Walking with a Ghost

White People Eating Stockphoto

CONFESSION: I have been SPELLING Matthew as M A T T T H E W (with three T's) since MEIN VÖGELCHEN and I CONFESSED to it, But I have not gotten SCOLDED. (I may be coming to turns with some sort of bdsm kink idk I really like to be yelled at for stuff like that????)

Alfred looked almost identical to Matthew.
His hair was shorter and his eyes were blue but it wasn't hard to identify him as he stood behind the gift shop cash register, reading a comic book to fend off the boredom of his job.
"Alfred?" Gilbert stepped into the gift shop and made his way to the front counter.
"Do I know you?" Alfred asked.
"I don't think we've actually met, but I'm friends with your brother."
Alfred looked at him quizzically.
"Has he mentioned me? My name's Gilbert."
"He told me about every friend he's had and no Gilberts came up."
"Was he keeping it a secret because he has a crush on me?"
Alfred frowned sternly. "Mattie didn't have crushes."
"Sorry. Uhm...I just...why didn't he mention me?"
"Look, I think you need to go."
"Wait! Where is he now? I want to see him again. I need to tell him something."
"Matthew's been dead for three years."
Gilbert's heart stopped at those words. Three years? But Gilbert had seen him a week ago.
What did this mean?
"Alfred just didn't take my death well."
Oh shit.
"The nurse forgot the squirty thing..." Gilbert recalled.
"What?"
"Air...in the needle. Matthew died."
"I know. I just told you. But how did you know what killed him?"
"His ghost...I wasn't talking to Mattie. I was talking to his ghost."
"Huh?"
"And he told me not to tell you, because he knew you'd freak out. Oh god I'm so sorry!" Gilbert felt tears building up in his eyes. Alfred's eyes widened.
"Hey, look, I'm closing up in a few minutes. Let's take a walk."
"Ja. Let's do that."
It didn't take long for Alfred to close the shop. Soon, they were walking side by side, away from the hospital.
"We're you really...talking to him? Is he here?"
"Ja. He's haunting the room I was in."
"How did you...see him?"
"I got brain damage and I could see ghosts for a while. But then when the ability faded...so did my memories."
"What was he like? Was he the same as when he was alive?"
"He was sweet and cheerful and he helped me cheat at Mario."
"Me and Mattie always used to play Mario together. He got so sick sometimes that it was the only thing we could do together. And when his breathing got so bad that he needed a mask and couldn't talk...we just communicated through the game, I guess. When he wasn't feeling good he was easy to beat but when he wasn't in a lot of pain it was impossible." Alfred stopped when they reached an overpass.  "I just miss him so much."
"Can you tell me more about him?"
"You first. How is he?"
"He's...lonely. And he won't move on until he's sure you're okay."
"I'm not okay. Matthew was like a whole other half of me."
"I couldn't imagine losing mein bruder like that." Gilbert consoled.
"Did he say anything? We're there any messages he wanted to send?"
"Oh...Ja. Um...did you know that seventy five percent of meth in Australia is Canadian?"
"Seriously? Of all the godly undead knowledge he could have given me...that's such a Mattie thing to do."
"Also...hockey isn't Canada's national sport."
"What?"
"It's lacrosse."
"Mattie loved hockey. He was always too sick to play for himself but he always watched it. We even took him to a Habs game for Christmas one year. He was all bundled up in blankets and he had to be rushed to the hospital the next day because he got sick, but he was so damn excited. I don't think I ever saw him smile so much in his life."
"He never talked about having regrets." Gilbert remembered. "But he's pretty lonely on his own."
"I wish...I just want to see him again."
"Me too."
Gilbert looked at he traffic below them, at the cars speeding through. An idea struck him. A stupid idea, but an idea. He grabbed onto the front of Alfred's shirt and pushed him forward, over the guardrail and onto the pavement below. He watched the blond hit the road, getting pummelled by an eighteen wheeler, blood trailing down the grey sheet in long streaks. But the job wasn't done. Alfred was dead but Gilbert had to make sure he ended up by Matthew's side.
He climbed over the rail, taking a deep breath to prepare for what was to come.
Then he let himself drop.

I hope second years get orientation packs at the college too cuz those things were rad.