Haunting Grey

Leaves crunched under my boots as I walked along the path to our spot. When I was released from the hospital, I convinced my dad to let me go into the woods.

I needed to say goodbye.

"Nat, are you here?" I whispered, in case anyone was listening.

No one ever was.

No one was ever in these woods, because they knew better.

"Grey."

Natalie was leaning against a tree, a few feet from me, her face whole and beautiful. She flickered, then, her body in and out of focus.

I glanced down at the soil underneath my feet. "This is your death spot," I murmured. "Nat, this is where you died."

She blinked at me, her eyes glistening with tears, and bent down. She touched the dirt, her fingers coming away with specks of brown.

"Why did I have to die?"

"I don't know," I told her gently. "I'm so sorry."

"Why are you here?" She turned her face away from me.

I reached out to touch her cheek, and I felt cold air against my palm.

"Who did this?" she asked.

"The woods," I answered. "They were always taking things from us, for years, but we never noticed. We were too focused on having fun, that we never saw what we were losing. It took pieces form us, so small we barely realized."

"It took me." Natalie's voice was harsh. "How is that fair?"

"It's not." I shook my head. "Of course it's not."

"Everything happens for a reason, right?" she scoffed. "What is the reason for my death? You're still alive. Why didn't the woods take you too?"

"I can't answer that, I don't think anyone can."

"What happens now?"

I closed my eyes briefly, then opened them. "You need to go. Can't you feel it? You can't be here anymore. The woods are pulling you away."

She tilted her head up to the sky. The sunlight slid through her incorporeal form. When she looked back at me, she nodded.

"I love you, Travis," she said. "Always."

When she disappeared, I was able to breathe again.



My room felt so empty without Natalie in it, sitting on my bed, reading my books, or watching movies, curled up next to me with her head on my chest.

The memories were heavy, and I wouldn't forget them.

Natalie would always be with me, but my place was here.

I rolled over and shut my eyes, begging my brain and body to sleep. Suddenly, cold brushed the skin of my hand, almost wrapping around it.

And I knew she was never going to be far from me.