ghost light

It is the closing night of They Let Their Dreams Die, a one-act musical show about a struggling married couple who gave up their dreams so they could be together. Though the rain is heavier tonight, the theater was full. The cast took their final bow, people left with their umbrellas, the production celebrated, and Joe waited for everyone to leave.

He now stands on the stage, beside the ghost light he just turned on a couple of minutes ago. The theater is dark and empty. The silence echoes the rain in the roof. Joe holds his book in his hand: They Let Their Dreams Die, authored by Joseph and Marylyn Landers. It is a story his wife has started and he finished it in his small cabin five years ago where he had lived with the ghosts of Marylyn.

This is not the first time Joe has been left alone in the theater. After every show, he stays late to turn the ghost light on so he could join Marylyn dance on stage. Marylyn would sing the songs of the musical, but her favorite was the one that Joe had written. She would put her hands on his shoulders, his arms around her waist, and they would dance slowly like how they used to in their kitchen.

Marylyn walks on stage on her usual yellow dress. Joe smiles. Marylyn sings her favorite part of his song:

There are many things that I am not sure of. I was sure about you but I don’t know anymore. You know I loved you my whole life but I can’t love you right because I can’t give the life that you long for. I used to know where we’re going but now I’m only guessing so I’m letting you go.

Joe tears up, because he knows this could be the last time he gets to dance with Marylyn. He’s not sure where he could see her again whether in his small cabin or on a different stage, but all he thinks about is now— the now that he could see her smile, could hear her voice, could feel her skin. He wraps Marylyn in his arms, joins a hum to her voice, and hopes time moves slower this time.

Susan watches Joe on stage from the balcony.