Ric shivered as the cold water touched his skin. He threw back his head and sighed with contentment as his body adapted to the low temperature.
https://www.pexels.com/photo/young-ethnic-man-under-shower-water-3828185/
The water streamed across every nook, cranny and ridge on his body, through his thick forest of dark-brown hair, and down his face, flowing over his torso and finally to his sturdy, well-muscled legs. He sighed again. God, it felt good. But, wait a minute.... Why was it getting colder? Then he realized, and looked around him. Sticking through the wooden door was the upper half of a young woman. She was beautiful, slim, with a nice figure and long, blonde hair. She was smiling at him. He rolled his eyes, and threw water at her.
“Does the word ‘privacy' not mean anything to you? Get out, Anya."
The water went right through her, but her translucent form shimmered.
“Oh, please, it's nothing I haven't seen before,"she said, giggling.
She disappeared. He shook his head, and went back to having his bath. Four months ago, he would have been terrified out of his wits. In fact, four months ago, he had all but had a heart attack. Six months ago, he had been involved in a highway accident and suffered severe head trauma. He had been in a coma for two months, and recovered well enough to be discharged a week after regaining consciousness. That was when it all started. He would have intense nightmares of the accident, but most of the time, it appeared as if he was experiencing it from another person's point of view. Then all of a sudden, he started to feel it. Sometimes, the room would get cold, and the air would be so heavy that he thought he would suffocate. Finally, it was the voice. He would wake up in the middle of the night, and would hear a woman sobbing. At that point, he decided to get his head checked at a mental health facility. Then it all went quiet, and just as he was about to breathe a sigh of relief, he had seen Anya. It was about three months ago, when she appeared in his room. He had turned almost as pale as she was, and his mouth had dried up. Then she spoke.
“Hello, Ric."
He passed out.
He had woken up, to the sight of her staring at him from above, with a puzzled look.
“What are you?" He asked.
She had narrated her ordeal to him. She was a passenger on the same bus he had been in during the accident, only that she had not been as lucky as he had been. When she died, she had latched on to his consciousness, and tethered her soul to the physical plane.
“So, you're a ghost?"
She nodded. He took a shaky breath, and sat up.
“I see."
And he did see. From that moment on, he started seeing a lot of things he hadn't been seeing. Ghosts. On the streets, in grocery stores, everywhere. At first, it was overwhelming. Some of the ghosts figured out that he could see them, and either vanished immediately, or followed him around until he ignored them enough that they concluded that he was just like every other human. It was easier now. Ghosts didn't expect to be seen by humans, so he simply ignored them, and that was it.
But Anya, she was different. It was as a result of her imprint on his consciousness that he could see ghosts, so there was simply no point pretending with her. With her help, he trained himself to be able to recognize spectres, and discern the presence of ghosts. It could be a tingling sensation at the base of his spine, a drop in temperature, or a wave of nausea, but he had learnt to know when a ghost was around him, even when they were hiding. An awesome achievement, but not something he had ever thought he would need to do.
https://pixabay.com/photos/woman-beauty-light-painting-face-6063087/
His reminiscing came to an end as he washed off the last soap suds from his body. He draped his towel over his waist, and stepped out of the bathroom. As expected, Anya was waiting for him.
“Can't it wait? At least, till I'm done changing?"
She shook her head.
Ric sighed. “Alright, spill it."
“Don't you remember what today is?" Anya asked, her voice small.
“Today?" Ric wore a bemused look on his face.
“It's my birthday, silly!"
“Oh, that's right. I forgot. Sorry."
He looked into her pearly eyes.
“You...... Want a...... Present?"
“As a matter of fact, I do, indeed."
“But you're a ghost! You can't eat, or wear clothes, or-"
“Not like this, I can't."
She stared at him intently. Slowly, he understood, and a look of bewilderment crept on his face.
“Wait....... You want me........ You....... No, I can't do that. I'm sorry."
“Please, Ric. I can't do any of those things in this form, but say I were in a human body, your body-"
“I can't."
“Please. Just for today. And then never again."
Her eyes were shining now. He couldn't believe what he was about to say.
“Alright. Just for today. And then never again"
“Thank you, Ric."
She reached out, hugged him, and melted into him. They had become one.
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Hey, fellow creatives! Hope y'all enjoyed reading that little piece! It came to me as a stroke of inspiration after -weird as it sounds- I felt I was being watched in my room 😅
Anyway, I'd love to get your feedback. Let me know what you think🙏