"Elijah? Is that you?"
Elijah's hands opened. "It's me, Bernice."
Bernice stared intently at the approaching figure, as if what she was experiencing was a dream. But the young man with the hazel-brown hair - now quite long - was real. Tears instantly streamed down Bernice's cheeks, she ran and immediately threw her arms around him.
"Elijah!!!"
"Wow, slow down. My leg hurts," Elijah replied with a smile. He hugged Bernice and smiled in relief. "I'm glad you didn't throw a shoe at me."
Bernice let go of the hug. "Why would I do that?"
"Probably because you saw a ghost?"
"You're real."
"I am."
Bernice smiled. "Even if you were a ghost, I wouldn't do that, Eli."
Lucas was already standing behind Bernice, his face red with emotion. He hugged Elijah and Lucas' soft sobs finally broke through.
"Shit, I thought you were dead," Lucas sobbed.
"You want me to just die?"
