𝗟𝗜𝗧𝗘𝗥𝗔𝗥𝗬: “The Ghost of Who You Weren't” by Chrissa Jean A. Salvador

 

Layout by: Summer Maggay

Published by: Jannah Pauline Beldad

Date Published: September 02, 2026

Time Published: 2:33 PM

Category: Prose

Theme: Mourning your unfulfilled potential.

 

How many times can you mourn someone who is still alive—especially when that person is yourself?

We think of grief as something that happens when a heart stops beating. But there is another kind of sorrow—one that walks, breathes, and sits in the same room with you. It is the sadness for the person you never got to become: a shadow that stays just steps behind you, no matter where you go.

This ghost does not float through walls or haunt cold hallways. Instead, it waits for you in ordinary moments. It sits at the edge of your bed in the morning, holding the weight of all the things you put aside.

"𝘐𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦 𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘥 𝘶𝘱?" it seems to ask.

You look in the mirror, but you do not just see your own eyes staring back. You see the reflection of the person who stayed safe instead of trying.

"𝘐 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘦𝘳," the shadow says.

"𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘷𝘪𝘷𝘦," you whisper back to the room. "𝘐 𝘤𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘢𝘧𝘦."

The hardest part is that no one else can see this conversation. To the rest of the world, you are just making coffee, riding the bus, or heading to work. But inside, you carry the weight of a life that was cut short before it ever had a chance to start. You are standing right next to the version of you that had courage, watching that version fade a little more each day.

It is easy to run from this feeling, to fill your days with noise so you do not have to listen. But the shadow does not disappear just because you close your eyes. It hangs on your shoulders, waiting for you to stop running. 

Maybe the point is not to fight this ghost, but to listen to what it has to say. It reminds you of the fire you used to carry. And while you cannot bring that past version back to life, you can still take its hand, turn around, and choose who you want to be today.