LOVE ME IN ANOTHER LIFE

Daniel had wandered so far, even the wind seemed to forget him.

He sat slouched on a busted wooden chair, next to a campfire that was just barely alive.

The flames snapped and hissed, the only thing brave enough to break the silence. The forest closed in on him—trees standing tall and watchful, like they were judging him but keeping their opinions to themselves.

“Max,” he whispered.

The dog lifted his head—brown fur, soft eyes catching the firelight. Max rested his chin on Daniel’s knee, tail giving a lazy thump.

Trying to help in his own way, probably.

Daniel scratched behind his ears and exhaled. “At least you’re not here to judge me, huh?”

Max blinked, yawned, let out a sigh.

Meanwhile…

Miles away, Elara sat on the roadside, phone tight in her hand. Her fingers shook as she scrolled through her contacts. Eyes glassy, lips almost colorless.

“Oh, come on…” She pressed her forehead into her palm. “I never saved his number.”

The realization hit her in the gut. The only person who ever understood—gone.

She leaned back against a cold stone fence, eyes shut, letting exhaustion wrap her up.

Her mind spun out: Daniel missing, Andrian dead, and this nagging feeling that neither was really gone.

She muttered, almost too quiet to hear, “Why does everything I love just disappear?”

A cold snap whipped around the camp. The fire shuddered, flames turning wild. Max growled, ears up, his fur standing straight.

Daniel shot upright. “What is it, Max?”

Then he heard it—a voice, low but sharp, coming from everywhere and nowhere at once.

“Are you... discouraged?”

Daniel froze. Heart hammering. “Andrian?”

Mist crawled out from the shadows, swirling until it started to look like Andrian—pale, see-through, eyes burning blue.

Daniel swallowed. His hands shook. “You again…”

Andrian’s ghost crossed his arms, like he still remembered how. “Don’t act so put-upon. You promised you’d help.”

“I have helped,” Daniel snapped. “She’s impossible. I can’t keep up with her. I don’t even know if I want to try.”

Andrian’s face went hard. “Watch it. That woman was my whole world, alive or dead. You’re going back to her. Stick it out—her anger, her grief, all of it. You do it for me.”

Daniel clenched his fists. “For you? You’re a ghost, Andrian. You don’t have to listen to her, not like I do. You don’t have to wake up to her pain every day.”

Andrian’s voice dropped, booming. The fire burned blue. “Careful, Daniel. I can end this whenever I want. I picked you for a reason. You owe me.”

Daniel’s jaw set. “I can’t keep going. My job’s on the line, I’m losing my mind, and now you want me to save someone who hates me? No. I’m done. Let her go.”

Andrian’s form flickered. He looked furious. “You’re not giving me any choice.”

Before Daniel could react, the ghost rushed at him—fast as lightning—and slipped right inside.

Daniel gasped, choking, hands shaking so hard he nearly dropped his phone when it buzzed in his pocket.

He tried to fight it, but his fingers unlocked the screen and started moving on their own.

Andrian’s voice—coming out of Daniel’s mouth—said, “Her contact.”

He scrolled, picked a number, dialed. The call rang.

“Daniel?” Elara’s voice came through, sharp, scared. “Where are you?”

But the voice she heard wasn’t Daniel’s.

“Elara,” Andrian said, soft.

She froze. “Andrian?”

“No,” Andrian snapped, trying to steady the voice. “Daniel.”

She hesitated. Heart pounding. “That’s Daniel... but you sound like Andrian.”

For a second, just silence. Then Andrian slipped out of Daniel’s body—gone like mist at sunrise.

Daniel doubled over, coughing. “Elara?”

“Where’s Max?” she shot back. “And what have you done with Andrian? You sound possessed!”

Daniel groaned. “I don’t know what you’re on about. I’m here, with Max—your genius dog. But if you’re talking about Andrian, well, you’re not making much sense.”

The line clicked dead.

Morning rolled in with a quiet drizzle, the world smelling like wet earth and pine. Daniel couldn’t ignore the ache in his chest anymore—maybe guilt, maybe Andrian still hanging on.

He stood, slung his bag over his shoulder. “Let’s go, Max.”

Max barked, eager to move.

They walked. The path twisted through damp fields, fog rolling back, until the town slowly appeared. At the crossroads, Elara stood—hair damp, clothes wrinkled, face pale and watchful.

She spotted him from a distance. Her heart jumped.

Daniel slowed, not sure what to say. Max didn’t wait. He saw Elara and took off, tail wagging like mad.

“Elara!” Daniel called, but Max was already there, leaping and barking, spinning circles around her.

Elara didn’t smile. Her face twisted with anger.

“Get off me!” she snapped, shoving the dog away.

Max barked again, looking lost, and nudged her hand with his nose, hoping for affection.

“I said get away!” she shouted, swinging her hand and smacking him hard across the muzzle.

Max yelped—a sharp, aching sound that cut right through the air. He shrank back, whimpering, tail tucked.

“Elara, stop!” Daniel yelled, rushing over. He caught her wrist before she could strike again.

She jerked free, breath ragged, tears burning in her eyes. “Just leave me, Daniel. Please. Just go.”

He didn’t move. His chest rose and fell, heavy and tense.

“You shouldn’t hit him. He was just happy to see you.”

“He looks just like him!” she snapped, her voice cracking. “Every bark, every glance—Andrian all over again. I can’t stand it!”

Daniel’s face softened. He took a step closer. “It’s not safe out here, Elara. Let’s just—please, calm down.”

She scoffed, turning away. “Safe? What do you know about danger? You didn’t lose the only person who ever understood you.”

He hesitated, voice dropping. “No. I didn’t. But he’s still with me. Haunting me.”

That stopped her cold. She turned, eyes wide. “What are you talking about?”

He looked down at the dirt. “He came to me again last night. Told me to come back to you.”

Her mouth fell open, shock flickering across her face.

“You mean—Andrian’s ghost?”

Daniel nodded. “He’s not at rest. He said he still loves you… and that I should stick by you.”

Wind rustled the leaves, filling the silence between them.

Elara blinked, fighting tears.

“He would say that,” she whispered.

She looked up, her face a mix of grief and disbelief.

“And you actually listened?”

Daniel’s shoulders slumped.

“I didn’t really have a choice.

He—he took over. But even now… I think he’s right about something.”

She stared at him. “What?”

“That maybe you’re not impossible.

Not really.”

She let out a brittle laugh.

“You don’t know me.”

“Let me,” he said, moving closer.

She glanced away, trembling.

“Daniel, I can’t be who he loved. I can’t.”

He smiled, just a little.

“Just be you. Right now, right here. That’s all I want.”

She didn’t reply.

She looked at Max instead—he sat a few feet away, tail thumping the ground, still hoping for forgiveness.

Elara sank down, touching his head carefully.

“I’m sorry, Max,” she whispered.

" I didn't mean to hurt you, but your actions caused it." Elara said.

He pressed against her, licking her fingers.

For the first time in so long, Elara allowed herself a small, shaky smile.

Daniel stayed behind her, quiet, watching. Maybe, just maybe, even Andrian’s ghost was finally ready to let go.

" You hurt the dog simply because of me." Daniel speaks.

" I hate you Daniel, and as that I don't want you anyway closer to max." She said the more.

" The dog seems not to be coming." He replied her, Max ran to Daniel so fast.

" Max." She shouted at the dog, the dog still couldn't leave. Elara walked into her room filled with tears.

" I missed you Andrian, I wished you would tell med where you." She said within herself.

Daniel and Max had stood beside her watching.

" You keep hurting yourself Elara, isn't it right you understand that this is a new life for you ?" He asked.

Elara turned, her heart born like fire.

" Don't say a word to me, else I will unleashed my anger in a way you wouldn't like it." She warned Daniel.

" I am only trying to help."

" I don't need your help, not even Max help." She shouted.

The room was filled with Elara's voice, she rested her back on the wall while Daniel and Max left for the sitting room.

" If only you were alive, I wouldn't be sitting with that ass of a man called Daniel." Elara said to Andrian's picture.

.