Ghost

The stranger didn't answer my question, he only chuckled dryly, leaving me to my thoughts. 

We got to the inn, and he had nothing but a small bag—a satchel. 

For some obvious stupid reasons, I was undoubtedly drawn to him. He was just the type of man I've always dreamed of.

He was a thousand times better than Sir Thompson. Like, the stranger was around my age, I thought to myself.

The inn was cozy and well-furnished to meet a rich traveler's taste, which he wouldn't admit to me. 

He tucked his hand into his pocket and took out a small bag of coins. 

 "Here. That is five gold coins… for your endless hassle with me," he handed to me by taking my hand. 

I was shocked. How did he have gold coins? Is he a prince or something? I wondered. 

 "No, I will not accept it, but thank you. It was no hassle at all," I said, and he let out a smile. 

 "Either way, it is all yours," he tucked into the pocket of my satchel. "I was hoping that—"

 "I should leave now." I interrupted forcefully. I swallowed up the lump in my throat. He touched me. "I'm getting married tomorrow and… and I have to prepare before then. It was nice to make your acquaintance. Stranger." I forced a smile. It took so much courage to say all that to a harmless man that I was beginning to like so much. 

His face dropped sadly, "Of course. Your honor comes first," he bluntly said. 

 "As though I cared about it right now?!" I blurted out almost angrily. He didn't make me angry, but the circumstances caused it. All of it. 

 "Yet, I will not take advantage of it, Miss," he said. I walked to the door with a heavy burden in my heart as he spoke again. 

 "Can I speak freely?"

I spun to face him like I'd been waiting to hear his voice. Did he also feel the attraction between us or was he going to offer sympathy? Something I hated? I asked myself. 

 "You are a beautiful woman that would make jaws drop. Despite the hood covering your face, the glimpse of your beauty will certainly haunt me in my travels. I just… I just wonder why a bride would be this... unhappy…" he said.

 "It is not yours to think about, stranger, it is not your burden to bear either," I snapped tearfully. 

 "I do not wish to make it go away because I can't. But… I'm crazily drawn to you and I feel like…" he paused as he drew closer to me. "Can I see through you for a moment?" he asked as he took off the hood over my head. His lips curled into a smile as if he had found a treasure. 

 "I knew it, you are indeed very beautiful."

 "No one has ever told me that, not even my parents," I confessed truthfully. 

 "And I tell you without flattering, you are very gorgeous. Those eyes… those lips…" his finger trailed my face to my neckline. "Your skin… your smell… one I've never smelled," he progressed to my arm after he had taken off my cloak while my eyes closed. 

My lips parted, and the heat had escalated and exploded inside me. I longed for him. 

 "Can I feel your lips, miss?" he asked with a calm, raspy voice, and then I felt his lips on me. Rupturing every cranny in my body, was he truly seeing through me? I wondered. 

Like a play in theaters, I saw my teenage days when I was truly happy while my eyes were shut. He instantly pulled away. 

 "I'm sorry. I will not take your honor for granted, I... I should not do this. I promise I'm a gentleman—"

 "I'm no lady," I interrupted him, taking his hands in mine. "I have no honor to protect. I'm scrap. I'm nothing… I tell you, I do not need my honor to be protected. I am a laughingstock, I'm a wild woman with nothing to give anyway…" I said. It felt right to say those things to him.

 "I have nothing either," he said to me. His voice rang in my head. 

 "See through me," I said to him in a whisker as my eyes found his golden gaze. Then, he captured my lips. 

It was breathless. Engulfing. Consuming. Delectable. 

The touch of this stranger felt like a drug that I lacked in my body, like a vitamin. 

Suddenly, I was ready to give him myself. I had nothing to keep anyway. 

I've never been looked at with regard, but this stranger did send I didn't care what the outcome would be at that point. 

We were solely consumed by this subtle sensation that burned between us for the first and probably for the last time.

I was intimate with a man for the first time in my life. 

 "It would hurt," he said to me, as if he knew my thoughts. 

 "I can take it," I said to him. "I have felt more pain than this…" I added. As if amazed by my words, he took caution and there.

I had no honor to keep without regrets. I would rather lose it to him, than lose it to a man who would make me a third choice in his life. 

…

The next morning, the chills that cascaded down my skin made me develop goosebumps here and there. 

I had the best night of my life. I haven't had that since the day I hit puberty and began to observe my monthly courses. 

I was bare under the sheets that were barely wrapping my body. My hair ruffled and my hips sore. 

My eyes gently opened as my hand felt the other side of the bed. It was cold like no one had occupied it before. 

The stranger's side was neatly laid and my side of the bed was tatty. 

 "I don't understand, was he not here with me?" I asked myself. "But there was," I told myself as my face squeezed. 

I quickly got out of bed and began to dress up. 

There were no signs of him anywhere. Nowhere at all. 

Except for the golden pocket watch on the table where the candle burned. 

I grabbed it, solely observing the strange thing. Such fortune, I wondered. Maybe I could use it to find him, but was it necessary? Will I see him again?

How did he leave without a word? It would be foolish of me to assume that he would think of me highly when I easily gave myself to him on the night of my wedding. 

With my cloak over my head, I stepped out of the room in guilt. 

Soon, the inn owner stopped me. 

 "Did you enjoy your night, Miss?" he asked with a very wide grin on his face. 

 "I did," I said with a small smile.

 "Well, thank you for that gold coin, it is quite a fortune… I might as well close down this inn and start a life in the Old Americas, the City of Vy—car from Western town. I would also start a business there," he explained even if I didn't ask. 

Could it mean that the stranger was from there? I don't think so. 

Meanwhile, I don't remember giving this man anything. I said to myself. 

 "I think you are mistaken. My friend must have given you that coin…" I pointed. 

 "No, he didn't. You did." his brows knit out of confusion. 

 "The man with the golden eyes," I firmly said. 

 "No."

 "Long golden hair?"

 "No."

 "He has a black Mustang as well…" I said again, and the man stared at me like I was crazy. 

 "No, miss," he countered strongly. "There was no 'man' like that here. You came here alone, and you lodged in a room, and I am thankful for the coin that you gave to me as settlement. Easy. You must be confused or tipsy. Did you drink too much last night? Four raw eggs will help you recover," he snapped and crossed his arms with a smile. "I always tell my drunk customers this secret of overcoming a stubborn hangover," he added, and left me on the porch of the inn. 

Did I just encounter a ghost of any sort?

Not only am I set to marry an old man, but now I have been intimate with a ghost. A faceless man?

What just happened? I asked myself.