Till death do us part

It had been 6 years since he was gone. She knew she ought to put his memory to rest and move on with life. And yet she felt stuck in a limbo. It was something she could not explain to all. It was almost as if he was not quite gone. Often, when she was alone, she would get a whiff of his favourite cologne as if he had moved very close to her. Somedays she would wake up startled from an afternoon siesta to the smell of his cigarette smoke hanging in the air. And such little reminders of his presence kept showing up, making it impossible for her to convince her heart that he was indeed gone. Dead and buried. The very thought that he was no more could bring her to tears on vulnerable days. Today was such a day. And she sought comfort by hiding her face in his favourite sky blue shirt that she had still kept hanging in their cupboard.

As he watched her sobbing quietly into his shirt, he felt a familiar pain in his heart. He ached to take her in his arms and comfort her, running his fingers through her hair, like he used to. He wished there was some way he could tell her, that like her, he had not moved on either. He remained here, in this place between life and death, anchored by his incandescent love for her. Maybe they both would be free and find their peace, if she could find her happiness again and he saw the smile return on her face. God and His merciful ways, was the only hope now, for the living and the dead.

Once again the Ghost went down on his knees and prayed.