Come And Go

The Ghost comes early in the morning. It’s the Ghost of the man who kidnapped her, kept her chained in a basement for nine years, raped her, and made her give birth to three of his children. The Ghost lies next to her in bed. It taps her on the shoulder. She wakes up and […]

The Ghost comes early in the morning. It’s the Ghost of the man who kidnapped her, kept her chained in a basement for nine years, raped her, and made her give birth to three of his children. The Ghost lies next to her in bed. It taps her on the shoulder. She wakes up and she can’t move, talk, or breathe. She feels like a dead appliance. The Ghost says, “How could you go on without me? I know, I left before you were ready. But there’s no light on, so it looks like you’re sleeping. I’ll come back, okay? I’ll see you when your body’s ready.” She opens her eyes and the Ghost says, “Do you ever think about what if we had never met?” She tries to close her eyes, but she can’t. She wants to look away, but she can’t. The Ghost is small, white, shiny and covered in hair, with sharp, rotten, little yellow teeth. The Ghost, like the man, makes her want to vomit. She breathes through her nose and counts to ten. The Ghost says, “When it’s time? To come and meet me? Don’t say goodbye, okay? Just say that you’re leaving.” The Ghost sits on her chest . She gasps for air. The Ghost gets off. “What are you doing?” the Ghost says, “and why do I always forgive you?”