The Haunting (Or: Ghost Is Literally A Ghost)

Epilogue

At some point, Johnny and you were alone, your arms only wrapped around each other. It took both of you a second to realise that he was gone, and when you separated to look around the room confusedly, you noticed that the atmosphere was different.

Your house seemed normal. It was boring, and you missed the coldness that indicated Simon's presence.

"He's gone", you said into the warm room.

"It's weird, right? The air is different."

You both nodded at each other until he chuckled.

"Fucking hell, might need to sit down for a minute."

"Would you like a tea?", you asked with a smile, and he looked up at you from his newfound spot on the couch.

"Actually, yeah. Let's talk?"

You did. Johnny spent the whole night at your house, and he only left the next morning because Price called him to ask where he was.

That talk and Simon's disappearance were two months and three weeks ago, and every night you expected to wake up at 3:33, but you never did. The house stopped making noises, and even the wind seemed to calm down.

It was a sunny day in January when you walked past neatly cared-for graves, stopping at the end of the row just like Johnny had described it to you.

In your hands, secured by gloves, you held a book. It was a New York Times number one bestseller called The Haunting, a story about a friendly ghost haunting a family's new house until they decide to help him.

You sat down in front of the grave, ignoring the cold creeping through your jeans. After lighting a candle, you sat still for a minute, listening to the chirping of the birds that stayed behind as if to keep your mind from wandering off too far.

"Hey", you said as if he could hear you. No reply, not that it should surprise you.

"So this is where you are. The flowers are beautiful."

The gravestones told you that his entire family was laid to rest next to him, and you wondered why. You decided to pray for them too, just in case they were somewhere they could receive the message. Nowadays you couldn't be too sure that gone meant gone.

"Oh, by the way! Look what I have", you grinned, pulling the book from under your arm, and placing it on top of the slightly frozen earth.

"Did you haunt someone to make me write a bestseller?"

You chuckled but stopped when you realised that you were talking to nobody. So far you had dodged the mental institution and you wanted it to stay that way.

"I miss you", you admitted after some time, "the house is way too quiet. But at least I'm not paying an arm and a leg for heating anymore."

Nothing, except birds.

"I'm joking by the way."

Suddenly, a gust of cold wind ruffled your hair and made you shudder. Weird, it was supposed to be windstill for the entire day.

You looked around frowning to see if more of the weather would change because you really didn't want to get wet, but the sky was still as blue as before.

When you turned your head back to Simon's grave, your book had opened. A brown leaf was stuck to the page, and when you leaned forward to pick it up, your eyes stopped at the words right above the edge.

As if underlined, the line struck you. In this chapter, the ghost disappears forever, leaving the family behind.

'I'm always watching over you.'

"What the fuck?"

You looked around hastily, something deep inside of you wishing to spot a familiar frame, but the graveyard was empty. The pages rustled once more when the wind picked up again, and your head snapped back to the book.

'I miss you too.'

Again, a beautiful autumn leaf framing the line.

"Simon...", you whispered, "where are you?"

This time, there was no reply at all. The wind stopped as if it had never happened and the birds chirped louder than before.

"[Name]!"

You flinched and jumped up from the floor, thinking that it was Simon who called your name, but then you saw Johnny jogging towards you.

"You came– Oh, you're pale. You look like you've seen a ghost. Wait, have you...", he lowered his voice and checked the surroundings, "have you seen one?"

You shook your head no before pointing at the book, the page still displaying Simon's answer.

"Oh", Johnny just said, then he smiled, "you never fail to surprise me, L.T."

He picked up the book, turning it around in his hands to examine the cover and your name displayed under the title.

"Damn lass, congrats", he grinned, holding the book like a trophy.

"Look at the first page."

He did, his eyes skimming over the dedication in the beginning.

For Simon and Johnny.

"Makes me all emotional", he huffed, the pad of his index finger gliding over the page.

"It's only fair. You're his best friend, and you were there. Do you want to read it?"

"Of fucking course. Am I in it?", he asked, his eyes glistening. You laughed, a genuinely happy one.

"No, sorry. It has nothing to do with Simon or what happened at my house. Not based on real events, I wouldn't have wanted that."

"Fair, fair", he nodded, "I will forgive you, but only if you name your next main character Johnny. Make him have a buddy called Simon or something."

"How could I say no to that?", you grinned.

You and Johnny looked back to Simon's grave with a smile.

"He's happy where he is, right?"

"Pretty sure, yeah. Otherwise we'd help him, wouldn't we?"

"Yeah", you breathed out, "we have experience with that."

"Wanna go into ghost hunting business?"

"No", you said flatly, and Johnny burst into laughter.

He roughly pulled you into a half hug, and you couldn't help but join in with his laughter.

Never had you expected that moving into an abandoned house would lead to such an interesting turn of events, but even if given the chance, you wouldn't change a thing.

--- The End ---

Author's Note

I know this is not the ending most of you wanted, but it was the plan from the start to give this story a bittersweet ending with Simon being gone.
I have a certain understanding of ghosts being in our realm and the limits they are bound to that doesn't really contain them coming back from the dead to be living, breathing people again.
 🤍 I hope you still liked it! Thank you so much for reading! 🤍