My Roommate is a Ghost… and She Won’t Pay Rent! - Fading - Part 15
At first…
Raghav thought he was sleepy.
Because Meera looked slightly transparent.
Just slightly.
Like weak Wi-Fi ghost version.
He blinked twice.
Still transparent.
“…Why can I see the wall through you?”
Meera looked down casually.
“Oh.”
Pause.
“…That’s new.”
Raghav sat up immediately.
“NEW?!”
She poked her own arm.
Hand passed halfway through.
“…Okay,” she whispered.
“That’s mildly concerning.”
“MILDLY?!”
Meera tried laughing.
But even her laugh sounded weaker somehow.
Lighter.
Farther away.
Raghav stood up.
“What’s happening?”
She shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“You’re the ghost!”
“You think ghosts get orientation meetings?!”
Panic entered the apartment quietly.
And stayed.
Meera tried acting normal.
Which honestly looked suspicious.
She floated around casually.
Pretended everything was fine.
But sometimes…
parts of her flickered.
Like an old memory struggling to stay.
Raghav noticed every single time.
Every.
Single.
Time.
“You disappeared for two seconds.”
“No I didn’t.”
“I SAW THE CURTAIN THROUGH YOUR FACE.”
Meera paused.
“…Rude.”
That evening…
she tried stealing biscuits.
Hand passed through packet completely.
Silence.
Meera stared at the biscuits.
The biscuits stared back victoriously.
“…I think this is rock bottom,” she whispered.
Raghav didn’t laugh.
Which scared her more.
He walked closer quietly.
“Meera.”
She looked away immediately.
Classic emotional avoidance.
“You’re worried,” he said softly.
“No.”
“You’re flickering.”
“Atmosphere.”
Raghav suddenly grabbed her wrist instinctively.
Or tried to.
His fingers slipped halfway through.
Both froze.
The room went silent instantly.
Heavy silent.
Raghav looked at his hand.
Then at her.
Fear finally visible on his face.
Meera smiled weakly.
“…Well.”
Pause.
“At least now I’m officially ghost-shaped.”
Still…
he didn’t laugh.
That hurt more than fading.
Night arrived.
Rain outside again.
Because weather had emotional addiction.
Raghav sat beside her near the window.
Very close.
Like proximity could stop disappearing.
“…Does this happen to ghosts?” he asked quietly.
Meera shrugged.
“Maybe.”
“You don’t know?”
“I wasn’t exactly part of ghost WhatsApp group.”
He looked down.
Jaw tight.
Thoughts loud.
Then suddenly—
“We’ll fix it.”
Meera blinked.
“What?”
“We’ll figure something out.”
She smiled softly.
“You sound confident.”
“I’m panicking aggressively.”
She laughed weakly.
“There he is.”
But then…
she flickered again.
Longer this time.
For one horrible second…
she vanished completely.
Raghav stood up instantly.
“MEERA?!”
She reappeared.
Startled.
“…I’m here.”
Raghav grabbed her shoulders immediately.
Again half his hands passed through.
Didn’t matter.
“Don’t do that.”
His voice cracked slightly.
Very slightly.
Painfully slightly.
Meera looked at him quietly.
And suddenly…
her smile disappeared too.
“You’re scared,” she whispered.
Raghav laughed nervously.
“No.”
“You’re lying.”
“Yes.”
Silence.
Then finally…
very softly…
he said it.
“I don’t know how to lose you.”
Meera stopped breathing emotionally.
Which was impressive for someone already dead.
Outside…
thunder rolled quietly.
Inside…
everything hurt.
She looked at him carefully.
Like she wanted to memorize him.
Every stupid expression.
Every awkward panic.
Every ridiculous oxygen conversation.
Then she smiled again.
Small.
Fragile.
“Raghav…”
Pause.
“…You can’t lose someone who already died.”
He looked at her immediately.
Angry now.
Actual anger.
“Don’t say things like that.”
Meera froze slightly.
Because this wasn’t joking anymore.
Raghav looked away.
Eyes suspiciously bright.
“I spent my whole life alone,” he whispered.
“And then you came here…”
Pause.
“…and ruined it.”
Meera smiled through watery eyes.
“There she is. Romance.”
Raghav laughed once painfully.
Then quietly added:
“…So you’re not allowed to disappear now.”
Silence.
Meera looked at him for a long moment.
Then leaned closer softly.
“…That sounded dangerously close to love confession.”
Raghav wiped his face immediately.
“Shut up.”
“Never.”
But later that night…
when Raghav finally slept beside the sofa…
Meera sat there quietly.
Watching him.
And for the first time since she died…
she was terrified.
Not of disappearing.
Not of death.
But of leaving someone behind.
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