Lost and Found

Rose

Jun 25

"Babe, would you still love me if I were a worm?"

"Worm? No…never… worm? Ewww… how could you even…" imitates puking.

Candice's face dropped in Zac's response. "Oh", sighed Candice in hurt.

He laughed, "Why would you ask me such silly questions? Okay, how about, If you are a worm, I am a worm, and we will travel together to Paris, have a long passonate kiss at the Eiffel Tower, and come back home? Have a bunch of worm babies and live happily ever after in a worm castle made of animal poopies?" He pressed his gentle arms on Candice and tickled her.

"EWWWWWWWWW." she screamed while she laughed.

Zac always knew how to make her laugh. A perfect love story for her. Their love was a radiant flame that warmed the hearts of everyone around them. It was the kind of love that made others secretly envy and yearn for their own. Candice and Zac were inseparable, bound by deep affection and an unbreakable bond.

However, fate can be cruel, and tragedy struck one fateful day. A fire engulfed Zac's workplace, snatching him away from Candice's embrace. The loss was devastating, tearing at the very fabric of her being. Candice found it nearly impossible to move on, her grief so overwhelming that she withdrew from the world, cocooning herself in a shroud of sorrow. Her friends lost words to comfort her. Her family, who saw their happy girl in grief, had their heart broken. Nobody knew how to bring her back; they wished Zac were there.

It had been months since the tragic fire that claimed Zac's life, but her heart still ached with unbearable longing. "I didn't even get to say goodbye", she would say, staring at the photo frame from their last date. She had withdrawn from the world, cutting herself off from family and friends, unable to escape the suffocating grip of grief.

One day, Candice knew it was enough; she stared in the mirror and couldn't even recognize herself. The girl in the mirror looked unhealthy and pale; the dark circles had completely taken over her face. She resembled a living corpse, she thought. She looked around and found herself in piles of unwashed clothes, dirty, unfinished dishes and unopened condolence gift boxes from her friends. With a deep sigh, she decided to clean her room.

She pulled up her hair and started from one corner. First, the dirty dishes, then the piled-up clothes, then her room and herself. While carrying the folded clothes to the closet, she felt a gentle breeze brushing over her hair as it kissed her.

Candice opened the closet door and first spotted Zac's favourite hoodie amidst a sea of clothes. She stared at it for a while as tears started to roll down. Its familiar scent wafted through the air, triggering memories of their time together. Without hesitation, she grabbed it, holding it close to her heart.

As she buried her face in the soft fabric, Candice felt warmth enveloping her. It was as if Zac's essence had found refuge in the hoodie, waiting patiently for her to discover it. She slipped the hoodie on, feeling an inexplicable connection to her lost love. It was almost as if Zac's arms were embracing her, comforting her in the absence of his physical presence.

"Can-dice," a soft voice whispered in her ear, and Candice Candice spun around, her heart fluttering with both surprise and delight.

"Za-Zac?" she stammered, her eyes wide with disbelief.

A gentle breeze embraced her in response. Days turned into weeks, and Candice found solace in the hoodie. It guided her through the darkness, coaxing her to eat and encouraging her to step outside. She became a mere vessel, allowing the hoodie to move her through life. With Zac's spirit seemingly woven into the fabric, Candice felt alive once more, accepting that he was not truly gone from her side.

But as time passed, things began to unravel. The hoodie, once a source of comfort, became possessive, refusing to be removed. It clung to Candice with an unyielding grip as if Zac's spirit was unwilling to let go. At first, she brushed it off as a figment of her imagination, a desperate longing to keep him close. Yet, the hoodie's hold on her grew more robust, suffocating her physically and emotionally.

Night after night, Candice found herself trapped in a waking nightmare. The hoodie's grip tightened, constricting her like a vice, leaving her gasping for breath. Strange apparitions manifested in her peripheral vision, fleeting glimpses of Zac's face twisted in agony. Whispers grew louder, filled with malice and despair, taunting her with promises of eternal torment.

Exhausted and unable to break free from the hoodie's grip, Candice realized she had become a prisoner of her grief. She couldn't move on, couldn't grow, and couldn't live the life Zac would have wanted for her. With tear-filled eyes and a heavy heart, she made a decision.

With every ounce of strength she could muster, she fought against the suffocating hold of the hoodie."Zac, I love you, but this isn't the love we shared; this is a prison!" she cried out, her voice filled with desperation. "I need to let you go. I need to find a way to live without you."

Suddenly, a gust of wind swept through the room, extinguishing the candle's flame. The grip of the hoodie loosened, allowing Candice to peel it away from her trembling body. And at that moment, a fleeting image appeared before her—a ghostly manifestation of Zac, his eyes filled with sorrow and regret.

"I'm sorry, love," his ethereal voice whispered, barely audible amidst the haunting whispers surrounding them. "You deserve to find happiness, even without me."

He wore a serene expression, his eyes filled with an ethereal light. Zac's apparition touched Candice's cheek, tenderly conveying love and longing. As the ghostly image faded into the ether, Candice felt a weight lift from her shoulders.

She folded the hoodie and held it close to her heart, "Goodbye Zac."

She didn't know if Zac had planned to torment her to make her move on, but she knew their love was one of a kind. He knew what she deserved; a life full of happiness and adventure, and like always, he knew how to make her happy, even if it was by letting him go.