[ WP ] You possess the rare gift to see and talk to dead people , and have kept this hidden from everyone your entire life , including your spouse . Now your spouse dies and is quite surprised .

`` James! You can see me?'' 
 
 `` Hi, Nat. And yes.'' I said sheepishly, watching the ethereal form of my wife looking at me with her mouth open. 
 
 `` And when were you exactly planning on telling me this?'' 
 
 `` Well, you have to understand. Ok. Wait. Would you have believed me?'' I asked. Our child, Dylan, started crying in the next room. We both got up to go check on him. 
 
 `` Ooh boy, it's cold in here.'' I said, waking into the room. `` Jesus Christ, James. Turn the heat up a little. And change his diapers.'' Natasha advised. 
 
 `` Diapers? I changed them an hour ago.'' 
 
 `` An hour is all it takes for his pee to get cold and be uncomfortable. Jesus, James. He would've gotten sick in the morning if you left his dirty diaper on all night in a freezing room.'' 
 
 `` Right, sorry.'' 
 
 `` Fuck.'' Nat sighed as I wrestled our kid out of his diaper and into a new one. 
 
 `` Thanks, Nat. I do n't think I'm ready to be a single dad.'' 
 
 `` Yeah, no shit.'' Nat laughed. 
 
 `` Okay, I'm guessing you have some questions.'' I said after I was done. 
 
 `` James. You have a knack for understatement making.'' 
 
 `` Alright. I could see ghosts for as long as I remember. And these ghosts are usually chill. I've also gotten to a point where I can telepathically communicate with them, and they can do the same with me, too. Also-'' I caught myself. I should not tell her that. Not yet at least. 
 
 `` Wait, you can fucking mind talk with ghosts?'' 
 
 `` Yeah.'' I replied. And she was thinking for a few long seconds. 
 
 `` So every time you were in deep thought, you were actually talking to ghosts?'' 
 
 `` Well, sometimes I'm actually in deep thought. But yeah, other times I'm talking to ghosties.'' 
 
 `` Ok, I need to sit down.'' 
 
 `` Float on your stomach.'' 
 
 `` What?'' 
 
 `` Rise a few feet of the ground, and position yourself horizontally facing the ground. So you'll be floating on your stomach.'' 
 
 `` Why?'' 
 
 `` For fun. Jesus, Nat. It'll help you relax. Trust me. It's like the cat thing. Like you know how cats go into freeze mode when you grab the back of their neck. It's something like that. It'll help you relax.'' 
 
 `` Alright, James.'' she sighed and did the thing. And sighed again. `` Damn, that feels good.'' 
 
 `` Right?'' I smiled, `` I mean I have no way of feeling like you do, but the fact it's foolproof- ok, I can drone on for hours. What else do you need to know?'' 
 
 `` How long can I stay as a ghost?'' 
 
 `` I think forever.'' 
 
 `` What? What about heaven, or hell?'' 
 
 `` Ok, this is just a theory, but I have a feeling most of your soul is actually in either of those places. A bit of the soul gets trapped on Earth for some reason so it takes the form of a ghost. You're that stray bit of soul.'' 
 
 `` What. The. Fuck.'' 
 
 `` It's just a theory, Nat.'' 
 
 `` Are there others like you?'' 
 
 `` Not that I'm aware of.'' 
 
 `` Ok what do I do now?'' 
 
 `` I have no idea. Some ghosts just hang out and chill by the abandoned warehouse on 53rd and 6th. You should check them out eventually. They have a legit thing going on as far as I can tell.'' 
 
 `` Legit thing?'' 
 
 `` Like a ghost community, so to speak.'' 
 
 `` And you want me to go there?'' 
 
 `` Eventually. Just check them out. Look, Nat. I love you. I always will. The testament to that is the baby sleeping in the next room. But right now, you are dead. This ghostly essence of you in this world is permanent. And I have to live with that. And you can come here as much as you want. Fuck, you can even live here, too. But I am the only living person who knows you-this form of you- exists. And that's going to be a lonely life. I want you to be happy. You can be happy with alive me, but I have a feeling you'll be happier with the others of your kind. But if you do choose to leave, please come back every now and then. I want to see you. And you'll want to check on our son growing up.'' I said 
 
 Nat was holding back tears. `` Did you know I'd come back in.. this form? Did you want me to come back in this form?'' 
 
 `` I do n't know. I knew there was a chance. And though the prospect of seeing you again was tempting, what with you being able to see our son as a man and all. But you will probably live forever in this form. And me and Dylan, we'll grow old. And die. And there's a chance we wo n't come back to this Earth like you did. And then, I do n't know. What would you do?'' 
 
 Nat stopped floating on her stomach, and flowed gently down in front of me. `` James. I love you.'' she said, kissing me. Which I did not know was possible. But fuck it, did it feel good to be in the arms of my wife again. 
 
 
 _____________ 
 
 
 >'' Alright. I could see ghosts for as long as I remember. And these ghosts are usually chill. I've also gotten to a point where I can telepathically communicate with them, and they can do the same with me, too. Also-'' I caught myself. I should not tell her that. Not yet at least. 
 
 
 
 What he did n't tell her was that he had actually talked to her dead father, who comes to visit sometimes. But the dad still hates him. So, yeah. Not that important at the time. 
 

