Page 79 of A Ballad of Phantoms and Hope
He practically runs to the doors and through the silent corridors. I follow slowly, remaining far behind so they can have a moment to themselves. Like a true phantom, I spectate, lingering and admiring their love from afar.
I crest the top of the stairs in time to see them standing five feet apart. They seem stunned by the moment. I was expecting to see Elanor’s haunting face again, but her features have returned. Soft skin, blue eyes, and red curly hair that drops down to her mid-back. Her smile is that of an angel.
“Gregory,” she says as tears fall.
He closes the distance between them in a few big steps and scoops her into his arms. “My Ellie. Here you are.” Gregory twirls with her in his arms. Their foreheads are pressed together with heartache, anguish, and love.
“I’ve waited lifetimes for you, my love. You are just as you were.” Elanor kisses him, and together, they laugh.
Something deep in my chest settles with their union. Love never truly dies. Time cannot steal everything away from us. Not this. Not the soft kisses and whispers in the dusk of the world. Not the ache that nestles inside our chests and blooms when our eyes catch. Love, in its purest form—our ghosts.
Elanor notices me leaning against the wall at the end of the corridor and smiles brightly at me. Then, the smile quickly fades.
“Where is the woman who accompanied you?”
I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from getting emotional. “I seem to have lost her as you lost your Gregory.” My voice breaks.
Her eyes soften and she walks toward me.
“Even then, you kept her promise to me?” Elanor asks sadly, thoughtfully. “I’ll give you this, young ghost.” I raise my eyes to hers as she extends her hand out to mine. I expose my palm to her and she drops a small stone into the center of my hand. It’s black and smooth… it looks familiar, but I can’t place it.
“What is it?”
Elanor smiles. “It is onyx. A symbol of strength and hope. May you find her.”
Liam used to have tons of these. My hand closes over the stone. “Thank you.”
The two phantoms meet in the dark halls of the cathedral, their hands enveloping each other. Together, they walk toward something I cannot see. Then, just as Yelina and Jericho had, they disappear, leaving behind traces of gilded dust.
I may be the only phantom left here on the darkest of nights, but my soul has never emanated so much hope.
Clutching the stone, I whisper, “I’m not afraid of your darkness, Ophelia. We are the light.”
35
Ophelia
Is therea reality of being that is neither here nor there?
I think perhaps that is where I am. Cocooned in blankets that smell of pages and coffee. Lanston’s drawings are crumpled in my hands, pressed tightly against my chest.
He is my only comfort, my only thought. Even when I’m at war within myself, he’s here.I love you, I want to whisper to him even though I know he will not hear it, cuddled in sheets.I’ve loved you all along.
A small voice whispers above me from outside the blankets. It doesn’t sound like the darkness that chases me, it’s someone else; someone familiar.
“Ophelia.”
My eyes slowly open and I lift my head to the voice. “Yelina?”
The blanket unfolds and delicate hands reach for me, pulling me from the misery and dark. A dull pain throbs through my chest as I stare at the four people before me.
Jericho, Yelina, and two phantoms I don’t recognize.
I survey the female’s dress and recall seeing it on Elanor, dancing mournfully through the cathedral halls. “Elanor?”
She smiles, a beautiful thing to behold. Her hair is red with tight curls and freckles spread across her fair skin. “Hello, Ophelia.” She follows my eyes as I look at the young man beside her. Elanor slips her hand into his and she says cheerfully, “Lanston found my love—my Gregory.”
Tears brim in my eyes. “How did the four of you find me?”
