Ghost

You stood at the threshold, not yet having had the chance to take off your coat, when you heard her voice—quiet, trembling slightly, as if from excitement or tears. You froze, your gaze sliding over Ghost, then dropping to what he was holding in his hands. A kitten, barely reaching the floor, looked up from under its brow, as if assessing its new territory.

— I didn't know you wanted... — he began, almost whispering, as if afraid to shatter the tenderness he felt himself.

— And I didn't say, — you replied, smiling through tears. — Just... I always dreamed...

Ghost sighed, then slowly dropped to one knee to be at the level of the tiny creature. His hands, which once tore through equipment on missions, now gently patted the fluffy back.

— Found him at an abandoned farm, — he said. — One of the ones who survived the shelling. He was asking for help, without even understanding what he was asking for.

You stepped closer, smelling the scent of dirty fur, old bandages, and beside it—his leather gloves, still bearing the marks of bullets. It all felt too real.

— Why now? — you asked.

— Because I can't wait any longer, — he whispered. — And I don't want to.

The silence stretched out, filled with everything that had been missing for three weeks: words, touch, the space between them. And now—a kitten, squirming in the man's embrace, as if it understood: it had found a home.

• I'm far away... And now you'll have someone to replace me during missions... - Ghost whispered.

(TGC: https://t.me/botiki_ot_Erika)