My Husband Returns After He Dies

The night Brian Luke was buried, the rain never ceased. Raindrops tapped against the windowpane like fine needles, pricking my heart with unease. I sat on the living room sofa, clutching the gray sweater Brian Luke had often worn; the fabric still held the lingering scent of his beloved cedar-scented detergent—though that scent was beginning to fade, like the traces he left in this world, slowly being washed away by the rain. I had just coaxed my daughter Nancy to sleep, my fingertips still stained with the milk from her bedtime drink, when a knock came from the entrance. I was half a beat slow wiping my hands—no one should be arriving at this hour. Only three days had passed since Brian Luke's funeral; all the friends and family who needed to pay their respects had done so. Who could be visiting at this late hour? The moment I opened the door, a cold fragrance wrapped in dampness swept inside. It was my favorite White Rose—a large bouquet wrapped in transparent paper, water droplets tracing down the petals and falling onto the floor tiles by the entrance, forming a small, dark stain. I stared at the bouquet, momentarily stunned. Brian Luke used to say white roses were too plain, not as passionate as red ones, yet every anniversary, he would secretly buy a bouquet and hide it behind his back for me to guess. The boy delivering the flowers was tall, about 185 cm, with double eyelids. When he smiled, a dimple appeared on his left cheek—precisely the "ideal type" I had once casually mentioned to Brian Luke, down to every detail. I remember it was a weekend; we curled up on the sofa watching a movie, and the male lead on the screen happened to look just like him. I teasingly said to Brian Luke: "Look at him—185 centimeters tall, with dimples, that’s my ideal type." Brian Luke didn't get angry then; instead, he came closer to tickle me, resting his chin on my shoulder with a smile. "Alright, then I'll try to grow to 185 centimeters in the next life, and even grow dimples for you. How about that?" I thought those were just playful words between husband and wife, never expecting to hear them now from a stranger. "Viola, I'm back." He spoke, his voice tinged with grievance, eerily resembling Brian Luke's weary, late-night returns home drunk from overtime. Once, Brian Luke stayed up for two consecutive nights at the office, rushing to meet a project deadline. When he came home, his eyes were bloodshot, and with that slight nasal tone, he said to me: "Viola, I'm so tired. I want to hold you." I took half a step back, my hand instinctively clutching the door handle: "You have the wrong person. I don't know you." But my heart pounded wildly in my chest, as memories connected to Brian Luke slowly surged, stirred by the boy's voice and appearance. He leaned in slightly, his gaze soft yet burning with intensity: "I'm Brian Luke. Forgotten? I told you, I'd come back in another body." Brian Luke... that name was like a thorn, stabbing at my temples, making them throb. Three days ago, he fell from the rooftop of the company building. I was the one who identified his body in the morgue. His face was pale, stripped of all color, and on his wrist he still wore the couple's watch we bought when we married—the hands had long since stopped. Before he jumped, he did say something strange to the family: "Death is not the end, but the beginning. Wait for me to come back; I'll be younger and more handsome." At the time, the whole family laughed, blaming his stress for the nonsense, but he turned to stare at me seriously and asked: "Viola, what kind of man do you like? Next time, I'll try to be your ideal type of man." I remember peeling an orange then; juice splashed onto the back of my hand as I casually described my ideal type. Brian Luke even pulled out his phone and jotted it down in his notes. I teased him for making such a fuss, but he said seriously: "What if it really comes true?" Looking back now, was he already sensing something at that time? I thought it was just a joke between husband and wife—until he fell from the building without warning, until this unfamiliar face before me spoke in Brian Luke's voice.