The Weather Ghost

I recently got out of a troubled relationship. I moved far away, half way across the country, to regroup, reset, and reboot. The large distance, I figured, would be a good way to make a new start.

There is only one small problem. We had a pet name for this other person. It was a nick-name, a lightly-teasing comment that was an in-joke to us. Unusual, but not unique. Nothing odd about that; plenty of long-term relationships have these touchstones that are only significant to the people themselves.

I didn't realize until I got here that a town has that same name that I used for this person. I've had minimal contact with them since I moved, and that's good. But every time I watch the weather report on the news, there is that town, reminding me.

The town apparently doesn't have anything else going on in it; it isn't in the news for any reason, nothing transpires there. It just happens to be in the middle of a blank spot on the map, so they fill it in with this town. Its entire purpose seems to be to prevent me from simply watching the weather.

For the most part I've managed to move on, start over. Unless I watch the weather. Then the ghosts of the past come howling down from the arctic, and the day feels a little colder and darker.