Ultimate Laziness

Part the Second

A Ghost from the Past
Charlie could only stare, his breath catching. There Kim stood, arms crossed, head tilted with an amused expression - as if this was the reaction he had calculated. To Charlie's eye he looked exactly the same as the last time he had seen him. Maybe a little older. Maybe a few more lines around the eyes. That same mop of ginger hair. And that all to familiar cheeky grin. He had been so certain. He was so sure. Kim had been dead these several years. He couldn't be sure how he knew. Was it someone's passing comment? Was it an obituary? Had there been a funeral? He couldn't recall details other than the total certainty that Kim was dead. It had been the case of his mouth working before his brain had been engaged.
'Sorry, that came out all wrong. But - but I was told years ago that you had died.'
Still with that cheeky grin Kim chuckled and shook his head.
'Ah, my disappearance. The obituary. Yeah, that was all part of a publicity stunt, mate.'
Charlie was struck dumb - a stunt?

Kim leaned in a little and lowered his voice, conveying the notion that he was sharing some long lost secret.
'The whole thing was a stunt. One of my little artistic statements you know. It was an experiment in anonymity. Death of the ego. Death of identity. Death of all of the pretentious crap.'
He gave one of his familiar self-deprecating laughs.
'Faked my own death. Put out an obituary. Disappeared for a bit. Thought I'd make a grand comeback when the time was right.'
This stirred a faint, but familiar, memory in Charlie's mind. Years ago there had been some stuff in the press about a young artist who had vanished in mysterious circumstances. He sort of remembered that some critics speculating that it was some sort of performance piece. That it was an act of defiance against the commercial art world. Back then he had paid little attention. He hadn't even known that its was connected to Kim. Now it all made perfect sense. It was just the sort of stunt that would appeal to Kim, and one that he would relish.

Charlie hadn't realised he was holding his breath, and let it out running a hand through his hair.
'You haven't changed a bit mate.'
Kim grinned 'Would you have expected me to?'
Charlie could only shake his head. Half laughing. Completely exasperated. Absurd. Insane. But it was exactly the sort of thing Kim would take great delight in doing. Even at school he had always been the wild one. The one pushing at the boundaries. Playing the most elaborate pranks. Always seeking ways to make life that little bit less ordinary. Once he had even staged his own kidnapping simply to get out of an exam. So, it came as no surprise that he had taken things that step further and faked his own death. Charlie took a deep breath
'So, where have you been all these years?'
'Oh, here and there.' Kim said quite vaguely 'Couple of places overseas. Stayed off the grid for a while. Got sick of it after a while. Turns out playing dead is pretty hard work. Just thought I would resurface, see who still remembers me.

Charlie carefully studied him. There was a lingering sense of unease that he was trying to shake off. Kim seemed real. Solid. Alive. But in his mind there was something, something that was just a tiny bit off. Maybe it was the shock of seeing him after all these years. Maybe it was the way Kim spoke, and brushed aside all those years of absence as if they were of no consequence. Something in his gut twisted - he pushed it aside.
'Well' he said, with a forced grin ' since you're not a ghost, how about a drink?'
Kim's eyes lit up 'Now, that's more like the Charlie I remember.'
Charlie pointed to the pub on the corner
'The Ship?'
Kim nodded 'Perfect.'
With that they walked towards the pub together, it was as if no time had passed at all.

Authors Note
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