be easier to think of you that way . Are you a ghost or not?”
“ Technically, not.”
“ Oh, getting technical are we, because technically YOU ARE NOT REAL!” I got up to leave. Fighting with your own thoughts can be exhausting.
“ Lilly, Miele, please sit.” Unfortunately for me and my better judgement, I couldn’t resist his voice. I paced the cove once more before I sat down beside him again. My emotions were tearing me up inside.
“ Why do you call me Miele?”
“ A better question would be, since you are so convinced that I am a figment of your imagination, how come you don’t know what Miele means?” He smiled a mischievous smile as though he had somehow won a battle.
Damn. He had a point. “I don’t know.”
“ Miele means honey in Italian. Where we met.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “In 1719? Um hum.”
“ Will you please hear me out Lilly? I am real, I’m just not really here.”
I bit my lip. What should I do? Could Elliott be real? He had a point on the whole “Miele” thing. If he were a figment of my imagination, I should know what that meant.
“ Okay. It’s against my better judgement, but since this is only a dream, I’ll play along a bit longer.”
“ Miele, you’re not dreaming.”
“ If I’m not dreaming, I’m hallucinating.” I crossed my arms. “I refuse to play along if I’m hallucinating.” My fingers drummed on my biceps, anxiously awaiting his rebuttal.
“ Okay, we’ll go with dreaming then. Until I can convince you otherwise.” Elliott winked at me. I melted at his smile.
“ As long as I’m listening, will you explain the ‘I’m not a ghost but think of me as a ghost’ thing,” I nibbled my bottom lip, “Uhm, please?”
“ I bet you’re getting your sass from Nicholas, huh?”
I couldn’t believe it. He was trying to change the subject just like every other time I seemed to get him close to answering me. “Leave him out of this. You say I’m sassy, well you are extremely and annoyingly evasive.”
“ Evasive maybe...” he smiled, “but real. I’m not a ghost.”
“ You said we met in 1719. You look really good for being almost three hundred years old.” I couldn’t stop the sarcasm from flowing out of my mouth. Elliott was right. I probably did pick it up from Nicholas.
“ Are you going to let me explain? Or am I going to constantly get interrupted?”
I put my head down in a shameful stare. He was right. I was being rude. I don’t know what came over me. “I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet.”
“ Thank you.” He took my hands in his as we sat there in the starlit darkness. “This is a long story, some of which you might remember, but please let me tell it without interruption.” Elliott laid back on his right arm and pulled me close so that I was cuddled under his left. It felt nice and familiar in his warm embrace. The magnetic electricity flowed freely from him to me. I breathed him in and noticed that the floral scent I kept smelling was coming from him. I shut my eyes and tried to memorize that scent as his honey voice filled the darkness as he began.
“ I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you.” He hugged me still tighter as his voice took on a sort of reminiscing quality. “It was spring in Napoli and I was hiding from the rain in the monastery of San Lorenzo Maggiore the first time I saw you. You weren’t hiding from the rain, but were standing in the open cloister, girded by columns, looking up at the dark swirling sky as the raindrops fell upon your face. Your long black hair dripped as you stood with your arms out taking in the simple beauty of falling droplets of water. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You fascinated me. I still remember the smell of the gardenias that surrounded you. I even picked one and placed it in my breast pocket. The rain made the scent so much more pungent. I drank it in along with your beauty.”
This was too unbelievable to be true. And although a huge part of me wanted
“ Technically, not.”
“ Oh, getting technical are we, because technically YOU ARE NOT REAL!” I got up to leave. Fighting with your own thoughts can be exhausting.
“ Lilly, Miele, please sit.” Unfortunately for me and my better judgement, I couldn’t resist his voice. I paced the cove once more before I sat down beside him again. My emotions were tearing me up inside.
“ Why do you call me Miele?”
“ A better question would be, since you are so convinced that I am a figment of your imagination, how come you don’t know what Miele means?” He smiled a mischievous smile as though he had somehow won a battle.
Damn. He had a point. “I don’t know.”
“ Miele means honey in Italian. Where we met.”
I eyed him suspiciously. “In 1719? Um hum.”
“ Will you please hear me out Lilly? I am real, I’m just not really here.”
I bit my lip. What should I do? Could Elliott be real? He had a point on the whole “Miele” thing. If he were a figment of my imagination, I should know what that meant.
“ Okay. It’s against my better judgement, but since this is only a dream, I’ll play along a bit longer.”
“ Miele, you’re not dreaming.”
“ If I’m not dreaming, I’m hallucinating.” I crossed my arms. “I refuse to play along if I’m hallucinating.” My fingers drummed on my biceps, anxiously awaiting his rebuttal.
“ Okay, we’ll go with dreaming then. Until I can convince you otherwise.” Elliott winked at me. I melted at his smile.
“ As long as I’m listening, will you explain the ‘I’m not a ghost but think of me as a ghost’ thing,” I nibbled my bottom lip, “Uhm, please?”
“ I bet you’re getting your sass from Nicholas, huh?”
I couldn’t believe it. He was trying to change the subject just like every other time I seemed to get him close to answering me. “Leave him out of this. You say I’m sassy, well you are extremely and annoyingly evasive.”
“ Evasive maybe...” he smiled, “but real. I’m not a ghost.”
“ You said we met in 1719. You look really good for being almost three hundred years old.” I couldn’t stop the sarcasm from flowing out of my mouth. Elliott was right. I probably did pick it up from Nicholas.
“ Are you going to let me explain? Or am I going to constantly get interrupted?”
I put my head down in a shameful stare. He was right. I was being rude. I don’t know what came over me. “I’m sorry. I’ll be quiet.”
“ Thank you.” He took my hands in his as we sat there in the starlit darkness. “This is a long story, some of which you might remember, but please let me tell it without interruption.” Elliott laid back on his right arm and pulled me close so that I was cuddled under his left. It felt nice and familiar in his warm embrace. The magnetic electricity flowed freely from him to me. I breathed him in and noticed that the floral scent I kept smelling was coming from him. I shut my eyes and tried to memorize that scent as his honey voice filled the darkness as he began.
“ I fell in love with you the first moment I saw you.” He hugged me still tighter as his voice took on a sort of reminiscing quality. “It was spring in Napoli and I was hiding from the rain in the monastery of San Lorenzo Maggiore the first time I saw you. You weren’t hiding from the rain, but were standing in the open cloister, girded by columns, looking up at the dark swirling sky as the raindrops fell upon your face. Your long black hair dripped as you stood with your arms out taking in the simple beauty of falling droplets of water. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You fascinated me. I still remember the smell of the gardenias that surrounded you. I even picked one and placed it in my breast pocket. The rain made the scent so much more pungent. I drank it in along with your beauty.”
This was too unbelievable to be true. And although a huge part of me wanted
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