He

His voice was like a gentle breeze, sweeping away all the restlessness in my heart and carrying it off to a distant corner. A seed sprouted in my heart, took root, and slowly grew until it filled me completely.

1.

The eerie background music began, and the dedicated staff got to work. A pale-faced female ghost with long hair and a lolling tongue reached out a skeletal hand and crept toward us, one step at a time.

I immediately buried myself in his arms. His body stiffened for an instant. My voice trembling, I said, “Brother, I’m scared.”

He wrapped his arms around me, ignoring the snarling ghost, and kept reassuring me softly. The ghosts were all people in costumes, none of it was real, so I shouldn’t be afraid. He would protect me.

He said so much, afraid that if he said even a little less, I would be left with a lasting fear.

Like a thief, I frantically drank in his scent during those brief moments, as if I were a parched fish on the verge of death, certain I would die without him.

The faint, clean scent of wood lingered beneath my nose. It wound itself into my midnight dreams for years to come, entwining with me until death.

2.

I suddenly remembered a line I’d once read: Some people have already seen you for the last time in this life. You just haven’t realized it yet.

In that instant, I understood those words deeply. The understanding cut me to the heart.

Theme: I’m telling you this story about the most important person in my life.