A Romantic Ghost Story

Prologue

The Present

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

In the Macedonian-Canadian Care Home in Vancouver, Canada, 93 year-old Nancy lay dying in her bed, gasping for air.

A doctor and a nurse stood outside her room, deep in conversation.

The nurse turned to the doctor. "Does she have any family?"

The doctor nodded. "Yes. A son and two daughters. But they're scattered all over the world. She's predeceased by her husband. Has been for ten years." He checked his patient file. "Her granddaughter, Serena, lives in Vancouver though."

The nurse nodded. "I'll notify her right away."

The doctor entered the room and approached Nancy. "Are you in any pain?"

Nancy took a deep breath, her breathing stabilizing. She shook her head, her long white hair spilling over her pillow.

She grabbed onto the young physician's hand. "Doctor, you can be honest with me. Am I near death?"

Smiling nervously, the doctor put a comforting hand on her bony wrist. "Death? Who said anything about death?"

Nancy coughed.

The doctor put on his best sympathetic face. "Let's just say that you are. Would you be afraid, Nancy?"

Nancy shook her head, coughing again. "No, not at all. I'm going to see Ryan again. Why would I be afraid?" Her voice was surprisingly calm for a dying woman.

The doctor looked uncertain. "I can give you some morphine if you'd like."

"I said I'm not in any pain," Nancy insisted. "It's just a cough. It's just pneumonia."

"But with your advanced age, pneumonia could be fatal."

Nancy shrugged. "So it is. That doesn't matter. I know what's awaiting me. I've been dead before."

Again, the doctor played dumb. "Who said anything about death?"

The nurse re-entered the room.

Then, realizing what Nancy had said, the doctor raised an eyebrow. "You've been dead before?"

The two medical personnel exchanged amused glances.

"Oh yes. Once. But then a boy saved me and I got to live again," said Nancy, scrunching up her wrinkled face in fond remembrance.

The nurse whispered to the doctor. "Is she on any medication that could cause hallucinatory side effects?"

"No," the doctor said. "She's not on any medication. She even refused morphine."

Having overheard, Nancy exclaimed, "Why would I need any medication? I'm not in pain. If I'm dying, the best part is I get to see Ryan again. It's been 76 years since I last saw him."

The nurse leaned closer to the doctor. "Who is this Ryan?"

"I don't know." He scrutinized her patient file. "Ryan's not mentioned in her profile."

Although they were talking about her as if she were not in the room, Nancy was oblivious.

"Of course not," said Nancy, folding her hands and putting them on her stomach. "I was never married to him. But he was the greatest love of my life."