The Dead Musicians' Support Group
20250323
Prompt from DailyPrompt.com
This was definitely the place. Olivia examined the front of the music shop, trying to find a nicer way of saying ‘ratty and worn down, like most small businesses around here’. This was a community interest piece after all.
‘Charming traditional establishment which wears its history on its sleeve’? Good enough for now. She jotted it in her notebook.
The inside was better. Clean at least. She made a mental note to have the shots all be internal.
“Oh! Er.” The man slumped behind the counter straightened up.
He looked like he’d gotten dressed for a goth club two decades ago and hadn’t changed since. Greasy black hair piled in a half-collapsed bun, a heavily waxed… she was pretty sure that was meant to be a goatee. The band shirt probably fitted him great when he was a lanky twenty-something, and still did around the chest, but was pulled tight at the waist. The jeans looked like they’d started out artfully distressed and were now genuinely traumatised.
She took a deep breath and put on her best dazzling smile. “Olivia Summers. From the local paper. Are you Adrian Barker?”
“Oh. Yeah.” He peered at her than down at his abandoned phone. “Er, just a sec.”
“Right. Of course.”
Olivia inspected the nearby stands as he frantically wrapped up… whatever he was playing. She didn’t recognise the sound effects and didn’t want to ask.
Alright. Lots of educational and small scene stuff here. I can work a good sidebar with this.
Then an icy whisper made her start. “Are you the reporter?”
Olivia whirled around and found a pearly humanoid figure floating there, peering at her.
“Yes.” Olivia managed another smile. “You must be Cathy Barker? The, er, other owner?”
“Um.” While Cathy’s face was too indistinct to read, her tone was unmistakably awkward. “You see, ghosts can’t own property, so… it’s just Adr-”
“Don’t be like that, sis!” Adrian scoffed, his game forgotten. “It’s just as much yours! You help and everything.”
“And you run this ‘support group’?” Olivia prompted.
“Oh, yes!” Cathy’s voice brightened and her form seemed more focused. “It started when I learned there are other ghosts who want to make music. And then some undead joined, and now it’s a whole community!”
“I’d love to hear about it.” Olivia readied her notebook.
Battling social difficulties was the main thing, of course. Inability to claim copyright, for example.
“And everyone assumes that once your dead you can’t be creative anymore, and that’s just not true! Why, Archibald has been composing for two hundred years and he’s still learning and innovating…”
Lack of bank account was another major issue. Adrian was acting as a go-between.
“Only fair. I’m dead inside lol.”
“Ugh, stop saying that!”
Olivia ignored the siblings swiping at each other. “And you have an accessibility project? Ghosts being able to interact with electronics?”
“Yes!” Cathy beamed. “Physical instruments are near impossible, but it’s amazing what you can do with synthesisers! Come, I’ll show you…”
Prompt was the title.