The Ghosts

Chapter One, Part One

Chapter One

“But it’s there, Ana. I know it.  It’s just behind the veil. But no matter what I do I can’t get to it. No matter how many times I draw it…it won’t go away. I know I love you. I know I want you. It’s there. I promise you.”

“You can’t feel it, Aidan.” I searched his eyes desperately. “Your eyes tell me everything I need to know. They don’t light up like they used to. Love doesn’t shine there, only desperation. He took you away from me, locked it all up in a box and threw away the key. You’ll never get it back. He changed you for a reason. He knew this moment would come, when I wouldn’t be in your way anymore. And he won. He got the end result but he’s not here to do anything about it.”

I put my hands on his face. “He put you out of my reach and I’ll never get you back. So stop. Just stop. Go back to New York. Live your life. Find a girl,” he shook his head, “fall in love with her, make the family you always wanted. You can be happy, Aidan. You can find your way to the new happiness that awaits you, that’s meant for you.”

His hand covered mine, his fingers threading through mine and gripping so hard. “I can’t. I won’t. I will feel it again. And when I do, I’ll find you. I’ll be with you. I will love you again.”

“I’ll be long gone before that ever happens.”

Tears flooded into his eyes. “No. I will find my way back to you. I will be your Aidan again. Don’t give up on me.” He placed a kiss in my palm. “You were meant for me, Ana. Me. Not Michael, not for anyone else. Me. And I will have you. I promise you, I’ll find my way back.”

An envelope with my name sat propped up by a box with a picture of a snow globe on it. I grabbed both and sat down on the bed. I sat the box down next to me and opened the envelope.

Αγάπη,

There are so many things I want to tell you. So many truths I want to write down. But I don’t think there’s enough paper in the world to write it all. You’re sleeping next to me right now. At this moment you’re completely at peace. I know it won’t last long; you’ll wake up, become conscious to the world, and find me gone. I didn’t want to leave. I don’t want to leave. I want you next to me forever. I want us to have days like we did yesterday everyday.

I want us to have everything. Together. But circumstances have demanded other things from us. For some reason we are meant to be apart instead of together. I’ve found love only to have it ripped away. It’s not fair and I know how hard it will be for you to accept. This is why I’ve chosen to block off my end of the bond. I know this will hurt you and I don’t take pleasure in causing you pain. We’ll both be in pain. We’ll both be hurting. I can’t help you with it, even though I wish I could.

Just know that I love you.

I’ll love you forever.

You are the light and the color in my world. Without you nothing will have meaning. And until we’re together again, I’ll miss you. Every day, every minute, every second.

With every breath I take, with every beat of my heart, I love you.

-Michael

My tears poured down my face, the pain in my chest unbearable. I looked into the envelope and found several pictures placed inside. I took them out finding the two I’d taken of him and another picture. I saw the back first and written in black permanent marker were the words:

Us

‘Til Kingdom Come

I flipped over the picture and found an image of us, forever preserved on film. Our lips forever locked in an eternal kiss.