@christine.does 12 September 2021 more from that month

semicolon: one

It was another day in the English capital. A young man of about nineteen walks on pavement, not careful to slip or hit the passers-by. He sighs as he leans back on the front wall of a hip café, his hands in his pockets, his faux leather jacket glistening in the rain. There was not much to do, so he kept tapping his right foot, but it barely made a sound. His head was down; the tips of his brown hair touched his eyelashes. If you looked at him from afar, he would look like a vocalist of a ratchet rock band, although you won't see him; he is a ghost, after all. He thinks of making another fun stunt. He stole some clothes from Topman once, which he is currently wearing. He doesn't prefer the white hospital gowns, his specifically already smelt of death. He smiled, remembering that time, when he was a new soul, wandering about, trying to remember something he forgot that might be important, when he saw an old soul, making a ruckus in the tube. He had a menacing smile - it both influenced and scared him but that old man taught him how to hold things, touch things, another privilege that only belonged to living humans. It was a useful skill. It helped him ease his boredom, to say the least. He stared at the small vintage signage in front of the library across the street. It read *"QUOTE OF THE DAY: I want the world to know that everybody deserves a second chance. - El DeBarge".* He snorted, thinking of how easy and carefree human lives are. He recalled of the things he knew as if to make sure that he won't forget, that his name was Adam, he was a male young adult, or at least he tried to believe when he died. Those are the only pieces of information he knows. Every time he tries to remember his death, his mind goes blank, like how a preschool pupil tries to solve an algebraic problem but he let it be since he is comforted by the thought that he'll never know. "I seriously have no business to do here anymore, I have no mission to complete nor regret to correct. Why doesn't the Light get me yet? I'd even submit to going to The Nether rather than stay here in the surface." He wondered about this every single day. His days are fast, each of them went in a blur until autumn came at last. It was the start of October, the month of Halloween when living humans celebrate the so-called Death. If they only knew what souls and monsters really look like in the Wandering Realm - humans know it as *purgatory*, they would hide in fear, not memorialize them. Adam wasn't excited, he couldn't be bothered at how the atmosphere changes, it has all been the same for him. He just continued to sigh and waited for the time that it may be his turn to go up the Heavens or down The Nether. He sat down on a nearby bench. "Hey." The female voice shook Adam out of his thoughts. She couldn't possibly be talking to him, right? He was invisible, part of the background, *literally*. "Hey! What are you thinking so deeply of?" Adam frowned. When will this noisy woman go? Just who is she talking to? He turned to see who it is that the woman might be conversing with. No one was there. He was so used to people talking around him, but this woman was just weirding him out. It was as if she was looking at him directly. "What is your problem? I'm trying to be nice here, mister!" the voice snapped. He glanced in the direction of the woman's voice and was surprised that a pair of green eyes returned his gaze. "Look. I'm just trying to help here. I've seen you for days, just walking around. The moment you sat on this bench, I thought maybe I can talk to you and, you know, help a stranger in need, but no, you just stared at the ground and looked around like you didn't hear me. Are you trying to make a fool out of me?" she furiously ranted. *Why is she so angry?* He thought. *So much emotion out of such a small woman.* "I know that I kinda approached you out of the blue, but still," she shrugged and sighed. "So much for helping." "Wait. Are you saying that you were talking to me?" He was astonished. "Yes, of course! " "You dared to talk to me?" "What do you mean *dared*? Bloody hell. Yes, I *dared* to talk to you. Why? Am I not allowed to talk to you? Are you the secret grandson of the queen or something?" She sneered sarcastically. It was at this that Adam realized the woman was a human whose *Eyes* had been opened. He cannot believe it. He thought that those people did not exist, that all of them were just pretending to see ghosts to fool other people. Opened *Eyes* were actually real! "And now you're ignoring me again! You know what, I give up. What was I even think-" Adam quickly covered the woman's mouth. He thought that people are going to have wrong ideas about the silly woman that was trying to talk to thin air. "Follow me," he said. The woman frowned but still followed him anyway. Adam led her to a dark alley so that no one could see the both of them talking. Or at least the woman talking to herself. "Um, what are we doing here?" The woman said nervously. Her face was suddenly pale as she clutched her bag and reached for her pepper spray. "Oh." He understood that the woman got the wrong idea again. "No, no, no," he said, trying to clear all the woman's misunderstandings, "I'm not going to do anything to you. Seriously. Trust me." "How can I trust you? I just met you!" she said, backing away as if getting ready for an attack. "Listen. You were the one who approached me. You wanted explanations for my actions. You wanted to know what my problems were. So, would you please listen? You put yourself in this situation, so there's no sense of trying to back away." Adam answered. "Fine." He never thought about this before. He never thought about how he would explain what he is to a living person. How would he have thought that he would somehow be caught in this situation when he spent most of his time resenting them? "C'mon. I'm starting to think that you might be a drug dealer or something, " she tapped her foot, crossing her arm. "It would be much more believable if I was," he chuckled. "So, sex trafficker?" "What? No! Why would you even think that?" "Then, you're just a random homeless person with the world's cleanest leather jacket," she rolled her eyes. "It's not that simple. It's quite hard to explain," "Just say it or I'm about to run away and dial 911 on my phone. I have a taser in here too. I am not afraid to use it!" she slowly walked backward. She began counting from five, her finger on top of her pepper spray bottle that was pointed at him. "Five!" He thought of the pros and cons. The pepper spray definitely won't affect him. No one would believe the woman if she told anybody how a pepper spray went right through him. "Four!" She will run away from him and avoid his location after this encounter, most probably. He could just return to his long, boring, senseless, waiting for the light. "Three!" He looked at the woman who was all sweaty and pale, with her furrowed eyes, and her posture, alert. He had never met anyone like her, as far as he could remember. "Two" This could also be interesting. He could use a break from his banal routine. Maybe he could use a companion for a day or two. "I swear to god, one!" "Oh, wait! Hold o-" *Pshhhhhhhh* goes the pepper spray. It went right through him, as expected. The pepper spray looked like a very violent perfume bottle. Her eyes bulged, seeing how the man was standing perfectly still. "What the actual fu-," "I'm a ghost! I'm a ghost, okay?!" He blurted out. "Excuse me?" "I'm a ghost. You know, like in the movies, like people who go through walls, float, and have a sheet of white cloth over them?" "No, I mean, I know what a ghost is but saying you are a ghost? Please." she laughed. "Is this some kind of grand prank? Where are the cameras?" "I'm serious!" "Well, whatever floats your boat, I guess. I spent way too much time with a weird stranger. Fair enough. I'm sorry for bothering you, I really thought that you needed help. I thought you were lost or were looking for someone. Anyway, have fun with your ghostly friends!" She said, trying to make a run for it but Adam became very desperate, so he grabbed the woman's arm to stop her. "You're making a huge mistake. I really am a ghost. The pepper spray went right through me!" "You know what? I can still call the police. Do not touch me," She said as she shrugged off Adam's grip. "The pepper spray was probably off or something. I got it off a shitty website anyway. Never buying from Wish ever again!" At that, Adam finally gave up and sighed, letting the female stranger run away.

*Thank you for finishing part one of my favorite short story that I have ever written. I had lots of ideas for this, but I didn't have the time and devices to completely flesh the story out. But now, I do! I plan to post all parts here so I hope you stick around if you liked the premise of the story.*