The Afterglows

Every Friday night, I would visit the same pub after work. I loved the atmosphere of the establishment; there were never any arguments or fights, and every face I saw was a regular. I found it odd that the exact same crowd gathered there each time I went there, but I figured everyone enjoyed the experience there.

Zana, the owner of the establishment, who was also its bartender, was a kind woman who made sure that I went home safely every night. She’d ask me to leave my keys on the counter and take a taxi home. I agreed without question. However, I didn’t realise anything strange about the pub until I invited a friend from work, Gen, to have drinks there.

When we arrived at the pub, Gen asked me if I was joking. Confused, I asked what she meant. Gen then said that the pub was closed a decade ago following a fire that killed everyone inside, including the bartender. Turning my gaze from her to the building, after hearing those words, left me frozen. The pub I saw was not the same one I visited until now. It was dilapidated and vacant; there was no sign of it being used for years.

Gen and I called off our night out that day, and I arrived home questioning everything I had experienced until then. I showered and sat on the sofa to watch a movie, but before I could put on the TV, Zana appeared before me, materialising in the air. Seeing the fear on my face, she told me she meant me no harm. The bartender then apologised for not telling me the truth sooner.

Zana told me that the real reason why the pub caught fire all those years ago was that a demon was hunting her. She was a witch, and the demon was seeking to absorb her powers. All the people I saw frequenting the pub on Fridays were the customers who died in the fire that night; all their souls were unfortunately bound to the pub in that tragedy.

Zana then revealed one more secret: only other witches were able to see the souls trapped in the pub. I was a witch… She said not every generation inherits witch powers, so it was likely that my parents never knew about it. I asked her how the souls bound to the pub still seemed genuinely happy, to which she replied that it was a spell she had cast upon the pub with the remainder of her magic before she passed away. Zana said only a living witch could break the binding and set their souls free, and I was the only witch in town she knew. I agreed to her plan and asked her to train me.