Smoke Rings in the Dark

As she lay in her bed, a sliver of moonlight pushed its way through the torn curtains and illuminated her face. Eric watched her from the shadows, still as the night itself. Her breathing was heavy, and her long eyelashes fluttered, signaling she was in her REM cycle. Eric slowly - very slowly - approached the bed. He silently admired her for a few moments, his once cold and unreadable expression now soft. He placed the back of his hand against her cheek, her warm mortal flesh nearly scorching his cold, lifeless skin. He squeezed his eyes shut and steadied what was left of his heartbeat. Now was no time for tears. He tucked a honey blonde curl behind her ear and traced her lower lip with his thumb. He leaned in, and gently - so gently, as if she would break - pressed his lips against hers.

For a moment, he allowed himself to imagine a different life—a life where Shelly lived, and their love endured. Or a life where this woman awoke and stared up at him with multiple lifetimes of love in her mortal gaze. His heart swelled with the fantasy, an overwhelming wave of emotion that he hadn't felt in decades. He could almost hear the laughter, see the smiles, feel the warmth of a love reborn.

But reality crashed back with brutal clarity as the crow let out a deep "caw" from outside the window. Eric's eyes snapped open, and the harsh truth shattered his fragile dream. He was a ghost, a revenant brought back to right wrongs, not to reclaim lost loves. His own presence was a cruel reminder of what he could never have.

Eric stepped back, his hand falling away from her face. He turned but gazed back over his shoulder for one last, lingering look. The sight of her lying there, peaceful and unaware of the turmoil within him, tore at his soul. His heart ached with an unspoken longing, a love that could never be requited. The pain was almost unbearable, a sorrow that echoed through the silence of the room.

As he slipped out of the window and disappeared into the night, her eyes flickered open. She felt the lingering sensation on her lips and a fleeting sense of a presence, now gone. She would never know the depth of the love that had brushed against her life so briefly, so tenderly.

"I'm not going to wake you
I'll go easy on your heart
I'll just touch your face and drift away
Like smoke rings in the dark"