The Boy on the Other Side

by Aki_kaze

  He nodded. He had no intention of going somewhere else anyway. Keith didn’t even have enough strength left to change his pose. Diane walked out, leaving the door open. Soon, she came back with a medical thermometer in her hand. Keith open his mouth wide, knowing the drill.

  “You have fever. I’ll take you to a doctor.”

  “It’s okay,” he said, his voice weak, “I just need a rest. You also have an errand to do today.”

  “It can be put off,” She said, stroking his hair with care.

  “I’m fine. Really,” Keith insisted.

  “I’ll make you something easy. So that you can take the meds.”

  “Thank you,” he said, shutting his eyes. He heard the door close, then he felt a touch on his cheek.

  He opened his eyes again. It was Sam. The boy’s face came too close. He wanted to move away but had no strength.

  “Take it easy. Don’t be so reckless,” Sam reprimanded.

  “Then stop showing up like this,” he retorted. He was sure he had told the other this so many times. But he just didn’t listen.

  “You looked terrible.”

  The boy mumbled, but his voice was too low for the other to hear. He heard Sam tell him to get a rest before falling asleep.

  Keith woke up again because he wanted to go to the bathroom. When he stood up, a voice called him from the desk.

  “Rise up slowly.”

  “I’m a sick person, not a disabled man.”

  He needed a while to adjust his balance. When he was back in the bedroom, Sam still remained in the same spot, his eyes showing concern.

  “Diane cooked something for you. But she didn’t want to wake you up, so she left the food and the meds there. She cares for you a lot.”

  Keith eyed the food tray on the nightstand, noticing a small note. It was in Diane’s handwriting, telling him that he needs to eat his food and take the pills, that she went out to do some errand, and that he could call her anytime if he needed something.

  He sat down on his bed. He didn’t feel like eating anything, so he decided to go back to sleep. But, before he could tuck himself under the blanket, Sam protested.

  “Don’t go to sleep yet. Food and pills first.”

  “I’m not hungry.”

  “Doesn’t matter.” The spirit rose up and walked straight to him, “Or do you want me to feed you?”

  “I can do it myself.” He sat up quickly. He eyed the bland broth in his hand. And with just one spoon full of it he called it quits. “Cold.”

  “You have slept for a time. Just wait here. I’ll warm it up for you.”

  “You can do that?”

  “My ability is not just for pranking people, you know.”

  “Someone might see you.”

  “Nobody’s at home. Hector went to work. Diane went to the city. John and Alice are at school. But seriously you shouldn’t stay home alone like this. Look at yourself.”

  Keith shook his head and let out a sigh as he listened to Sam’s dramatic rant.

  “I’m not a kid. I can warm it up myself,” Keith objected.

  “Not so fast.” He went still. “You stay here. I’ll be back in a flash.”

  The blonde took away the bowl. Keith lay in bed for a while. But he was worried, so he made up his mind and went downstairs. His body felt hot and aching. Every step was harsh and took longer time than normal.

  “I told you to lie still in bed,” Sam complained, seeing Keith in the kitchen, “you have no trust in me.”

  “It’s not that. I just want to move my body a bit,” he lied. He could not help being worried. A house spirit warming up food? This was unprecedented.

  The microwave’s high-pitched alarm captured the two’s attention. Sam took the bowl out and put it on the table. Keith tried putting a finger on it. It was so hot he had to yank it back. A red spot appeared on the tip.

  “How can you hold something this hot?”

  Sam’s indifference to the question made his chest feel heavy. He dove in his first meal, so that he could later take the pills. He hoped he would get better soon.

  He walked up to his room, Sam following him. After he took the pills, he laid down on bed. A sponge bath sounded nice, but it took too much effort, so he dropped the idea.

  “Do you want me to open the window? Is it fine like this?” Sam asked, but all he could heard was a mumble from the boy. So, he took it upon himself to open the window a bit. He walked back to the bed. Keith seemed like he tried to sleep but his eyebrows knitted together into a frown. “Headache?”

  Sam was about to touch the other’s forehead but drew his hand back. It didn’t help; he could feel nothing. Touching Keith wasn’t different than touching other things in the house. A spirit felt neither cold nor warm. Still, the painful expression on the other boy’s face urged him to do something.

  “Don’t fall asleep yet. Answer me.”

  Keith moved his lips. Sam got closer so that he could heard it more clearly.

  Did he say cloth? “Do you need more blankets? Are you cold?”

  He tucked blanket over him. That was when he noticed the sweat trickling down the other’s neck. “Sam Gibs. You’re such a fool,” he scolded himself, “hang in there, Keith. I’ll be back.”

  The spirit opened the closet searching for a towel. He found one in the drawer. He went into the bathroom, soaked the cloth wet, and walked back to Keith.

  Keith shuddered slightly as the cold touched his face. It was refreshing though. So, Keith let Sam continue, his eyes close.

  “Lie on your side. I can’t reach your back.” Keith obediently complied.

  Sam washed the cloth and got back to the other, repeating what he had done. The other’s expression had become milder. He rose to his feet, about to leave. But Keith’s hand reached out, as if trying to grab him. That hand went through the spirit and miserably fell onto the bed. Seeing that, Sam reached for the chair by the desk and seated himself on it. He remained there, beside the bed, watching the other drift to sleep.

  When Keith woke up, he found Diane sitting on the chair beside the bed. Her hand rested on his forehead.

  “You awake? How do you feel?”

  “Better.” He still felt sleepy. It was already dark. He must have slept through the day.

  “I’ll get you dinner.” With that, she left, closing the door behind.

  Keith’s gaze fell on the ceiling. He tried getting up, but dizziness hit him. Sam was nowhere in his sight, so he assumed the spirit must be in the attic. But when he flipped to his side, he found Sam lying beside him. The other’s eyes were closed, like a sleeping person. His face was so peaceful. Keith wondered if the spirit was dreaming. Could spirit still dream?

  A small smile tugged on his face. He felt thankful for the other taking care of him all day long.

  “Thanks.”

  Sam’s lips curved into a smile, telling him the other was not asleep and could hear what he said. Keith said nothing. His gaze had rested on the spirit the whole time until Diane brought him dinner.

  After a full day rest, Keith’s fever went down. His bodily aches were completely gone. Still, he did not feel like going back to school. Getting sick was no fun, indeed, but getting to be with Sam all day was better than with his classmates. Those people treated him like a disgusting germ. Worse, the school spirits still tried to talk to him. He couldn’t tell who were the living and who were not.

  He let out a sigh, getting off the school bus. How fantastic his life would become if only Sam could follow him to school. If he had met Sam when he was still alive, things must have gone differently. He might have been happier in class, living a peaceful life. He kept asking himself all the same old questions: when he would become normal again, or, when he didn’t have to be worried whether the one he saw was a living or not. But if the day came when he could no longer see spirits, then Sam would disappear for good.

  The very thought suffocated the boy. It was a feeling he couldn’t explain with words. He couldn’t imagin
e what it would be like not being able to see Sam again. All he knew was this: that he didn’t want that day to come.

  Chapter Twelve

  But If You Want Me to Be with You

  The school break would arrive in a few weeks. Like other kids, he looked forward to it. His reason differed though: while others could hang out and play with friends, he would be relieved of those judgmental eyes. Two weeks had passed, and no culprit of the storeroom incident was caught. The news faded away; it was as if the incident never occurred. Diane came to meet the principal, but all she got were an unsatisfying explanation and a promise that the incident like that would never happen again. Keith had already stopped questioning altogether, and he hoped Aunt Diane would, too. At least nobody did something that cruel to him again. Name calling persisted, naturally. But John even came to stop calling him weirdo.

  School break sounded good. But a coin always had two sides.

  “Dear, how about we go to visit your parents during school break?”

  Diane asked him one evening while they were having dinner.

  The boy went still at the question. “I don’t want to.”

  “But it’s their death anniversary. You should at least pay them a visit.”

  “Please visit them for me. Now I have to excuse myself.” He rose up to put away his plate, still full of food. He left the kitchen, many pairs of eyes following him; some curious, some worried.

  He flopped down onto the bed. He tried not to think of that day, but it didn’t work. The scene before the accident rushed to his mind, still painfully vivid. In just a split second, laughter turned into silence. And he never heard his parents’ voice again.

  Keith senses a cold presence from behind, knowing at once Sam was there.

  “Why don’t you go visit your parents?”

  “I don’t know why I should,” he felt guilty saying something like that. But he tried to forget it and said nothing more.

  “I think the reason you can’t see them is because they held no worry and have left this world.”

  One question came to his mind. Keith still didn’t know what happened to Sam to these days.

  “Visiting them means you still miss them. At least that’s what I think.”

  He turned to look at the blond, lying flat on the bed. His eyes looked upward towards the ceiling, but his mind must have drifted to somewhere else farther away from here.

  “It’s not that I don’t miss them. It’s just…” He stopped, fighting the fear inside. “That accident happened during the summer break. If I have to sit in a car traveling a distance again, I think I…”

  The scene was replayed in his mind. He couldn’t bear the thought.

  “Taking meds doesn’t help?”

  “I don’t want to take it,” he admitted honestly. Except from that convulsion in the storeroom, Keith showed no other symptoms that should be worried. Some stuff at school troubled him, but there was nothing he could do about it. “I’m fine now.”

  Sam’s face didn’t seem like he bought it, but he didn’t say it out loud. Keith was fine with that. He didn’t need to convince Sam. The only one that he needed to believe it was himself.

  Their eyes met unintentionally. They both laid on their side, facing each other. They were just an arm apart.

  “You never stay in my room when I sleep.”

  “Won’t it be a bit creepy being watched while sleeping?” Sam joked.

  “Do you ever sleep?” Keith voice was low, soft as a whisper.

  “I don’t need to.” Blue eyes examined the other’s face. “But if you want me to be with you…”

  “Please…”

  Keith said before closing his eyes. He shuffled his head towards the other. It got so cold he had to hug himself. The blanket was tucked over him by none other than the spirit.

  “You’re going to sleep like this?”

  “Shut up.”

  He replied, his eyes still close. He felt deeply that the other was with him all night.

  After he finished getting dressed, he put on his backpack and went downstairs. There, Hector was reading a newspaper sipping his coffee, while Alice was enjoying her breakfast. As for John, he would be late as usual. The boy saw Diane and noticed a concerned expression on her face. It was about the visit. She put her hand on his shoulder gently as she handed him a glass of juice. He felt guilty without her uttering a word.

  He sighed in secret.

  John’s loud step announced his arrival and earned him Diane’s reproach. He gave her a nonchalant sorry. This happened almost every day it became a routine.

  “Mom. I’ll hang out at Dylan’s after school.”

  Diane made a face that said she never heard that name before. John then told her about the guy.

  “Fine. Don’t come home late. And you should take Keith with you, too.”

  John and Keith turned to look at each other before turning to Diane.

  “I have work to do.” That was what first came to his mind. Actually, he had no such a thing. But to be with John and his friend whom he didn’t know was not a good idea. Moreover, John’s expression was very clear that he didn’t want Keith to tag along.

  “I see. How come I’ve never seen you doing your homework too?” That question was directed to her son.

  “We’re in different grades. Duh.”

  The school bus’s arrival was their life-savers, again. The three children were more than ready to flee the scene. Diane didn’t see them off. Instead, it was Sam who was waiting for him at the door.

  “See you later. Derringer.”

  His face heated up without him knowing why. He turned to the spirit and gave him a small nod before leaving.

  “Wait! Please wait. Hold the bus a moment,” Keith exclaimed, realizing something. He rushed back inside the house, loud boos coming after him from other students on the bus.

  He dashed upstairs and was surprised to see Diane in his room. She was vacuuming the floor. Sam was also there, sitting on the bed, watching her. The blonde smiled broadly when he saw Keith.

  “What’re you doing?”

  The vacuum cleaner’s noise was deafening. The boy then got near her and asked again. “Aunt Diane?”

  “Oh my gosh! Keith, you startled me.” She turned off the appliance and tried to calm down. “Why are you still here?”

  “I’m sorry. I forgot something,” he replied, “you don’t have to do this. I can clean the room myself when I’m back.”

  “That will never happen.”

  “Yeah. You never cleaned your room. Not even once,” Sam added. Keith sent him a crossed look.

  “Oh right. When I was cleaning your desk, I found a plane model. Is it your father’s?”

  The boy put the paper in his bag and turned to look at the said object on the desk. “Yes,” he answered with a smile.

  Diane walked towards him, eying the same thing. “He did keep it.” She turned to Keith, her voice excited. “Do you know when your father was a child, he wanted to be a pilot?”