An officer approaches Emily, hands held up like they're claiming a wild animal. "Ma'am, please step back. This's a crime scene."

    Emily's eyes blaze. "SHUT UP! I WANNA SEE MY HUSBAND! GET OFF MY WAY!!"

    The officer flinches, and his sass comes out instinctively. "Easy go, lady! And I'm sure he's not some president. So, with your voice down, kindly tell us his name."

    Emily's voice cracks. "Ethan... Ethan Thompson, you idiot!"

    The officer steps back and radios dispatch, eyeing Emily warily.

    "Dispatch, we've got a real-life wire here." He whispers.

    "Just keep the person calm, Joe." The other person orders groggily, as if he's just woken up from sleep.

    Officer Joe returns, somber. "Ma'am, I'm afraid Ethan was in a fatal accident."

    Emily's face contorts, and she collapsed.

    Ethan's invisible form rushes over, flailing his arms. "No, Emily! Don't cry! I'm right here, babe! Well, sort off... "

    Emily's wails reach ear-shattering decibels. Ethan's ghostly form covers his ears.

    "For Pete's sake, Emily! I'm right here! Stop summoning the undead with that shrieking!"

    Emily's eyes snap open, and she gazes right through Ethan.

    "WHERE'S THE BODY? I WANT TO SEE MY ETHAN!"

    The officer hesitates. "Uh, Ma'am, I don't think that's wise."

    "Shut up! And do what I say, or I'll sue you!" Emily's voice cracks, her eyes wild with grief.

    Ethan stands frozen and invisible to everyone, including Emily. His ghostly form quivers with frustration.

    "Emily, sweetheart, you can't threaten a police officer with litigation." Ethan tries to reason, but his words are lost in ether.

    Officer Joe nodes vigorously, wary of provoking the distraught woman. "Yes ma'am, well do everything possible to-"

    Emily springs up from the ground, her movements eerily mirroring those of a zombie. As she passes through Ethan's spectral form, he shudders.

    "Whoa! Personal space, Em!" Ethan exclaims, but his protest remains inaudible.

    Emily's gaze locks onto Officer Joe. "I don't trust you people with my Ethan's... body." Her voice trembles.

    Officer Joe nodes before following her towards the police van.

    Ethan throws up his hands in exasperation. "Tell her I'm right here, officer!"

    Officer Joe climbs into the van, Emily sniffling on the backseat behind him. Ethan slips in beside her, his ghostly form undetected.

    Two more policemen squeezes into the van: one claims the passenger seat while the other plops down on the backseat, unknowingly occupying Ethan's spectral space.

    "Hey, hey, hey! Get off me, you king-size burger!" Ethan protests, his voice inaudible to the living. You're making it hard for me to... wait, breathe?" His narrows in confusion.

    His ghostly fingers probes his nostrils, and he sighs. "Damn, I ain't even feeling anything." He removes his fingers, studying them if expecting some supernatural revelation.

    The policeman on the backseat scratches his belly, oblivious to Ethan's ghostly presence. "Man, I'd the craziest lunch. That burger's still sitting heavy."

    Ethans rolls his eyes. "You've no idea."

                       👻👻👻👻👻👻👻👻

    Officer Joe hesitates, his eyes sympathetic, as he stands before the rows of stainless steel drawers in the morgue. Emily's hands tremble, claspes together in a nervous knot.

    "Ma'am, I must ask again: are you certain you're prepared for this?" Officer Joe's voice softenes.

    Emily's determination hardens her features. "A hundred percent."

    Officer Joe nodes solemnly, his gaze lingering on emissions resolute face. He pulls out a drawer, its label reading "Ethan Thompson"

     Tears streams down Emily's face as she gazes upon Ethan's lifeless form, his features eerily still. Officer Joe discreetly steps back, granting her a moment of solitude.

    Ethan's face contorts in anguish. "So, I'm really gone." He whispers, his ethereal voice cracking.

    He yearns to comfort Emily, wipe away her tears, and hold her close. But her translucent hands pass through her, as if she were a mist.

    Emily's sorrowful whispers pierce Ethan's heart. "My heart, my love, why did you leave me and our daughter. How'll we survive without you?"

    Ethan's ghostly form shudders, his eyes welling up with tears that won't fall. "I'm here, Emily. I'll always be with you and Sophia."

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