Things They Don't See

We ended up in the garden, specifically the rose garden. Eli calls it his second home. "I remember when my mom first planted the bulbs for the rose garden," he leans down and smells a bright, red rose before picking it. "Here, this is for you, Abby." I take the rose from his fingers and bring it up to my nose so I can smell its sweet scent. I look up at him and ask, "How did the tradition of giving bright, red roses start?" He breathes in deeply and exhales before starting, "My father would gift my mother with them when he was still vying for her love. Unbeknownst to him, my mother had liked him since the first moment they met. She was not able to deny her feelings for him. He told me that when he asked my mother's father, my grandfather, for her hand in marriage, he was so nervous, but he was then overjoyed when her father said approved of the marriage. On their wedding day, as my mother says, she was the happiest woman in the world because she finally became Sylvia Grace Phippen, wife of Andrew Marshall Phippen. My mother was amazing. She was loving and nurturing and patient. And a exquisite cook." We both laugh at the face he makes, which is one of reminiscence.

His gaze moves up to the sky. "I wish my sisters, Olivia Emmaline and Elzina Jane, were here in person to meet you. You all would love each other. They were such wonderful young women. They loved to cook just like our mother. They were really good at it too. They would cook, and I would be the test dummy. No dish was ever terrible. I know I can talk to them, but I wish you could, too. I have not seen them in a while. They are visiting my parents in what they call 'their heaven.' I miss their smiles and laughs. They are the most terrific sisters I could have ever asked for," he states to me. I look at him and wonder if they look like him. Brown hair with natural red and blonde highlights, blue eyes, tanned skin. "Did they...do they look like you?" I inquire. He smiles, "Olive has the same color hair as me and the same skin color, but she has brown eyes. Her face looks a bit like mine but more round. She is of course shorter. Elzie is, too. Elzie is paler and has red hair like our mother, and her eyes are green like our grandfather's. She has pretty freckles, too." He looks at me as if to ask 'Did I give you a good picture?' I smile and nod.

Eli gazes into my eyes. I can't believe how blue those eyes are. It's my turn to feel the heat. I feel the blush in my cheeks. I break the mutual gaze and look down at my feet. "Don't," he says as he tentatively lifts my chin. I look back into his eyes. We stay like this for a moment before he unhurriedly leans his head down. I close my eyes and feel the brush of his lips against mine. Then, he kisses me...for real. He wraps his right arm around me and slides his left hand up to my cheek. I place my hand on his right arm and my other hand on his neck. After a moment, Eli pulls away, but we stay all wrapped up in each other. I giggle. He chuckles. I doesn't matter that he isn't breathing or that he's translucent. His soul is living. It is very much alive, and that is all that matters. His god damn beautiful soul. We lean in again, and the kiss is less unsettled. It is more fluid and deep. I press myself against him when he pushes against me. We stand there, clasped to each other, exchanging our first kiss. He rubs my back with his right hand. I run my fingers on his neck. We both pull away at the same time.

I'm surprised when we pull away that he's breathing a tiny bit heavily like I am. But he's physically dead. How is that possible? He gives me a look and laughs. "You know, you can take the body away from a human soul, but you can't take the human soul from the earth. It's instinct. I can't help but breathe even when if I don't need to. I need to sometimes though," he says. I'm a bit astounded by that. "You breathe? Really?" I say, shocked. "Well, when I feel close to people, it seems that the love brings me to life." "Maybe, I can make you breathe, too," I say before I can shut my mouth. That was supposed to stay in my mind. He would have heard it anyways. "You did," he admits, almost shyly, "That heaving breath was not fake, my dear Abby."
"But how can you possibly breathe if you don't have a physical heart?"
"Because I have a soul and a heart even if it isn't physical anymore."
I raise my hand to where his heart should be. "Can I?" I ask.
He takes my hand in his and puts it on my his chest, where his heart should be...is. I can feel it beat against my palm, and it sends electricity through my soul. His hand is still caressing mine. I put my other one onto his chest. He leans in and kisses me again. We're completely engulfed in our feelings and passion running through our veins.

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We spent almost an hour in the rose garden. Most of the time was spent holding each other and making Eli breathe for real. The rest of the time was spent talking about our families. I still didn't have the courage to tell Eli about my mother yet. It's still hard for me to talk about her anyways, but I told him about my dad and my stepmom. I tell him about Sammy and all he did to me. "In my day, he would have been beaten by his mother then his father because he would be disrespecting his parents." I leaned my head on his chest and said, "Thank you." "You're welcome, sweetheart."

At noon, Eli left me. He said he needed to tend to some business with his home. He wouldn't tell me what that was though. He kissed me once more before leaving me in the rose garden. I waited a few minutes before I left the rose garden and went up to my room to grab my purse. I called a cab to get to downtown. I needed to spend some time at the diner to think about what happened today. I sat at my usual table in the diner when I got there, but this time I noticed the pictures on the wall. There were two girls in one of the pictures. They looked like they were sisters and looked like someone else I've seen before. Under the picture, a paper was attached. It read: "Olivia Emmaline Phippen and Elzina Jane Phippen at their home outside of Gettysburg." Oh my god! They're Eli's sisters! They were beautiful just like Eli said. I looked at the rest of the photos on the wall. They all had names under them of the town's former inhabitants. Names like Tempy, short for Temperance, and Maxy, short for Maxwell, common occurrences. Names I've barely seen before. One name that stood out to me was Johannah Caroline Smithy. She was standing next to a handsome boy, a boy that looked like Eli. He never told me about Johannah. Maybe it's painful for him. Maybe he doesn't remember. Maybe she betrayed him or her soul isn't here on earth anymore. Before I can think of anymore 'maybes,' my usual waitress arrives and asks me if I'm ready to order.