by Aki_kaze
“I told you it’s not me,” Keith let go off the planchette and Alice followed suit.
The spirit boy was in a very good mood. He moved the planchette to ‘HELLO’, properly greeting them all. John suddenly rose to his feet, yelling at Keith non-stop.
“You get this stupid piece of wood out of my room. Now!”
Keith tried to hold back his laughter, putting the board in the box. Alice and he stood up. She too was no less astonished, but she didn’t lose it like her brother.
Before leaving, Keith turned back to John and said, “You know, I wouldn’t dare sleep in this room anymore.”
That earned him countless swear words from John. But he was in a very good mood, so he paid them no mind. He let out a laugh when he left John’s room and turned to Sam. The spirit gave him a triumphant smile.
“Alice was not the only one seeing it, right?” she asked, “the planchette moved by itself.”
Alice once told him she believed that he could see ghosts. This was the first time she witnessed it by her own eyes.
“If someone bullies you, your friend will definitely get them all,” she said, waving him goodbye and went into her room.
“Gosh. Today was fun.” Sam stretched himself, not that he really needed to. He walked through the door into the bedroom before Keith got to open it.
“And his face was priceless. Do you think he will get any sleep tonight?” Keith laughed. He then stopped and his face turned serious. “Was it too much, you think?”
Sam eyed him like he had said something wrong.
“Considering what he had done to you, that was nothing. It’s just a start,” the young spirit boldly declared.
Keith’s heart swelled with joy. He knew he shouldn’t be glad about that, but he couldn’t help it.
When he got into his room, he noticed something was different. The photo album he placed on the desk was now on his bed. He then turned to look at Sam.
“I’m sorry.”
“Eh? About what?” The young spirit feigned ignorance, walked towards the bed, and sat down near the album. He patted the space next to him.
Keith placed the spirit board box on the nightstand and sat down beside the blonde. When he was near Sam, he felt as if the temperature suddenly dropped and he started to tremble a bit. He didn’t understand why his body reacted that way when what he felt in Sam’s company were but warmth and comfort.
“You like taking pictures.”
“Yeah.”
Sam told him about the story behind each photo. The road he used to take to school, the bookstore whose front was decorated with colorful flower arrangement, the city from bird’s-eye view, the stream in the forest not so far from the house, the sunset sky at beautiful twilight.
Sam delivered every picture’s story, his face bright and voice cheerful. He didn’t only like taking pictures; he loved it. Those pictures were fragments of his memory and also parts of his life. As the narration went on, his eyes gleamed with delight, his face wore a dazzling smile.
His voice lured Keith away from the album. His gaze now lingered on the moving lips, unable to tear away. His face moved closer and closer, too close for two friends.
He went still as Sam stopped his story.
Their eyes met. And for a fleeting moment both of them seemed to know what the other was thinking. They quickly looked away from each other.
“I…”
“You better go to sleep,” Sam got off the bed. His word made no sense though; tomorrow was still weekend. But the blonde could no longer stay in the room. He scurried past the door before Keith could say anything.
Keith’s gaze followed the blonde until he was out. He reflected on what just happened, trying to figure out the reason why he did that.
No answer he found.
Chapter Seven
Revisiting Old Memories
When Keith went down to the kitchen in the next morning, he was greeted with John’s furious glare. His eyebags suggested he didn’t get to sleep much. A part of Keith took pity on him, but he couldn’t help but feeling amused, too. He walked to get his breakfast, ignoring the other boy.
“Mom!” He called to Diane, voice upset. Keith assumed the boy had told his mom about what happened last night.
“I believe Keith didn’t do something like that,” she said, “you sure you were not imagining things, dear?”
“It’s real, Mom! Ask Alice.”
The mentioned girl timely entered the kitchen. Her mom and her brother looked at her in unison. She knotted her eyebrows and asked,
“Ask Alice about what?”
“John told me that last night you three played a game.” She avoided naming it.
“Oh, about John’s cheating?” She sat down beside Keith, saying thank you as Diane put the breakfast before her.
“What?! You saw it too. That weirdo made the planchette move.”
“John, we have talked about this.” Diane raised her voice.
“It didn’t move. Your eyes played a trick.” She stuck out her tongue at her brother then started her meal.
Before John could protest, Diane interfered.
“I don’t want you guys to engage in that kind of game again. Ever. You too, Keith. Understood?” Everyone nodded in consent, except for John. Diane called her son one more time. Unwillingly, John gave a nod, his eyes boring hole in Keith’s head. This wouldn’t be the end of it, Keith thought.
After breakfast, he went back to his room. To his surprise, Sam wasn’t there. He noticed the spirit board on the nightstand. He decided to put in back in the attic. As he ambled past the stairs, he heard the TV noise from the living room.
He walked past Alice’s room and John’s to the end of the aisle. He pulled down the attic ladder and climbed up. The dust-laden attic made the boy cough almost immediately. The new intruder’s movement disrupted the room’s pristine state, stirring up clouds of fine dust, now dancing waywardly in the air. A beam of light shone through the semicircular window, illuminating the room. A trace of footsteps was visible. He thought it must be John’s. He looked around and found piles of stuff all covered in dust. Old tables and chairs. Paper boxes and decorations. Stacks of books.
He took time exploring the room in case something interesting caught his eyes.
“You found my secret base.” The boy jolted. He turned towards the voice source and found Sam. The blond shrugged before he continued, “Not secret, actually. But I want to call it so.”
“You were here while I was asleep”
“Well, I don’t need a sleep, so I don’t have to be in the bedroom.” There was a glimpse of something in his voice. Keith couldn’t tell what it was though.
“Do you… miss it?” Blue eyes looked at him questioningly. He continued, “being alive.”
Sam wore an indecipherable expression. Keith stood so close to him he could see it clearly and yet he couldn’t read it. The other boy seemed contemplative, and Keith didn’t know if that was a good thing or not. The article headline rushed to his mind.
Before he could apologize, Sam replied.
“I’ve never thought of it… until I met you.”
Their eyes met. And whatever happened last night seemed to flood back to them, as if trying to urge them to finish where they left off. Looking into each other’s eyes, they both stood amid a beam of sunlight shining through the half-shaped window. But only one shadow was cast.
“Keith.”
A call from Alice dissolved it, whatever it be which was happening between them. Keith walked up to her offering help seeing her climbing the ladder.
“What is it?”
“Mom’s going into the city, so she wants to know if you want to come with her,” she said, brushing dust off her hands and clothes, “this place needs cleaning.”
Keith turned to the spirit standing in the same spot. Sunlight-caressed face wore a happy smile. Keith knew at once the other was glad he got to go outside at last. He nodded, mouthing at the spirit, saying that he would be back soon. Sam
chuckled and mouthed back. 'I’ll be waiting,’ he seemed to say.
Getting that reply, Keith couldn’t fight a smile tugging at his lips.
Since the moving, this was the first time Keith left the house to the city with Diane and Alice. They had been there many times and were familiar with the route. Now and then, Alice introduced to him interesting stores along the street.
They walked past the city square, in the middle of which erected the square stone pillar with a pyramid top. Keith stopped to look at it; it was in one of those photos Sam had taken. He took out his smartphone and captured it.
He came up to Diane and asked, “may I go off by myself? I’ll hurry back.”
She looked at her wristwatch. “We will meet again at 3 o’clock, here. Call me if you can’t find me. Okay?”
“Okay.”
Diane gave him some pocket money before they parted ways. Alice recommended some ice cream parlor to him and followed her mom.
Now alone, he tried to remember the pictures seen in that album. Some of them he could clearly recalled and was positive that they must be in this area because the building features were similar. He first went into the nearest alley. Various stores stood on both sides. The alley stretched into the distance. But on and on he went, not feeling even a bit tired. He made turns following the path, viewing what each store held.
He walked past the church, another place in Sam’s photo. He tried to take a picture of it from the same angle as seen in the picture. His smile faded away though when he realized that Sam could never visit any of these places anymore. It would be wonderful if Sam could travel along with him.
Not far away from the church was the cemetery. He hesitated to go in, but his curiosity got the better of him. He quietly walked through the open gate.
Rows of gravestones lay in orderly formation. He started from the left. He hoped he might find Sam’s name on one of them, however slight was the chance. Many read Sam or some sort of it. But, considering the age, Keith quickly disregarded them. He was also confident that the blonde’s family name was Gibs. He was never really told of it because, back then when they were viewing the album, they hadn’t reached the couple picture yet.
He thought about a certain feeling at that moment. It was foreign to him. He was anxious, or nervous, more than when he introduced himself before his classmate. It sent his heart racing, loud and clear, as if trying to remind him of the heart’s existence which had been all along taken for granted.
He suddenly stopped when he realized he had been wandering along the row mindlessly. He turned to read the gravestone in front of him. There he found Sam’s.
‘Samueal Mason Gibs’
He read the date written on it. Sam was just a 15-year-old when he died. Were he still alive, he would be only a year older than him. Were he still alive…
He quickly discarded the thought. He memorized the grave’s location and went to find a flower shop. There was one just an alley away from the church. He examined the store front and was disappointed that it was not the same one Sam once took a photo of. He went inside and came out with a bunch of white flowers in his hand.
He laid the flower before Sam’s gravestone. He wanted to say something, but he would meet the blonde again when he was back at home. So, nothing came out. His gaze fell upon Sam’s name as he stood there, deep in thought.
The meeting time drew near. Keith left the cemetery and went back to the square, also stopping by the ice cream parlor Alice recommended to him. There were many places he hadn’t yet visited. He thought he would definitely come back again.
He found Diane and Alice, both of them with a shopping bag and an ice cream. They walked back together. Keith listened to their chattering and answered his aunt’s questions from time to time. He had no idea if he should tell Sam about him visiting his grave.
The young spirit was waiting for him in the room like he promised. He smiled happily seeing that Keith was back. But when he found out that Keith brought nothing for him, he pulled a face.
“Seriously? You went out to the city and brought not a thing for me?”
“Why do you need any?” he retorted before pulling his phone out of the pocket, “I’ve got something better though. Come take a look.”
The blonde went to sit on the bed next to him. Keith showed him what was on the screen: a photo album. He waited for the other’s reaction, hoping for a compliment or something.
“What’s this? This one’s got poor angle. This one’s blurry. And this one’s got poor lighting,” Sam said, scrolling down the screen. Keith tried to snatch his phone back but the other lifted it out of his reach, “Just kidding. I haven’t seen them for a long time.”
The young spirit lay his back down on the bed, his eyes trained on the screen. The look on his face was as if he was reminiscing the past. Keith hesitated before slowly lying down next to the other. Sam held out the phone so they both could share the view. He then began to tell the other about each place and how they were before.
Keith felt the cold aura emanating from Sam’s body. But he didn’t care. His head gently tilted to rest on the other’s shoulder. He closed his eyes and let himself lost in the sweetest of voice he’d ever heard.
Chapter Eight
Nightmare from the Past
Keith knew that he was having a nightmare. But what he experienced was too real he woke up, frightened. The first thing he saw was the spirit’s face, and it was so close that he screamed in shock.
“What happened, Keith?” Hector swung the bedroom door open, face panic.
Keith tried to calm down. After a while when his breath was back to normal, he replied, “I’m sorry. Just a nightmare.”
Hector’s eyes were still full of concern, but he retreated before closing the door behind.
Left by himself, Keith looked at the cause of shock, still sitting on him. He didn’t really know how a spirit operated. Sometimes they were feather-light, sometimes they weighed like normal people. Like this.
“Why are you sitting on me?” he asked, trying in vain to prop himself up. He couldn’t feel his legs.
“You were having a nightmare. So, I woke you up,” the other replied nonchalantly.
He did want to retort that it probably was Sam who caused him the nightmare. Instead, he rose out of bed and went to take a shower. Sam would still chat with him when he brushed his teeth. But when he washed himself, Sam would give him some privacy.
“I got something for you. So, hurry home.”
“Something for me?”
Sam smiled widely before leaving the room. Sam didn’t follow him down to the Kitchen like always. Instead, he headed towards the attic. Keith’s eyes were on him until they met John who was coming out of his room. He quickly walked downstairs. He knew that his school life today would not be peaceful.
During his school ride, he tried to recall his dream. He couldn’t remember what it was about, except that it felt very real. The fear at that time was so tremendous he urged himself to wake up. That Sam sitting on him might have a connection with it. Or not. He sighed, dismissing the thought.
✽✽✽
Ever since the canteen incident, Keith had become the subject of attention. He could not avoid eating lunch in the canteen. So, he made it as quick as possible. His school life wasn’t that bad. Except for groupwork. His group members were not generally fond of him, so they dumped all the work on him. The good thing was that he had to go into the library to do the research. Library was a quiet place where people mostly mind their own business. Here, he was not the center of attention. Here, he could escape from people. The library became his refuge.
