god save our queen┊bae joohyun┊✔

three

   I laughed. That was it. All I did was laugh. I knew – I was one hundred percent sure – there was no way she was serious. As soon as I looked at her, I couldn't help but bite my tongue. She was crying. Her pretty brown eyes were flooded with tears, and she was uncontrollably sniffling. My chest hurt all of a sudden. "H-hey... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you," I was devastated. I wanted to slap myself. I felt like I had to. Why was she crying? Did I say something wrong? Did I insult her? I panicked. Without thinking, I put my arms around her shoulders, hugging her tightly. I could feel warm tears staining my clothes, but I didn't care. In return, I stained her shoulder as well. We stayed like that for an eternity. Just hugging each other, crying. I didn't even feel her hugging me anymore, it became part of me. "Please forgive me," I mouthed in a hoarse voice. "Whatever I said that upset you, please forgive me..." with red eyes, I looked up. The sun was setting, orange puffy clouds taking over the sky. Irene wasn't saying anything. It worried me beyond relief. Only after a few more sobs, she ended our hug.

"It's not your fault." she laughed at herself, wiping a few tears away from her face gently. "I don't know what got into me all of a sudden. I should be the one apologizing." I must have done something oddly horrible in my previous life to deserve seeing this.

"Don't say that. I shouldn't have laughed at you." a sudden thought crossed my mind. Was she serious about the whole dead thing? Was she a –

"I would have laughed too if someone came up and told me they're a ghost."

"If you really are a ghost," I stood up, still sceptical. Irene didn't sound like such a nice person all of a sudden. "How come I can touch you? And do I need some sort of board game to talk with you now?"

"Look, horror movies and whatever ghost documentaries are out there on the internet aren't exactly right," she groaned, standing up as well. I just saw how dirty her dress became. "Just because I'm dead that doesn't mean I don't have a body... I think."

"You think?"

"I died four years ago! Not even ghosts understand how these things work! All I know is waking up here, in this dress..." I didn't know whether or not I should take her seriously. I thought this was all a joke. I thought my feelings for her were a joke.

"How did you die?" shortly after my question, Irene disappeared. As in she wasn't there anymore.

    What was there, though, was a sudden cold chill. It went all the way down my spine. I felt sickening. I felt scared. My heart was thumping and my gut was telling me to run. So that's what I did. I ran and I couldn't stop. Everything around me was a green blur as I ran so much my feet hurt. It didn't matter which direction I went, I just ran. If it weren't for the rock I tripped over, I would have much longer. I could feel my muscles pulsating, exhausted and soon to be sore. Once again, I was laying on the ground. I didn't want to get up, I was too tired. I was so tired I could have fallen asleep right there. A sudden neigh was what made me rose up panting. I looked up only to see a... Horse? It was more like a draft. He, apparently, wasn't very big, one or two inches shorter than me, with a chestnut coat and flaxen mane. Nonetheless, his stare made me feel uncomfortable. What was he doing here? I didn't have enough time to continue my never-ending monologue as he soon reared, standing up on his hind legs. I felt my left shoulder pop as I tried to avoid getting squashed. The sound his hooves made as they hit the ground made my stomach turn. That could have been me. The sensation I felt earlier in the glade returned. They say most animals are more scared of you than you are of them. But this one – He sure wasn't scared of me or anything surrounding the meadow as he went for it one more time. I was petrified, eyes closed, curled up in a ball, waiting for him to crush me. All of a sudden, the neighing stopped. I stood up in a sitting position, opening one of my eyes. He was still there, that's for sure, but to his left, petting his tame softly was Irene, studying and observing me with a hollow stare. I could finally breathe.

"Thank you," I said absentmindedly, feeling my eyes tearing up for the second time that day. A frown took over my features as I looked at Irene, searching for any sort of reaction. She smiled as I cried.