Like Seeing a Ghost

I am trying to write a scene.... The main character meets up with someone he has not seen in ......many years, I'll put it that way. The best way for me to get into that mindset is to try to imagine how I would react. At first I would imagine it would be like seeing a ghost. I would not believe my eyes.

First there is our conversation. I would listen to their voice, remembering how they spoke, the types of words they used and try to access if it was really them. Everyone's laughter is unique, their own signature as well as their voice.

Then of course there are their mannerisms. Body language, the way they smile, the way their eyes light up. All the parts of a person we may not even be consciously aware of, yet are so familiar and so distinct. These are the parts of a person that makes them recognizable to us.

It's like being on the boardwalk [for all you beach people] and seeing someone approaching through the crowd. It's not just one thing, but a series of clues that mark them as familiar. It may be their height, their walk; how they might move their arms or toss their hair from side to side.

Suppose their hair is lighter or darker, longer or much shorter now? Imagine their wardrobe being so foreign to you that it's hard to believe it's really them. You remember them in knickers and a frock coat and now they are wearing a three piece suit!

All these thoughts pass through my mind before the emotional response registers. What's it like to see them after all this time? Where do you begin? How was our relationship left in the past? If it was a love affair, is it ever really in the past? Would I cry? Be angry or sad over seeing them now?

For my character, it's all of the above, plus so much more; like seeing a ghost from the past.