2nd Star: Seeing Ghosts

It wasn't until I started changing out of my gym clothes that I realized my necklace was gone. Worried, I looked around the locker and thought about heading back to the gymnasium but that transparent thing I saw made me frightened.

If it's not here, then…someone took it, I thought, remembering the fingers that touched my neck earlier. But who's responsible?

Thinking back to earlier, I remembered Jin being among the students who stood closest to me.

No, he wouldn't do something like that, I denied, shaking my head.

My thoughts were interrupted by the bell, so I quickly changed into my school uniform and left the locker-room.

###

On the way to the bus-stop, I noticed a strange man kneeling on the sidewalk. He had light-brown skin, close-cut raven hair, wearing a brown poncho that wrapped over his body and a matching scarf covering the lower-half of his face. A pair of dark shades obscured his eyes as he looked up at me.

"Care to look at what I'm selling?" The man asked politely.

I glanced at the man's feet where several kinds of jewelry were displayed on a wool blanket with a bear-shaped paw design on it.

"All of it is handmade and reasonably priced," assured the man. "Is there anything you're looking for in particular?"

"You don't…happen to have silver crosses, do you?" I said nervously.

The man shook his head. "No, but I do have a silver eagle with its wings spread."

With a gloved hand, he picked up a necklace tied with a black rope containing an eagle made of silver. Apart from its spread wings, there was a blue-colored stone at its center.

"The stone's made from turquoise, which is abundant where I come from," the man added.

"And where's that?" I asked.

"America," the man answered. "In particular the Southwest where I live with my tribe."

"So you're—

"Native American," the man interceded. "Though more specifically, I'm a member of the Patch Tribe."

"The Patch?"

"You've probably never heard of them. They're not as well-known as some of the other Tribes."

Before I could question the man further, I saw the bus coming down the road.

"Well, I appreciate your offer, but I've got to go," I stated, turning away from the man.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find me," the man replied.

Looking back, I noticed a large bear lying down behind the man. No one else seemed to notice it, so I quickly turned toward the bus and got on. After paying the fee, I breathed a sigh of relief as I sat down.

"Hey, get out of my seat!"

"Oh, excuse me," I apologized as I got up.

But when I looked back, I saw a grouchy old man sitting behind me. But like the person from the gym, his body was transparent with little blue flames hovering around him. Sitting down across from the man, I closed my eyes for a second but he was still there looking directly at me.

"That's the first time anyone's ever listened to me," the old man said. "Are you a psychic?"

"No, why?"

"Because I'm a ghost."

"What?"

A few people on the bus gave me odd looks.

"Yep," the old man nodded. "Died of a heart attack when I fell asleep in this very seat."

Unable to respond, I requested the bus-driver to stop.

"Where are you going?" The old man demanded.

Instead of answering, I got off the bus and ran in the direction of my home.

###

A couple hours later, I reached my house just as the sun was going down.

What's wrong with me? I wondered, thinking back to the person in the gym and the bear which I realized were probably ghosts too. Am I going crazy?

Inside, my mother was sitting at the dining-room table looking at a pile of bills with a worried look on her face.

"Is something wrong?" I said, getting my mother's attention.

"It's nothing," she responded, hiding the bills underneath her hand. "How was school today?"

"Fine, but…I lost my cross."

Surprised, she looked at my chest to see nothing there.

"Did you take it off?"

I shook my head. "I think someone stole it from me."

"Is there anyone you can think of who could've taken it?"

"Not really," I lied, thinking about Jin.

She groaned heavily.

"It's not a big deal," I assured her. "I'll just buy another necklace somewhere else."

"You don't understand," my mother said. "That cross was a gift from Pastor Hogarth."

"I'm aware of that, but—

"Did you see anything on the way home?"

"Like what?"

Before my mother could explain, a door opened near the back and my father came out.

"Oh, hi, Shizu," he smiled. "I didn't hear you come in."

After glaring at my mother, I stormed into my room and locked the door. Once inside, I closed the curtains and started to unbutton my blouse when something moved inside the breast-pocket. Cautiously, I looked inside and noticed the paper star which now had a faint blue aura around it. I immediately picked the paper star up and watched as the aura grew stronger. Then a pair of yellow eyes popped out of the star's body prompting me to let go. To my surprise, the paper star didn't fall but floated instead.

Stifling a scream, I went to the bedroom window, opened it, and ran outside.

###

Several blocks away, I found myself in a park full of cherry blossom trees that were bare with brown grass growing beneath them. But what drew my attention more was seeing the man from the bus-stop lying at the foot of one tree, which just so happened to be the oldest one in the park. Cautiously, I approached the man wondering if he was asleep or not.

"I had a feeling you would come here, Shizu Rakugaki," he said, startling me.

"H-How do you know my name?" I stepped back as he got up.

"You were on the list of candidates."

"Candidates? For what?"

"The Shaman King Tournament," he answered as a chilly wind picked up suddenly.

To be continued…