Nk Layne

Liz’s burial was an anti-climatic memory. First, they put her corpse in a casket. Then a team of professional hole diggers dug a big hole. And, lastly, she was plopped into such hole. It was so much more an act of hygiene than anything spiritual. As a corpse, Liz was a cesspool of disease. The heart of all this was nothing other than anti-plague prevention.
The day after her burial, Liz drifted around the graveyard. That post-corpse condition had a far more vague meaning. She had some ideas on corpsehood but she had no clue what this was. Ghosthood, she guessed, but what was that? Was it a vengeance thing or a friendly thing or what?

Was the Big Man in the clouds just dicking around?

The vast graveyard expanded outwards, for as far as she could see. She searched for something beyond the macabre, a pleasant something in her death.

That’s when she bumped into Lilah.

Lilah was the most beautiful thing Liz ever saw in death, and that is no insult to her. She was also the most beautiful thing Liz ever saw in life, but she never expected to spend infinity with her.

As ghosts, Lilah and Liz lost all opacities and hues. They were floating thick outlines with nothing on the inside like empty coloring books. Even as a ghost, Lilah was a curly-q cutie. From her bouncing perm, plump cheeks, button nose, and notable ass, Lilah was like a spring. Death made her translucent, but she kept her bounce.

In life, Lilah was the sweet, sexy neighbor that Liz's marriage kept her away from. Though they barely made it past the small talk zone, Liz found Lilah refreshing and energizing. She did hunger for intimacy, but never ventured. Her marriage couldn’t bare it. Liz's marriage used to be so important to her.

But in death, Liz could express her affections. Finally.

Lilah sung out Liz’s name as she glided closer.

“I never thought you would be so enthusiastic to meet fresh fertilizer,” said Liz.

“I can’t believe you are here! Liz, it has been seven months.”

“Heh, yeah. I know.” Liz smirked. “I missed you. But I’m sure you seduced a living dead cutie as soon as you went ghost.”

“No.” Lilah stared down at her foot’s shape. “I been alone for seven months.”

“Jeez. Here I was, happy to not be alone and--” Liz bit down on her lower lip. Lilah’s heavy words were like a push back in the grave.

“Fuck, I’m so sorry that you went through that.”

“I’m actually okay.” Lilah nudged a curl behind her ear. “I mean, at least it’s you.”

Liz petted Lilah's perm while bringing her closer. From the corner of her eyes, she saw Lilah's floating grin. It's weird how in life that
would scare her, but in death it was something close to warmth. “I'm glad I can feel you.”

Lilah's jaw snapped as she yawned, just like when she was alive. As she gripped Liz's hand, weightlessness pulsed through them.

The moon ballooned into view. “I'm tired.” Lilah grinned as she let her go. She curled around a headstone and gestured towards Liz.

She was so palpable. Lilah was alluring, even as an outline, lively even without life. She was Liz's hidden secret that she didn’t have to hide any longer.

Liz curled around Lilah and breathed it all in. The rusty graves, deep mulch, and organic seeds of hope. Perhaps her life’s marriage was not her death’s responsibility.