It had been a few months since Goob had begun his ghostly shenanigans of messing with the heating and cooling systems of Melbourne residents. In that time, he had perfected the art of imitating the strange noises that would come from a faulty air con to trick his victims into booking a service for their perfectly functional air conditioners.
His true moment of enlightenment came when he first possessed an air conditioning unit. It had been surreal but rewarding. Despite not having a body, his spirit felt cramped as it pushed its way between wires and dodged electrical currents.
With practice, he had gotten so good that his control over the units was unbelievable. One day he possessed one boutique store’s unit and found by manipulating the currents that he could control all of the air conditioning systems near South Yarra – those that needed servicing, at least.
As time and the seasons passed by, the temperatures began to drop. It wasn’t just the cooling systems that began to be used. His pranks, whilst holding the same foundation in confusing the living, had to adapt. Soon after he was convincing folks all over that they needed to book in for a heater repair. Cheltenham all the way down to Frankston was buzzing with confused phone calls and internet posts.
Every little mumbled frustration or scratched head made him feel more and more seen. It had been so long since he’d been alive that he had almost forgotten how it felt to be heard. Whilst they weren’t talking about him exactly, it was leagues ahead of feeling ignored and forgotten.
There were moments when he would feel remorse creep into his ghostly body. It didn’t help that his ghost pals didn’t approve of his newfound hobby. To cope with the growing emotions, he distracted himself by finding new ways to trouble the living. It was becoming a bad habit, but it was better than having to sit with his thoughts.
He didn’t realise until it was too late the damage he was causing.