9

You never believed in ghost stories until you found yourself in one.

Based on the stories you had heard and read from the past, horror films that you had watched with your family and friends, once you had acknowledged the presence of a lingering lost ghost, it would cling unto you.

Hauntings were rare, but it was never not a possibility. Once you had invited them into your own world, basking your own presence, even just merely talking to them as if you cared, letting them know you see and hear them, they would never leave. A ghost could be a soul tied up to the location where they last existed, trapped, never realizing that they were already dead or fighting for their life. They had an unfinished business here in the living or they were just merely waiting to be transcended.

You guessed that was Wanda's case.

It would help on concluding why your apartment had always been in the available listings for almost six months. The last time it was inhabited was just a week since Wanda went into a coma. The person didn't have second thoughts on leaving due to the unexplained knockings on doors and walls, and the cries from a woman begging to be noticed.

And you did notice Wanda. Are you being haunted by Wanda's ghost then?

This would be your first encounter with a ghost. Wanda's spirit. The one you've fallen in love with. If your friends could see you know, friends that used to tell you about their own paranormal experience, they would laugh at you and say 'I told you so'.

But Wanda's spirit was lost, roaming around in her apartment, not knowing why she was stuck on the same place, doing the same things because no one could see her. Until you, of course.

You were sitting on a chair, looking at the same Wanda you had met and known for months. She was laying on an inclined bed, with tubes attached to her nose and mouth to help her live. The heart rate monitor told you her heartbeat was normal as if she was just peacefully sleeping, just like the time you spent on staring at her while asleep.

No matter what state the brunette was in, she was still stunningly gorgeous. Her hair was somewhat shorter than the one you knew, with slightly balded part on the top of her head. You figured that was where she was hit leading to her coma.

It was a breakup gone bad, Pietro said two hours ago, when he escorted you to the hospital room where Wanda was at. After multiple times of convincing Pietro about seeing Wanda, ignoring his knowing glances thinking you were going insane, you had managed to get through him.

Wanda had enough of the cheatings her ex-girlfriend had done to her, causing the brunette to dump said girl. Just like the stories her ghost told you.

What the woman didn't expect was her ex-girlfriend would commit such a thing after the breakup.

Wanda had just gone home that night. Pietro even gave her a ride home, since she had just bought her groceries, consisting of mostly oranges. Her favorite.

Her brother never realized it would be the last time he'd see her lively and well, when he dropped her off at the main entrance of her apartment building.

According to the police report, Wanda was attacked the moment she reached the door to her own apartment by her deranged ex-girlfriend who's now behind bars. She pushed the brunette into her unit, even choked her by the bruise they found on her neck. Wanda was able to escape from her tight hold but then the blue flower vase she had nearby was a lot more lethal. She hit the poor girl with such force, the vase broke into pieces, ending Wanda with a wide gash on the top of her head, immediately causing her unconscious and almost dead.

Panicking, the ex-girlfriend left the apartment in a hurry, even forgetting to close the door. If she had closed it, Wanda's neighbor wouldn't notice the ajar door to her apartment the very next day. They wouldn't have attempted to knock on the door and found out the mess of oranges by the doorway. They wouldn't have reported the crime when they saw Wanda's almost lifeless body in the bathroom. They wouldn't have saved Wanda who was almost dead on arrival at the hospital's emergency room, having lost too much blood.

Due to guilt, her ex-girlfriend surrendered to the authorities and reported what she had committed. But the police couldn't figure out why the reports didn't align. Wanda's neighbor found her body in the bathroom. While the suspect's statement said she left her in the living room.

You saw Wanda's spirit again later that evening when one of the nurses announced that visiting hours were over so you decided to go home. The door to the brunette's unit was slightly open again and you thought Pietro got home before you.

But when you entered, it was the same scene you had witnessed before the moment you saw the oranges scattered on the floor. This time you didn't get scared. This time you entered the apartment without any hesitation, wanting to see Wanda. To really see her.

Wanda was dragging the lifeless body towards her bathroom, leaving a trail of blood on the floor. Her body. Her own.

You felt so guilty how you hadn't noticed the signs before. How she was trying to tell you everything but she couldn't because she couldn't even tell herself she was almost dead. Ghosts are always confused, believing they're still part of the living when they're partly not.

"Wanda," you softly called out to her, your voice almost breaking, tears threatening to spill from your eyes. It was truly a heartbreaking scene.

Wanda let go of the body with a thud and looked at you. Now you could see her face full of upset and worry. "I... I just want to clean the head... It was all dirty and the blood makes the room dirty."

So it was Wanda after all. It was her who pulled the body from the living room to the bathroom.

The brunette suddenly broke in a sobbing mess. You quickly went towards her and wrapped your arms around her shaking fragile body in a tight hug. "Hey, hey, it's okay... it's gonna be okay."

It all felt so real, you could even smell her, feel her body pressed to yours, now realizing she had always been cold. You buried your head into her hair as you tightened the hug, closing your eyes when you did, feeling her, feeling sorry for everything you had ever accussed the brunette. You let the tears escape from your eyes.

When she had finally stopped crying, she pulled away from the hug as she straightened her clothes. Gone was her lifeless body on the floor and the blood that came from it.

"How silly of me...," Wanda's voice brought you to the present, sniffling as she wiped the tears from her face. "Are you hungry? I made Chicken Paprikash earlier, let me just reheat it in the microwave."

And right there on her dining table as the brunette walked towards the area, you could literally see her own dish that wasn't there minutes ago, you could even smell it from a distance, making you wonder how any of this wasn't real at all. That she was only a ghost unknowingly reliving her last day, sharing it with you.

When you went to join her in the kitchen as she placed the food in the microwave, you realized then that your stomach wasn't hurting that day because you thought the dish had human meat in it. But it was because you didn't actually eat anything that very night she offered the food to you.

"I'm sorry, Wanda," you croaked out, biting off another sob. "I'm sorry for not seeing it before... I'm sorry for accusing you of being a murderer when you're actually not..."

She turned to look at you, with eyes unfazed and warm. "It's okay, Y/n... We get confused sometimes... I always find myself wondering if this was a dream or not..." Then she abruptly stopped when the microwave beeped behind her. "You must be so hungry... Come join me."

When you came back to your own apartment later, you felt heavier than before. Would it be better to wish Wanda was a serial killer instead rather than seeing her suffer here and in the hospital, stuck and waiting for what's going to happen next?

What you didn't expect was her knocking on your door at around 10pm, inviting herself in as you both watched another episode of Friends. As if nothing just happened, like it was just the same as before. That you didn't just figure out you were only with Wanda's spirit, clinging unto you because you were the only one who could be with her.

You both even attempted to make love that night in your own bed. Although, at first there was hesitation when she noticed you crying into the kiss.

"What's wrong, Y/n?" she cooed softly, her hands cradling your face as she pressed her forehead against yours, her body straddling on top of you.

And you only shook your head, letting the tears fall from your eyes as you said nothing. Then you met her lips in an insistent kiss to avoid the conversation. The following day, she wasn't there in your bed anymore.

You had been visiting Wanda in the hospital during your lunch break at work. Pietro had even gotten used to your presence that you became fast friends. You tried talking to her, but you knew she wasn't there. She wouldn't hear you.

When you arrived at the apartment, some nights, you'd bump into Wanda crying on the step of the stairs, with a grocery bag in hand containing oranges, and you'd sit with her, talk a little and convince her to watch another episode of the series. Other nights were just worse when you would arrive a bit early from work, every time you'd see the door to her unit ajar. Sometimes, you'd go inside to be with her, but other times, you couldn't control yourself from breaking down and crying so you just walked to your own apartment.

Wanda felt trapped and she didn't even know why.

"I want to talk to you about something," Wanda said one night as she leaned on your chest, her fingers tracing circles on your collarbone, her naked body shining from the moonlight casted by the window.

"What is it?" you asked, eyes never leaving hers.

But Wanda dropped her gaze as she replied. "I've been talking to someone in my apartment.... Other than you."

Your eyebrows only furrowed as she went on. "They said they know a better place where we can stay, a paradise they say. Everything good will be there. And I will no longer feel pain... or feel stuck..."

You quickly understood what she meant, making you abruptly demand. "No."

"What?" She pulled away from you, your hand ending wrapping around her wrist.

You immediately loosened your hold, seeing what you were doing. But you begged a chance. "Please don't leave me, Wanda..."

"Y/n, I'm not going anywhere...," she answered. You wished she could promise you that. "I'm just sharing to you what I saw this afternoon... Besides that, I... I already l-love you..."

And you almost cried if she didn't just meet your lips in a searing desperate kiss.

But later through the days that followed, when you saw Wanda crying by the stairs or dragging her body again into the bathroom, you realized that maybe you were a bit too selfish on her. Maybe, she needed to leave you to rest peacefully.

And that hurt. Because you didn't know your life now without her.

You tried to ignore what she shared that night, to live past through it, to pretend everything was still okay. Wanda's ghost was still happy with you.

Until one night you had had enough, seeing Wanda dragging her body into the bathroom to clean herself, you pulled her away.

"Wanda-"

"Wait, I'm still gonna clean the blood off, it's messing the carpet," she stopped you.

"Wanda, stop, it's no use...," you muttered, torn between telling her the truth or letting this endless loop go on. Wanda would leave you. And you didn't want that.

But you ached for her, seeing her stuck and lost. She had saved you from your breakup, and you wanted to do the same. You loved her so much, that you would do anything to grant her peace, that it was time to finally let her go.

"I just can't seem to wipe the stain away-"

"Wanda, it's you," you croaked out, barely a whisper.

She looked at you with a confused expression on her face. "What?"

"It's you," you said more clearly now. "That body... It's yours."

The skin wrinkled around her forehead. "What are you trying to say? Don't be silly... I can't exist twice at the same time."

"Wands," you gasped, hot tears falling relentlessly from your eyes. "Y-you're a g-ghost... You're only a spirit... You were hit in the head by your ex... and... and y-you have been in a coma for almost seven months now..."

Wanda let go of the body, making her look down and see her own self, the lifeless stained face with blood trickling down from the gash on her head and the visible bruise on her neck. "It's me."

She said it so small, that you almost hadn't heard her. Then she looked at you, realizing everything, her brain whirring in motion as she put the pieces of puzzles together.

"It's okay to let go, Wands," you managed to say. "I will always love you."

But then her gaze suddenly appeared glassy, as if she couldn't see you there. Then she blinked and shook her head, dumbfounded. "Sorry, did you say something?"

Wanda was stuck, and it hurt more that you couldn't do anything to help her. Little did you know, that things were starting to change after the revelation.

One night, you were both watching Friends, and she didn't laugh on the scenes anymore. You two even got into a heated argument for some petty reason, such as the texts from Steve wanting to set you up with another blind date. And when you were about to apologize to Wanda, entering your room where she ran away to hide from you, she wasn't there anymore.

Wanda wasn't even in her apartment. She didn't knock on your door the next day. And you got so scared, you wondered if she went with them, her unknown visitor, and finally left you.

So you didn't waste another second. You asked for a sick leave from work, just to visit Wanda in the hospital the following morning, trying to settle your aching heart that would break into pieces. There were a lot of people waiting outside her room, you guessed they were her family because Pietro was hugging one of them. Your heart cracked upon seeing your new friend crying, knowing it could only mean one thing, tears already streaming from yours. Some of them were sporting befuddled stares, wondering why a stranger was crying with them, why someone like you would cry over someone you hadn't physically bonded with.

But you loved her. You love Wanda with all your heart. Even her spirit. That's why it felt like your heart was being torn from your chest.

You took a chance to glance at her room. Just to see her. Even when she was covered by sheets or worse. Just like she was only sleeping.

And then you stopped crying, because there she was, all awake and beautiful, emerald eyes glistening from the light in the room. Although she appeared weak still with a tube attached to her nose to help her breathe, she tried to listen to the doctor's advices to her.

Pietro's hand on your shoulder made you jump and look his way. He was smiling with teary eyes as he engulfed you in a tight hug. "She's back, Y/n... My sister's back."

And you bursted into a crying mess, no longer minding the eyes from her family, confused as to why you were crying with Pietro.

Because Wanda is finally okay. Wanda is alive.