A Long-Forgotten Dream?

Oh God, he just passed through a door, I had a ghost in my apartment, oh my God! I was standing in the same place when he came back.

"What are you doing – why are you not dressed yet? You'll catch a cold! Go and get dressed."

What was happening – was I being scolded by a ghost?

"Look Amrita, I have recently found out that I can actually touch you, so unless you want me to dress you up, go and get dressed." His I-mean-business jolted me back to the reality.

"Do you want me to…?" and he started towards me, but I screamed.

"No! No, don't come near me. I will get dressed – please, another ten minutes."

There. I had done it. I had started talking to a ghost.

"Fine, I will be back. You better be fully dressed and under sheets before I am back."

Miffed at his domineering tone, I went to my wardrobe and looked for clothes. My favorites jammies and shirt bought some comfort, and I pretended to sleep under the covers until I felt someone caressing my hair.

"You can't do that!" I leapt up, screaming. I was almost in tears. He was sitting on my bed just beside me. How could he touch me if he couldn't feel anything else?

"I can't believe it either, but apparently I can" he replied joyfully.

"Please get out of my bed. I am not comfortable having men – uhm, ghosts - in here with me."

Reluctantly he got out and I tried not to admire his gracefulness. He finally began talking in a hurt tone.

"So, you don't remember me at all?"

"No, I don't remember you and why would I?" I replied sarcastically, ignoring the little protest in my heart.

I felt like I'd seen him somewhere, in some long-forgotten dream.

"Not even from a long-forgotten dream?" He asked, reading my mind.

Can he read my mind?

"Can ghosts read minds?" I couldn't help accusing.

"What? ..No, but I really wish I could since you are hardly speaking,"

He had a point, and I tried to remember if I had seen him somewhere, but Zara cut that short.

She came straight through him and jumped into the bed beside me.

"You look like you have seen a ghost, Amrita. Are you okay?"

I couldn't suppress a snort of laughter.

"Uh, just a little surprised nothing. You didn't knock…"

Zara gave me a closer look.

"What? When did I ever knock your door? And hello, we have grown up together and I helped you shower many times in the hospital, there is nothing new for me to see," she mocked and he snickered.

Damn it! So much for privacy.

"Yeah, I guess I am just little tired, sorry."

"No problem, babe. How are you feeling now?"

"Much better. The bath gave me a lot of relief I must say."

And a ghost took it all away.

"Great. Oh and, were you talking to yourself before I came in? I heard voices?"

"Voices?" I asked surprised. Did she hear him? By the look on his face, he was surprised too.

"I mean just your voice, were you talking to someone?"

Damn it! Every time, if ever, I talk to him, people will think of me as crazy.

I was just thinking of a good excuse when he spoke, "Phone?"

Wow, he was not just a crazy drunken ghost, he was an intelligent one at that.

"I just hung up the phone."

"Oh, its fine then, I was worried maybe the accident messed up your head. Sorry!"

Her words made me realize an important point. What if he wasn't real but just an illusion of my mind? Everyone knows ghosts don't exist; what if there was something wrong with my head and I was just imagining him?

Zara caught the worried expression on my face and asked me if I was okay.

"No, just tired. Can I go back to sleep? "

"Sure, I am super exhausted too. Goodnight, babe."

"Goodnight," I murmured.

"Goodnight," the ghost murmured back.