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It's been a while since Wilbur died. Two years, two years he has been travelling through barren lands, exploring every place he's failed to visit when he was still alive.
Two years he hasn't seen his family and friends. Not that he doesn't want to see them, it's that they probably don't want to see him.
Who would want to see a dead loved one suddenly appear after two years? It would only hurt them more.
Wilbur walked down a lonely aisle in between numerous closed shops. One of them was a bookstore.
He peeked inside it, only it was too dark to see the books that were on the shelves.
Wilbur decided he'll come back in the morning.
It's early morning, sun barely rising on the horizon.
The shop wasn't open yet, but Wilbur won't wait until the shopkeeper comes to unlock the door. He could pass through them anyways, like any other ghost.
So, he enters the shop and scans the bookshelf. The sun shone through the blinds which blocked the light from shining on the other books. Although, the sunlight that was able to pass through the windows shone on a specific row of books.
Poetry.
He and his brother used to write books together.
Wilbur misses writing with him. Wilbur misses his brother.
And the fact that one of the books displayed on the counter was something he and Techno used to read every bedtime didn't help.
He walks towards it and tries turning a page. Of course, he physically can't do that. But, just for a moment he felt alive again, reading the same poem to his brother every night.
Luck must be on his side today as a gust of wind passes through the window near the roof, blowing the book open.
Wilbur scans the current page and reads the short poem in his mind.
'You, my grim bright moon
Like a sunset, gone too soon
Beyond the seas you await
On a boat, you escaped fate
You, my little shinning star
A glimpse of you, I saw afar
Across the land, there I'll wait
Till you come and face our fate'
Tears of blue land on the smooth pages of the book, appearing as a soft ultramarine stain and disappearing right after.
Then he heard a jingle of keys from outside the store.
Was the shopkeeper here already?
But then, he saw it - the familiar faded pink hair, just outside the window.
The familiar face of his brother, even though they look too eerily alike.
Wilbur abandons the book, hiding quickly behind a shelf before guilt eats him alive.
There's something about your loved ones being able to see your ghost that Wilbur hates. Sure, other ghosts might benefit from that more than he can.
But he really didn't want to see Techno right now.
Not like this.
Not this way.
Opening the door to his bookstore, it felt like the air inside was different than usual.
The air around him felt so, so sad.
Techno walks towards the counter, holding the book he has held his whole life.
Before he even gets the chance to flip to the next page, something shuffles from behind one of the shelves.
"Who's there?" he calls out.
The shuffling stops.
Round the corner, Techno sees blue footprints slowly fading away. He followed them until he reached a dead end.
Now, he has many questions.
What were those blue footprints? Why did they fade just like that? What made the shuffling noise? Why on earth was he feeling an inordinate amount of dread and melancholy?
And most importantly, why is his dead brother standing right in front of him?
Wilbur didn't mean to pass through a cart of books.
If there's one thing a ghost isn't supposed to do, it's to pass through something that isn't as sturdy as a wall or door, else the pressure he effuses would make it move. Out of all times he could've broken that rule, why did it have to be now?
Then again, this was bound to happen sooner or later.
“...Wilbur?” the pinkette says in an awfully quiet voice.
Wilbur’s throat dries up as he steps towards his brother. “Techno, I-”
“Stay away from me,” he warns with a shaky voice, backing away from the brunette.
“I’m sorry,” Wilbur apologises.
“Why didn’t you ever visit? Do you expect me to forgive you when I’ve heard of my friends getting visited by their dead loved ones, and yet you never did?” Techno yells, expression a mix of both ‘I missed you’ and ‘I hate you for leaving me’.
In this world where people acknowledge the existence of ghosts and spirits, Wilbur would often wish otherwise now that he’s one of them. “I thought- I thought it would only cause more problems if I appeared,” he stutters.
“Still, how could you never show up? Two years, Wil. Two years,” Techno says through clenched teeth. I thought you were really gone.”
“I’m so sorry. I thought we would be better this way,” Wilbur whispers.
“You made me miserable, but I still loved you,” Techno admits.
“I won’t make you miserable again,” Wilbur promises.
His brother looks at him with broken trust illuminating through his eyes. Broken trust he wants to repair.
After exchanging a few words of comfort, the twins settled on a bench right outside the shop.
And even though two years sound like so little time, they had more catching up to do than expected.
“Where were you all this time?” Techno asks.
“The usual,” Wilbur answers, looking at his feet. “Roaming around, going on adventures. Everything was pretty limited though. I couldn’t touch anything.”
Techno hums in understanding. “Did you take pictures?” he jokes.
“What the fuck, man? I was being pretty serious,” Wilbur scrunches up his nose.
Techno scoffs. “Did you at least have fun?”
“It was fun,” Wilbur says slowly. “It was fun but it was lonely.”
“You should’ve brought me with you,” Techno sighs.
“Even when I dove into the Mariana Trench and climbed Mount Everest?”
Techno nods his head.
“Then what have you been doing?” Wilbur questions.
“I opened a bookstore,” Techno shrugs.
“That’s it? There’s gotta be more,” Wilbur insists.
“Okay, maybe I wrote a few books here and there under a pen name that I’m definitely not telling you,” Techno confesses.
“Without me? You wrote a book without me?” Wilbur says, bluntly annoyed.
“It’s only fair, Wil. It’s a lose-lose situation. I promised you we’d write a book together and you promised me we’d skydive out of a plane,” Techno points out.
“But I never skydived out of a plane,” Wilbur says. “I’m a ghost anyways. I can float,” he flashes his brother a cheeky grin.
“Wow, I’m so jealous of your flying abilities,” Techno deadpans.
“Trust me, you wouldn’t like being a ghost,” Wilbur shakes his head.
“Do you?” Techno faces towards him.
“I’d much rather be sitting here alive right now so I can put you in a headlock until you tell me what the title of the book you wrote is,” Wilbur says with a mischievous grin.
“I’d prefer you give me a hug instead,” Techno mutters.
“Aww, look at you, you’ve gone all soft,” Wilbur teases.
“Shut up,” Techno groans.
“Don’t worry, I’ll try,” Wilbur says in his stupid mocking tone.
He wraps his arms around the pinkette, hoping his hand doesn’t just pass through him.
Surprisingly, it doesn’t.
Techno feels a warm presence on his back, although it was too invisible and light, he still felt it.
“I’ve missed you,” Wilbur breathes out.
“I’ve missed you too.”
It’s funny how simple phrases like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I miss you’ could affect someone you love.
But then again, every family deserves a joyful reunion and a happy ending.
And no one deserves to be alone.
Not even those long gone, or those left behind.
No one.