The sky was too quiet for a day like this.
Not a single bird dared to sing as dark clouds stretched endlessly above the cemetery, pressing down on the grieving crowd below. The air felt heavy… like even the wind was mourning.
Catherine stood at the front, her body wrapped in black, her face hidden beneath a thin veil. But nothing could hide the pain trembling through her.
Her husband was gone.
Jack was gone.
The priest's voice droned on, speaking words she could no longer understand. They sounded distant, meaningless… like echoes in a place she didn't belong.
Because none of this felt real.
Just days ago, Jack had called her.
"I'll be home soon, Cathy. Tell the kids I'm bringing gifts."
She remembered smiling.
She remembered believing him.
Now she stood before a coffin.
Her fingers trembled as she clutched the edge of it, her knees threatening to give way. Inside… inside was what they said remained of him.
Burned.
Unrecognizable.
But they told her it was him.
They told her the car matched.
They told her the timing was exact.
They told her his watch was found.
And that was enough.
A soft cry escaped her lips.
"Jack…" she whispered, her voice breaking like fragile glass.
Behind her, relatives murmured, some crying, others whispering in hushed tones.
"It's so tragic…"
"He was such a good man…"
"The accident was terrible…"
Catherine barely heard them.
All she could think about were their children.
Two small souls who stood a few steps behind her, holding hands. Confused. Silent. Watching everything with wide, uncertain eyes.
They didn't understand death.
They didn't understand why their father was in a box.
They only knew their mother hadn't stopped crying.
And that scared them more than anything.
"Mommy…" the little girl called softly.
Catherine turned, her heart shattering all over again. She forced a smile through her tears, kneeling down and pulling them close.
"It's okay… it's okay…" she lied, her voice shaking.
But nothing was okay.
Nothing would ever be okay again.
The coffin was lowered slowly into the ground.
Each inch it disappeared felt like a piece of her soul was being buried with it.
"Dust to dust…" the priest said gently.
Catherine couldn't breathe.
She watched as the first shovels of dirt fell onto the coffin.
Thud.
Thud.
Thud.
Each sound echoed inside her chest like a final goodbye.
And just like that…
Jack was gone.
Hours later, the house was filled with people.
Relatives.
Friends.
Neighbors.
All gathered in quiet sorrow, waiting for what came next — the discussions, the decisions, the division of belongings.
Catherine sat in the living room, surrounded by voices but completely alone.
Her eyes were swollen.
Her body numb.
She hadn't moved in what felt like hours.
Every corner of the house screamed his name.
The couch where he used to sit.
The hallway where he would greet the kids.
The door he was supposed to walk through today.
But he never would again.
Because she buried him.
She saw the coffin.
She said goodbye.
That was the truth.
…wasn't it?
Then—
A scream shattered the silence.
Someone near the gate.
Another scream followed.
Then chaos.
"What is that?!"
"Who is that man?!"
"Oh God—!"
People began rushing inside, panic spreading like wildfire.
Some pushed past each other.
Some froze where they stood.
Some whispered one word over and over again:
"Ghost…"
Catherine's heart skipped.
Her body went cold.
Slowly… painfully… she turned her head toward the door.
And then she saw him.
Standing at the gate.
Alive.
Unharmed.
Wearing a sharp yellow suit like he had just stepped out of a different world entirely.
Jack.
Her breath caught in her throat.
No…
No, that wasn't possible.
Her eyes widened as her vision blurred.
"I… I buried you…" she whispered.
The man at the gate looked just as shocked.
His eyes scanned the crowd — confusion, fear, disbelief.
"Catherine…?" he called, his voice trembling.
That voice.
It was his.
It was Jack.
But how?
"How are you… all here?" he asked, stepping forward slowly. "Why is everyone looking at me like that?"
No one answered.
No one moved.
The air turned deadly still.
Catherine's heart pounded violently in her chest.
Her mind screamed at her to run.
To hide.
To not believe what she was seeing.
Because she knew the truth.
She saw the body.
She buried her husband.
This man—
This man standing before her—
Was not supposed to exist.
"Stay back!" someone shouted.
"It's not him!"
"It's a spirit!"
Jack froze.
Pain flickered across his face.
"Spirit…?" he repeated softly.
Catherine took a step back.
Then another.
Her legs felt weak.
Her vision spinning.
He took a step toward her.
"Cathy… it's me…"
That was it.
Everything inside her shattered.
Her body gave in.
And the last thing she saw before darkness swallowed her whole…
Was her dead husband running toward her—
Trying to catch her before she hit the ground.