100 Ghost Storie Counting Down To Halloween 2024. #30. Jeff.

Jeff Kamisato survived a long day at his state job and just wanted to go home and sleep in the comfort of his air-conditioned home.

Traffic filled every street on the way back to his house, so by the time Jeff drove up Palolo Avenue, he was beginning to doze off. He had never seen the bicycle rider coming from the cross street in Pa'alea, and it was too late. Jeff crushed the bike and the rider under his wheels. Skidding to a stop probably did not help either. Quickly getting out of his car, he was sure the sight would be gruesome, but no one was there. No mangled bicycle or rider. Closely examining his vehicle, Andy found no trace of a scratch or blood that should have been there, but nothing was there.

Rather than fall asleep under the cool air in his house, Jeff used his connections to discover any pedestrian accidents in Palolo, but nothing surfaced. Confused and very much bothered, Jeff eventually fell asleep but had uneasy dreams that he couldn't remember in the morning. The following day, while pulling into the parking lot at the state building, a woman walked right in front of Jeff's car, and he ran her over. 

"GODAMMIT!!!" Jeff screamed while pounding the steering wheel with his fists. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!"

Getting out of the car and running to the front, Jeff saw no one there. No person twisted under the wheels of his Ford Focus. What in the world was happening? Jeff was tense the rest of the day but got through it. After work, he headed to the Taco Bell on Kapahulu and sat there for a long while, enjoying his burritos and drink. When it was time to go, Jeff drove up Kaimuki Avenue, where he intended to take a left on 10th Avenue and head back home that way. When he crossed 10th and Pahoa, he had to come to a screaming stop at the intersection. A group of teachers crossing with toddlers caught his eye at the last second, and he plowed right into them. In the aftermath, no one was there.

It was too much for Jeff, so he took paid time off for a week to get himself together. It was the break he needed, and he went to the beach and the mall and watched a movie—everything he couldn't do because of his job. Jeff left his home bright and early the following Monday morning, ready for the new day. Taking Palolo Avenue and going right on Wai'alae, Jeff noticed the bicycle rider, the woman who walked in front of his vehicle a week previous at the state building parking lot, and the group of toddlers with their teacher escorts holding their hands, all waiting to cross the Kahala Hair Salon, to 4th avenue to the Times and Longs building. Once he saw them in the crosswalk, a strange sense of something humorous came over him, and he lay his feet on the gas pedal, making a beeline for the crosswalk.

"They're not gonna be there anyway," he chuckled.

But they were there, all twelve of them, as Jeff Plowed his car right down the middle like bowling pins, scattering them in the air or under his tires. They were there, much to Jeff Kamisato's dismay.