I open my eyes and am plastered right into the scene of the Polaroid in my wallet. The restaurant is silent, the sizzling and clanging from the kitchen I remember so well is gone. The tangerine chairs and booths in the restaurant are all vacant, and the vibrant life other customers brought with them vanished. The large glass window that stretches along the entrance to the restaurant is blacked out. Like a void is all that's outside.
It'd be concerning if my eyes weren't focused on something more important. Something that commands my entire focus to it.
Just like the Polaroid, Catherine is here. She's not sitting on my lap to take the picture, instead sitting across from me at the table. Wearing her adorable white bell-bottom pants and her sky-blue shirt covered by a jean jacket with a cat head stitched to the shoulder. Even her silver earring is pricked on her left ear.
Picking every beautiful detail out of her body and reassessing it again and again, it'll never get old. She's like a work of art.
But this isn't what I want... She's saying nothing. Her crystal eyes and aquamarine hair are motionless.
This is a dream, right? I love looking at her, but I wish she'd say-
"How are you, Peaches?"
She's real.
...I haven't heard her voice in so long. It's soft, and airy and dances through my ears. My cheeks rise like balloons, inflated by her presence. Four words fill me with a warmth I haven't had in weeks.
"I've been great Catherine," I say, biting my cheek, staving off tears. But holding back just enough to keep from waking myself up. "I've missed you."
"I know. I've missed you too... I know you've been lonely since I've been gone." Her ocean eyes were miles away from mine, determined to drift and coast away from me.
"What's wrong Catherine?"
"It's just..." she finally locks her eyes with mine, "watching you today made me upset."
"What, why?"
Over the entire course of our marriage, I don't think I've seen her cry. And I don't want her to start now. So, I lean forward and take her hands in mine. They're smooth and warm, and melt away a lifetime of longing I'd felt when she left. They're so unlike the icicle hands she had the last time I held her.
"The way you gave up on the beautiful life you have when Astahe almost killed you. And not just today. How you've been living your life without purpose ever since I died. I know it's been hard. But your life is too short, and I don't want you to lose a second of it because of me."
"This isn't living Catherine! You were everything I could ever want! The sun is dark and cold when I go outside, my skin's rotting away and my bones feel hollow and weightless. Walking, eating, sleeping! None of it feels worth doing anymore. I can barely smile! It's been so hard to keep going. Life feels flat..." I give up on biting my cheek because nothing is stopping the rain of tears that are coming on. "What do I do without you!?"
Her hands steadily pull away from mine and slide along my cheeks, smearing the tears off my face and bringing my eyes up from my feet. "Well, what do you want to do?"
"I don't know." Before her, I just drifted through life. I wasn't unhappy, I just didn't know what I was missing. And now that I have a taste of it, what do I do without it?
"If that's the case, why not stay a Curator? At least until you find something you want. See amazing sights that you can tell me all about. Do amazing things and I'll be there to cheer you on. Meet extraordinary people who will fill the hole I left. Find your reason for living, something you can love as much as you loved me. And when you've lived a full life you'll naturally pass on, and I'll be here for you when you do."
"Really?"
"Really." Her smile draws closer to me as she leans in and presses her lips against mine. Even in a dream, her magical kiss fills my mind with a euphoric haze that clouds all my problems. The malicious static that had been buzzing in me settles against her gentle embrace. She pulls away and wipes the surviving tears rolling down my cheeks. "And if you wanted to find somebody else to be with while I'm gone, I wouldn't be mad. I want you to enjoy all of what life has for you."
"What!?"
"Like what about Victoria? She seems nice."
"I don't know what you've been looking at, but I could think of a thousand other ways to describe Victoria other than nice. And besides, how could I love anyone else when I have the perfect woman in front of me."
"Awww. You always had a way with words Peaches."
"Only for you." As I close my eyes and lean in for another kiss, a force rattled my side and my eyes crack open to reality. I'm lying on the couch I'd fallen asleep on, the chairs and tables are gone, and... so was Catherine.
"You were crying in your sleep, so I woke you up from your nightmare. You can thank me later."
Thank you? There was so much I still wanted to say. I wanted to ask who killed her, and how she feels about me leaving the apartment. I didn't even get the chance to say goodbye! Victoria can't leave me alone for one second!
"You rat!" I spring at her from the couch, a move she backsteps instantly. The lunge plants me on the carpet, but I jump for another grab that goes as well as the first. And another, and another. The skirmish leads us back to her garbage bin living room where I stay on her heels. And for the next hour and a half, out of red-faced anger I chase her around the entirety of the house with little success
At least I'm lasting longer than I did before.