutting her off. The ghost cracked one anxious eye open to look at her as she descended down the marvelously decorated staircase. With a gentle, warm smile, the woman continued: “Relax, alright? No one’s going to place a curse on you. That’s very frowned upon in this day and age; besides, my profession condemns it, too.” Her gaze met the ghost’s, and she said, “You must be Aria, right?”

     “Yes?”

     “You don’t sound too sure, but I’ll take your word for it,” the woman replied. “My name is Celeste. You’re here to find love, right?”

     More assuredly, Aria nodded.

     “Then you’ve come to the right place.” Celeste glanced over Aria’s shoulder at the door and shrugged. “Well, since you missed the sign, I’ll just give you the warm welcome here.” She beamed and spread her arms wide, showing off the interior of the foyer. “Welcome to the mansion of the Macabre Matchmakers, where paranormal creatures such as yourself come to find the love of their second lives. Here, you’re bound to find someone who you will be able to bare your soul to.”

     “That’s exactly what I’m betting on,” Aria replied. “You and your wife are the only chance I have left to find my person.” She paused. “Or my monster. Either will work, honestly, I’m not picky.” She sighed. “I’ve tried everything: dating apps, going out and mingling with other singles, blind dates from friends… I’m running out of options here. I know I have all eternity to find love, but… I’m tired of waiting, you know? Besides, I died young” – she gestured up and down at her body, which was stuck in her early twenties – “so I didn’t even get to experience love while I was alive. I at least want to experience it now, you know?”

     “I understand,” Celeste replied. “My love and I have never failed, so you can count on us. Are you ready to start the process now? The sooner we can get information from you, the sooner we can find your soulmate.”

     Aria nodded. “Yes, please!”

     Celeste took the lead, carving a path through the house. They passed many rooms, all of which had a strange assortment of interior decorations. One room was painted black with a circle of differently colored candles burning on the floor; Aria assumed it was for witchy rituals of some kind. The next one, though, threw her for a loop. It was bright pink with a rose quartz vanity pushed up to one wall. The vanity was surrounded by plush, light pink and white pouffes, all of which had adorable heart-shaped pillows on them. 

     She blinked. These witches really were full of surprises. 

     While they were masters at matchmaking, they could use a new interior decorator; the house was gorgeous, but in Aria’s opinion, it needed some work if the women were trying to stick to one cohesive theme. 

     The rest of the rooms stuck to the gothic vibe of the house, though, continuing the witchy purples, blacks, and reds. This confused her even more. What was the purpose of the Barbie room? Could it be for a different type of ritual? Maybe the women really liked pink, but it just didn’t fit the look of their business, so they made that one room be their way to express themselves? What if–

     Aria was so distracted by pondering the possibilities of the bright pink room that the next thing she knew, she had flown straight through Celeste. 

     Celeste gasped as the ghost passed through her, the freezing cold feeling causing the hairs on her neck to stand up. 

     With a little squeal, Aria flew back behind her. “I’m so, so sorry! I should’ve been paying attention, that’s on me! I know how unpleasant it is to be run into by a ghost, but… I was just distracted by this one room you have that’s really strange because it’s so different from the others–”

      Celeste chuckled and shook her head, cutting her off once more. “Don’t worry about it. The chill actually felt good. Even though we keep the air conditioning full blast here, these layered dresses aren’t very forgiving of heat generated from movement.”

     “Not to mention that Celeste is prone to running hot. It’s kind of her thing, considering her magic and all,” a voice piped up. Its source was revealed to be another woman, this time with long, curly black hair that was pulled into a braid. It draped over her shoulder like water with a darkness that contrasted the richness of her russet-colored skin. “Actually, I take that back. Being hot in general is her thing.”

     Celeste’s smile spread, accompanied with a light blush that dusted her cheeks. “Oh, stop,” she said, giggling. She turned to Aria and continued, saying, “This is my wife and business partner, Ianna.”

     Ianna inclined her head to Aria. “Hello, darling. My love already told me about your premature journey into the premises.” Before Aria could issue an apology, Ianna waved a hand, dismissing it. “Don’t worry. She and I find it quite amusing. It also gives us more information to find your soulmate, so it actually is a good thing. I’m sure you’ll be glad to learn lot of people find your type to be very endearing.”

      “Ah, yeah, I’m glad,” Aria giggled nervously. “If they didn’t, I would spend the rest of eternity alone, so… I’ll take it.”

      “Don’t think on it too much,” Celeste soothed. “You’re in the hands of the Macabre Matchmakers; you’ll walk out here with a list of possible soulmates in no time. So…” She raised an eyebrow at her. “Are you ready to start, darling?”

      “Yes!”

      “Good!” 

     Immediately following this, Celeste waved her hand in a beckoning motion toward the ground, and a mysterious, milky white substance began to rise in droplets from between the panels of the wooden floor.

     Aria screamed, freezing on the spot in a strange pose as if her body couldn’t decide whether it wanted to flee from the blobs or fight them. “What is that?” she yelled.

     The women stared at her, blinking in confusion. The mysterious substance swirled in the air, paused now that Celeste had halted her hand movements.

     “Uh… it’s wax,” Celeste stated.

     There were a few beats of silence as the information sunk in.

      “Oh.” Aria relaxed, a deep flush spreading across her face.

     Ianna raised an eyebrow at her. “What did you think it was?”

     Aria’s voice halted in her throat. She wasn’t admitting to that, but she still needed to give an answer. She cleared her throat briefly and awkwardly settled on saying: “Um… nothing in particular.”

      A few more seconds of silence stretched before them before Celeste broke it. “Can we continue?”

     “Uh, yeah, sor–”

     “No apologies needed,” Celeste said, and then moved on. She continued her hand movement and the wax coalesced into three balls; from these balls formed a loveseat, a table, and a chair. Aria watched as the waxy shimmer dissipated from the objects and they settled down to the floor with barely even a thud. As if this were a daily occurrence, Celeste gracefully slid into one side of the loveseat while Ianna sat down on the other.

      Aria followed their lead and settled onto the chair with a slight shrug, more to herself than anyone else.

      Despite seemingly being made of magical, melted wax, the furniture was extremely soft and comfortable. This shouldn’t have surprised her since she should be used to the paranormal, but somehow, it did.

       “Okay, Aria, should we start with more physical preferences?” Ianna dipped her finger into a pot of ink and poised it over a leather-bound notebook, both of which also hadn’t been there before the furniture. “Or, do you want to start with non-physical ones, such as personality and other traits?”

      A little caught off-guard, Aria stuttered, “U-um, physical ones? I guess?”

      “Great,” Celeste said, and Ianna seemed to deflate slightly, wiping the ink off her finger with a cloth that hadn’t been there earlier. “Lean forward, over the table, darling, if you don’t mind.”

      She did just that, and Celeste did the same beckoning motion once more. This time, only two droplets of wax appeared from the floor, one noticeably bigger than the other. Aria eyed them with thinly veiled confusion and slight apprehension, particularly as the smaller one came closer; after her wax blunder, she didn’t want to give the women any more of a reason to turn her away, so she tried to hide her feelings. However, she did a horrible job.

     Celeste noticed her stiff body language and her gaze as it followed the drops of wax and she laughed, saying: “Don’t worry, dear. The smaller bit of wax is a conduit for my magic, and the second one will take the form of your ideal lover. They won’t hurt you, I promise.” 

      Though her words didn’t completely alleviate Aria’s apprehension, she at least was comfortable enough to close her eyes. When she did so, she felt a smear of warm – but not hot – wax on her forehead.

      “Concentrate on the type of person you want; see their eyes, their body, their smile, and everything else you can think of. What traits do you like? Do you like someone with wild, unruly hair? Do you prefer someone with freckles or birthmarks? Think of your ideal person, and focus only on them.”

     Aria followed the instructions. They were easy. Most physical things didn’t matter to her, especially since being a ghost rendered her unable to touch basically anything, but she did have a few preferences. A nice smile and a strong body were the main things she was looking for. However, dimples couldn’t hurt. 

      As soon as she had finished going over every trait she could think of, she felt the wax cool and then disappear. She heard Celeste’s voice tell her to open her eyes, so she did, and she was met with an interesting sight.

      On the table stood a statue of a man. He was smiling beautifully, and dimples were pronounced on his waxy cheeks; his body was muscular and strong, but he still had a slight pudge on his belly. 

      Aria’s mouth dropped open. He was a perfect combination of everything she had been thinking of, and even things she didn’t know she wanted in a partner. She unskillfully tried to keep her eyes away from his pelvis.

       “How did you–” she started. “How did you know?”

      Celeste smiled. “It’s simple, really. Like I said, the wax on your forehead was a conduit for my magic. It acted as an in-between, gathering the energy of your thoughts and transferring them to the magical wax that now is this statue.”

      “Wow,” she breathed. She was still bent forward, studying the statue from all angles. “This is so detailed and lifelike! It’s genuinely amazing!”

      “I’m glad you appreciate it,” Celeste said warmly. “Although, despite this replication of your thoughts, these will just be the parameters Ianna and I use to search for your future partner. There can – and likely will – be large differences in the person whom the machine suggests for you, since it’s not likely that someone out there looks exactly like what you pictured and fits your non-physical dating standards.”

      “That makes sense,” Aria replied. She couldn’t help but feel a little bit of sadness at the prospect, though; the model was the whole package. With a heavy sigh, she looked up from between the statue’s thighs and instead met eyes with the two women. “Okay, so… now what?”

      “That would be Ianna’s specialty,” Celeste said.

      Ianna nodded with a smile. “It is indeed. If my wife’s powers make her hot, then mine make me wet.”

      Aria snorted at this comment, but Ianna didn’t pay any attention to her as she once again dipped her finger into the pot of ink, covering it with a black sheen. She beckoned Aria to once more lean over the table. Still stifling a chuckle, she did, and Ianna reached a hand out toward her. The finger that was covered in ink gently traced a circular shape onto her forehead that Aria didn’t recognize; she had a hunch that it was a rune of some sort, though she couldn’t see it. She watched as Ianna withdrew her finger and drew a seemingly similar rune on the paper as well. As Aria looked at it, the symbol seemed to shimmer with flecks of purple. 

      “Now, think of all the traits you would want in your love interest. What career would they have? What are their motivations in life? What is their personality like? Use those questions to guide you, but if your mind wanders, don’t fight it. We can still get valuable information from thoughts that are unrelated to the questions.”

      “Do I have to close my eyes?”

      “No, but if it would help you concentrate, you can. Or, you can just stare into the distance at a single point. There aren’t any restrictions. Just whatever feels best for you, okay?”

      Aria nodded and trained her eyes away from the women to one of the many paintings and pictures that lined their walls. While she was trying to focus on the instructions, she noticed a picture strip that looked like it came from a photo booth. While the other paintings and pictures depicted a variety of gothic landscapes, the photo strip stood out because it showed Celeste and Ianna in various poses together; they were kissing or holding each other close in each one, and it warmed Aria’s heart. She just hoped that she could find a relationship like theirs.

       But… what exactly did she want in a relationship? And, also, what did she want in a partner? What career they had didn’t matter to her. As for motivations? She needed them to be self-motivated and keen on bettering themselves, not just for her or their relationship, but because they wanted to be a good person. She wanted them to be kind, loyal, caring, good-natured–

     Aria’s train of thought stopped as she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. Her attention turned to the source, and she could see Ianna pulling a magical line of sparkling, wispy purple words toward her as if they were an ordinary rope. As she pulled them from the rune on Aria’s head, she directed the line toward the table where the other rune lay on its piece of paper; the second the words met the paper’s surface, they disappeared, as if absorbed by it. 

     Aria recognized each of those words as being the concepts she had just been thinking of.

     Wow.

     As soon as she thought it, she saw a wispy “wow” float toward Ianna. When she saw it come closer, she giggled, waving it away before it soaked into the paper.

      “I’m glad you like my magic,” she said with a smile. She then inclined her head toward Aria again, and said, “You can go ahead and think of more traits if you have any. There’s no rush here; after all, you’re dead, so you have all the time in the world.”

     Aria nodded, smiling, and closed her eyes to prevent herself from getting distracted again. 

      The words flowed from her easily, and before long, the list of traits she wanted to touch on had withered away.

      “All dried up, hmm?” Celeste asked her. After receiving a nod in return, she plucked the paper from the table and made her way over to a large machine that – despite catching her attention earlier – Aria hadn’t had the chance to investigate.

     It was the size of a church organ and was made completely of copper that swirled in ornate designs along the sides. It stood on a slightly raised wooden platform along with a nicely sized chair. The machine had a square cut-out near the top, and below this gap was a slanted piece of copper that jutted out from the rest of the piece. As she floated closer, she was able to tell that the slanted piece of copper bore what looked like buttons, each with a letter on it. She tilted her head as she neared it, a mixture of confusion and curiosity mixing in her. It almost looked like a modern keyboard, but without any wires and electricity.

     There was a split second of silence as Aria processed why it looked familiar to her, but then it clicked. “Is that a typewriter?” she squealed excitedly. “It’s much bigger than I remembered, but I haven’t seen one since I was a kid so I don’t really know what they look like anymore–”

     “It’s not a typewriter,” Celeste said with a grin.

     “A computer, then? It looks so sophisticated and yet so old! Wait… does it have internet access? Even though I didn’t grow up using modern technology, I’ve actually gotten quite adept at working with it!” Aria flew closer to it and put her hand on top of it as if to tap on it; her hand just phased through, but the point was made. When she looked back at Celeste and Ianna, there was a mischievous little grin that hadn’t been there before. “Ooh, if it does, I bet I could write a lot of fanfiction on this bad boy,” she said with a chuckle.

     Ianna shrugged as she sidled up to the rest of them. “It definitely doesn’t have the internet. Instead” – Aria saw her take the paper from Celeste – “It’s a conduit for my and Celeste’s magic. It’s what makes our jobs so foolproof; it combines the knowledge that Celeste and I get from you and then it uses that to calculate the perfect soulmate.” She paused. “Well, the perfect list of soulmates. Everyone has a few people that they could really get along with, and that’s what the machine calculates; but, ‘the one’ isn’t a real thing. Relationships still take effort. They’re not instant, you know, so you’ll still have to get to know all your options before you can pick the one that matches with you.”

      “Wait, what?” Aria asked. “Each of the people on the list aren’t guaranteed to be my perfect match?”

     “Nope!” Celeste said. “There’s only one person on the list that you’re guaranteed to really, really like. So, you’ll have to go on dates with these people and see who you most vibe with.”

     “Why can’t the machine just spit out my perfect match alone? That’d be more efficient.”

     “The machine is trying to not limit you,” Ianna replied. “A lot of a relationship is choosing the person to begin with, yes, but also, it includes continuing to choose them of your own free will. The machine doesn’t want to just tell you whom to fall in love with; it wants you to want them for them, not wanting them for the prospect that they’re perfect for you.”

     Aria stood there, blinking in confusion for a second. “Oh. That makes sense.”

     “Are you ready to see the list now, or do you need some more answers on how it works?

      She paused for a second, soaking this in. “No, I think I’m ready.”

     Ianna nodded and stepped forward to the machine, holding the piece of paper in front of her. She fed the paper into the paper-shredder-like cut-out on the machine and stepped back as it disappeared. 

     Only a second later, a whirring sound started up in the machine and it began to rattle. Aria’s looked at Celeste and Ianna, expecting a non-reaction that would imply comforting normalcy but she grew more anxious when she found them exchanging concerned glances. Before she could say anything to ask them what the hell was going on, the machine suddenly stopped shaking. As soon as it came to a halt, a new piece of paper popped out from the same cut-out.

     Ianna gave Celeste a quick shrug and took the piece of paper. With an anticipated expression, she brought it up to eye-level to read it… but then stopped as if frozen. She looked shaken as her eyes skimmed over the paper. Her gaze met Celeste’s, and her wife rushed over to her side.

     “I… I don’t understand,” she breathed.

     “What’s there to not understand?” Aria asked with a nervous laugh. “Have you never seen that many soulmates for one person before? I knew I was desirable, but I didn’t know I was that desirable–”

     Ianna flipped the other side of the paper to face Aria, and what she saw cut her off completely.

     It was blank. Nothing. No names graced its surface; no words in general were on it, not even a grocery list. 

      Aria stood there, mouth agape and a heavy pit in her stomach. 

     “W-what–?”

     “I don’t know,” Ianna replied, her brows knotting. “I’ve never seen anything like this before.”

      Aria turned from them, holding herself as her thoughts started to race.

     What was happening? Was she truly doomed to never find love? Why her? What had she done when she was alive to be condemned to a second life alone? She just wanted to be loved and give love back, but the universe seemed to want the opposite for her. This was her last chance, and it had failed. She was doomed to forever wander the surface of the Earth alone, alone for all eternity.

     She fell to her knees and held her head in her hands.

      “I should’ve known!” she cried. “I knew I was never going to find love–!”

     “Hold on a minute, darling,” came a voice that pierced through her despair. “Stop spiraling. I think it was a fluke.”

      There was a pause as Aria took this in. She barely breathed, as if a single breath from her would completely ruin the chances of this being one big mistake.

     “Wait. What?”

     Celeste held up a new piece of paper, waving it in the air; she couldn’t read it, since the print was too small, but she could tell that there were actual letters on it, not just a blank surface. 

     “While you were understandably having a little breakdown, the machine started to work again, and it spat this out,” Celeste told her. “So, there is hope after all. You don’t have to say that you’re doomed now.”

     Another pause stretched between them.

     “Oh. Uh…” Aria trailed off as she looked down at the floor, becoming suddenly very aware that she had dramatically crashed to the ground as if she were in a period drama. After she mentally acknowledged this, she popped back up from the floor, her face flushing again. “Sorry. That was a lot.”

     “Meh, not really,” Celeste began.

     “Yeah, we can’t blame you for it,” Ianna continued. “That was the first time anything like that has happened for us, too. We were right there with you, honestly, because we’ve never failed at our job before, and the prospect of that was a lot for us. But, we didn’t, and you’re certainly not going to be our first unsuccessful match. I promise.” She tilted her head at the paper in Celeste’s hands. “One of these should be your soulmate. Do you want to look at the list?”

     “I would love to!”

     Celeste handed her the paper and Aria took it with fervor.

     The note read: “The Macabre Matchmakers have determined the following to be your possible perfect partner[s]: Dillan Brute, Birdie Forrest, John Doe, and Everest Graves. We wish you the best in your love journey. Best, Celeste and Ianna Hex.”

      As Aria looked over this, she couldn’t help but frown. 

     Who the hell was named John Doe? That was what they called unknown corpses, not living people. Although… John Doe likely wasn’t living, since he was an option for her. Usually, living people weren’t romantically involved with ghosts. Maybe he was a zombie who didn’t remember his original name?

     She nodded to herself.

     Yeah, that had to be what it was. 

     “Celeste and I recommend that you ask all of these people on dates to get to know them,” Ianna said. “When you do, tell them that we sent you, and give them this card” – she handed her a beautiful business card that was embossed with the name of their business – “to confirm that you actually did come here. The purple magic sheen you see on it is characteristic of real Macabre Matchmakers business cards, so they can use that to make sure it’s authentic. That’s really good for you, too, because no one turns up a date if the person who asked was sent by us.”

     “Oh, good!”

     “Now, the rest is up to you. We provided you the information you needed, and now it’s your turn to put in the work that’s required for a relationship by asking these people out on dates.”

     “Oh.” Aria found her face trained to the floor, twiddling her thumbs. “Well… I’ve just… never done that before. I don’t even know where to begin.”

     “It’s simple, really. People love directness. They want to know they’re wanted, and if you can provide that by telling them you want to go out with them instead of beating around the bush, they’ll appreciate it. I understand not wanting to make first moves forever, but in a true, loving relationship it won’t always be up to you; however, early on, you can’t always rely on someone extending a hand to you. You have to take that in your own hands.”

     Aria nodded, letting the words sink in. She hoped that they would.

     Celeste bumped Ianna playfully with a teasing smile. “You should listen to her advice, you know,” she said. “Ianna’s an expert. She’s the one who asked me out, actually, despite being the quieter one.”

     “What can I say?” Ianna shrugged. “I just knew what I wanted.”

     “You definitely did.” Celeste’s eyes met Aria’s. “Did that help even a little? Do you feel more prepared now?”

     Aria gave a nervous laugh. “Not really, but the only thing that can comfort me is if I actually go out and do it, you know? So…” She inhaled deeply and steeled her expression, gathering her courage. “I’m gonna go and do it right now. Before I lose my confidence.”

     As the matchmakers cheered her on, she floated back down the stairs toward the open street, clutching the business card tightly in her grasp. 

     “Perfect partner, here I come.”

──── . ݁ ˖☾♥☽. ݁ ˖ ────

Before long, Aria had tracked down all of the potential matches that the witches had given her. Despite her nervousness, she had pulled through and asked each of them if they wanted to go on a date with her to test their chemistry. Before they could give a response, though, she presented the business card with the air of someone handing in a resignation letter. Although a few of them gave her a strange look, they all agreed, and she scheduled herself to meet them at various times throughout one day.

     She took a deep breath. 

     That day was today. She hoped she hadn’t overbooked herself, especially since in the moment she had been feeling so ready; she also hoped that that feeling of readiness lasted. 

     She phased through the door of the coffee shop she had picked for the first date and ordered one of their special ghost-friendly coffees; she didn’t want the coffee to fall through her and end up spilling on anything. She was facing away from the door as she waited for her cup, figuring that – especially since she was early – her date wouldn’t show up for a while. The barista handed her the cup and she started to bring it closer to herself to blow on it–

     “Hi!”

     The voice came out of nowhere beside her, causing Aria to jump out of her metaphorical skin. Luckily, she didn’t move much, but the coffee cup didn’t fare quite as well, seeing as the fright caused her to cartoonishly launch it into the air. 

     “Oh, no, do you need help with that?” the same voice asked the barista, who was drenched in hot coffee. She appeared to be a demon, though, so the temperature of it didn’t affect her, but Aria wanted to make sure.

     “I’m so sorry,” Aria said to her. “I didn’t mean to! The coffee just… flew out of my hand.” She gave another one of her nervous laughs. “Are you okay? Do you need help with anything?”

     The barista stared at her blankly, and in a monotone, droning voice, she replied, “Uh, yeah, no, I’m good. Thanks for asking, though.” Then, she faced away from Aria and began to make drinks again as if nothing had happened. 

     Now that that had been addressed – though the barista hadn’t really reassured her much – Aria could feel the presence of the person hovering near her. She knew deep down who it was; she didn’t want to turn toward him and look, but she knew she had to. She took a deep breath to prepare herself and then looked at the person beside her. 

     She cringed immediately.

     He was one of her dates. She knew he would be, because it was just her luck for that to happen. Throwing coffee wildly into the air always made a great second impression. She just hoped it didn’t ruin her chances.

     Her date turned to her, a wild, happy grin on his square, fuzzy face. “You’re Aria Wanless, right? You remember me, I bet!”

     “Y-yeah. You’re Dillan Brute.”

     He beamed at her and tried to give her a gentle, friendly punch on the arm as an icebreaker. It was appreciated, even though his hand passed right through her. 

     “That’s right!” He looked back at the counter where the barista was standing; she wasn’t paying any mind to them as she used the espresso machine. Due to the magic that allowed the ghost coffee to be consumable by spirits, the liquid that splashed onto her had long evaporated. “I’m sorry!” he shouted at the barista. She flinched slightly at the volume of his voice. “It was my fault she jumped so high!” He rotated back to face Aria, running a hand through his short, fluffy brown hair. “I should’ve known you would jump like that! But never mind that little incident. How about we introduce ourselves again, huh? Normally, without all the coffee throwin’?”

     Aria nodded, a warm feeling starting to grow in her chest. The fact that he had so smoothly moved on from such an embarrassing situation wasn’t lost on her, even if he was quite loud about how he did it.

     “All right!” He pumped his fist in the air enthusiastically. “Right, I’m Dillan Brute! What’s your name?”

     “Aria Wanless.” She cracked a grin. “The third introduction’s the charm, right?”

     Dillan laughed, his mouth opening wide to reveal sharp canines. “Damn right!”

     The conversation flowed easily from them after that. The whole coffee fiasco seemed to have broken the ice a bit and alleviated the worst of Aria’s nervousness, so she was able to be open when she talked to him.

     “What are your dating goals?”

     He leaned back in the chair a bit, scratching his chin. “Well, I want something lifelong and permanent, because after all, I want my girl and I to spend a lot of time together. I’m a loyal man, and the love of my life and I would be practically inseparable! Like, if she goes anywhere, I go too, and vice versa! ‘Cause if she’s my other half, then I wanna be whole all the time, ya know?”

     Aria’s eyes narrowed a little of their own volition, and a little pit formed in her stomach at this. That life sounded suffocating to her, even though she wished it didn’t, because Dillan seemed so fun and kind; she didn’t want to call it quits just yet.

     He returned the question to her and she inhaled deeply, looking into her swirling new cup of coffee. 

     “I also want something lifelong. I want a best friend. I want someone who I can spend a lot of time with, someone who can match my energy.” Dillan seemed to perk up at this. “But, I also need to be able to have my space, too.” He drooped. “To me, balance is important. Yes, I want to come home to my partner every day, but I still want to have my own life and adventures, too, you know? Especially because I’m a ghost. I don’t have a job or anything to do because I’m no longer living, so… I can do all the things that I never got the chance to do before I died.” Aria’s eyes met his. “That’s really important to me.”

     He whimpered a little and stared at her with puppy-dog eyes the color of honey. “I understand. But… does this mean we’re incompatible?”

     She returned a reluctant smile. “Yeah, I think so.”

     Dillan sniffled a little, and Aria stifled an unwilling chuckle at how hard he was taking this already. She didn’t want to laugh, but a small part of her thought that this made her dramatics at the Macabre Manor seem not as bad.

      “Can I ask you a favor, then?” Dillan said, his voice thick. “I ask it of all the people I go on dates with for closure.”

      She raised an eyebrow – closure? for what? – but she agreed. “Go on, shoot.”

     “It sounds weird, but…” He trailed off, slowly bringing up an object from his bag. As it came into the light, Aria realized with a snort of barely-contained laughter that it was a tennis ball. “I ask that you throw this for me and tell me to” – he sniffled again – “go fetch it, but not bring it back. I’m a loyal dude, but if you tell me to go, I’ll… I’ll go, and if you did this favor for me, it would really help me move on.”

     Trying to hide her mirth, Aria replied, “Uh, yeah, sure! Whatever works for you.”

     Dillan moseyed to the front door of the coffee shop and stopped outside a big tree outside the entrance. As soon as Aria caught up with him, he dropped the tennis ball into her hand and – with a tortured voice – said, “Go on. Do it.” His honey eyes pleaded with her. “It’s okay. I know this is for the be–”

     “GO FETCH!” Aria yelled, cutting him off. She launched the tennis ball into the air, watching as its arc made surprising mileage. She briefly entertained the idea of participating in a ghost baseball league before a new sight caught her eye: Dillan had morphed into a werewolf and was now bounding after the tennis ball, howling as he went.

     Now, it was just her again, and she heaved a sigh. 

     That date certainly hadn’t gone how she planned, but… the matchmakers had said that only one was a guaranteed success. Clearly, Dillan Brute hadn’t been that for her. 

     She accepted this easily and went back inside the coffee shop to prepare for her next date. 

──── . ݁ ˖☾♥☽. ݁ ˖ ────

The next few dates passed by, each causing Aria to grow more nervous than the last.

     After Dillan, there was Birdie, a free-spirited plant monster. Aria loved a bit of go-with-the-flow in a partner, but as soon as Birdie showed up an hour late to their date with her only reason being “the plants wanted to speak with me,” Aria already felt herself mentally detach from it. This feeling was worsened by the fact that the woman kept talking about her plants, all of which had names; this in and of itself wouldn’t have been a problem if she hadn’t gone on and on about them for an hour and a half without asking Aria a single question about herself. When Aria ended the date, she couldn’t help but ask herself how she let Birdie go on for that long.

     After Birdie, there was Everest. They were a ghost just like her, which she thought was refreshing. For their date, the two moved to a library instead of the coffee shop, which was a change in scenery that left the same warm glow in her chest that Dillan first gave her. At first, the date was going very well: Everest pulled the chair out for her, picked out a sample of their favorite books for show and tell, and then listened to her intently while she talked about hers. She felt seen and heard, and the glow in her chest grew. Although, as soon as Aria finished talking about her list of books and invited him to do the same, Everest kept quiet. 

     Their hands waved over their selection, smiling softly at her as if to invite her to take a look. She picked one up and scanned the cover to see if she recognized the title, but she didn’t. When she asked them what they liked about the books so much, they only shared a few short sentences that Aria felt she didn’t get much information from. When she asked them more follow-up questions, they just blushed and looked away from her, leaving the questions unanswered. They also didn’t start the conversations, either; they just sat there as she tried to get to know them, smiling at her and blinking occasionally.

     Sadness and slight frustration filled Aria.

     It wasn’t like she didn’t like Everest or that she didn’t want to get to know them; the two of them seemed like they would have a lot in common. Also, small things throughout the date indicated that they were kind, intelligent, and caring, but… they also were a person of few words, and even though many hours had passed, Aria felt like she didn’t know anything about them. With a sigh, she reluctantly admitted to herself that she needed more than that, and she ended the date.

     By now, her spirits were getting a bit worn, but… if the others hadn’t worked out, that meant that the last person was her soulmate. The idea of that helped her feel better, and when she met up with him, she greeted him with a smile. 

     “Hi,” she said. “You’re John Doe, right?”

     “I sure am,” John replied, grinning at her.

     Aria looked him over briefly.

     He was very handsome; she had noticed that from the get-go when she asked him out. He had a strong face, beautiful, blond hair, and powerful muscles that she could see in the places where his shirt tightened on him.

     Although, there was one thing that still stood out to her. She had known this since she asked him out, but it still startled her every time she saw him: he was human. A living man. Obviously, many humans stuck to dating their own kind, so him agreeing to this date had been a bit of a surprise. But especially now after everyone else hadn’t worked out, she was glad he agreed.

     “How did the dates with the others go?”

     Aria blinked.

      “Wait. How did you know about those?”

      He laughed, waving a hand dismissively as if to waft away her surprise and confusion. “All common knowledge, of course! You handed me the Macabre Matchmakers card, and I know that they give you a list of potential soulmates, so it was an easy deduction, really!”

     “Oh.”

     “My question still stands, though. How’d they go?”

     Aria scratched the back of her neck sheepishly, her expression one of hesitation. “Honestly… none of them really worked out. All of them were nice and had great qualities, but…” She trailed off for a second as she tried to pick her words. “I don’t know, we just weren’t compatible.”

     John nodded. “Yeah, that happens. I know you know this, but there’s nothing wrong with not clicking with someone. You shouldn’t force it, even if you were told that they were a potential soulmate. Besides, I can’t deny that I’m glad it didn’t work out with any of them. After all” – he shot her a flirty grin – “if you sparked a connection with any of them, I wouldn’t have had this chance with a beautiful spirit such as yourself.”

     Aria giggled, a faint blush spreading on her cheeks. “You think I’m beautiful?”

     “Of course,” he replied. “I love women like you.” A mischievous grin spread across his face. “You could even say that I love your boo-dy.”

     Aria’s laugh stopped in her throat as she processed what he said.

     Did he just make a ghost pun?

     “Did you–?”

     “Yes, I did,” he said proudly. “Do you think I’m dead funny?” He cackled at his own joke, slapping his knee as Aria floated there.

      She glanced around the park where they were meeting to see if anyone was hearing what she was. When she didn’t find any support near her, she pointed at him while he was hunched over in raucous laughter; an incredulous expression was clear on her face while she did so as if asking the nonexistent cameras, “are you picking up on this?”

     Just as John opened his mouth again to make another joke, she hovered a finger over his mouth to shut him up.

     “I have a question for you.”

     Now it was his turn to be surprised. “Uh, sure, go ahead. What is it?”

     “Why exactly did you agree to go on this date with me?”

     John shrugged. “What can I say? I like paranormal women, and you were the first one that ever came up to me. Why would I say no to that?”

     Aria opened her mouth to speak her mind, but then closed it almost immediately. She had to gather her thoughts on this one.

     “So… you only agreed to this because I’m a ghost? Not because I’m funny or interesting or anything else? Do you not even want to get to know me?”

      “Nah, not really.”

      It was like an arrow had been shot at her, missed her, and then looped back around to strike her in the heart with all of the emotional roller-coasters this man had already taken her on. 

      “I think you’re really hot, though!” he said, beaming at her as if nothing had happened.

     Wow. He was a new level of shamelessness.

     “Oh, wait,” he continued, “You’re a ghost! You’re not hot, actually – you’re too chill for that. Instead, I should actually say that I think you’re boo-tiful!”

     That was Aria’s last straw. Her right eye twitched, and before she could stop her blind rage, she bent down and blew a magical gust of freezing air at his feet. He yelped as ice covered his shoes and the ground surrounding him, anchoring him to the spot.

     “H-hey! What was that for?”

     Aria looked at him with venom, her eyes narrowed. “I think you need to take some time to reflect on how to treat women, paranormal or not. Besides, I’m not just a ghost. I’m a person, too. I don’t exist just for your paranormal fantasies, and you need to realize that.” Her expression turned gleeful as she looked at him. “Have fun being there until the ice melts!”

     She didn’t wait even a second after this to fly off into the air toward her house, leaving John pleading for her return behind her. Though, as soon as the vengeance-related glee dissipated, her mind began to wander again.

     That was it. John Doe – ugh, of course the most “normal” guy was the most awful – had been the last one of her potential soulmates. There was no one left.

      Aria chewed on the inside of her cheek.

     What did she do now? Maybe she was too picky when it came to her options. Maybe she had thought that a “soulmate” needed to be perfect because of the weighty expectations tied to that word, and that caused her to miss out on a great opportunity. She had really liked Everest, hadn’t she? They were attractive, kind, and fun to talk to… but that was the rub. She talked to them, not with them; their conversations were really one-sided, and that was one personality quirk that she just couldn’t accept. 

     But… did that mean that she was going to be alone forever now? She’d exhausted all of her options for love. Even the Macabre Matchmakers, who were famous for finding partners for anyone, hadn’t succeeded in her case. She hadn’t gotten along with any of the options they had given her. 

     A silent, frozen tear fell into the sky.

     Maybe the problem wasn’t the people chosen for her… maybe it was her. Clearly she was so unlovable that not even a machine that was designed to find true love for people could stand a chance against her. She didn’t think she was that hard to be around, but maybe she really was–

     There was a loud squawk that sounded near her, jolting her out of her thought spiral. She looked around for the source of the sound and found a duck phasing through her as she flew in the midst of their formation. The poor duck squawked even louder once it exited the other side of her stomach, clearly feeling the drop in temperature that was natural to her body; it seemed to shiver in midair a bit.

     Even though the ducks couldn’t understand her, a string of apologies escaped Aria’s lips.

      “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” she sputtered, beginning to laugh. The absurdity of everything she had experienced in the span of a few days had finally hit her, and her body had decided that there were only two reactions to these new feelings: either crying or laughing, and her brain chose the latter. “I don’t even think it’s duck migration season, but you’re still migrating, so I think even God is working against me!”

     Even the ducks seemed to roll their eyes at her as they began to drop lower – probably to get away from her, she bet.

     “Don’t give me that!” she yelled at them. “You’d be dramatic, too, if you’ve had the day I’ve had! If you birdbrains are so wise, then, what do you think I should do, huh?”

     Either unable or unwilling to answer her – though it was likely both – the ducks said nothing; she didn’t even get a honk in return. Instead, they began to dip down just above the treetops, still flying in formation. However, just before they vanished out of her sight, one of them craned its head back at her briefly and seemed to motion down to her left. 

     Aria hovered in the air as the ducks disappeared, rubbing her eyes in surprise.

     Did… did the duck just send her a message?

     She looked down to her left, following the direction of the duck’s gaze, and spotted the roof of a familiar Victorian-era mansion. She blinked.

     The duck actually gave her a message. 

     She smiled wryly as she flew down toward the house. “Maybe God is on my side after all.”

     After less than a minute of travel, she touched down in front of the mansion, her flowy dress swirling around her. She stood in front of the steps as the house loomed above her, but she clenched the Macabre Matchmakers business card in her fist, reminding herself why she was here yet again.

     Earlier, she came here to find love, and she still hadn’t found it; the matchmakers hadn’t finished their job, and Aria knew that wouldn’t sit well with them. They told her that they wouldn’t let her be their first unsuccessful match – so, now she was here again, ready for them to keep that promise.

     Now with more confidence, she finished making her way up the steps and stopped at the door. Like Celeste had told her when she had accidentally let herself in, there was a sign hanging on the inside that read: “To all ghouls – intangible or not – please ring this doorbell to announce your presence. We will be with you shortly.”

      Aria glanced to her right, and – just as promised – a beautiful, black and red doorbell was waiting for her. This time, she pressed it, and waited for them to let her in. She hoped it wouldn’t be too long; after all, she had a lot of things to talk about.