One Year Later

I ris sat in the chair in their small apartment. It was Daphne's chair, really. Iris usually sat on the sofa and read a book or did some knitting, which she enjoyed, while Daphne read papers for work. She'd been working on some top-secret government project, and she'd been the only woman on the project, which had made Iris proud. Daphne had actually been at a cocktail party, celebrating that project, the night she'd died.

They'd had nearly a year together in this apartment – ten months and twenty-seven days, to be exact – before Daphne had been walking across the street to her car, and another car had rushed toward her, knocking her down and killing her instantly. Iris had been waiting for her at their home, with dinner on the table. She'd sat there for over an hour before she called the venue where the cocktail party had been and discovered that not only had it ended an hour before, as Daphne had told her, but there had been an accident, and a woman had been run over by a car.

"What was her… What was her name?" Iris had asked, her heart in her stomach.

"I don't know. But she was a guest at the party you're asking about," some woman from the venue had replied.

Daphne hadn't come home, and because, to the rest of the world, Iris was only her roommate, she hadn't been notified of her death. Daphne's parents had been, and they'd called the apartment later that night. Iris had answered the phone, hoping against hope that it would be Daphne, but it was her parents asking if she knew.

One year ago today, Iris had made the decision to be brave and leave her fiancé for the woman she loved, and now, she was only thirty-six, and she'd lost her. Their time together hadn't been perfect. They'd fought sometimes about how much Daphne had been working and how Iris had wanted more time with her. They'd always made up, though, and Iris had believed that nothing would tear them apart. Then, death had.

No, it wasn't death. Death hadn't taken her. Death had been handed to Daphne by the very man Iris had once planned to marry. He hadn't taken the news well, but he'd let her leave without issue. Six months had gone by without her seeing him before he'd shown up at her work, begging for her to take him back. He'd clearly been drinking, and Iris had told him to leave. They'd thought they were rid of him then, only he'd appeared at their front door a couple of months later.

He'd burst into the apartment and had taken a look around. Neither of them had been able to stop him as he hurried to their bedroom and came out, claiming that he understood now. They were deviants. They were sinners. He'd been able to smell Iris's perfume in there, and after seeing that the other bedroom had gotten no use, he'd figured them out. He hadn't said anything to anyone, thankfully, but they had been extra careful at work after that. They'd also made sure to unmake the bed and put more of Iris's things in there to make it appear as if she slept in that room.

Then, one night, Daphne had been on her way home to Iris, and he'd, again, been drinking. His brother had been in the car with him that night, and he'd tried to get him to stop, but Daphne had been right there in the middle of the road, and then, she'd been on the ground, and after that, she was gone.

Iris lost her job three weeks after Daphne's death. She was unable to work, didn't leave the apartment for much, and there was no money left in her bank account. Soon, she'd have to give up the apartment since she couldn't afford the rent.

Daphne had had a little money saved up, but while it hadn't been much, Daphne's parents had that money now, despite Daphne having drawn up a will naming Iris as her beneficiary and telling Iris that it was their nest egg. They weren't married, though, so Daphne's parents had contested the will, and they'd taken most of Daphne's belongings, too, leaving Iris with just some furniture they'd bought together and her own stuff.

Iris would have to move back in with her parents at the end of the month unless something changed, and she knew that nothing would change. She could hardly even move, let alone work and make money. Her ex-fiancé was in prison. The love of her life was gone. There was nothing left to live for.

"Iris."

Iris sat there, frozen, wondering where the voice had come from. Surely, it was her mind playing tricks on her. It wouldn't be the first time since Daphne's death.

"Iris."

She looked around the room, expecting to see someone behind her. The voice was like a whisper, but the windows were closed, letting in no wind, and the door behind her was closed and locked, meaning she was alone.

"My love."

Iris swallowed hard because no one called her that name anymore. The only person who had ever used those words with her was dead.

"My love, please see me," Daphne's voice said.

But Daphne was gone.

"Stop it," Iris told herself and grasped her head in her hands, holding it as she shook. "Stop, please. I can't."

"My love, it's me. Please see me," the voice said again.

"No!" Iris yelled. "No, I'm not going crazy. I'm not."

"You're not going crazy, sweetheart. It's me. I'm here. Please see me. My love, please look up."

But Iris didn't want to look up. If she did, she'd only be disappointed because Daphne wasn't there. Iris was alone. And she'd always, always be alone now. Daphne was dead. She'd been killed, and it had been all Iris's fault.

"Iris, please. I'm here."

Iris's breathing grew faster, and she knew she had to look up. Yes, she'd be disappointed, but she needed to get this voice out of her mind. She removed her hands, opened her eyes, and lifted her head.

"My love," Daphne said as she stood there in front of her.

Iris gasped and turned away from the vision in front of her.

"Sweetheart, don't be afraid. It's me."

"It's not you. I'm just imagining you. You're not really here."

"Yes, I am. I've been here all along. I've been watching over you since the moment I died."

"Please, just go. I can't take this." Iris closed her eyes and began to cry.

"My love, please… How can I convince you that I'm really here?"

"You can't. Please go."

"Okay. I'll try this. If this is really in your head, you're imagining me. That means you want me here, sweetheart."

"Of course, I want you here! I love you. I can't breathe without you."

"Then, be here with me. Believe that it's me."

"I can't… It hurts too much." Iris turned back to see Daphne still standing there .

"Iris, it's taking everything I have to appear before you. I've been trying for weeks to reach out to you, talking to you constantly, and you just heard me for the first time. Now, you can see me. Sweetheart, please just listen to me."

"How can I? You're in my head. You're not her . She's gone. Daphne is gone."

"If I'm not her, and it's just in your imagination, how could I tell you about the project I was working on when I died?"

"What project?"

"The one I wasn't able to tell you about."

"I know all this."

"You don't know the details. Sweetheart, I'll tell you the details now."

"It would be my mind making them up."

"But how? You don't know anything about what I did, my love. You once told me that it's all gibberish, the science talk, as you called it." Daphne smiled and laughed a little.

Iris's heart stopped at the sound.

"I miss you so much," she said, giving in a little to the idea of this moment being real.

"I miss you, too, my love."

"I don't know what I'm going to do. My whole life was you."

"That's not true," Daphne told her. "You are more than you and me, Iris. You're smart and kind and beautiful, and I love you more than you will ever know. I had to tell you that first because I don't know how long I can stay."

"What do you mean?"

"It takes all of my energy."

"Where are you?"

"It's just me here. It's empty. I go wherever you go. I watch over you. I'm alone, though, and it's cold here. I don't know if this is supposed to be heaven or something else, but I don't know if I can be here much longer. Just know that I am here. I love you. I will always be with you. I will always watch over you. I know we didn't get much time together, but the time we did have was precious to me. I love…"

But then, Daphne was gone, and Iris was alone in her living room once again.