ONE SHOT STORY [REED]

The night was still and quiet, save for the soft hum of the city in the distance. A delicate breeze rustled through the leaves outside Jane's apartment, carrying with it the faint smell of rain. She sat curled up on the couch, the weight of exhaustion pulling at her limbs, yet sleep seemed impossible to reach. The dim light from the lamp on the side table cast long shadows across the room, and the book she had been attempting to read lay forgotten on her lap. Her mind was elsewhere, far from the words on the page, drifting in the space where memories and reality blurred.

It had been days—no, weeks—since the accident, though time had lost its meaning to her. The world outside her apartment continued on as it always had, indifferent to her grief. People moved, cars sped by, conversations bubbled up in cafés, and the ordinary rhythms of life persisted. But for Jane, everything had come to a standstill the moment she had learned that Ethan was gone.

Gone.

The word echoed in her mind like a broken refrain. It felt unreal, impossible. Just a month ago, they had been laughing over dinner, making plans for the weekend, talking about a future that now seemed unbearably out of reach. Ethan had been the center of her world, her anchor in the unpredictable chaos of life. His presence had been a constant, a comfort she had never doubted would always be there. And now, that presence had vanished like smoke in the wind, leaving her hollow and lost.

Jane's fingers absentmindedly traced the edge of her phone, the cool surface grounding her for just a moment. She had spent countless hours staring at it, hoping for a message, a missed call, something—anything—to break the silence that had descended over her life. It was a futile hope, she knew. Ethan wasn't coming back. Yet, part of her refused to let go of the absurd notion that maybe, just maybe, there had been a mistake, that the universe had played some cruel trick on her.

A soft vibration jolted her from her thoughts. Her phone, lying face-down on the table, hummed briefly before falling silent again. For a split second, Jane's heart leaped into her throat. She reached for the phone, her fingers trembling as she flipped it over. Her breath caught as she saw the name on the screen.

Ethan.

Her hand froze. It couldn't be. It couldn't be him.

She stared at the phone in disbelief, her pulse pounding in her ears. Her heart raced as a thousand thoughts flew through her mind—none of them making sense. Had someone found his phone? Was it some kind of cruel prank? Or was she imagining it, her grief warping reality into something it was not?

Before she could stop herself, her thumb slid across the screen, and she answered the call.

"Jane."

Her breath hitched at the sound of his voice. It was unmistakable—deep, warm, familiar. The voice she had fallen in love with. But there was something different about it now. It was softer, almost distant, as if it were coming from somewhere far away.

"E-Ethan?" Her voice trembled as she spoke his name, half-believing this was some dream she would soon wake from.

"I'm here," he said, and the sound of those words, spoken in that gentle, reassuring tone, made her heart constrict painfully. She closed her eyes, as if by doing so, she could bring him closer.

"I don't understand," she whispered, her throat tight with emotion. "How... how is this possible?"

There was a pause on the other end, a soft breath that felt like it was coming through a veil separating them. "I needed to talk to you," he said, his voice almost a sigh. "I couldn't leave without saying goodbye."

Goodbye. The word shattered something inside her. She had been holding onto a sliver of hope that maybe he wasn't really gone, that this was all some horrible mistake. But hearing him say it, knowing what it meant, ripped that hope away.

Tears welled up in her eyes, spilling down her cheeks as she pressed the phone closer to her ear, as though doing so would bridge the unfathomable distance between them.

"I... I don't want you to say goodbye," she choked out, her voice barely more than a whisper. "I don't want this to be real."

"I know," he said softly, and she could hear the sadness in his voice—the same sadness that was tearing her apart. "I don't want it either. But it's real, Jane. I'm gone."

The finality of those words hung in the air like a weight too heavy to bear. Jane felt her chest tighten, her breath coming in shallow gasps as the reality of it all crashed down on her. Ethan was gone. The man she loved, the person who had made her life brighter, was gone, and there was nothing she could do to bring him back.

For a moment, the two of them were silent, the only sound the faint hum of the phone line between them. Jane wished she could reach through the phone, touch him, feel his warmth again. But all she had were his words, his voice, and it wasn't enough.

"Ethan," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I... I don't know how to live without you."

There was a long pause, and when he finally spoke, his voice was thick with emotion. "You don't have to live without me, Jane. I'll always be with you."

"But you're not here," she sobbed, pressing the heel of her hand to her forehead as though she could force the pain away. "I can't see you. I can't hold you. I can't hear you laugh anymore. How am I supposed to go on without you?"

"I know it's hard," Ethan said softly. "I wish more than anything that I could stay. That I could be with you, hold you one last time. But that's not how it works."

The tears fell freely now, and Jane made no attempt to stop them. "I don't want it to be this way," she said through her sobs. "I need you. I can't do this alone."

"You're not alone," Ethan whispered. "You'll never be alone, Jane. I'm still here, even if you can't see me. You'll feel me, in the little moments. When the wind brushes your cheek, when you see the stars, when you hear a song that makes you think of me—I'll be there."

His words wrapped around her like a balm, soothing the raw ache in her heart, but the pain remained. How could she go on living in a world where he no longer existed? How could she wake up each day knowing that he wouldn't be there to share it with her?

"I don't know how to say goodbye," she whispered, her voice barely audible.

"You don't have to," he replied gently. "This isn't goodbye. Not really. I'm not leaving you, Jane. I'm just... moving on. But part of me will always be with you. In your heart."

Her hand gripped the phone tighter as if afraid he might slip away before she was ready. "I love you," she said, her voice trembling with the weight of those three words. "I love you so much."

"I love you too," Ethan said, his voice filled with a tenderness that broke her heart all over again. "More than anything. And that love—it doesn't end just because I'm gone. It's still here, in you. It always will be."

Jane closed her eyes, letting the tears fall silently down her cheeks. She wanted to hold on to this moment forever, to stay in this space where Ethan's voice was still with her, where it felt like they could share one last conversation, one last connection.

But deep down, she knew it couldn't last. The world outside was waiting, life was waiting, and eventually, she would have to face it without him.

"Ethan," she whispered, her voice breaking. "I'm not ready."

"I know," he said softly. "But you will be. One day, you'll wake up and it won't hurt as much. It'll never go away, but it'll get easier. And I'll still be with you, every step of the way."

She nodded, though she knew he couldn't see her. "I'll try," she said, her voice trembling.

"That's all I ask," Ethan said gently. "Just try. And remember that I'll always love you."

The line went quiet for a moment, and Jane's heart clenched in her chest, fearing that this was it—that he was slipping away from her for the last time.

"Ethan?" she whispered, her voice shaking.

"I'm still here," he said, his voice faint but reassuring. "But I have to go soon."

The words hit her like a physical blow, and she squeezed her eyes shut, trying to hold back the sob that threatened to escape her throat. "Please... don't leave me," she whispered, her voice broken.

"I'm not leaving you," he said softly. "I'll always be with you, Jane. Always."

The silence stretched on, and for a moment, Jane thought the call had ended. But then, Ethan's voice came through one last time, so soft and full of love that it made her heart ache.

"Goodbye, my love."

And then the line went dead.

Jane sat there, the phone still pressed to her ear, the silence in the room deafening. The tears flowed freely now, her shoulders shaking as the reality of what had just happened washed over her. Ethan was gone. Truly gone. And yet, his voice.