A Ghostly Tale of Love with a Modern Day Twist
First off, I’m not sure if the FoK gods will approve my answering a reader’s question. But the little coffee shop I frequent locally is called “Joe Mugs." They have excellent coffee and are very tolerant of myself and my group of loitering professors, fellow writers and starving artists.
As for the topic of my article, I was sipping coffee at my local hang out with my group and a very dear friend of mine seemed distracted. Both intrigued and curious, as is my nature, I pried my way into her business demanding to know what vexed her. She was reluctant to answer at first, but my growing concern was evident. She agreed to share her strange situation to reassure me she did not have a terminal illness or such.
My friend teaches at a nearby college and I will not divulge which to protect her reputation. As for her reputation, I can attest she is one to neither embellish nor fall easily for a tall tale.
We never know who is on the other end of our chat window when we meet someone online. The dangers are apparent and the horror stories frequent our news headlines from time to time. To say the least, one must remain cautious and ever vigilant. The list is full of every type of online predator. But my friend fears she may have found one that has not yet been added to the watch list.
Her story began innocently enough when she joined a popular chat-based community to keep in touch with her daughter, who lives across the country. They would chat often among others within the subdivided community, and this carried on for quite some time. After having noticed one particular name whom frequently logged into their community, my friend decided to say hello to the only person she knew as Richmond42.
Richmond42 was a polite and never forward gentleman as described by my friend. He was well-written and possessed more than an academic knowledge of literature, art, wine and philosophy. My friend found herself spending more time with Richmond as the weeks went by. She mentioned him to her daughter, who did warn her of the dangers of the Internet. My friend gathered up her nerve and inquired to know more about Richmond.
He seemed to have nothing to hide. He confided he was once a school teacher in Virginia, but was now retired and enjoyed a quiet life outside Richmond. He was slightly older than my friend by only two years and admitted a more than innocent curiosity for her as well.
My friend was then more intrigued by Richmond than she had been before. She felt she must meet him. Her daughter had an uneasy feeling about Richmond and urged her mother to not go any further into this friendship with Richmond until she could do some checking around.
Richmond’s information checked out. There was a person by that name who had been a teacher of literature at the school which he admitted to my friend he retired from. Richmond’s age also checked out. However, he had not retired from the school. He had died of a heart attack several years prior to turning up in my friend’s chat room. My friend was devastated. How could she have been so foolish she asked? Seeking closure, she contacted Richmond42 and told him what she had learned.
Oddly, he found the information to be amusing. He said he had certainly read of no such news of his untimely demise and even asked for the date and issue of the paper that posted his obituary. She was quite upset and even more confused now. He seemed to sense this and he promised to get to the bottom of it. Reassuring her that even if their paths never crossed, he would prove to her it was simply some sort of misunderstanding.
My friend decided to not return to the chat room again. Two days later she received an email, from Richmond, with an image attached. Reluctantly she opened it and it was a picture of Richmond holding two newspapers. One newspaper was the obituary article circled and the other was a newspaper bearing the current date of the email. He also included official verification of his identity. His smile was wide and slightly triumphant.
My friend is meeting her online ghost during the mid-semester break. He will materialize at the local airport for a sightseeing adventure of our city and dinner afterwards. She's quite embarrassed and fears he will think her foolish now. I assured her that as far as ghosts go, she has picked a winner.
Previously Posted on FullofKnowlege.com
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