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“Foolish child. You thought you could stop me?”
“No…”
“I killed your grandfather; I killed your friends; your family. And you dream of stopping me.”
“No..!”
“I shall return. And you will be mine!”
“No!” Phoebe sat up with a startled gasp and looked around the room, her eyes searching for the white-clothed and electrically-charged monster she and her family defeated months ago.
But they weren’t there.
Her family was there, and the evil God had been captured in a trap and thrown back into the tear between their worlds, banishing them forever. There was no way for them to return without escaping the trap first, which it couldn’t, not without anyone to release them.
But the nightmare wasn’t a complete lie.
Gozer had taken her grandfather. Before they could reach him; before they knew he needed saving.
She ducked her head and pulled her knees up to her chest, resting her chin on top of them as she wrapped her arms around them tightly. She didn’t like to think about it that way because it meant they could have saved him.
And it was true, they could have saved her grandfather. If only he had let them into his life, maybe they could have fought it with him, but he didn’t, and dwelling on it didn’t make it true.
Phoebe slipped out of her room silently and tiptoed down to the kitchen. She wouldn’t wake her family; there wasn’t anything they could do to comfort her, so she wouldn’t disturb them for no reason.
She poured herself a warm cup of coffee and took a sip, settling on the porch steps outside the front door with a gentle breeze keeping her eyes open whenever they drooped.
“I… I know you can’t hear me,” Phoebe said softly, looking up at the starry sky. She felt pure distress for the first time when she watched her grandfather vanish into a cloud of light that lit up the stars. She felt like she lost something a part of her always wanted, and it was a devastating feeling. “But I’m going to talk anyway.”
She took another sip and cleared her throat.
“Your friends are basically living with us now,” Phoebe said. “I can… see why you liked having them around. Sometimes.” She continued to tell him about the past few months up until she reached the present, and the issue she was facing at the current moment. “Nightmares.”
Phoebe thought about not elaborating. Anyone could hear, and it wasn’t like her grandfather was listening anyway. Not anymore. But still, she couldn’t help it if she wanted to relate to someone. And she related to him, for a short while.
“I keep… getting these bad dreams. About… Gozer.” Phoebe looked around, eyeing the front door for a second, and then looked back down at her coffee. She sighed heavily. “They’re baiting me; trying to make me afraid or angry. Maybe both. They… boasted about killing you. If they did kill you.”
After a moment of silence, she deflated. Whatever hope she unknowingly had left her. “I miss you grandpa.” She tapped the sides of the cup with her index fingers. “I need you.” She took another sip of her coffee.
It was cold.
Phoebe pulled a face and set the cup down. It hadn’t felt cold, and she only brewed it ten minutes ago, but she was outside, so it would get cold a little faster. Her eyes turned when a flickering light caught her attention.
The porch light flickered twice and then turned off.
Then, there was a sequence of flickers. Two quick, break, one quick and three long, break, six quick and one long and two quick. (.. / .- -- / .... . .-. .)
“Grandpa?” Phoebe asked, slowly rising to her feet with her arms wrapped around her. She waited for another sign, something to affirm that she was talking to her grandfather and not a malfunctioning porch light.
There was a flicker of light in the corner of her eye again and she whirled around, spotting her grandfather a few steps away from the porch. She couldn’t help but smile wide and run towards him. For the first time in a very long time, she hugged someone first.
Egon smiled down at his granddaughter and wrapped his arms around her upper back. He didn’t say anything, though he now could if he pleased, because he didn’t need to. Not yet.
“Thank you,” Phoebe said, stepping back and scrubbing at her eyes. “Thanks for coming back, Grandpa.” She paused for a moment. “Did you… did you hear what I said?”
He nodded.
“So… so were you there? The entire time?”
Egon shook his head, smiling as realisation dawned on her face.
“Oh.” Phoebe looked up at him. “Did you come because I asked you to?” She swallowed when he nodded. “Are you going to leave when I don’t need you anymore?”
Egon thought about it. He would, probably. He didn’t need to burden his family with the sight of their dead relative and friend every single day. He nodded much more hesitantly after some time to think about it.
Phoebe looked disappointed but she didn’t argue against it.
He saw her shiver and guided her back into the house, turning on the kettle when they entered the kitchen. Since he was a ghost, he could do multiple things at once without being in near proximity to them, aka telekinesis, which he found spectacular at the start of his ghostly journey just as his granddaughter did then, visibly gaping at the floating kettle and mug across the room.
“How long did it take you to figure that out?” Phoebe asked.
The lights above them flickered. She tapped her finger against the table along with each one. (--- ...- . .-. -. .. --. .... -)
“Huh. Surprisingly quickly,” Phoebe mused, discreet writing it down on a notebook she slid off the table and put on her knee, much to her grandfather’s amusement. She didn’t notice his smirk. She accepted the hot mug when it floated in front of her. “Thank you.”
Egon nodded. He floated a cup over to him and took a phantom replica from the object. At least he could still drink coffee in the spirit world, albeit it reacted a little differently with his ghostly body. In short, he couldn’t digest it, so it turned into pure energy, which aided his ability to maintain visibility.
“Cool,” Phoebe whispered at the scene.
They spoke about the things he could do now he was a spirit and the things he couldn’t: he could appear anywhere he desired with a single thought, but he couldn’t go beyond a few miles of wherever he stood; he could drink, but he couldn’t eat; he could come and go between the physical plane and the spiritual as he pleased, but he had to be wary of other lurking creatures; and he could talk, but he couldn’t before.
Before, he had been cursed to go unheard, like he had while he was alive and wasn’t believed, until his unfinished business was done with.
Eventually, Phoebe yawned, and Egon decided it was time for his granddaughter to get some rest. He walked with her back to her room and pulled the covers up to her chin like a loving parent would do.
She turned to look at him with dreary eyes and frowned. “I’m gonna miss you, grandpa…” She yawned again.
Egon smiled and ghosted a hand through her curly hair, like he had the first time they officially met, and watched her drift off to sleep. He set her glasses onto her desk and switched off the lamplight, brushing his hand over the notebook she took notes in before turning to leave the room.
“Phoebe…?” Ray mumbled her name as he peeked into the room, cracking the door open slightly. “You okay? I thought I heard you talking to…” He drifted off and rubbed his eyes when he saw the little girl in question sleeping peacefully in her bed, facing away from him. He smiled and slowly shut the door behind him, returning to his own room.
—
Phoebe sat up with a stretch and a yawn. Her dream had been surprisingly peaceful, spending most of it with her grandfather, battling ghosts she’d have hoped to have hunted with him in another life.
She put on her glasses and grabbed her notebook, smiling over the notes she collected the previous night. ‘It wasn’t a dream.’
She perked up when she spotted something written in another’s handwriting.
You can’t miss what you can’t lose.
She looked up at her lamplight. Maybe... It was worth a shot. “Grandpa?”
Nothing.
She sighed and threw off her covers. Summer had since ended and she had school. Luckily, the townsfolk didn’t think her grandfather was so crazy anymore, and they appreciated him for saving their town when they did little to deserve it.
Too bad their gratitude came after his death.
At least a lot of people attended his funeral.
She dressed for school and went to grab her backpack off the bedroom chair, though she found it wasn’t there, but on her bed with a note poking out of the top. She plucked it out and the bag zipped shut.
‘First days are new beginnings.’
Phoebe grinned like a fool.
“Hey, grandpa.”