To tell you my story, I need to tell you how I died. It happened a few years ago; I was driving to my mom’s home and got hit by a truck. Simple, isn’t it? Got hit by a truck. Trust me, you don’t want to. When I crashed, my car wouldn’t take that blow. It spun like a top throwing me side to side. First, I hit my head on the wheel and when I was about to pass out, my car hit a pole and that woke me up. You would think I was alive, but I wasn’t. I didn’t realize that I am dead until the paramedics confirmed it. There I was sitting in the passenger seat and watching me lying restless while the police and the ambulance arrived. I guessed, I was dead, but I saw the ‘Just like Heaven’ movie, so I hoped I had a bit in my body. But, it was only for a minute after which they confirmed me dead. It seems after I hit my head, the air bags threw me into my seat with flying glass and they struck me right into my head. I was 33 then, and it was five years ago.
So, you may be wondering what I was doing these five years? Honestly, nothing. There isn’t a single piece of work to do once you are dead. You just keep wandering the streets, staring at people who can’t really see you, and, yeah, I made a world tour. I did all of that in the first year. When Phileas Fogg said he could go around the world in 80 days, I laughed but still it was a book; I have done it thrice in 80 days. So, fuck you, Jules Verne. And it’s same every year, it has become kind of traditional for me and I think I might pass on these when I meet my successor, like that’s gonna happen. Anyway, forward to this year, I kind of walked into a psychic, literally, and trust me you don’t want to be at the receiving end by the look on his face. He kinda sensed me and was going nuts. The spooky me grabbed that opportunity and scared the shit out of him. Later, he offered to help, like I needed one. He suggested that spirits linger in the mortal realm if they have any unfinished business. Well, fuck you, spirit guy, I know that shit, I have seen Ghost. The only thing is I don’t know what my unfinished business is. That brings us to this day. I am way into the future now but I kinda want to refer the day as this day because it is on this day that happened.
Annoyed, aren’t you? Why the guy wouldn’t jump to the story right away? Huh? Well, fuck you. I have waited for this day for 5 years and you don’t have the time to read a few lines, that’s inhumane. Have some respect for the writer, he’s kinda building a perspective here. Okay, don’t worry, I will start now.
You might be wondering what a ghost like me would be doing standing outside a restaurant. I miss eating, I miss the hot pizza crisp between my teeth, the tingling in my throat when I gulp the wine (Honestly man, I don’t give a shit about that). I walked in, and there she was looking right through me. But, what I didn’t realize was that she was looking at me. She could see me. She was my Mark Ruffalo and I am her Reese Witherspoon. But, I had to be careful because if she touches me, she would freak out. I decided to make my move, cool and smooth. If you can picture a tomato becoming a fruit from a vegetable (That means, when it turns from green to red. I know you guys lack imagination), that was me. She was standing by the bar, not drinking though. I scooped beside her and whispered, “Would you mind telling your name, cause I don’t buy strangers a drink?” You would say it wasn’t cool and smooth, but it did its work. “Linda, and I don’t want a drink, don’t bother”, she said. Dude, I dodged a bullet there. I could see she had a sparkle in her eye like she was very excited that I am talking to her, but that was obvious, who would miss a man like me. Okay, I am exaggerating. I am an average looking man with an ordinary life and shit load of money, the last part can’t help me now. So, I pull my balls up and say, “Linda, won’t you ask me my name?” She’s got an attitude, I can say that because she said, “Why should I?” This was, literally. the worst pick up I ever had. She was playing me, but I couldn’t let her go. She’s the only person I can talk to who can talk back to me. “Because, you know mine”, I said. She smacked her lips and said, “I have a hunch that you would tell it anyways.” “You guessed it right. I am David.” We found an empty booth and sat.
I sat right in front of her with palms facing outside and then she saw, she saw the syringe marks I got all over my hand. “I was a drug addict in my teens, took a hell of a job to get out of that. Eventually, I realized that shit was not doing me any good and kicked its ass”, I said. Not so bad on my starting line, I am getting into it I can see that. She leaned in, pushed her hair back and said, “I never really tried anything, but I want to now.” “Trust me, you don’t want that shit in your stream.” I heard a lot of people saying drugs and women get along, but this is the first time I believed that. Anyways, she looks like she doesn’t want to get high, but, hey, I am not getting high either. So, I pushed my luck a little more, “What is it that you want to do more, other than getting high?” She cleared her throat, “Maybe a lot a stuff. Nowadays, all I do is walk and stare. People do it all the time when they are down. But, I am not depressed or anything, I just like to do that. There are certain things that would make me feel alive, but I don’t think that will help.” I was kinda really hitting this on but, boy, am I really giving in for her?
We let each other tell the stories of our childhood. I never had a talk like this since my high school, but she knows how to bring back a person from the dead. A few minutes into the talking, I realized I was surrounded by a beautiful world around me. The aroma of the cooking, the Christmas buntings (they really must take them off, it’s way past Christmas), an old couple exchanging a sweet kiss and then there was Linda staring at me with her beautiful eyes. Staring back at them, I was lost and she had to call me back. Boy, when did my heart change the way it felt. Deep within, I knew this was all temporary. Once I tell her the truth, I will be back to normal. And, for the first time in my life, I was afraid. I was afraid I may lose her.
We didn’t really order anything from the restaurant. The waiters must have been ignoring the lady sitting and talking on her own (Well they couldn’t see me). An hour later, we left the place and started walking, where, I did not know. I kept my distance from her because a little touch would give her the chilly sensation she had never felt before. We enjoyed the silent walk throughout till we reached a park. “So, what do you like to do?” I asked. She gave me the most beautiful look she could muster and tried to grab my hand. But, I was quick, instead I scratched my head. “I want to tell you something, but I don’t know whether you would be the same once I did”, she said with her moist eyes. You should have been there to look at her because she was even more beautiful when she was crying. “You can tell me anything, you know that”, I say. She went mute after that, maybe she was considering it. Well, who knows what’s going in the head of a silent woman?
As you may have realized by now that I have changed and the reason being her, you know what was happening to me. I was in love. I was completely, absolutely, unconditionally in love with her. But, was she too? I get the vibe that she is interested in me. But does she love me? The only way to know that was to tell her how I fell about her. If she feels the same, I need to tell her I am dead and if she doesn’t, well, what more can a ghost could do rather than wandering about.
We were going in circles in the park, not getting bored of the silence. I was kinda bringing up all my courage to tell her that I love her. But, she was the one to break the silence first. “Before I tell you what I wanted to tell you, can we have a little adventure?” Well, hell yeah, my life’s been bored for five long years and it was getting better now. What bad could an adventure do? “Okay, I guess.” She led the way out of the park, on to the streets and all the way to the city centre where stood a church with an enormous bell on top of it. “I am guessing we are not here to ring the bell”, I said suspiciously. “That’s exactly what we are here for. When I was a kid, my dad was the priest of this church. Every Sunday, before the mass he used to take me up there and let me ring the bell. People from the city would gather upon hearing the bell; it was a great sight for a child’s eye. A year later, he threw himself off that tower and no one is allowed to go in there from then. Now, I want to ring the bell with you. Would you do it?” she said leading me to the back of the church where there was a staircase leading to the top of the tower. We reached the top without anyone noticing and there was this view of the city that was just entering the night light. How did I miss this? We pulled the bell pull together and the bell rang loud in our ears. “YOUR FATHER WOULD BE SO PROUD OF YOU RIGHT NOW”, I shouted sarcastically. She was laughing, I can see the true reason behind her laugh in those big beautiful eyes of hers.
“What do you think of death?” she asked glaring at me. I looked around watching the night sky blending in, thinking about the time I was alive and the moment I died and suddenly something dropped into my heart. It was heavy and sad and came bursting into my eyes. “It is depressing. One cannot enjoy death if he had not been grateful for what he had been living for. To leave everyone behind and being on your own, it sure sounds like coming of age but it has its own consequences. At the moment of your death, you know what runs through your mind, the regrets of your life. I have many in my life that I would somehow like to change them back. But, now, I can’t. I have to live with them and they will haunt me forever. What good can death bring when we are not happy living?” She smiled and said, “It brought me to you.” Now, that blew my mind completely. I did not know what she was talking about, “What do you mean?” She took a deep breath and said, “I threw myself from this tower four years back and died. I was dead for the past four years until you found me. It was your eyes that told me you can see me. So pure and concerned about the girl you just met. It was all there. Where else can a woman be safe rather than in the arms of the person she loves? I can say aloud to you because you are one I am in love with. It may have been a few hours since we met but I was in love with you from the second I saw you. Now, that you know I am a ghost it is up to you what to decide.”
It was like a bomb dropped on me. I did not know what to feel. Should I be sad that she was dead, or happy that she is dead and can be with me? The dilemma was killing me from inside (I know I am dead and nothing kills you when you are dead. It was just an expression). Of all the things that were going in my head there was one other thing that was sounding loud and I just knew what to do. She was looking down with tears trickling on her feet. I put my hand on her cheeks and pull closer into a kiss. I can tell she was in amazement even with my eyes closed. We pulled apart and she still has the awe on her face. She couldn’t utter a single word. I took the matter into my own hands and said, “I am dead too and I love you.” And, we resumed our kissing.
Fast forward to today, we are still enjoying our happily ever after out here in heaven. Seems like our both unfinished business was finding true love which now seemed to be obvious. After that longing kiss we had in that church tower, God opened the door for us to heaven. Seriously, it was not God though. We don’t see him often here. But the angels here are woohoo… “David, I am still here with you gawking at what you are scribbling on the clouds. People can see from down there, you know”, said Linda. “Don’t worry sweetheart, everyone loves the story of love”, David kissed her passionately.