CHAPTER TEN
Cornflower: Remembrance, Devotion, and Love
DALFON RECOVERED AFTER long hours of unconsciousness. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the dim lights of the Afterlife Realm.
"How do you feel?" Egan asked as he assisted him to sit up.
"Like my brain is floating," he answered, massaging his temples.
"I'm sorry about earlier. I had no idea that the Lord Death Demon would drop all those bombs at you in one go. I tried to stop them but, obviously, I wasn't able to do so."
"Y-Your name . . ."
The ghost nodded repeatedly as if giving up on keeping his identity a mystery for Dalfon to solve. "Yes, yes, not a mystery anymore. My name is Egan Conley; spirit age of 33; body age of 23."
A scene flashed before Dalfon's eyes as he recalled where he had once heard the ghost's name.
Claire Clover smiled fondly as she ran her fingers through her blonde-colored hair. "I fell in love with a classmate in college."
Haco asked, "What's the guy's name?"
"Egan," she answered. "Egan Conley."
Dalfon shook his head to get his mind off of it. Then, he asked him, "Have we met before? I . . . I think we have."
"Yes, we have," he answered truthfully. "You were 16; I was 18. That's when we first met."
"Those ages . . ."
"Come on now, don't push yourself." Egan stopped him and Dalfon finally turned his head toward him. "You said it! Your brain feels like it's floating."
"But . . . I want the truth. And I have no time left."
Egan brushed his hair and smiled, saying, "You still have time."
"But you won't be here to answer my questions."
"I will be here to answer any question you ask."
"You said that person was the Death Demon? She said that you exchanged your existence for my life's extension!"
"That's not— Hold on. She!?"
A confused look filled Dalfon's hazel orbs. "Yes. She. Why?"
"I never knew her gender," Egan answered as a matter-of-fact.
Dalfon raised an eyebrow and pointed out, "His Majesty knows her gender. Aside from him, no one else. Until I came here and found her without that hood over her head."
"Is she beautiful?"
"Are you diverting the topic?"
"Shamelessly, yes."
Dalfon was taken aback by the sudden shamelessness, but it was enough to make him erupt into laughter.
Then, Egan opened up, "Now, how do we bring you back to the Living Realm? We can discuss other things some other time, but this is the most important at this point."
"I don't even know how I got here. How are we going to reverse the process?"
"Well, what did you do to get here?"
Dalfon fell into deep thought as he recalled the events from his office.
The Ghost King smirked as with assurance he said, "Don't fret too much. I will return your ghost here once we're done discussing things."
"Bring him back safe. Please." Dalfon felt like he just had to say the words. His heart was pounding against his chest as his mind got filled with the thought of Egan being out of his sight.
Maybe, he should admit he got attached to the blonde-haired ghost already.
The Ghost King smiled. "I will. I told you not to fret about it."
Then, he raised his sword cane and the big diamond sparkled maple-red. Before the two ghosts vanished into smoke of the same color, Dalfon was able to reach the hem of Egan's black jeans.
Upon hearing the story, Egan clarified, "You grabbed my jeans? That's it?"
"I wasn't able to grab your jeans. I just reached for it!"
"Why my jeans? You could've grabbed my sleeves!"
"Well then, you'll notice me following you! And I said, I reached, not grabbed!"
"We still noticed you anyway, so, what's the point?"
"You weren't able to notice me until I showed myself up."
"His Majesty already knew that he brought back three persons with his ghost powers." Egan crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "He just didn't tell me for the element of surprise."
"Since he brought me here, can't His Majesty send me back?" Dalfon asked, hopeful.
But Egan shook his head in response. "Technically, he could send you back. But, due to the current situation, he couldn't."
"Situation?"
"His ghost powers caught a bit of a problem because he violated several rules. He can't use them for a few weeks."
"Isn't he the ruler of the realm?"
"Come on!" Egan chuckled. "Have you forgotten about the Gods? The God of the Underworld is, of course, more superior to him. His Majesty got a bit of a punishment."
Dalfon heaved a deep sigh. "I'm sorry for causing you trouble. . . ."
"It's okay," Egan smiled; "don't think about it."
Then, the ghost laid back down on the soft black-and-white mattress with his eyes closed.
Dalfon wanted to ask where they were, but decided to keep the relaxing atmosphere around them. He laid beside him and set his gaze at the dim, reddish-greenish-bluish-purplish sky.
Several minutes passed but there wasn't an awkward air between the two. The silence was comforting and the cold breeze was blowing soothing music in their ears.
Then, finally, Dalfon broke the silence. "I'm in junior high school and you were in senior high when we first met."
Egan opened his eyes and turned his head toward him, answering, "That's right. I was on a school bus when I first saw you. Then, we met—"
"—on a pedestrian crossing," Dalfon finished. A small, sad smile broke out on his lips. "The little kitten couldn't keep up with her mother and siblings. . . ."
He wasn't dumb. He also wasn't that dense to not be able to pick up the hidden message of everything.
What kept Dalfon from continuing to speak . . . was the fact that he wasn't able to complete the puzzle and realize things much sooner.
He wasn't just simply attached to the ghost. Their connection started way, way long ago.
Suddenly, he recalled those days he placed forget-me-nots on his doorstep. How dare he give Egan those flowers when he himself was the one who forgot?
But now, he remembered. Although not everything, he still remembered.
"My first love is an amiable, fearless, and self-sacrificing special someone. He was foolish enough to ignore the danger of saving a little kitten brought upon him. He knew a school bus was coming.
"Ever since then, I swore to protect him. He was always doing something reckless. Although he may not remember me, for five years, I watched over him. I was grateful to be part of his life even if he doesn't know it."
Tears welled in his eyes as Egan's honest words of love from that day quietly echoed in his ears like an unforgettable, never-changing melody.
"My eternal raindrop is still here in the Living Realm."
He bit his lower lip to muffle a sob. He bit so hard that it might bleed. Eternal raindrop? That was literally the meaning of his name. And Egan had long since called him his.
"He is my resting place. To be able to watch over him for an additional ten years and another ten more keeps my heart at peace."
Egan was so devoted to loving him unconditionally. He never expected Dalfon to reciprocate the feeling. People may describe him as a hopeless romantic.
Egan had once said that, aside from Dalfon, he was also giving freesias to his first love.
Freesia—a flower believed to be a symbol of unconditional love.
Yet the human who has the ability to see ghosts was unfortunately too blind to see what was already in front of him.
'To be loved by this pure and genuine man is already a blessing. Fifteen years of unconditional love? I wonder who the lucky guy is.'
It was him. He was the lucky guy.
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