It was 2 am, and a man with a bouquet of flowers had arrived at a graveyard.
He wore a raincoat slightly bigger than his size.
"Damn, there's so many molds."
He placed the bouquet of mixed jasmine and roses on the tombstone.
After a hand stretching, he went to the shed.
The light squeak of the shed's door greeted him.
"Scapers, brush… uh, where did I leave the scrub?"
"Don't tell me I accidentally– oh wai,t never mind."
Not long after that, he went back with the tools he got.
"Hannah, are you proud of me?" He said while scraping the mold.
"I got a new personal best." He said while grabbing a water bottle.
It had been raining for a bit before he got there.
It was still cloudy, so no moonlight appeared.
Next to the graveyard was full of puddles.
"Hannah, your mom baked a cake for your dad today," said the man while pouring water on the tombstone.
"I helped her a litt—" The man paused at the sound of flying crows
"I helped her a little… by tasting it," He continued, smiling while scrubbing the tombstone.
"It was great, and we had a little surprise party after he got home," said the man swabbing.
The man later sighed and said, "Has it really been 2 years?"
After the clean-up, the man went back to the shed.
He placed all the tools.
After locking the shed, he went back to the tombstone.
He moves his head towards it and kisses it. "See you tomorrow." He said while waving.
A breeze and light drizzle appeared.
"Is it raining?" He said calmly.
He went to the gate of the graveyard. But before he stepped a foot outside.
Within the blink of an eye, fogs cover the grave.
Panicked, the man took out his flashlight.
While planning to run away, a tiny rattle and a light appear beside him.
From the light, a hand appeared. It was glowing faintly.
The man was shivering, unable to move.
He froze, accepting whatever the outcome of all this.
The face of the person basking in light finally went through.
It was a rather familiar face to the man.
A face he longed for to reunite.
The rest of the person's body moved forward.
It was a woman dressed up in a funeral gown.
"Conrad?" Said the woman.
"Hannah?" Replied the man.
"I guess this is what happens when you're awake for 28 hours straight." Murmured Conrad.
"Really? You, of all people." Whispered Hannah.
"Pardon?" Asked Conrad while trying to stand up.
His raincoat got dirty from the mud.
"Nothing." Replied Hannah.
Conrad's body was still shivering.
Hannah then reached her hand towards Conrad.
"Get up." She said.
"I need to go home quick." Said Conrad before standing.
He then turned around and slapped his face.
"Conrad…" Said Hannah, who was starting to whimper.
"I missed you…" She said as her tears started to fall.
Conrad, still in disbelief, now froze up.
He never believed in anything supernatural.
"So, are you a ghost or some kind?" Said Conrad calmly.
Hannah then replied. "I guess you could call me that."
Conrad then turned around and slowly walked towards Hannah.
He then poked Hannah's face.
"What are you doing?" She said.
"I thought ghosts can phase through things." He said while backing out.
Hannah then pinched Conrad's nose.
"Nope." She said slowly with a smile on her face.
Conrad is now in excruciating pain.
"Stop it, please." He said.
After that, she released his nose.
"Ouch, that hurt… almost forgot how strong you are." He said.
Hannah, after hearing that then, chuckled.
There was a brief pause for a moment.
Conrad's breath started to stutter.
Then, his eyes began to tear up.
Not long after that, it streams up his cheeks.
He then lunged his body at her and hugged her tight.
"I missed you…" He said while his mouth was dug deep into Hannah's left shoulder.
Hannah, startled by this, began hugging him back.
She brushed his back gently.
"Hey… at least take off your raincoat first…" She said before snickering.
Conrad then stepped back while holding her shoulder.
He gazed at her for a few moments.
"You look so beautiful… especially in this gown you have right now." He said.
She giggled for a sec.
"Thank you."
"Conrad, it's been a while…"
"I love you." She said.
"I love you too." He replied.
Conrad then let his hands down and sighed.
"So what am I experiencing now…" He said.
"Uh… how do I say this."
"Basically, I can travel to both the world of the living and the world of the dead." She said
Conrad tilted his head in confusion.
"Huh, so the afterlife IS real… Interesting." He said
"Uh yeah, but it's not really what you think." She said.
"How so?" He said.
"You'll know when you get there someday." She said.
"Oh, you're a bummer as always." He said.
"Sorry, I can't make it concise." She said before facing back.
Conrad then went to nearby rockpiles.
"Come on, sit." He said while patting the rock next to him.
"Let's catch up for a moment." He said.
Both of them then sat.
"Are you still in touch with my parents?" She said.
"Yes, and they're doing great by the way." He said.
"I'm glad."
"I wish I could meet them." She said while smiling.
"Maybe I could bring them here tomorrow or something." He said before chuckling.
"Yeah, but it'd be impossible." She said before looking at the sky.
There was a brief silence between the two.
"So about traveling between the world of the dead and the world of the living."
"Are you gonna be back to the afterlife?" He said.
" Unfortunately, I have a duty there." She said before standing up.
"You–" She said before cutting herself.
"What?" He said.
Hannah then shook off her her.
"I hope you're doing fine after I left again." She said.
"N,o no, you were about to say something else." He said while his voice heightened.
Hannah then clenched her fist.
"I said what I said." She said.
Conrad then quickly grabbed Hannah's hand.
"You're lying…" He said.
"Fine…" She said before letting out a sigh.
"You could…" She said while her pupils stared anywhere but Conrad's face.
"Come with me to the afterlife…" She said while sounding defeated.
Conrad, taken aback by this, started laughing.
"You're kidding, right?"
"So what, I should kill myself?" He said.
"No."
"I can bring you there."
"My power can let me bring anyone there."
"But I can only use it twice." She said softly.
"Oh, thank god." He said.
She clenched her jaw before letting it out.
She took a deep breath and said.
"This afterlife is not an amazing place."
"Are you REALLY sure you want to go there?"
Conrad then placed his hand on Hannah's face.
"As long as I can be with you one more time…"
"Yes."
"Worst case scenario, you can bring me back again, right?"
Hannah's face turned from shock to a smile.
"Yes." She said.
Hannah then walked toward her tombstone.
"I need to do a ritual to link the two worlds."
"So stay back for a bit."
Hannah then performed a complex hand gesture.
Within both of her hands, there's a green ball of light.
"Hold my hand quick." She said
After a few seconds, a bright light appeared, blinding both Hannah and Conrad. Within an instant, they arrived in the middle of a forest in the middle of the night.