Test

She stood silently as the world passed by her, some in a rush, others enjoying the leisure of time to spare. No one who passed noticed her, perhaps due to her silence, perhaps because she seemed to blend into the wall like a chameleon. One could only guess.
"Hello," she called as someone approached, her voice soft and quiet. Maybe the reason the person passing by continued on unfazed, without even so much as a pause or a sideways glance. "Hello, I..." She tried again, stopping again with a heavy sigh as she realised not one person who had rushed by had stopped, nor even reacted. This wasn't such a rare thing. More of a regular occurrence and she was starting to wonder why she kept trying.

Because... Deep down, she knew there was an answer and it was only when the people were few and far between and the world seemed quiet that she allowed herself the time to think, and remember. There was, in fact, a reason she was still here. The only thing was, she had no idea. She knew she was here for a reason, but no idea what the reason was.

She must have fallen asleep, she realised, for she woke with a start, and to her surprise, there was a stranger crouching in front of her, peering back at her.
"Are you alright love?" Asked the stranger. "You look a little lonely."
"I am," she answered. "Or I suppose you could say was. I've got company now, don't I?"
"I guess you do," said the man, offering her a smile. "Mind if I take a seat?"
"Not at all. Go right ahead."
"How long have you been like this?" He asked and she turned to look at him, meeting his eyes. "When was the last time somebody talked to you?"
"Aside from you?" She asked quietly and he nodded. "Oh, it was a while ago," she said. "But I do remember it, sort of. Something had just happened, I don't know what. I must have passed out or something, because all of a sudden I was here."
"What did they tell you?"
"They said that I was here for a reason. But even after all this time, I still can't figure it out. I keep trying to talk to people, but..."
"They don't ever notice you?" The man asked gently.
"Exactly," she said with a gasp. "How... How did you know?"
"Because I've seen it before," he answered simply. "Honey, I hate to break it to you, but you're a ghost."
"A... A ghost? H... How do you know?"
"Because I'm one too. We have unfinished business here. We have to take care of it before we move on."
"So you.." She asked breathlessly.
"Yeah," he said, pulling something from his pocket. "But look darling, I know what I've got to do. I'm just trying to do it now, so you take this ok?" He said, slipping the object into her palm and curling her fingers back over it.
"What is it?" She asked  holding it carefully. "It's good luck for us ghosts. So long as you have it, you'll have good luck in finding what you have to do, and doing it. But, be careful, and be warned. Should you loose it, your luck will turn the opposite way, and it'll all go downhill. You won't have chance at getting up there. That's why we're here, see. It's a test. To see if we are willing to work hard enough to get up there. We have to earn our place."

"But what about you?" She asked as he rose to his feet.
"Don't worry about me, little darlin'," he said, flashing another smile her way. "Good luck to you though."
She watched as he walked on, eventually, miraculously disappearing into a big bright light. But before he was engulfed completely by it, he took a moment to glance back, meeting her eyes and giving her one last, friendly, encouraging smile. As he slowly disappeared under her gaze, she finally allowed a small smile to escape her own lips. She knew what this meant. He'd passed the test. He was moving up, and one day, she hoped, she'd meet him up there once more.