Morning had been unkind from the start. The hairdryer had given up its ghost, the eggs had burned, her husband was in another of his foul moods, and Lily, skipping breakfast, had barely squeezed onto the bus, collapsing onto the only empty seat. She turned wearily to the window, unable to bear the sight of irritated faces around her. Everything grated—the noise, the jostling, the dust on the streets—but most of all, that gnawing unease she couldn’t quite place.
Something whispered that this day would be no ordinary one.
Then she felt it—the weight of a gaze. Turning her head, her heart dropped. There he was, just across the aisle. Rob. Her first love. Her heartbreak. Her past.
He was looking straight at her, smiling. That smile—the one that had once made the world fade away.
“Hello,” he said softly. “Knew it was you straight off. You’ve hardly changed.”
“Hello,” Lily replied, automatic. “Never thought I’d see you again.”
“How’ve you been?”
“Alright. You?”
Inside, her thoughts churned. A bitter part of her hoped to hear he’d had it rough—divorced, lonely, miserable. Instead:
“Not bad. Wife’s at work, son’s just finished uni—off to the seaside now for a bit…”
He meant to say more, but a glance out the window made him start.
“Sorry—this is my stop.”
He stepped off, waving once before vanishing. Whether for good, she couldn’t say. But her pulse raced just as it had when she was young, all the words she’d never spoken stuck in her throat.
*Why today of all days?* she agonised, barely making it through her shift. Her hands fumbled, her mind wouldn’t settle. The encounter had thrown her entirely. When her husband rang to say he’d be late, she sat in the quiet and simply… slipped back.
Back to where love, betrayal, and tears had once lived.
Once, she and Rob had been happy. He’d read her poetry, picked wildflowers for her, held her hand. It was Vera, her friend and his neighbour, who’d introduced them. Vera, always meddling: “Have a row, then make up—it keeps things fresh.” Lily had believed her. They’d quarrelled, made up, quarrelled again—until she grew tired of the game. She’d just wanted peace.
She remembered the first time she’d met Rob’s mother—a warm, open-hearted woman. Lily had thought, *Perhaps I’ll belong here one day.* She’d been wrong.
Then, it all unravelled. She’d waited for Rob on her birthday. Instead, Vera came alone, claiming he’d gone to his grandmother’s—some tale about her falling ill, the hearth needing tending, water drawn from the well.
Lily had believed it. Until, passing the pub one evening, she saw him—laughing with friends. His eyes met hers, then flickered away. She’d walked home in a daze and wept like she’d never wept before. Soon after, Vera returned:
“Forget him. He’s with someone else now.”
And she’d seen it herself. Seen him holding another woman’s hand. Seen him marry her. Seen him smile as he led her down the aisle. Lily had stood on the pavement, unable to look away, knowing it was over.
But she hadn’t realised then—it was only the beginning.
She’d left. Started anew. A year and a half later, she married George—steady, dependable, a man of his word. At first, she’d wondered, *Do I love him?* In time, she understood: fate had given her what she needed. Security. A family. Two sons.
The town of her youth faded from memory. Only rare visits to her mother brought her back. And on one such visit, everything changed.
She was leaving the shops when a voice called:
“Lily! Is that you?”
Turning, she barely recognised her. Vera. Aged, her spark gone. The lively friend she’d known was but a shadow.
“Vera? Good Lord… How are you?”
“Not well, Lily. Living alone. No one wants me. Tried marriage—twice. Never took. No children either.” She hesitated. “I… I’m the reason you and Rob fell apart.”
Lily froze.
“What?”
“I lied to him. Said you were waiting for some lad coming home from service. That you’d marry him the moment he returned. Then I introduced him to Iris. Told her to get with child so he’d have to wed her. I broke you two apart. Out of envy. No one ever read me poetry, gave me flowers…”
“Vera… why?”
“Because I was lonely. And you—you were happy. I didn’t know the pain I caused would come back to me. Maybe it was God. Maybe just life.”
Lily stared, unsure what to feel. Years ago, she might have cursed her. But now? She had a family. Children. Peace. And Rob—just a ghost from another time.
“He lives in your city now,” Vera added. “Doesn’t know. I thought you’d never cross paths… But I suppose fate had other ideas.”
Lily hadn’t forgiven her then. Not straight away. But today, on that bus, seeing Rob’s face—she knew she’d forgiven them all. Vera. Rob. Herself, for carrying the hurt so long.
Sometimes a ghost from the past is just what the soul needs to let go.
Now, she had everything. And perhaps that—walking away in time to find what was real—had been the wisest choice of her life.
