A Friend's Farewell

Jimmy wandered the Living World for almost a decade now. For the past years since he stayed in the abandoned house of Mrs. Norrible, he couldn't find the way of where the souls moved on.

He once heard this path from the old Grego, a terrible ghost with large, smelly foot and no eyes at all. It was on the night of November 1st when Jim heard foot's thumping downstairs. There he found Grego dancing with his new shabby, shiny shoes. Weird.

"Why's in the good mood, Mr. Grego?" he shouted, zooming downstairs to get closed at him. Unusual, very unusual for this grump to act this strange. He never seen him this way. At all times, day and night, Jim would only heard him walking hard and loud.

Old Grego lifted his head and pulled it away from his neck. With his body opposite to his head, he looked for Jimmy.

"Boy. I can't see ya. Where are you? Young Jim? Hey?"

Although old Grego towered him, and as tall as the height of the door, Jimmy did not need to worry. He flew upward and grabbed Grego's head so he could face him. Jimmy felt his skin pinched by needles. Hundreds of tiny snake-like creatures crawled in old Grego's sockets and huge flies buzzed in and out of his hollow eyes.

Seeing this upclose, Jim felt his stomach tightened and turned into a heavy dumbell. His mouth puffed like a frog's, he felt the urge to blew off, but he dared not to vomit. This horrible sight, he hated this very much ever since.

"Oh, oh, oh. There you are, little soul." Grego said with lips tearing wide and apart. Jim backed off a small distance from him. "Did ya just call me earlier, Jimmy?"

After brushing away that horrific view from his thought, Jimmy answered, "Yep, Mr. Grego. I was just wondering why you seem happy this day. And I never knew you can dance!"

Laugh cracked in the room. Grego's laugh was horrible too, Jimmy thought. Tears fell from old Grego's eyes, no, it was some pale worms falling in the hard floor. Jimmy gazed hard at those crawling creatures, and swallowed with sting in his throat.

"That's a good laugh, Jim. Thank you, thank you, boy." Grego turned around, where his body now facing Jim and his head lost in the view of the sparkling light above the dark sky. He flew to the side of the old ghost, and stared at the window, too. "You know what, it's bigger today. I wonder how many lost souls look at it. And dream that one day, their wish would be granted."

This was the first time Jimmy heard old Grego spoke of his soft thoughts aloud. He rarely seen him to be as calm as this way. When Jim first met Grego, his jaw dropped drastically for just his appearance. This old ghost has been living in the abandoned mansion more than him. He's been the caretaker of it when he was still alive, he told Jim one night. After the former owner of this house left, Grego still comply his duty until his very last breath and even death. He would scare off trespassers who happened to wander inside the mansion and shoo them away. Jimmy used to his mad tone and mad footsteps. Despite of this, Jim learned to love old Grego. He has been good to him, and as lost soul like Jim, Grego warmly opened his door to let him stay in here that no one did when he was roaming for a shelter. His lonely days had ended, thanks to old Grego.

"Jim, I think I will now follow the path."

Jimmy's brows wrinkled. He did not know what he was talking about. What does old Grego mean?

"What path, sir?" he asked, watching below to know what road Grego refering to. "Mr. Grego? There's only one path here. Why would you follow it? Do you want to----"

He felt a cold hand on his shoulder, and he looked at Grego who's pleased to what wonderful sight he's seeing.

"I will go now to the afterlife, Jim." Hearing this out made Jimmy's heart sank at the bottom of the pit. " I spent my days here for a very long time already. Young Jim, I couldn't contain myself this overflowing joy in me. I dreamed to finally have my rest, and I thought I'll forever be in this house. But now, I can move on and rest."

Jimmy's eyes watered and like a heavy rain in July, his tears flowed in its own. Young Jimmy cried. He jumped and wrapped old Grego around his small arms.

"Dying is painful, Jim. But saying goodbye and never coming back is much worse." Grego hugged Jimmy, too. His smile vanished, and it started to quiver. "I hope you forgive me for leaving you. But I guess, this is a farewell to us. I'm gonna miss you, boy."

Under the moon's light casted from the window, they enveloped by it. Jimmy buried his face, crying in Grego's shirt. He wanted to speak, however, his cries stopped him from uttering a word. Old Grego tried to calm down the child, tapping his small shoulder tenderly until tears could no longer stream down. "Don't cry, Jim. They might hear you."

"W-why? Why would you leave?" After some time, Jimmy was able to told him. "I- I don't want you to leave, Mr. Grego. Please."

His old companion sighed and said, "Sorry, Jim. My stay is enough and as much as I wanted not to leave you, the path found me. This is my last chance to go to where souls go on after. And if I won't accept my fate, I'm afraid I won't be able to see the path, again."

Jimmy howled like a wounded dog even more. As transparent as his skin, his silver tears streamed once again.

"Please, understand, Jim." Grego told him hushing the little Jimmy in his lap like a father lulling his son to sleep. "One day, once you will be freed from your chain, you'll be able to cross this path. And I will be grateful to meet you there."

Lifting his head, Jim stared once more at his old companion's eyes. It came to him that he will never ever see those worms lurking around his sockets again. He won't be able to look at it and be scared. For it won't bother him anymore when the time he'll be gone. Forever gone. He will surely miss those emptiness.

"Would you wait for me, Mr. Grego?" he asked, his voice trembling from crying. "Promise me, okay?"

"I'll be waiting." Grego said. "That's for sure, Jim."

The wind was cold and sad, but old Grego's reassurance brought warmness in Jimmy's heart. In the midnight of November the 1st, they hugged each other for one last time.