Bittersweet

Though most of the next day Mary was curious as to what Lily’s “engagement” was. She had started putting the finishing touches on the beginning of her paper so that when it came time to add Lily’s story she wouldn’t have much more to do. Thinking about her paper, she wondered how she was going to explain how she got the story to begin with. She couldn’t exactly write about how she had a ghost for a roommate and that particular ghost happened to be the girl in the story. Maybe she could ask Lily if there was anyone living who might be able to not really verify, but at least give Mary her rendition and she could somehow combine the two. After eating dinner with her friends Mary hung out in another dorm room before noticing the time was almost 11 and hurried back to her dorm. She saw a shadowy silhouette of Lily pacing back and forth as she came in. “Hi. Sorry I’m a bit later than I had planned.” Mary apologized as she hung up her coat and scarf.

“It’s alright. Not like I had any brilliant plans of going out.”

Mary winced slightly as she heard the agitated tone in Lily’s voice. “Thank you again Lily for doing this. Actually I had a question before you began your story. Is there anyone living that might be able to talk to me? I don’t mean to sound insulting, but I can’t really site you as a source since you’re yanno...”

“Dead?”

“Yeah. Or could there be any newspaper articles maybe? I didn’t know where to look since I didn’t know the year that it happened.”

“I’m sure there are articles I would check the Library’s archive. As for someone to talk to, I’m not sure anyone I know is still alive or not.”

“Well I’ll check the archives first and then we’ll see about those folks that are still alive.”

“Okay. Let me know when you’re ready for me to begin.”

“Just let me get out some paper and sit down. Would you mind materializing again, it’s kinda weird talking to some disembodied voice.”

“Sure, if it makes you more comfortable,” Lily complied.

After seeing the misted form of Lily appear and then solidify, Mary felt a bit more at ease. “Alright, I’m ready when you are.”

“Well the year was 1870, I had started going to this school because, well I was lucky to be accepted. Women were not really encouraged to get an education, but I was lucky to have a family that believe in equality. Anyways, after attending here for about a year, I met Edward. Edward was something else, at least for our time he was. He really just didn’t care, he wasn’t intimidated that my grades were better than his. He just liked talking to me, as I did with him. We would go out on picnics, and dinners, always chaperoned of course. Marriage was briefly talked about after our first year together, but I wanted to graduate first, something that wasn’t normally done in that time. Anyways, at one point my mother took ill, so I traveled back home to help take care of her while my father managed his store. Sadly she died. I was devastated that she was gone. Our family doctor prescribed a sleeping draught for me, due to that I wasn’t sleeping at nights. Eventually my father thought going back to school might help me get over my mother’s death. He sent word to Edward that I would be arriving back at school on the four o’clock train. The plan was for him to meet me, so I would have not only someone familiar but someone who could comfort me about my loss. We also planned to catch up about what had gone on at school while I was away. Unfortunately, or maybe it’s fortunately, I was running late that day and I missed the four o’clock train. Later before that train pulled into the station that was located near my school, it jumped the tracks and crashed. Edward receiving word about the now demolished train, and thought I was dead. I can only imagine what went through his mind. A few days later I was able to get a ticket to go back to school. I thought it was odd that the Women’s Dormitory Matron met me at my stop without Edward, but it wasn’t that out of the ordinary. Mrs. Hill always accompanied Edward when he would meet me from the train so that we wouldn’t ride back without a chaperon. Sometimes it would just be her, especially if Edward had some assignment that was due the next day. Mrs. Hills and me had a lovely chat on the way back, she updated me on everything that was going on in the dormitory (she was a bit of a gossip monger), though she was strangely silent about Edward. Upon arriving at my room I noticed something was a little off. A few of my things looked like they had been disturbed, but nothing was missing so I just shrugged it off. When I went to hang my dresses in the closet, I got the biggest shock. There was my Edward, hanging from my closet sort of swinging back and forth dead. He had a note pinned to his shirt, I tentatively pulled it off quickly scanning it. Basically the note read that since I was dead, he didn’t believe he had anything to live for. That with what would have been his future bride gone, he wanted to join me rather than continue on. I started crying. I couldn’t believe what was going on, I just kept wishing that any moment I was going to wake up and everything would have been a dream. First my mother was gone, and now my Edward. Quickly deciding what I thought would be the best thing to do, I wrote a letter of my own. I apologized to my father for what I was about to do, I wrote of my love for Edward, and my mother who I figured I would be joining both of them once everything was done. Once my letter was finished and the ink was drying, I pulled out the vial of sleeping draught that the doctor had given me and poured the entire contents into a glass. I put my letter out in plain sight, drank the glass and figuring it might be a good idea for the person who found me, I left my closet door open so whoever found me could see Edward. I then laid down and never woke up.”

Mary wiped a tear the was silently rolling down her cheek as Lily finished her story. “So...what happened after that?”

Lily sighed. “I’m guessing there was a funeral, I later heard from someone talking in the hall that my father was devastated about my death and practically threw himself into the store and worked himself quite literally to death.”

“Why can’t you leave the room?”

“If I knew, I wouldn’t still be here,” Lily bitterly replied.

“So what happens now? Will you ever seen Edward again?”

“I don’t know what happens now, I tried leaving the room a few times shortly after I died but everything I tried to walk through the open door it was like hitting a brick wall. Anyways, it’s getting near two, so can we please finish this up?”

“What happens at two?”

“Edward climbs the stairs and I like to listen to him. It’s the only contact I can have with him,” Lily said tersely.

“Why?”

“I don’t know! All I know is that I can’t leave this damnable room and he doesn’t come in.”

“Well, isn’t there something you can do?”

“Look this is how the damn story ends okay?! I don’t get to see him, he doesn’t get to see me, we just live in this never ending limbo. Life isn’t always happy endings Mary. Sometimes all you get is being able to hear the footsteps of someone you would give anything to see just once more. And you know what? You’re damn grateful to at least be able to hear that person. Sometimes all life is just about living with the consequences of what you did, and knowing how differently you would do them if given another chance.”

After Lily’s blowup, Mary quickly said goodnight and went to bed. Some how, some way, I’m going to help Lily, Mary thought as she quickly fell asleep. Lily ran a hand through her hair, and sighed. While it felt good getting that off my chest, I didn’t mean to yell at Mary. Lily sank to the floor at the foot of Mary’s door and strained to hear Edward begin his climb. As she heard his footsteps begin from the first floor, Lily thought back to all the years that she had sat here doing this very thing night after night. She couldn’t remember how long she and Edward had been dead, though she knew she could figure it out if she took the time to look at Mary’s calendar to see what year it was. Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Edward’s last trip up the stairs before he disappeared till tomorrow night.