A Ghostly Romance

"Thanks for the ride!" I shouted over my shoulder to Elizabeth as her car pulled away. I looked down at the card she had given me in order to call Nikita in case I wanted to know anything else. I held the book with my left hand as I unlocked the door with my right. I ran upstairs to my bedroom and closed the door behind me. I jumped onto my bed and looked at the closet door, sighing, before opening the book I bought at Madame Baskov's Fortunes.

It was a pretty thick book. Maybe about three hundred pages. I looked at the index which, alone, took up five pages. I scanned through the chapters until I found one that interested me most: Death of a Soul Mate: What Happens Next? p. 157.

I quickly turned to the page. This one definitely seemed to pertain to me. In fancy script read Chapter 32: Death of a Soul Mate. I ran my finger over the page before reading.

"What happens when one soul mate dies? They start their next life cycle, leaving the other soul mate alone. People die all the time. Their souls continue on. That's what makes soul mates so lucky and special. They literally get separated by time. As the difference in their ages continues to build up, they lose each other. After all, what five-year-old wants to be with a fifty-one year old? If they find each other, since not all souls do, it is truly a miraculous event.
This, however, is not the same for ALL soul mates. One extremely rare type, the Protector..."

I felt my heart begin racing. This would probably explain Michael and me. I continued reading.

"One extremely rare type, the Protector, does not follow the basic rules of soul mates as explained in the first chapters. The Protector and his/her soul mate (it is never clearly defined which gender is the actual Protector) do not continue their next life without the other. Considering the fact that the Protector soul mate must complete the Task in order to officially achieve happiness with its other half, unlike other soul mates, destiny decided to be kind and make their journies easier, by guaranteeing that the two do not get separated by time, making the Task easier to fulfill."

I looked at the page and looked at the next one, only to see that it started the next chapter. That's it? I thought. It did explain a lot though...Michael and I were meant to be with each other and that's that. I put the book down and looked at the closet. A smile crossed my face as I remembered the first time I met Michael. I would never have guessed that this random boy in my house would have been my soul mate. No wonder we clicked so easily...we've known each other for practically 1,253 years. Kind of. It's not like I actually remembered it.

I felt my eyes water as I remembered how nice it was to be with Michael. I used to be so lonely before he came along. Now he was gone...I haven't seen him for weeks and it was absolute torture. The last time I saw him was when he caught me kissing Kevin...I pushed the thought away. I didn't like to think of the pain that was so obvious in his eyes that day. I looked at the closed closet door and got off my bed, leaving the book on my pillow. I turned the knob to find it locked, just like the first time I tried it when I moved in. I knew there wasn't a lock and there technically was no possible way that it could be locked. If it wasn't for a certain seventeen-year-old ghost, I'd be able to walk into my closet.

"Michael?" I asked, knocking on the door. I wasn't one for confrontation but...I had to talk to him. "Can you please let me in? I want to talk to you."

I waited a couple seconds before trying the door knob again which opened easily, like it should. I closed the closet door behind me and reached blindly above me chain that turned on the light. I couldn't find it and got frustrated, waving my hand wildly, feeling nothing but empty air. I heard the *click* of the light as it turned on.

"Thanks," I said, sitting on the floor. "Michael, can we please talk? I haven't seen you in weeks..."

I looked around at the empty closet. One minute passed, two, then ten. The closet remained empty. After fifteen minutes, I didn't have to look around to know that Michael was with me. I could feel him there.

"Why should we talk?" he whispered softly from all around me, his voice coming from no distinct place.

"Because I miss you," I said, feeling a little out of character. Why did I say that?

"You shouldn't waste your feelings on someone who doesn't even exist," he whispered sadly. He was still no where in sight.

"You do exist, Michael," I said earnestly. "How else would I be able to talk to you?"

"I don't know," Michael said, slowly gathering himself. A mist began forming by my right side. I turned at an angle so I could see him better. The mist began getting thicker and was in the form of a body slouched next to me, until he was perfectly solid...well, looked solid. My eyes looked over his entire body. I couldn't help it. I haven't seen him in what felt like an eternity and here he was again. Right next to me. His messy black hair and blue eyes seemed more attractive than before.

He sighed and looked at me. "What?"

"Nothing," I said, reluctantly looking away from his face. I looked down at his hand which was on the floor by his side next to mine. I ignored the urge to place my hand in his.

"You said you wanted to talk," he said. "What about?"

"Why haven't you come to see me?" I asked, feeling my fingers twitch as I tried to restrain them from touching him.

He shrugged and looked down at my hand, then looked away.

"Why haven't you come to see me?" I repeated. I wanted to know why.

"There's no point in us talking to each other," he said, avoiding my eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?" I said. "There are plenty of reasons for us to talk with each other."

"Oh, really?" Michael said, his blue eyes piercing into mine. His voice remained quiet, but had an edge to it. "And what would that be? So we'd fall harder for each other?"

My heart began racing. He admitted it: he'd fallen for me just like I had for him.

"So we could pretend that something serious could happen between?" He exclaimed. "I'm dead. You're not. I'm holding you back from REAL people who you could actually have a relationship with. This," he said, pointing between himself and I, "would never work. Ever. It's not possible, Dani. We might as well get over it."

"So you were trying to...?"

"Yes. Get over you." He said harshly. "And it'd be best if you did the same and forget you ever met me."

"But, Michael," I said, feeling a pain in my chest. "We could work together. I mean, I-"

"No, Dani," he said again, standing. "There'd be no point. It'd all be in vain. Nothing can happen."

"Look, Michael," I said. Feeling hopeful, I ran out of the closet to get the book off my bed. "This explains everything! Why we clicked so quickly, why you're still here, and WHY we're meant to be. We're soul mates and I'm pretty sure you're my Protector."

He looked at me curiously before taking the book from my hands and flipping through the pages, pausing slightly at the picture which Nikita had explained earlier was him in one of his past lives.

"That's you," I said, pointing at it.

He shook his head and flipped through the rest quickly before putting it down on the bed. His blue eyes stared into my own and I felt my heart flutter.

"You don't actually believe this garbage, do you?" he asked.

"It's not garbage, Michael," I said, feeling like I was talking to a complete stranger. "It's true. It explains everything."

He shook his head. "Dani, just let it go. Honestly. There's no reason to show me this nonsense as if it actually means something."

"Michael, please," I begged. "Don't leave me. It can work between us. You just need to perform the Task and then-"

"Just stop," he said, holding up his hand and slowly walking back to the closet. "Nothing will happen here. At all. Ever."

"Don't you want it to?" I asked, feeling exposed and vulnerable.

"Dani," he said softly, looking into my eyes. His hardened expression softened slightly. "It's not going to work."

His voice had lost its aggressiveness and had taken on a more defeated tone.

"It's not going to work," he repeated quietly, sitting next to me on the bed.

"And why not?" I asked, trying to place my hand on his, but, as always, went right through him. It no longer surprised me like it used to.

"We can't do anything, Dani," he said, looking at me. "I can't hold you or kiss you or..."

"What?" I asked.

"I can't do what Kevin can." he said. "Do you have any idea how I felt when I saw you with him?"

I shook my head, feeling guilty.

"I was jealous that he was doing what I never had the guts to do. Upset because I knew I could never do that," he said, "But, above all, I was extremely pissed. It took everything in my power not to punch Kevin for doing that. I realized that...there was no point in me doing that. I can't do that to you and...I couldn't make you as happy as someone who's actually alive."

"Michael," I said, reaching for his hand. "You make me happier than any other guy on this planet and we're not even together."

"You're just saying that because you feel bad," he said, looking away.

"I'm not, Michael." I said, softly. "You really do mean a lot to me."

"It doesn't matter," he said, frustration in his voice. He stood up and began pacing.

"Of course it does!" I exclaimed. "I love you and you love me. We're meant to be."

His eyes watered slightly as he turned to me. He raised his hand and tried to stroke my cheek. I felt nothing but a small chill.

"Did you feel that?" He asked.

I looked away from him.

He concentrated on his hand for a couple seconds before stroking my cheek again. I felt his warm skin touch my own and reached for his hand, which disappeared again.

"It's hard to do that, Dani," he said, standing up. "It takes too much energy. There's no point to any of this. We need to get over each other and move on."

"Michael, it's-"

"Dani, stop," he exclaimed angrily standing up. "It won't work."

He vanished in thin air. Within seconds I knew he was officially gone.

"Michael..." I called after him. An overwhelming feeling of hopelessness filled my body. I looked at the book that was next to me and threw it at the wall. No stupid book would make him come back to me.