The silhouette inched closer; its hands up in surrender. Light crept upon the figure. Golden blonde hair fell over its shoulders, and the light shimmered in her golden brown eyes. She wore a nervous smile, unsure if she would be welcomed. Eden. Kimia would recognize her anywhere. Her stomach turned, and her face twisted. For a moment the decade of loneliness disappeared.

“Eden?” her voice was soft, hopeful.

“Yeah, Kimi. It’s me.”

“You were dead. You left and they told me you died.” Saddness and grief seeped into her voice, “you were gone.”

“I am here now. I am sorry I had to go, but we can be together now.”

Eden stepped closer, closing the space between them. She reached down to Kimi’s clenched fist. Before contact could be made, Kimi pulled her hand away. She took steps back, recreating the distance Eden made all those years ago when she chose to leave. Her face contorted and the static, muffled yelling in her head grew louder.

“No…” Kimi shook her head. “No. You left. You left me.” Her voice became urgent, “You said you wouldn’t leave me, but you left.” Her eyes bounced between the space around Eden, as she was unable to make any type of contact with Eden. She felt heat rising in her chest. “You…” her breath became ragged, “you left me.” The realization made the rising heat turn to a flame. “You said you’d be at the checkpoint and- and you weren’t. I was ten, and I was left all alone.” the flame reached the fuse that had been supressing for the last twelve years and every emotion, every moment of emptiness, every choice she made in the past twelve years erupted. “You think after everything, I will just what? Come crawling back to you.” Her shrill laugh sent a chill through Eden. “Oh, what a class act. You expect me to just forget about the past twelve years and be happy with you?” She doubled over from the laughter crawling its way up from her stomach. “That’s gold! You are still that naive, are you? Your’e a fool. No, instead let me show you what I have been doing since you left.”

There was no gleam left in her eyes. The dim look in her eyes accentuated the dark circles under them. She pulled the pistol out of it holster and tapped the barrel against her temple. 

“You know, I heard rumors that you were still alive, Eden. And I looked into them. I did. I looked for you, but I guess you didn’t want to be found, did you? So instead of spending my time searching for a ghost who didn’t want to be found, I decided to take a different venture. Yeah, I can show you.” She spun the gun around her finger and pointed it at Eden and let out two rounds.