Flash Fictions by Benjamin D. Togate

One Last Time

"One last time?" he said looking deep into my eyes. This was it. The day had come to an end. My time was up. The end was near.

Yet, I wasn’t sad. I was… accepting. It was time. For him, and for me. I wish we would have had more time together, but it just wasn’t meant to be.

That is one thing, people always wish for. When they start to get older, when their health declines, when they are on their death bed and even, when they take their last breath.

My life had been over for a while. I died years ago. I think. I was still young and pretty and had so much time ahead of me. At least that is what I thought, until that truck crashed right into me.

But instead of going to heaven I turned into a ghost. I forgot what life was like before. Sometimes I startled the clearvoiant, but mostly I was ignored and never seen. I just wandered the streets of the city aimlessly, sometimes watching the living like a movie.

Until one day, he saw me. One day. Today. My last day on earth.

“Excuse me?” he said, smiling at me. “Are you standing in line?”
I had been standing in front of an ice cream truck, just staring into the void. I didn’t even turn when he talked to me because no one ever talked to me.
“Uhm, hello?” he said now lightly tipping my shoulder.

Now it was me who lost it. I hurled around and screamed at the top of my lungs all while falling down and crawling backwards.

“WHO ARE YOU!?!”
“Oh, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you” he laughed “Let me help you up”

He looked directly into my eyes and held out his hand. I just stared at him in disbelief.
“Uh, ok” he said retracting his hand “I’m really sorry” he laughed awkwardly.
“You… you can see me? ME?!”

Now he just stared at me blankly.
“Why not?” he scratched his head “Did you think I’d overlook a pretty lady like you?”

I was so confused. It had been so long since I had felt touch – any touch – and it had been even longer since I had been looked at directly.
“I’m a ghost?!” I said.
Now he laughed. He clearly didn’t believe me.
“Of course you are” he said “let me buy you ice cream”.

Minutes later we were sitting of a bench nearby, each of us licking a cone of ice cream.

“So…” he said “what’s your name?”
“I don’t remember”
“Ok... My name is Tom”

I liked Tom. He seemed like a warm, friendly guy. I guess he was clearvoiant but had no idea. He wasn’t afraid. Maybe he would be, If he knew.

“Hey uh… what should I call you then, if you don’t want to tell me your name?”
“I don’t know” I said. In all my time alone I had forgotten how to hold a conversation.
“I’ll call you Rita then?”
I nodded. I liked that name. It sounded nice and familiar.

Tom turned out to be a pretty cool guy. He studied medicine at the nearby university. I think I had studied there before my passing. Not medicine of course, I wasn’t that ambitious. I probably studied language or philosophy or something like that. He also played soccer with the university team. He was the best player in the whole city. At least that’s what he told me.

It felt weird. This day felt totally weird. So different. I almost felt normal. Like a normal human being.

“Wow, look at the time” he suddenly said. Over our hours of conversations I hadn’t even noticed that the bright afternoon had turned into evening.

“You gotta go home?” I asked. I didn’t want this day to end, I didn’t want him to go.
“Yeah… soon” he stretched “but if you still got time, I’d like to show you something”
“What is it?”
“A surprise. A good one. Trust me.”

He held out his hand again. This time I grabbed it. And I was surprised I could. This was too surreal. His hand was warm and a bit clammy. I didn’t care. It was the first touch I had felt in years. And now I just followed him, hand in hand.

“Where are you leading me, stranger?” I said. If I was alive I would have probably been a bit scared. Or maybe not. Tom didn’t seem like danger.

“You’ll see. I’ll show you something amazing, but we have to hurry”

We almost ran a few streets down until we arrived at an old industrial building. It was closed off, but Tom lead me through a gap in a broken gate.

“I’ve never brought anyone here” he said as we made our way through a shady entrance. It smelled like concrete and mould. There was an open stairway. He lead me up, up and up – until we arrived on the roof.

“Tadaaa” he said waiting for a reaction.

I looked around. Here on the roof we had an amazing view over the city. The sky was turning all shades of yellow, pink, orange and purple. The sun was setting, the first stars peeked down from the dark sky. It was exceptionally beautiful. We sat down by the edge of the roof and just marveled at the view.

“It’s so pretty” I said.
“Just like you” he said, coming closer and looking at me.
This caught me by surprise.
“Tom” I said, looking at him “I have to tell you something”
“I know” he said “I know who you are”
“What?”

He lightly touched my forehead, lovingly pushing away a streak of hair.

“You died” he said. His usually cheery voice sounded said. “You left me”
“Who… who are you?”
“It’s me, Rita. It’s me.”

With tears welling up in his eyes he inched closer and kissed me.

Memories came flooding back. They hit me all at once.

I was hit by a truck. Tom tried to revive me. But my injuries were too severe. He didn’t stand a chance.
I remembered how we he swung me in the playground as kids. Tom pushed me higher and higher. I laughed so hard until I fell down. And then puked on his shoes.
I remembered how we smoked behind the school building after gym class. How we got caught and our parents were called. Toms was told off by his parents, my parents laughed it off.
I remembered how I told him about a crush I had and how we got into a fight.
I remembered how he brought me here to talk it out. But instead he kissed me.
I remembered how we came here again in our first year of university…

“you gave me a ring” I said looking at him “you… you’re my fiancé”
“Yes, yes I am” he said taking my hand to his cheek.
“But I should be your husband”

Tears streaming down his face. Oh Tom. We had so many plans. We wanted to finish university, travel the world, get married on a tropical beach, have a bunch of kids - and two cats and one dog. And I had left him.

I finally knew what I had to do.

It had never been about me. It had always been about him. I had to set him free.

“Tom, it’s time” I said, looking deep into his eyes “for both of us”
“But I just found you” he now started to sob.
“I’ve been gone for years. You can let me go.”
“No, I want to spend more time with you. I love you.”
I smiled. I felt so much empathy for my love.
“I’m not sad, you know. I haven’t been for a while. I’m not sad about my death. That’s life. I feel lucky. I found my soulmate when I was a baby. I had a lifetime with him… with you.”
“22 years is not a lifetime”
“It was for me” I said “thank you for seeing me one last time. But now I will have to go on. And so do you. Go be happy. You are allowed to. It’s ok.”

I felt content. I said what had to be said. I had set him free and by doing so I was free myself.

“Can I kiss you?” he asked "One last time?"

As he leaned in, his soft lips touching mine, I felt lighter and my body started to disperse into tiny lights. This was it. And it was alright.