The Heart

I went to visit Sebastian, whom I tried to meet from time to time to maintain our new bond as step-siblings. I took him out for coffee, watching him clearly not in the mood. Tristan, of course, got involved too, they even got along relatively well, although the young man felt guilty for trying to get rid of him for a while. Still reluctant to taste the caffeinated drink, unless half of it was cream and lots of sugar, he didn't even flinch. I didn't want to force him to tell me what was bothering him, I hoped he would finally tell me. Sebastian suddenly lay down on the table and sighed heavily.

"A long-distance relationship is so difficult," he announced, I smiled inwardly, so that was the point.

"Nobody said it was going to be easy," I replied, though it probably didn't sound convincing to him.

"In my day..." Tristan tried to interject.

"Give it up," I interrupted him. "Besides, you weren't interested in a serious relationship at the time, so you don't have the proper experience."

Tristan, of course, pretended to be offended, but I didn't care because I told the truth in the end. Sebastian laughed, which automatically made me feel better. Even though he and Lily were young, I knew how much they cared about each other.

"I started looking for my own place so that I could move there immediately after finishing school. Lily and I want to go to the same university here, and I was thinking maybe we should move in together then," he said, but there was a question in the air about what I thought.

"Will there be a wedding in the meantime?" asked Tristan, surprised by his declaration. I rolled my eyes because he wasn't a saint himself, but he believed that because he was a ghost, certain things didn't apply to him.

"No," replied Sebastian, surprised.

"How about an engagement?"

"I don't know."

"That sure would be nice after being in a long-distance relationship," I said, interrupting the spirit's interrogation. "But I think it might be too much of a jump, and I wouldn't risk the anger of Lily's father, despite how much he likes you. Give yourself a year or two of dating and college life,” I explained, not sure if my advice was good for them.

"If that's what they want, let them live together," Judy interjected suddenly. "In our time, and after three months, couples got married and it was a lifelong relationship. Weddings are last on the priority list these days."

I don't know how she and Ronald got next to us, why now. I looked at the ghost of the man with questioning eyes.

“You told us so much about Sebastian that we finally wanted to meet him. You're so cute," the woman's ghost said to the young man. "If we were to have a son, I'd like him to be like you. Oh, what is it? Why do you have such an ugly scar on your face?"

Her voice sounded worried, Sebastian was slightly embarrassed by this sudden surge of concern and love. Judy's attention suddenly shifted to me, she stood up and pointed an accusing finger at me.

"And you, Miss, why didn't you protect him from that?"

"I didn't know him then," I defended myself.

"I'm sorry about her," Ronald interjected, giving a look calming his wife a bit. "And what are you going to do, young man?" he asked Sebastian.

A heated discussion broke out between me, Judy, and Tristan about this. The young man listened to both sides of the argument and seemed to regret asking for anyone's opinion at all. Ronald wasn't involved, he just let us talk.

"Sebastian should do what his heart dictates anyway, but only after talking to his beloved, because communication is the basis," announcing this, he considered the discussion over.