Page 77 of Love At First Fright
“Yeah.”
“Are the ghosts…here right now?”
“Juliet and Cecilia? No, I think they’re still in the chapel.”
He nodded slowly. “How can I…? I want to believe you love, I really do, but how, how can this be possible?”
Rosemary looked up at the full moon, and when she pulled the hagstone out of her pocket it felt heavier, almost pulsing and a touch warm. The veil was thin, the time had come to tell him, even if it cost her.
“I think I have a way to prove it to you, but…it might be difficult.”
Ellis walked over to a stone bench just outside the chapel doors. He pulled his coat tighter around himself, and bathed in the moon and candlelight, all Rosemary could see was theconfusion racking his features.
Tentatively, Ellis patted the bench beside him.
“If there’s a way, then I want to know. Rip the bandage off.”
Rosemary sat and took his hand. Hank was sitting at Ellis’s feet, his silver head resting on Ellis’s foot.
“When you first told me what Hank looked like, I wasn’t surprised. Because”—she met Ellis’s eyes—“because I had already seen him. Hank—Hank’s ghost—has been with you.”
Ellis exhaled slowly, shaking his head. “What do you mean, with me?”
“I think, when you die, you get the chance to move on to whatever comes next. Some people move on, some people don’t, and some people get stuck here for a little while before they figure it out. With animals, I’m less sure about the rules. I spoke with Cecilia, one of the ghosts, and she told me that sometimes animals who were pets, they don’t move on. They choose to stay by their owner’s side, even if their owner can’t see them, until they fade. And that’s what Hank has been doing, I think. He’s been by your side, all this time.”
Ellis shook his head more firmly this time, his hands coming up to aggressively wipe the tears falling down his cheeks.
“All this time? You mean…he’s here right now?”
Rosemary nodded. She handed Ellis the hagstone.
“Hold this to your right eye, and look down.”
Ellis stuttered a breath, and took the hagstone with shaking hands. When he put it to his eye, his voice broke into a soft sob. Gently, anguish raking over his face, Ellis reached down a hand.
“Hi, sweet boy.”
Hank’s tail wagged furiously, hearing Ellis speaking to him. He nuzzled and licked Ellis’s hand, jumping up to rest his front paws on Ellis’s shins. Ellis sat back, and patted his thighs,and Hank jumped up to his lap.
“Oh god, I missed you so much.” Ellis bent down and buried his face into Hank’s fur, even if he couldn’t feel it. Hank was wriggling, jumping up at Ellis, pressing his paws against his owner’s chest.
“You’re such a good boy, I missed you so much. My best boy.” Ellis cried softly. Hank barked, and Rosemary thought she heard a wisp of sound.
“I’d always imagined him running through sunny fields with endless bones or something,” Ellis said, running his hands along Hank’s coat.
“Hewasrunning through fields, with you and Fig.”
“Fig can…see him?”
“I’m pretty sure, yeah.”
“That explains a lot, actually.” Ellis swiped the tears from his face. “How come I can see him? What is this thing?”
“The hagstone lets you see ghosts, only during a full moon, though.”
“So after this, I won’t be able to see him again?” Ellis looked down at Hank, who was nuzzling into his arms.
“Ellis, I think Hank needs to move on. He’s fading, and I don’t know what comes next, if it’s the same for animals as it is for the rest of us, but Hank needs you to let him go.”
