Hanna was having a restless night. It was absolutely dumping buckets of rain outside, her headache was just now going away at one o'clock in the morning, the ghost of her dead friend had warned her that she would be visited by three spirits over the course of the evening, and now some idiot was shining a light in her eyes.
She sat up and blinked groggily, her dark hair shining in the sudden brightness.. The woman who stood before her held up a torch that burned with heatless light, shining like a beacon in the darkness of Hanna's bedroom. She wore a simple white dress, and her face seemed to possess an ageless, timeless quality--she was neither young nor old, beautiful nor plain, and she radiated wisdom and serenity, yet seemed approachable and friendly. She reminded Hanna a little of Betty Crocker, only wearing a toga.
"I am the Spirit of Relationships Past," the woman said. "You will be visited tonight by me, and by my two fellow Spirits, to show you the errors of your ways, and to prevent you from making a horrible mistake. You--"
Hanna rubbed the sleep from her brown eyes. "I thought you guys only showed up at Christmas."
The Spirit sighed in exasperation. "No, those are the Christmas Spirits. We're the Relationship Spirits. Totally different thing, alright? Now, as I was saying--"
"But if you guys show up to people who are about to get into bad relationships, why haven't I heard of you? And why do so many people get into bad relationships anyway? I mean, my dad's second wife totally screwed him over with the pre-nup, got the house and the car, and I know she was already dating her tennis instructor, so--"
The Spirit broke in. "Because," she said, "we only have time to do one person a night. We don't see more than a tenth of a percent of the people involved in bad relationships, so we have to prioritize. Now if you don't mind? Time is at a premium."
"Sorry."
"Thank you. Now...I am here to show you the mistakes you have made, the men you have loved but left. It is not too late, Hanna...remember your First Love?"
The torch flared into a kaleidoscope of colors that finally resolved into a picture, showing Hanna as a high school senior. She sat on the steps with a young man her own age, the two of them resting comfortably against each other. "Kevin, your First Love. He was smart, handsome, and has gone on since then to become a respected doctor who makes a six-figure income. Yet happiness eludes him, Hanna, just as it has eluded you. You abandoned him, and neither of you have been happy since. Perhaps it is time for you to rekindle your First Love?"
Hanna snorted. "Can that thing show any date?"
The Spirit nodded. "Of course. It is the mystic Lamp of True Remembrance, forged by--"
"Have it show the night of September 17th, 1998."
The lamp flared into colors once more...
* * * * *
Tonight was the night, Hanna just knew it. Kevin wanted her, she wanted him, and it just felt right. The two of them would be together their whole lives...what was the point in waiting to start the best part of their lives together? She leaned back against the car door and smiled sexily. "What are you waiting for?" she asked. "Christmas?"
Kevin fumbled with his belt buckle, and pulled his pants and boxers down to his knees. His cock sprang out, and Hanna gave it a quick look as she slid her own panties down and pulled her skirt up. It looked to be an alright size--maybe seven inches, but thick. It certainly looked like it'd be enough. She closed her eyes and gave into the passion she felt between her legs as he leaned in towards her. The door handle pressed into her back as he pressed into her, but she didn't mind--it felt so good to feel his cock sliding slowly into her pussy, to feel every inch of it penetrating her...
Kevin let out an explosive gasp. "Um," he said. "Sorry."
* * * * *
"And that was it! Every time! Once, he just took the damn thing out of his pants and it went off! By the time college rolled around, I was glad he was going to some East Coast med school. Let some other girl deal with Mister Hair Trigger, I say. I want a man who--"
The Spirit coughed loudly. "But of course, I knew all that, dear. That was only your First Love. The one who prepared you for your True Love. Which, of course, wasn't Kevin. Nope. Let us look, my dear, at your True Love..."
The lamp flared into life once more, showing a college-age Hanna drunkenly fumbling around with a blonde girl. The girl's shirt was open, and one breast was exposed, while Hanna's panties were somewhere around her ankles. The Spirit blushed. "Whoops! Sorry, that was for a different part of the presentation. Let me just..." The lamp flared into indistinct colors once more.
"I can totally explain that," Hanna said. "It was a sorority initiation, and we had these jello shots, and Becky asked Muffy how she got her nickname, and--"
"Here we are!" the Spirit said in a painfully bright tone of voice. "Your True Love." The lamp resolved once again. "Bruce." The scene of the lamp showed a handsome, sensitive face, soulful blue eyes, wavy blond hair. "A pure, perfect gentleman, filled with nothing but respect for you as a person. He believed in you, Hanna. If not for your studies pulling you apart, who knows what might have happened between you?"
Hanna glared at the image in the lamp. "He would have left me for an interior decorator, that's what! Bruce was gay!"
"He, um...he what?"
"Yes! Totally gay! Look at that hair--doesn't that scream 'gay man' hair to you?"
"You can't prove that he was gay just from his hair! He was just...respectful. He didn't want to pressure you into sex. There's nothing wrong with that."
Hanna sighed. "March 5th, 2002."
* * * * *
Hanna crept slowly into the bedroom, hardly daring to breathe. She'd already taken her clothes off in the living room, and her bare feet made absolutely no noise on the thick carpet. Tonight would be the night. Bruce had never pressured her, and that was wonderful, but she was starting to get the feeling that if she didn't take the initiative, she'd be forty before they had sex.
