Halloween

1942

With a sigh, Marie sat down. She was tired, the factory work was hard but it paid well enough.
“You looked tired.” Marie didn’t flinch at his appearance, she expected it every Halloween even if he didn’t appear every time.
“I am,” she said. She motioned to the chair at the dining table. “Funnily enough, building aeroplanes is rather tiring.”
He chuckled. “I’d assume it would be, though I suppose it’s a lot more advanced now.”
“You have no idea,” said Marie with a smile.

It was silent for a moment and Marie rested her chin on her hand to hold her head up. She desperately needed sleep.
“You know, we’re in the middle of another world war?” she said with a sigh. “So much for the Great War being the war to end all wars, we're in the middle of another one. This one’s a lot more viscous too, they drop bombs on houses and they’re still holding and killing people in camps.”
“They don’t seem to learn from the past, do they?” he said with a sigh. He seemed to stare at something on the wall Turning, Marie realised what he was looking at, the photograph of herself and Leo.

“Who is it?” he asked, looking back to Marie.
“Leo, my boyfriend. We’re planning on marrying when all this is over,” she said with a smile. Edward said nothing. “He’s a pilot. I like to think I’ve made parts for his plane, it would be nice if it was true.”
“It would be,” he said, smiling a little. “You’re happy.”
“And tired, yes,” she laughed. “What can I say? He’s brilliant, I couldn’t ask for anything more.”

“I’m glad you’re happy,” said Edward. His smile seemed a little tense but Marie dismissed it. He probably thought it was stupid that she kept dating mortal people. “You deserve some happiness.”
“Yeah, I should think I do after everything,” she said with a grin. She sighed. “Even if it won’t last long.”
“If happiness lasted, it wouldn’t be so special.”
“I suppose so,” she mumbled.

She looked at him and wondered if he was perhaps a little jealous or something of that sort. With how he acted last time, she wouldn’t be too surprised if he was at least a little protective of her. He had kissed her forehead and while Marie would have happily kissed him before, she was with Leo now. She was loyal to him, Marie couldn’t exactly kiss a ghost.

As she looked down at the table, she yawned and rubbed her eyes.
“It appears you’re rather tired, I’ll take my leave for tonight,” he said, bowing his head slightly as he stood.
“That might be for the best, I need to sleep before work tomorrow,” she said. Working at a factory still felt so bizarre to her. Twenty years prior she was a cotton weaver and before that she could only get domestic work. “Goodnight, Edward. See you on whatever Halloween it happens to be.”
His smile widened. “Goodnight, Marie.” He turned and Marie looked away, not wanting to look at the demon face. Edward paused for a moment before disappearing into shadows and taking the green mist with him.