The glow from the lights in the parking lot tried to peek around the edges of the hospital blinds. A little bit managed to filter in, but the room was mostly dark. The only real light came from the bathroom. Jeff had left the light on in there and kept the door open a little wider than a crack.
He hadn’t liked the idea of sleeping in the dark in an unfamiliar place.
Not that he was sleeping.
Jeff stood beside Missy’s bed. He watched over her as she slept.
Small memories flashed through his mind.
Tessa running around the house in her pink Disney princess nightgown and bare feet.
Jeff trying to put hair clips in her hair.
Jeff singing her lullabies to help her sleep.
“In all of my memories, you’re so young, so small. You’re just a little girl. I don’t have any memories of you as a pre-teen or as a teenager. No memories of you transitioning from childhood to adulthood.”
She sighed in her sleep.
“I know. I know I shouldn’t keep longing for what we’ve both lost. There’s nothing to gain in that. It doesn’t help either of us. Doesn’t do any good. Besides, you’re here now. You’re safe. You’re free. I can see you and touch you. And I know that you’re okay.”
“Raven…” Missy said. “Don’t. Don’t bonk the blue fairy on the head and don’t…so…frame on the…”
Jeff thought about his last conversation with the vampire. A frown creased his eyebrows.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Come in.” Jeff said.
The door opened and the nurse came in. “Sorry!” she said quietly. “Just need to check her vitals.”
Jeff nodded. He sat down in the nearby chair to give the nurse some space. He sank deep into his thoughts.
Without any sort of warning, a pair of unseen arms slipped over his shoulders in an embrace. Hands rested on his chest. A face leaned against his face.
He closed his eyes and leaned back into her touch. “Speak, love. Speak to me.”
But she didn’t say a word.
His heart ached with longing. “My Laura girl.”
She didn’t reply.
The nurse finished her vital checking business and left the room.
But Laura stayed.
***
LM grumbled in his sleep. He wasn’t having a nightmare, just a very irritating dream. None of it made any sense and it was all very annoying.
He was very relieved when he woke up from it.
LM sat up and glanced around the room. “It’s still dark.” It was a very disappointed statement of fact. He didn’t really expect anyone to respond to it.
No one responded to it.
He considered going back to sleep, but chose not to. Going back to sleep meant having to fidget his wings into a comfortable position. It also meant possibly falling back into that dream. He did NOT want that.
He stood. His feathers bristled out as he stretched.
A flickering light on the other side of the room caught his attention. LM looked over at it. “Oh!”
An ethereal woman stood behind Jeff. She wore a cream and silver sundress. The silver shimmered in the light radiating from her body. Her dark hair lay loose in an unstyled style. It was very thick and healthy looking with a lot of soft curls. Her sandals were either made of silver or diamonds or both. They shined with such brilliance it was hard to tell.
LM didn’t have to ask or wonder who this ghost could be. He knew. Even without ever having met her before, LM knew that this ghost was Laura.
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