Halloween

1932

Marie sat down and let out a sigh of relief. She wondered if Edward would appear tonight. If he did, she wouldn’t mind. They probably wouldn’t be any interruptions either, thankfully.

“Good evening, my dear.”
“Hello, Edward,” said Marie. Turning, she smiled at the man in the doorway. “I didn’t summon you this year.”
“No, but it felt rude not visiting, even if you are a little farther away than usual,” he said. Marie tilted her head a little and motioned for him to sit. He hadn’t been summoned by anyone near where she lived.

“What story would it like to hear?”
“The tale of how you came to be here,” he said.
“What do you mean?” she asked, furrowing her brow.
“In this house, with the man who also lives here.” Sighing, Marie forgot his weird, ghostly way of knowing things he probably shouldn’t.

“Alfred?” she asked with a smile. He had mentioned he wanted to ask her about something and he had promised it was nothing bad. “What is it you wanted to talk about?”
“How would you feel about moving in with me?” he asked. He ran his fingers through his dark hair, an adorable nervous habit of his.

Marie gasped. She couldn’t believe what she had heard. “Really?”
Alfred nodded. “Yes, I wouldn’t have asked otherwise. I love you, Marie, I really do. And I know you’re struggling with your apartment…”
“Yes,” Marie said, cutting him off. “I would love to move in and live with you.” She nodded at him and he pulled her into a hug.
“I’m glad,” he whispered into her ear.

Giggling at how his breath tickled her ear, Marie pulled away from the hug.
“You have to help me move my belongings though,” she said with a smirk on her lips.
“Of course,” he said, nodding. “Of course I’ll help.”

“You fell in love with him?” he asked with raised eyebrows. Marie nodded.
“I did, yes,” she said. “He isn’t like Adrian, he doesn’t make a point that he is kind for dating someone like me. I should have realised, looking back at it.”
“We tend to ignore things when we are in the moment, I suppose,” said Edward.  Marie nodded again. “I guess the saying ‘love makes us blind’ is true.”

“It didn’t make me blind,” Marie muttered, thinking of the men who had assaulted her in the street. She rarely walked alone at night, usually she had Alfred with her but he was out tonight.
“Not in that sense,” Edward said. “Are you sure you’re willing to put yourself through all of this again?”
Marie narrowed her eyes at him. “What do you mean?” she asked. “Put myself through what?”
“I cannot say, my dear. But should you stay with him, he shall grow old and die while you do not.”
“I’ve thought about that,” she said sharply. She felt a little offended that he thought she hadn’t considered that. At some point, she’d have to leave. She couldn’t bear to watch him grow old and die. “You should go, go find another freak to take with you, I know it won’t be me.”

Edward said nothing as he stood and disappeared into the shadows.