Chapter 4: Loved Ones

I gathered my courage to glare at him.

"I won't be leaving. I have something here that is important to me. I won't wander around on this floor. Just give me the last room." Probably because of that scary scene earlier that I compromise.

The boy raised his eyebrow.

"Last room? Fine. You can have it. But whenever you take a step in this floor you have to go straight to the last room. No matter what you see or what you hear don't stick your nose around."

"Fine." I passed by him and run downstairs. I admit I still have a lingering fear of what I experienced.

He is a ghost. I forgot that he might be dangerous. While I am a wandering soul akin to a ghost. I don't know how it will affect me if he attacked me. Or how can he attack me? I just felt afraid and my instinct told me it was dangerous.

So I concluded. Even if I am bored to death I won't approach that boy ghost anymore.

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I was staring at the crowd of people in front of me. Opening my eyes big, I wished I could take all that I see.

I was in a pedestrian lane where I got hit-and-run. If I was here, the school might be nearby. And there would be students around. So I was looking everywhere for female students who had the same uniform as me.

However, after squinting here and there, my eyes got tired. Or so I thought. It's been a whole day already yet I don't see a single shadow of them!

Where the heck that school was?!

With aggrieved expression, I walked around and returned to the hospital.

****

My days continued with staring at my body, not giving up going through it and failing multiple times, and keep talking to the nurses. When lunch came, I left the hospital and wondered in the pedestrian lane where I got hit-and-run.

I was still hoping that I would remember who I am and I would get back to my body. I'm too afraid to wander far away in the hospital. So little by little, I'm exploring the streets nearby the hospital and the streets near the 'crime scene'.

However, days had passed and I still don't get a clue. No one visited me.

I'm walking on the street, feeling down. I haven't seen anyone yet with the same uniform. If I could ask around, I already should have.

 Too bad..no one could see me. No one could hear me. Then I remember the boy. Should I talk to him? Maybe he knows something. As I was arguing with myself to face that annoying scary boy, a kid bumped to me.

"Sorry, sister!" Then he continued running.

My mouth opened wide. H-he bumped to me! He did not go straight through me!

After realizing that, I ran after the kid.

"Wait, kid!" However, the kid was fast.

I tried to avoid people at first while running. But then since I was losing the kid I get straight to people, to walls, to cars, and finally, I spotted him.

The kid was standing beside the electric post. He looked like he was waiting for something.

I walked to him. He was looking at my direction. Then he waved at me.

I gasped. He really could see me! I waved back as well and run to him. He smiles got bigger as I walk closer to him.

"Hey kid-" I started to speak but then someone went right through me.

I was startled when a woman came out of me.

"Mom!" The kid exclaimed and hug the woman. Even though the kid's arm went through, the kid still smiled happily.

The kid was probably eight or nine years old. He was a cute kid with a chubby face. He longingly looked at his mom.

The woman was probably in her thirties. She had deep sunken eyes and her face was pale. She tiringly knelt down at the electric post.

That's when I noticed there were traces of candles and dried flowers there.

Somehow, I understand that the kid probably died at that spot.

"My boy...how are you doing? Mom is so lonely.  So lonely.." The woman said as her tired eyes gone red. Tears after tears were pouring down.

"Mom! Don't be lonely! I played a lot here!" The boy shouted but her mother could not hear him.

The woman cried for a long time before her tears were gone dry. She slowly took out a candle. She lit it up. She took out a flower as well. And put it beside the candle.
She just stayed there and looked blankly at the candle.

The kid on the other hand kept calling her.

"Mom..mom.. I'm here..your baby boy is here.." The kid cried and cried. He accompanied his mother who was in a daze.

I watched them too. For some reason, I felt inexplicable sadness. The pain of the child and the pain of the woman was so strong that even I, a mere bystander felt it.

I watched them and just stay there for the whole afternoon. I accompanied the woman and the child as they silently cried.

I fell into deep thinking. Would my family felt sad too? I was missing for two weeks already. I hoped I could visit them and watched them. Just being able to be by their side would probably ease the pain I was feeling. 

My family, even without memories, I missed them.

After hours, the woman stood up. She wiped her tears. Her face was blank and tired. She left. But on her side was the boy who accompanied her silently while grieving.

I followed them. 

I don't know why. I just followed.

I followed them on the street. Suddenly the boy stopped following her mother.

He watched her mom walked further without him.

Until his mother was no longer in his sight.

"Why you didn't follow?" 

"Akkk!" The child was stunned by my sudden interruption. In reality, I could not stand the lonely atmosphere so I talked to the child.

"Oh..older sister, are you perhaps..a ghost?" The child asked after seeing my appearance.

I nodded. Do I really look like a ghost?

"I see, haha." The child then avoided me and ran back to the street where we have been before.

"Hey, wait! I mean no harm!"

The child just made a funny face and a 'bleh' sound.

I was stunned. And I suddenly felt irritated. Are ghosts had bad attitudes and no manners?!

"You! I am telling you I'm not a bad person!"

I ran after the boy. That time I didn't realize that my bloody clothes and pale complexion could scare people away. The boy I met earlier was right, I looked like a vengeful ghost in a horror story.