FicWad

I reached up to wipe the tear away with the pad of my thumb, my fingers sweeping across his cheek and then lingering for a moment before I slowly leant in. ‘This is crazy,’ I thought to myself, ‘he’s dead for god’s sake!’. My breathing became choked and shallow, my palms sweating out enough liquid to quench the thirst of the Sahara and my heart strained inside my chest, smashing against my ribs, tugging me closer to Gerard. I hovered in front of him for a few seconds; he looked like a deer caught in the headlamps of a car. Finally, I reached over the small chasm between us and caught Gerard’s lips in my own in a chaste kiss. He smelt faintly of lavender and cigarettes, a strange combination that shouldn’t work, but did. His eyelashes tickled my cheek as his body tensed, then relaxed against mine.

My mind swam; I was kissing Gerard, a ghost, a dead person! This is wrong, you can’t have a relationship with a ghost, it just would not work, and it’s not healthy. You can’t get married or grow old together, and when I die, how do I know I’ll become a ghost? I’d just be leaving him alone forever. My heart and mind battled each other as I began to lose myself in the kiss, space and time were irrelevant, all that mattered was Gerard’s soft lips against my own, and his hands on my hips, his thumbs rubbing soft circles into my skin.

“Well now that’s such a sweet sight.” A woman’s voice behind me startled me out of my trance.

I turned to see a tall, pale lady, with short white hair and huge, violet eyes rimmed with dark lashes. She wore a long, lacy white dress and a small smile on her pale face. I stared at her, confused as to how she was able to see me and Gerard. She giggled.

“My oh my, it is not often I see a ghost and a mediator in such a,” her eyes darted back and forth between Gerard and I as she searched for the right word, “an intimate relationship.” She smiled a sweet, haunting smile.

I noticed Gerard shrink back from her as I cleared my throat, trying to get over the shock of being interrupted.

“So, um, who are you? And err, what is a mediator?” I asked tentatively.

The woman chuckled.

“I am much the same as you, Frank, and you are a mediator.”

“Me?” I squeaked, baffled by her answer.

“But what is a mediator?” Gerard stepped in, a small frown present on his face. The woman sighed and rolled her eyes.

“A mediator is the name humans have given to those of their kind that can interact with spirits. In the realm of spirits we give them a different name, but it is easier if we stick to something closer to home, no?” She explained, with a hint of boredom on her voice.

“I guess.” I mumbled. “But what do you want with me?”

“Simply to guide you in your earthly duties, and also to educate you as a mediator.”

I narrowed my eyes at her.

“Do I have to?” I was conscious that agreeing to anything might be seen as a contract that I would be bound to for life.

She paused for a moment as though she needed to think about the question.

“No, you do not have to. It is a gift, not a job.” She smiled warmly, her shocking violet eyes staring into my own.

I sighed, despite her words, this felt as though it were something I could not refuse.

“Okay, I’ll do what you want. Just as long as it doesn’t get me killed or something.” I shrugged, heart hammering against my chest.

She simply smiled again. There was something so hauntingly beautiful about it, but every time I saw it, shivers of instinctual fear would crawl down my spine.

“Good. Be here on Tuesday, at 7:30pm.” In contrast to her former mood, she said this with an indifferent expression and a bored voice.

She ghosted away down the street, becoming a slowly smaller speck before disappearing altogether. Mesmerised by her, I could not tear my eyes away. She was truly the most peculiar person I had ever met. I felt a hand on my shoulder and turned to see Gerard staring up at me with wide, questioning eyes.

“Frankie?” He said it softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

I turned my head away; I could not look at him right now. I was battling myself, my mind told me that I was a fool, that how could I ever fall for a ghost. What future was there? None. But my heart kept on pleading to my head ‘I love him, I love him’ and it was tearing me apart. I needed to get away and think over my feelings, so much has happened to me in the past few days, how could anyone think clearly after discovering that they could see ghosts, then fall in love with a ghost, then be told they had an unearthly duty to spirits? That is too much for anyone, let alone a seventeen year old boy.

“Frankie?” Gerard repeated himself, a hint of panic in his voice. His eyes showed fear. Fear of rejection, fear of an unending loneliness.

“I have to go Gerard. It’s late. I’ll see you around.” I said, trying my best to hide the rainbow of emotions coursing through me. Gerard simply slumped against the tree, defeated. I got up and walked away slowly, unsure if I would ever return to him.