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"Say no more, Logan. I'm all in. Let’s bring Ben back, and let’s do it right," she declared, her voice firm and unyielding.
* * *
When I returned home after work, Ben's eager, ghostly face greeted me. "So, how did it go?"
"Holly's on board," I announced as I kicked off my shoes, excitement bubbling in my voice.
"Really?" Ben's translucent form glimmered like a lantern. "That's amazing.”
"Yeah, and guess what? We're going a bit off-script. We’re doing the Lunar Covenant instead of the Solaris Incantation," I added.
"Lunar Covenant?" Ben's eyebrows shot up. "Sounds like a secret society. Do I need a password?"
"No password, just a willingness to spend some vacation time in the afterlife each year," I explained.
"A ghost's version of time-share, huh?" Ben chuckled. "What's the fine print?"
"The fine print is you get to spend most of the year here, with me," I grinned. "But, you’ll need to clock some spectral hours on the other side. Think you can manage?"
"As long as the other side has a decent espresso machine, I’m good," Ben chuckled.
"Your coffee addiction is otherworldly, you know that?" I laughed. “Particularly since you can’t smell or taste it.”
“But it’s so—dark. If I get to haunt an espresso machine for a month each year, consider it a deal," Ben said playfully. "So, when's the big night?"
"Four days from now. It aligns with the full moon and, believe it or not, it's on Halloween," I laid it out.
Ben let out a low whistle. "Could the timing be any more dramatic? This is like the season finale of our lives."
"I know, right? Very Hollywood. Let’s just hope it’s more rom-com than horror," I said, rubbing the back of my neck nervously.
"Given our track record, I'd say it's a dramedy. High stakes with punchlines," Ben mused. "You nervous?"
"Terrified," I admitted. "You?"
"I'm already dead, darling. It's all up—or down—from here," Ben said, but I saw the intensity of his concern in his eyes.
I took a deep breath. "If we pull this off, it's not just a fling with mortality. You'll be back for the long haul."
Ben's eyes met mine. "Long haul sounds pretty damn perfect from where I’m floating."
"It's a date then," I replied, my heart pounding so loudly I was sure he could hear it. "A Halloween date with destiny."
Ben's laugh enveloped the room like a warm blanket. "It's a date, but if I show up in a ghost costume, you can’t hold it against me."
"Deal," I confirmed. Four days. We were either ticking down to a brand-new beginning or an end neither of us could bear.
Ben
Nothing could stop us but my anxiety.
Logan had just left for work, his quiet footsteps a fading echo in the hall. The apartment felt empty without him. My translucence seemed even more hollow than usual.
Two days, just two days until the ritual. But doubt clawed at the edges of my thoughts. What if I was risking the only thing that had given my afterlife a shred of meaning?
The air shimmered as I focused every fiber of my being on calling Eleanor, the most experienced and powerful ghost I knew. She materialized, her existence spreading out and filling the room.
She was a spirit queen if ever there was one—glittering eyes the color of distant galaxies, flowing robes of cosmic mist, and nearly a thousand years of experience in the afterlife. Calling her my friend humbled me.
