Uma Ghost by Marcela Citterio

 
The strongest connections are forged in the most unexpected moments  

In a world where the paranormal intertwines with the everyday, Uma and Emmeline find themselves at a crossroads of intertwined destinies. From an early age, Uma has experienced unexplainable phenomena. Inaudible whispers, invisible footsteps, and an ethereal presence have been her constant companions. But this time, something is different. The recurring nightmare and disturbing signs lead her to seek refuge in the closet, where her green eyes are barely visible in the darkness. On the other hand, Emmeline lives a life marked by rebellion and a lack of trust in others. With no close family or friends, she defies the rules imposed by her guardians while struggling to find her place in the world. Her courage and audacity are her greatest allies as she faces unsettling situations. Through supernatural challenges and loves that help them grow from within, Uma and Emmeline will find their purpose.
 
   
Emmeline loves doing graffiti. She makes it very clear when the pristine English school she attends wakes up after a weekend covered in it. Of course, no one could suspect her, because everyone believes she was serving a punishment, locked away reading in a library. So no—she couldn’t have been responsible. What no one knows is that Emmeline managed to escape, and that’s why, when the school doors open on Monday, the authorities are met with her ART. 
They know it was her. It couldn’t have been anyone else. 
So that same Monday, she has a meeting with the school authorities and her guardian. Because Emmeline is an orphan. And a millionaire. And rebellious. And defiant. She is given one last chance: she can be sent to another school—the strictest one—located in another city. And since her guardian cannot move with her, Emmeline will have to live with a family willing to rent a room to a student in order to cover the expenses of their son attending that school. Emmeline hates this, but she has no alternative. 
And so she moves to a small town. 
When she arrives at the house, everything is very different from what she’s used to. To begin with, the room she’s given is nothing like the luxury bedroom she’s accustomed to. It has only the bare minimum—not even a king-size bed. 
On top of that, she has to share the bathroom, help with household chores, report where she’s going and when she’ll be back, follow set times for breakfast and lunch, and worst of all—terrible Wi-Fi. 
As if that weren’t enough, there’s a father, a mother, and a son: Oliver. 
As soon as she begins to understand what her life will be like from now on, instead of socializing and being polite, she slams the door and locks herself in her room. She hates everything that’s happening. She throws herself onto the bed in a rage and flings a pillow—when a girl steps out of the closet and asks her to please treat that pillow with care, because it was a gift from her brother. Emmeline doesn’t understand how she appeared… Is she dreaming? Apparently not—her eyes are wide open.  
So she asks who she is. Uma answers naturally: Uma… until she suddenly realizes—someone saw her!!! 
She also tells her that this is her room. Emmeline is surprised; she didn’t know she lived in the house. 
Uma replies that she doesn’t live there anymore. And that Emmeline is the first person who can see her. Emmeline laughs, of course. She doesn’t believe her. No one would. 
Uma explains that she died there, in that closet. Suffocated. Almost a year ago. Emmeline runs out of the room and crashes into Oliver. 
He tells her she is not welcome in his house. That the room will always belong to his sister, Uma. And that he is willing to do whatever it takes to make her leave. 
Emmeline realizes that he cannot see Uma. 
In fact, no one can see her—only her! 
That night they talk until dawn. Oliver’s parents walk down the hallway and hear her voice. In the house, they begin to think Emmeline is very strange—that she talks to herself.   
 
 
Uma says she has a mission on Earth: to make her brother Oliver happy again. But it’s impossible for her to help him, because she can’t leave the closet. Well—she just did, for the first time, but that had never happened before. Emmeline offers her support. 
Of course, Emmeline searches online and finds nothing that can help them. 
Google is still not very well prepared to solve cases involving… ghosts. 
Because Uma looks like a real girl—but she isn’t. 
Emmeline turns to ancient books. She visits the library and begins researching ghosts. For the first time in her life, she becomes interested in something other than herself, looks beyond her own navel, and truly wants to help someone. Yes, it’s clear that Uma is very strange—because she awakened something in Emmeline that even she didn’t know existed. 
Oliver works at that library in his spare time and helps her look for books about ghosts, without knowing it’s for his sister. 
Meanwhile, Emmeline watches Oliver date multiple girls at once, cheat on them, and not care at all. He’s the typical bad boy—the kind who should walk around with a warning sign that reads: DANGER. The kind of boy you should NEVER fall in love with. 
 
In one of those ancient books, Emmeline discovers that if a ghost carries with them something they truly love, they can visit the Ghost World. 
Emmeline runs to tell Uma the big news: there is a Ghost World, and she can visit it—if she does what Emmeline says. Uma chooses the pillow—the one Emmeline threw the day they met. But the plan doesn’t work, and the pillow slips from her hands, because of course—Uma can’t hold anything. She has no body.  Together they focus all their mental strength, uniting their psyches, holding hands while Uma tries to hold the pillow with her other hand.  And then… they do it. 
Uma reaches the Ghost World just as a concert is taking place. 
It’s a pristine, white place where everyone levitates. The Ghost Worlds are divided by age, so Uma arrives in the one meant for teenagers. 
Even so, they can move between worlds. That is, they can visit the Adult Ghost World or the Children’s one. Animals also exist there, divided by age. 
 
 
A whole new universe opens up for her. 
From being locked in a closet for a year, she moves on to discovering the customs and rules of this place she didn’t even know existed. 
Some of them are: 
They don’t use cars, because they levitate. 
There is no smog. 
There are no doors. They don’t need them. 
It never rains. 
They move objects just by looking at them. 
They can’t stare at flowers, because they wither. 
She also discovers there is ghost phone service—cell phones with unlimited calling capacity, but that only work between the dead. 
Of course, she learns all of this as she begins to live in this world, because the first thing she sees when she arrives is a concert by four rock boys. 
The music fascinates her, yes—it’s true. But she likes the singer even more. She falls in love with him at first sight. She asks who he is. A ghost girl tells her his name is Jano, and that he is the most famous ghost. All the ghost girls want to be with him. Uma sighs… Why hadn’t she met him before dying? 
 
But it seems that magic also exists in that world. Or destiny. Or luck. Because Jano looks at her—lost among all the other girls screaming for him—and invites her up on stage. Uma goes up. And they sing together. She can’t believe it. Nothing like this had ever happened to her in the real world. 
She feels herself floating… Well, literally—she is. 
Then Jano takes her to his ghostly dressing room. And he notices she’s beginning to fade. He realizes it’s her first time there. He explains that she can’t stay long, that she’ll have to return to her place, which works like a kind of recharge. He will go with her. 
A force begins to pull Uma away, and Jano grabs her hand to travel with her. 
They both appear in the closet. 
They step out, and Jano gets to know her house. 
Uma is overwhelmed by everything she has experienced. She never imagined there were others like her—more ghosts—and much less an entire world just for them. Jano makes her see that sooner or later she’ll get used to that world, and may even enjoy it. After all, being a ghost isn’t so bad. 
He tells her about some of the things they can do, like walking in the rain without getting wet, passing through walls, moving objects through energy, and even entering other bodies—something Jano finds very amusing but has never dared to try. 
Uma begins a friendship with Emmeline, whom she will help at school and with homework, and from whom she will ask a series of things to help make her brother happy.  Without realizing that Emmeline is going to fall in love with that bad boy who actually hides a great deal of pain…  
 
All of this while dealing with the bad luck of Marcos arriving in town—a ghost hunter. One who is convinced that ghosts are always evil, because humans have something ghosts don’t: a life. 
And the truth is, ghosts don’t only come out at night or appear on Halloween… They are everywhere. 
Just because you can’t see them doesn’t mean they’re not here.  
Or maybe… 
 
Did you check your closet today?