The White Tea Wish.

Harry was excited to finally move into his own house. It was an old cabin located deep in the woods of the countryside. He was lucky enough to inherit it from his family after his grandpa, Joe, passed away of old age two years prior.

Harry was riding along in his pickup truck while remembering the good memories he had of Joe. Harry remembered going fishing, camping, and the other miscellaneous adventures they went on together. However, the one thing he remembered the most was white tea. More specifically, he remembered how they used to drink white tea at the oak round table in the cabin and talk about anything that came to mind.

Harry knew he was close to his destination when he arrived at the dirt road that was connected to the main road. The bumpy and long ride twisted and turned in various directions and made Harry's head bob up and down. After a little while, he saw the familiar site of the cabin pop into view. He pulled up to the cabin and parked his truck next to it.

He got out of the truck and took in the view of the land. There was the main cabin used for housing and a smaller shed used to store tools and other various items. Lastly, the whole land was enclosed by pine trees that filled the air with a pleasant scent. Harry took one whiff and turned towards the front door of the cabin.

He pulled a key out from his pocket and unlocked the door. Harry was immediately brought into the kitchen and saw the round table. He could almost see himself and Joe still sitting down while drinking tea. Harry looked away and moved throughout the rest of the house. Most of the furnishing were taken away by other family members, but Harry was able to keep the round table. He went back to his truck and started unloading all his furniture and other appliances. It took him several trips.

When he was finally finished, it was dark outside so Harry went to bed. He plopped on the mattress and stared up at the ceiling. He thought about Grandpa Joe and the great memories they shared again. "I will make this place into something you can be proud of, Grandpa Joe," he said out loud.

His eyes got heavy afterwards and he fell into a deep, peaceful sleep.

The next day began as sunlight peered through the window and hit Harry's face. He sprung awake and went through his morning routine. He brushed his teeth, took a shower, and was now ready for the last part... a cup of white tea.

Harry started by putting a kettle of water on the stove to boil and then put a teabag into two teacups. Even though Grandpa Joe was gone, he wanted to offer a cup of tea one last time. Harry sat down on one of the two chairs next to the round table and looked out of the window. The early dawn sunlight was peeking through the trees and made the dew of the grass sparkle a little bit. The sudden sound of a high-pitched hissing let him know that the boiled water was done. Harry turned the burner off and poured the hot water into the two teacups on the round table.

Harry waited a little bit for the tea to brew and looked over at the cup on Grandpa Joe's side. He almost expected it to move, but dismissed the idea as silly since Joe is gone. Harry's tea was now done and he took a sip with closed eyes. The mild sweet flavor touched his tongue and he was transported back to when he was in his late teens. The memory seemed so vivid like Joe was right in front of him.

Harry opened his eyes and looked over at the second teacup. He saw Joe again. Harry rubbed his eyes and thought he must be going crazy. He opened them again, but still saw Joe sitting there. "Grandpa Joe? Is that you?" Harry asked.

"Who else does it look like chap?" Joe said with a smile.

"I thought you were dead!? How are you here!?" Harry asked Joe.

"Do I really look that old?" Joe said with the same smile. "Jokes aside, look at my hand."

"Your hand?" Harry asked with bewilderment.

"That's right," Joe said. "Watch my hand."

Joe moved his hand toward his teacup and tried to pick it up, but his hand went through it.

"I don't understand, Joe," Harry said.

"It's quite simple, chap," Joe said with another smile. "I turned into a ghost."

"A ghost? Are you being serious?" Harry asked.

"Yep. I turned into a ghost. I haven't been able to materialize like this after my funeral because the house lost its living energy," Joe said.

"How are you able to now?" Harry asked.

"That's because you are here now," Joe said with a huge grin. "You brought all this life and energy back here."

Harry didn't know what to say he wanted to say goodbye to Joe before he passed away and never got the chance to. And now Grandpa Joe is here. Joe saw the look on Harry's face and almost yelled at him.

"Hey, I may have died and all, but that doesn't mean we can't have a little fun right!?" Joe said with enthusiasm.

"Oh, what do you want to do?" Harry asked.

"The stuff we used to do, chap," Joe said.

From that point forwards, Harry and Joe relived the things they used to do together. Joe couldn't materialize outside of the house, nor could he touch things so Harry had to move board pieces with Joe's moves for him. Harry also used his laptop to show Joe old pictures of places they have been to before. That routine of theirs went on for about a week since Joe materialized, but sadly it could not go on forever.

At the end of the week they were playing chess while they had tea.

"Move the bishop two spaces forward," Joe said with a smirk.

Harry did as he was told and moved the bishop two spaces forward, but immediately regretted what happened afterwards.

"Checkmate, kiddo," Joe said with a hearty laugh.

"Even when you are a ghost I still can't beat you!" Harry whined

"Well, better luck next time!" Joe said with a forced laugh.

"Is there something wrong, Joe?" Harry asked.

"Truthfully, I am running out of energy to maintain my form and conscious on earth. I was only stuck as a ghost because I wanted to spend one last moment with you, kiddo," Joe said.

"But I wanted to spend more time with you!" Harry yelled.

"I could try to preserve my energy for another week or so, but it wouldn't let me do this," Joe said.

"Do wha-?" Harry was interrupted by a big hug from Joe.

"This," Joe said with a content smile on his face.

"I wish we had more time together," Harry said while holding back tears.

"Me too, kiddo, but I need to move on. Along as you remember me for who I was I'll never truly be gone. You best remember that," Joe said.

"I will! I won't ever forget!" Harry said with everything he had.

"I know you won't," Joe said at last.

Harry could feel Joe's hug disappear and an orb of light formed that went through the front door. Harry followed the orb through the door and saw it rise towards the sky. It got higher and higher until it finally vanished. Harry went back inside. He took a sip of his white tea and smiled as he looked out of the window.