2 Death and Life

Come and Sing Me to Sleep

"It's been a long time, hasn't it?"

Yes, it most certainly has.

"But not a day goes by where I don't miss you!"

Nor I you, old friend.

"You think I would've moved on by now, heh..."

Not necessarily. I still miss you too, after all.

"But no, sometimes, the grief feels just as fresh as it did the day you died."

Believe me, I haven't moved on yet either.

"I just feel so... lost! And confused! Like... Is it ok for me to still mourn you? Or have I let it go on for too long? Or would the greater offense be moving past your death, making such a massive thing small?"

Oh, no, never that. The day you no longer weep when you hear my name, that will be the happiest day of my unlife!

"I mean, I know what you would want me to do. You'd want me to stay strong and live on, for both of our sakes."

Exactly. I do not wish for you to grieve to excess. I want you to be happy again.

"But..."

But...

Sometimes, things are easier said than done.

How difficult it is to watch you struggle through each and every day without being able to help!

"So... I'm not quite sure what to do anymore. Not that I was ever sure in the first place."

I wish I could offer you some sort of guidance.

"Even if I'm dimly aware of what I should be progressing towards, I don't know how to do it."

I think only time will help with that.

"I just hate feeling so... passive!"

But you aren't, you've been so active and brave...

"Perhaps it's cliché and useless of me to say, but... I wish you were here. You'd know what to do..."

Ha! Would I? Your memory of me might be shoddier, and kinder, than you remember! But... I wish I were there too. I... miss you.

"But of course, you not being here is exactly what I'm trying to work through, so..."

Yeah, bringing me back would be pretty counterintuitive, huh? But...

"But..."

It would be nice to be together again, even if only for a little while, just for the comfort. Death is scary for both parties.

But fear not, for I am drawing near... What you do not yet know is that my love for you was strong enough to bring me back as a spirit.

"I'm getting better at making it through the day without you, but the night is the loneliest of all."

I will return to soon, to your side, just as I always should've been.

"It's just me and my thoughts, and a half-empty bed."

But I am back now, I am coming. And then, I will be with you once again.

"God, feeling you lying pressed up against me is the part I miss the most of all!"

Me too, I can hardly rest in peace if it's not with you.

"I miss our long nights spent together."

Yes, just the two of us.

"So close and so safe, so warm and so sound, sleepily nesting into your arms and feeling complete."

We'd spend the whole night like that, at peace, ready to face the morning because we'd wake up together.

"I'd do anything for a peaceful night of rest."

It will not be quite the same, but...

"But..."

ooo

"Is that you, old friend? Or I have truly gone mad? Am I hallucinating? Or is this all just a dream?"

No, it's me.

"Ah, well, either way, I suppose it's good to see you again."

Same to you, although you look a bit worse for wear...

"It's been a rough several months with out you by my side... Literally and metaphorically."

Ah, you must be cold... Allow me to join you in bed.

"Mmmm, what a nice sensation!"

Yes, it does feel good to be back. You're what I missed about life, most of all.

"Ah, I remember how I would always ask you to come and sing me to sleep!"

And I was always more than happy to comply, because it made me happy, too.

"What I wouldn't give to hear a sweet, gentle lullaby from you one last time!"

Why would it be the last?

"They were always the highlight of my entire day and night!"

Mine too.

Haunting, ethereal tones filled the mansion. The few servants who were still awake heard the ghostly tune echo in the halls, but they could find no source of the mysterious music. All they knew was that it was all-encompassing, and it was gorgeous and tragic. But, to the ones upstairs in the master bedroom, no sweeter sound could've been heard in all the world. There, the song lulled them both into a peaceful rest. While one slept, the other kept watch, fingers running through hair as harmony continued to drift on through the night.

AN: Based off the Emilie Autumn poem "Ghost".