Dancing with Shadows

Four

      Jasmine was curled up on the couch doing a yet another sudoku puzzle. Derick leaned against the wall and watched her eyebrow rise in concentration. He wished he was alive. When her father confronted her last Tuesday, he was angry that the man was trying to convince his daughter to forget him. Watching her now, as she finished a seventh puzzle today, it dawned on him that her father was right.

      To a degree.

      When he first met Jasmine, he was backpacking through the Yellowstone Park. He was part of a group that were researching the wildlife to promote funding for the park. Jasmine was his partner throughout most of the trek, and before the end of it, he'd confessed his love to her. He was thrilled that she felt the same, and they moved into a small one bedroom apartment shortly afterward.

      Their relationship was a whirlwind of trips and adventures. She came from old money and had a philanthropist spirit. His family hadn't been all that hard up either, and his parents always tried to encourage him to make the most of life. All present were thrilled with the announcement of their engagement.

      He was torn. He wanted always to have her near him, and knew that for some reason his spirit was tied to the house, and he couldn't leave the surrounding walls. He also wanted her to be that free spirited woman that he fell in love with all those three years ago.

      As if she knew that he was thinking about her, she looked up from her puzzle at him. Of course she couldn't actually see him, but he could pretend.

      Jasmine didn't know what it was that had her looking up and across the living room at the open doorway leading to the hallway that split the house. She shook whatever feeling she had trying to take root and went back to her puzzle. Just a few more boxes, and she'd be done with this book. Tomorrow she would go to the book store and pick up another puzzle book. Hopefully one that was more challenging.

*  *  *  *  *

      She was sitting on the counter. Her legs were swinging out and in, ankles hooked one behind the other. She had a bowl of yogurt in one hand, a spoon in the other, and the phone tucked between her shoulder and ear.

      "You know, I love the taste of yogurt," Jasmine emphasized by licking the last bit off of her spoon.

      Derick laughed. He'd watched her practically inhale her breakfast. "Yeah, I know."

      "But I really do. I think I can have yogurt for every meal," she confessed.

      "Oh, I know," he groaned. "But you'd better not. I may be a ghost, but I swear I'll haunt you for the rest of your life if you don't start eating something besides yogurt."

      This time it was Jasmine's turn to laugh. "You know, that isn't really  a threat."

      Derick leaned in close. "Are you sure?" His voice dropped into a deep rumble.

      Jasmine was sure he was close enough to touch. When he spoke in such a low voice, it always traveled through her body making her feel ways that felt sinful. She swallowed with great dificulty as her body flushed. "I wish I could feel you," she moaned.

      A pang of sorrow pierced Derick's heart. He would never be able to give her the mortal pleasures that she deserved. "I know, love."

      Jasmine sucked in a deep breath and let it out with a shiver, releasing all those emotions that she was harboring.

      "Why don't you go lay out next to the pool?" Derick asked.

      Jasmine frowned. Surely he knew why. Was he just testing her? Should she be brutally honest with him? Would he understand?