They stopped and stood in front of the swings. It hurt Marina’s chest with every breath, with every movement of the swing moving back and forth. She could hear her sister’s laugh on the wind.
“Every time she came around, I could smell vanilla.”
Marina let out a soft, stifled sob.
River nodded, her expression pensive. “I didn’t make the connection until we went to your family’s house and I saw the photos. When I heard the story, I understood.”
Marina’s tears were warm as they slid down her cheeks. “Why are you doing this?” she whispered.
River turned and gently pulled her toward a darker part of the park, unlit by streetlamps. “Because you both need this.”
Marina’s knees turned to Jell-O when a shadow detached itself from the others. She sank against River, who held her against her body. “Isabella?” It wasn’t so much spoken as an audible thought.
The ghost…her sister, floated forward. Her long, thick hair flowed around her, and she looked exactly as she had on that fateful, horrible day.
Marina turned her head a little to talk to River. “Why now? Why, after all this time?”
River moved her hand from Marina’s shoulder and held it out to the ghost. “I offered to be a go-between. Some ghosts talk, some don’t. Your sister doesn’t.”
Marina watched as the transparent hand reached out and lay touching River’s. Marina, her own hand trembling, reached out to put hers over theirs. She felt nothing when her hand touched Isabella’s. That brought more tears to her eyes, and she pulled away.
River took a deep breath. “She hasn’t been able to leave because the family can’t let go.Youcan’t let go. Your guilt and their anguish have kept her tethered here.”
Marina gave a small sob. “I’m so sorry, Isabella. I didn’t know.”
The ghost gave her that little crooked smile that had always gotten her what she wanted when they were kids.
“She knows. And she wants you to understand that it wasn’t your fault. Accidents happen, she says. She says you need to convince your parents to let go too.” There was no judgment. No censure. Just River relaying words from a long-dead sibling. No big deal.
Tears blurred Marina’s vision. “I’m sorry. I’ve missed you every day. Living without you has been so hard. You were supposed to be my rock. Without you, I’ve been treading water.” Marina hiccupped and brushed at her dripping nose with her coat sleeve. “I think I’m finally drowning.”
The ghost shook her head, the long hair floating wildly.
“She says you’re finally on solid ground.” River smiled a little. “You’re not alone anymore, and it’s time you stopped acting like a…” She frowned. “A cactus?”
Marina sob-laughed. “Okay, porcupine. I hear you. And I love you.”
The ghost slipped her hand out of River’s, then placed both of her palms on Marina’s cheeks. The love shone out of her eyes, and then her hands slid away. She looked at River, then moved upward, turning the snow darker for a moment, before she was simply gone.
Marina collapsed against River, who held her tightly until she finally cried herself out. She pulled back and looked up at her. “Thank you,” she said.
River kissed her forehead. “You’re welcome. Thank you for not running off screaming.”
“Well, this one didn’t wake me up by screaming insults in my face.” Marina used her sleeves to dry her eyes. “I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.”
River draped her arm over Marina’s shoulders as they walked back to the car. “No, I don’t imagine you will.”
They got back in the car, and River headed back toward Marina’s place. “Is she gone?” Marina finally asked, picturing the way Isabella had kind of become part of the snow.
“I think so.” River looked thoughtful as she navigated the icy streets. “I do think you’ll need to talk to your family, though, to make sure that string is really cut.”
Marina’s thoughts were strangely quiet. When they pulled up outside her place, she put her hand on River’s leg. “Will you stay with me tonight?” At River’s look of surprise, she laughed a little. “Not for a sex fest. I just…” She shook her head and bit her lip. “I don’t want to be alone. And more than that, I want to be with you.”
River smiled and pulled the car around to the underground parking lot without a word.
When they got into Marina’s apartment, she just stood there, numb. She felt River slide her coat off, heard River move around the apartment, and then didn’t pull away when River took her hand and led her into the bedroom. There shouldn’t, couldn’t, be any tears left, and yet they kept coming, a slow trickle like a stream drying out in late summer.
She shivered when River undressed her. There was no romance to it, just a gentle pragmatism Marina appreciated. She gladly climbed into bed and snuggled against River’s sidewhen she joined her. River’s heart thumped steadily under her ear, a strong, sure sound that lulled Marina into a doze. With River’s strong arm around her, she felt safe and cared for. It was terrifying in the best way.
