Excerpt: Losing Place

“It’s okay,” Aled promised. “There’s nothing wrong. I’m still me.”

“You’re..” she repeated, breathlessly. “You – you can’t, I mean..”

“I can, and I have,”

“B – But,”

“Anna, look at me.”

She slowly raised her head and looked at him, her eyes moving around as she studied his appearance again. He gave her a weak smile, encouraging her to just see him as Aled, and nothing more.

But then she shook her head in dismissal. “No, no,” she stammered, taking another few steps back. “I can – I can see the friggin' field through you, Aled,”

He raised an eyebrow. “Can you? That’s weird.” He looked down at himself for the first time since seeing Anna. He still looked solid from his point of view - human in greyscale. “That’s probably why it’s hard then. To accept, I mean. I shouldn’t have let you watch all those old ghost movies. Nor the Harry Potters. Do I look like Nearly Headless Nick?”

He was trying to make her laugh, but she wasn’t having any of it. Still her face was blank with clashing emotions, no sign visible noting that she’d even heard anything he’d been saying. He sighed.

“C’mon, Anna,” he pleaded, holding his arm out and for a split second forgetting what he was. “Just.. believe me, Anna.”

Her eyes glazed over, and her expression changed to curiosity. Aled watched, in shock, as she brought her hand up close to his, her bottom lip trembling. Then she froze in place, stunned, and Aled finished everything for her, by taking hold of her hand with his.
It was like nothing he’d felt before. The soft, warmth of her hand travelled all up his arm and through his body, heating his cold and broken heart. It was such a simple gesture, yet he was amazed at how much it was affecting him, physically. He closed his eyes and breathed in every ounce of her, smelling the sweet scent of the atmosphere around her. He was unaware of anything else in the world; nothing else mattered now he’d had his one wish granted – he’d been able to touch her again. It was like nothing he’d ever imagined.