Total Silence

I spun around and there stood, Niall, alone this time, holding his hand up to the stove to warm us. I wondered why a dead man would have to warm his hands.

"I don't have to. But I like remembering what a fire's warmth feels like. He didn't speak the words aloud, they seemed to flow through the pores of my skin and into my head.

"Do you miss it? Being a human? Physical?" I asked, going over him.

He straightened and turned, facing me. "Sometimes. But I miss you and Annie all the time." He took my hands in his arms and I clung to him as if a part of me believed that if I held him tightly, I would be able to make him flesh and blood again.

"Is this visit part of our bargain?" I asked, pulling back slightly so that I could see his face.

"I'm not here to say goodbye, Mira. I'm here to warn you. You have to come to,okay? And you better do it fast. You're going to need whatever time you got."