"Hello?"

Just ignore him, Kiku. There was still the chance of pretending like he was mistaken. The ghost could stand in front of me and wave his hands in front of my face all he wanted, I was going to keep up my blank expression and pretend I was following what everyone else was doing. Just ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore him. Ignore the panic squeezing at your chest, put on your mask, and ignore him.

"I know you can see me, you were looking right at me!"

The ghost leaned in close to study my face, looking for any break in my façade. The battle between us was silent and unnerving, and in this critical moment, it felt as if the earth stood still. If I gave him any reason to believe I could see him, then this whole ordeal would have been for naught. It would be Tokyo all over again.

"Kiku?" It took me a moment to realize one of the hands in front of my face belonged to Alfred. "You look kinda lost all a sudden."

"I'm fine," I said quickly. Both he and his friend didn't look convinced. My mind rushed to come up with an excuse, but luckily, Mrs. Carriedo had great timing.

"Here it is!" she announced when she came through the door behind me. I immediately turned around and focused on the big overflowing straw basket in her hands as if nothing had happened, and the others followed suit. "We all pitched in to fill it up with all sorts of things for ya'll to try, courtesy of your new neighbors."

The basket was full of strange things, many of which my family would probably not know what to do with. We were presented with huge frozen cuts of beef that would probably feed a small village. From the Carriedo's we also received jalapeño jam, which sounded outrageous just saying it. We were also given a carton of fresh eggs laid just that morning and some flower and vegetable seeds, which my mother seemed happy about. She always wanted her own garden. I, on the other hand, was finding it hard to concentrate when a certain someone wasn't giving up on getting my attention. I felt detached from the others while they laughed and talked and I simply stood there pretending to be included.

"You saw me, didn't you…?" It looked like he was starting to believe he was wrong the way he looked at me with fading anticipation and I started to feel relief.

I guess let my guard down too soon, though, because the ghost suddenly raised his hand and threw it in my face as if to hit me. Of course he didn't hit me, ghosts cannot interact with the living world, so his arm went right through my head as if nothing were there. It was so unexpected, though, that I involuntarily flinched. It was a small movement, just the blink of my eyes and a twitch of my shoulders, but it might as well have been a waving red flag.

"You can see me!" he exclaimed and removed his arm from my body. I could feel the blood drain from my face as he jumped for joy and laughed. This was bad. This was really bad.

"E-excuse me," I turned to Mrs. Jones. "May I use your restroom…?"

"Oh, of course, sweety! Alfred, can you show'em where it's at?"

"Sure thing," Alfred waved for me to follow and I did, as well as the ghost, who now appeared glued to my side and about ready to burst. I had no choice but to tell him what he didn't want to hear and hope he wasn't one of the ones whose purpose was to make my life difficult until I gave in. I tried not to dwell on it as I was taken through the back door and down a hallway, which was dimmer than the rest of the naturally-lit house, once again ignoring the instinct to take off my shoes. Alfred stopped two doors to the left and pointed. "Here ya are."

"Thank you." I expected him to move aside so I could go in, but he stayed where he was and looked over my shoulder for a minute, as if someone might be watching, (someone besides the ghost he was looking right through) then back at me.

"Hey, you alright?" he asked. I blinked and looked at him as if I didn't know what he meant. "Ya seem a bit tense."

I guess I wasn't as good at acting as I thought. "I'm fine, I'm just…" What do I say? That I'm practically having a panic attack because his dead brother found out I can see him?

"…Shy?" The accusation made my ears burn, but I didn't deny it. It was true enough and I really couldn't come up with a better excuse, though it was a bit embarrassing. When I nodded, Alfred didn't roll his eyes like my mother would or laugh at me. He leaned on the doorframe with his thumbs in his pockets and smiled. "There's nothing wrong with being a little shy. Don't be so scared, though, nobody's gonna bite ya."

Of course not, that would be ridiculous. "Thank you, I will keep that in mind."

"If ya need anything, let me know." He got off the doorframe and went past me, unknowingly going right through the ghost who didn't look like he could wait any longer to talk to me. "Antonio an' I are gonna take a walk to get away from the parents so meet us at the barn when you're done, 'kay?"

Antonio? That must have been the Carriedo boy. I agreed and quickly went into the bathroom. The ghost had no trouble going through the door, and when the sound of Alfred's footsteps disappeared, I sighed and finally gave him my attention.

"This is amazing!" he started with stars in his eyes. "You have no idea what this means to me, I haven't talked to anyone in years! I, er, I mean, you…um…gosh, I dunno know what to say!"

"Please do not say anything," I asked. "I would appreciate it if you did not tell anyone about this."

"Who would I tell?" His joy faded into confusion. "There aren't any other people that can see me. You're the first person who ever has, an'…oh, I'm Matthew, by the way. You know what I am, right? That's why you didn't freak out?" He seemed to be having trouble organizing his thoughts, like he really hadn't spoken to anyone for several years.

"I know what you are, and I am talking about other spirits," I said. "I do not want that attention. Forgive me, but I cannot associate with you."

"But…why?" He frowned and looked at me innocently. "Nobody else can see or hear me. I'm the only ghost 'round for miles, as far as I know." That was a surprise. "There were some in the hospital, but they stayed there when I left with my family."

"You are the only one?"

"Yeah. Glenly doesn't have a lot of folks, an' I'm the only one that's come back that I know of." That gave me a breath of relief. There was hope for me yet! "It's awful lonely being me, that's why I'm so happy to meet you. For three years I've been like this, all alone, watching everyone I love live life without me, having nobody to talk to, nobody that sees me… But now that you're here, I don't have to be alone anymore! You could even help me contact my family an'-"

"No." I put my hand up and stopped him there. They always asked me for that, and it was the thing I refused to do the most. It was made clear to me early on that the world of the dead and the world of the living were meant to stay separate. "My ability is not to be used in such a way. I cannot interfere with a fate I have no part in, nor can I connect you to a world you no longer belong to." This was usually when a spirit would either burst into tears and beg or get angry and threaten me, but Matthew did neither. He simply stared at me with wide eyes like a scolded child, which he was, and I dropped my stern tone. "Please understand…it is not my place."

"But…" Matthew looked down at his feet. "Does that mean I can't even talk to you? Like a friend?"

"Ah…well…" I know my rule was not to associate with ghosts in any way, but…Matthew didn't seem to be one of the bad ones. He was soft spoken and polite, and if there really weren't any other ghosts in Glenly, then it probably wouldn't be that big of a deal…

"I won't try to talk to you when you're in public, if that's what you're worried about," Matthew assured when he noticed my internal debate. "And I promise to give you your privacy. I spend most of my time with Al, anyway." Would it be so bad? Even if things did go sour somehow, one spirit was easy enough to ignore compared to the horde I was used to. But what if he wasn't the only ghost in Glenly? Could I trust him? "Please…I just don't want to be ignored anymore…" Even if he wasn't, he seemed desperate enough to keep any promise if it meant I would acknowledge him. I had to make a choice.

"I'm really not supposed to…" A heavy sigh left my nose as I gave in. "…but if you promise to be respectful of my privacy, I guess I can-"

"Oh, thank you thank you THANK YOU!" I didn't even get to finish before Matthew started jumping up and down. He even tried to hug me and ended up falling through my body, but he was too excited to mind. "You're the best, Kiku!"

I just hoped I wouldn't regret it.

When I left the bathroom, Matthew's face was one big grin. He had a bounce in his steps as he led me down the little dirt trail to the side of the fence that went to the barn where Alfred said he and Antonio would be. It was a classic brown triangular building with white trim like you would find in a children's book illustration, though the front wall appeared to be missing, revealing a large dirt arena between two long rows of stalls. The others were on the far end of the left row talking about something, so I walked towards them with Matthew pointing to each stall we passed, all of them currently empty, and reciting the names of the animals that belonged there. I was more interested in the equipment hanging on each door and wondered what these strange hooks and ropes were used for. Everything seemed to be covered in a fine layer of dust even though it was obvious this place was used frequently. Every nook and cranny was filled with it. Do they ever clean?

"There you are!" Alfred said and waved me over. "We was start'n to wonder if ya didn't know how to use American johns!" I wasn't really sure what to make of that. "I heard from somewhere that they have weird fountain toilets in Japan."

I approached them and tried to come up with a response. I would have to expect the unexpected from Alfred from now on, I realized. "Uh…ours are very similar…"

Alfred seemed disappointed. "Oh."

His friend had a grin a bit more leisurely than Alfred's. "I haven't properly introduced myself yet, have I? My name's Antonio. Al says you say last names first, though, so should I introduce myself as 'Carriedo Antonio?'"

"No, uh…I mean, yes you would, but you don't have to," I said. "It is good to meet you."

"Good to see you're talk'n now," Alfred said with a laugh and a firm pat to my back, which was a surprise and made me jump. Was that really necessary? "When I showed up to invite ya over, I thought you might not've known English!"

"S-sorry about that," I quickly apologized. "I was not prepared for your visit."

"You'll get used to it," he assured. Did that mean he planned to visit often? "As your neighbor, it'll be my duty to show ya around and get you nice and familiar with Glenly. Ain't that right, Tonio?"

"Sure is."

"That is very kind of you."

"It's the least we can do for our new amigo," Antonio said. "So Kiku, tell us about Japan. You know, besides it being crowded."

Both of them looked at me expectantly. "Uh…what do you want to know?"

Alfred's hand shot up as if he were in school. "Do you really eat raw fish all the time?"

"Well…yes, but not all the ti-"

"Do you know kung-fu?" Antonio interrupted.

"Um, no…"

"Have you ever seen a real ninja?"

"Of course he hasn't, Al, you can't see ninjas, they're ninjas."

Was this really what Americans thought of Japan? "Is it true you do a lot of stuff backwards? Oh, and does Tokyo really have giant monster attacks like in the movies?"

"What kind of stupid questions are those?"

I was at a loss while the two dissolved into bickering. Matthew rolled his eyes at them. "Sorry, my brother watches too much T.V." We waited for them to realize they were getting off track.

"Oh, I know a good question!" Just like that, the focus was back on me and I braced myself yet again. Antonio's green eyes had a certain gleam to them that I wasn't so sure about. "What are the girls like in Japan?"

"…Eh?"

"You know, girls. Ladies. Las chicas." He swiveled his hands in the shape of an hour glass and raised aneyebrow. "I hear Japanese gals are real cute and sweet."

"Uh…" I wasn't sure how to answer that. Girls in Japan were just…girls. There didn't seem to be anything special about them overall, but was that because I didn't know any girls from other cultures to compare? I didn't even know many girls in my own culture. There was Minami who lived next door, but she always thought I was strange and we hardly spoke. The girls in my classes seemed generally normal, they would gather in groups just like the boys did, though they did tend to giggle and laugh more. My aloofness didn't help me get to know many people outside of observation or first impressions, especially the female gender.

Alfred must have seen that I was having trouble coming up with an answer and he elbowed Antonio's arm. There was a lot of physical contact here, I noticed. "Is that all you ever think about? Girls this, girls that. Don'tcha get enough of them fawning over you at the rodeo?"

"You can't ever have enough girls," Antonio defended with a hand over his heart. "So how 'bout it? Got any long distance relationships back in Tokyo? Maybe one with a sister?"

"My God, Tonio, you're as bad as Francis!"

"Says the guy who's never had a girlfriend," Antonio smirked when Alfred narrowed his eyes and he ruffled his short hair. "You'll get it when you're older, niñito."

"Screw you, you're only a year older than me!" Alfred leaned away and tried to fix the damage the other caused to his hair for a moment. "If I wanted to I could so get a girlfriend. Chicks dig cowboys."

"You know what chicks dig more? Rodeo boys." I wasn't expecting to see the slight change in Alfred's demeanor. He frowned and looked away to his right; unaware that someone invisible was looking right back with a similar frown. Antonio seemed disappointed about Al's reaction, so he changed the focus back to me. "So how about it, Kiku? Got a girl back home?"

"No…"

"Aw, too bad. But I guess long term relationships are pretty hard to manage, anyway."

We started walking out of the barn between the fenced pastures where quite a few horses grazed. It took a minute for Alfred to join the conversation again for some reason, but when he did, he went back to his usual energetic self in no time. I was glad, because Alfred being quiet was a bit more unnerving than you would think.

We exchanged information about ourselves (though it was mostly them doing the talking) and I learned a bit about their lives. It was amazing how different we were, yet so similar at the same time. They were typical teenage boys that watched television and played video games, talked about girls, (well, that was mostly Antonio) and made bad jokes about each other. Granted I've never experienced a friendship quite like theirs, but something about it felt right. Normal. That was exactly what I wanted for myself, though I wasn't sure where to start.

However, there were quite a few things different about them thanks to their upbringing that I had a hard time relating to. Alfred raised, broke, and rode horses, which I'd never seen so close up before. One approached us from the field, 'looking for sugar' as Alfred said, and I was taken aback at the sheer size of the animal he was scratching affectionately on the nose. He tried to get me to pet it as well and I shook my head to decline. I wasn't putting my hand anywhere near that thing's mouth.

Antonio called himself a ganadero, which meant that he worked with cattle. In fact, the steaks that were being grilled for dinner came from his ranch. He had two sisters that moved away for college, neither of them wanting anything to do with the ranching life if they could help it, but it suited Antonio just fine. He said some day the whole property would be handed down to him from his father. Until then, though, he filled his time with the rodeo.

By what I gathered, the rodeo happened at the end of every summer. People came from all over to compete in all sorts of dangerous sounding events, like wild bronco riding and steer wrestling. Antonio was a bull rider, which was about as dangerous as you could get. He displayed a scar on his arm proudly where a bull's horn gave him stitches a year ago and regarded it as if it were nothing. I couldn't believe people actually did such a thing for fun!

In the end I didn't say much about myself, just that I could draw and liked to watch anime. They seemed to be expecting more, but that was really all there was to me. Besides, you know, seeing dead people. I didn't have crazy adventures or do any sports, I preferred to stay in my room as much as possible. Compared to them, I was boring. There was a good reason for it, but I couldn't help but feel…pathetic.

Dinner was quite a different experience than I was used to. Everyone was given their own steak that was practically the size of my head, and we were expected to add mashed potatoes and salad to our meals if that wasn't enough! There was a wooden picnic table on the deck, but you didn't have to sit down to eat. At some point Alfred and Antonio starting throwing the little tomatoes on their salads at each other like bored children, catching me in the crossfire. I wondered if I was supposed to join, but my mother wouldn't like to see me play with my food and I wasn't sure about such a game anyway, so I opted to stay out of the skirmish. It was different indeed, but not entirely unexpected. There was a very relaxed atmosphere about it all, the way people ate and spoke freely, how we were treated not only like guests but as if they've known us for years. It was nice.

We brought home more left-over's than we could hope to eat in a week and the big gift basket from both families. Alfred and Antonio sent me off with goodbyes and as we drove away, Matthew stayed behind. I sighed in relief to see him waving and not following and I waved back appreciatively. He could have followed me home and bothered me all night, but I was happy to learn that he wasn't that kind of spirit. I would have been too tired by the time I got home from such a loud, busy dinner to entertain him, anyway. He was more mature than his apparent age would suggest.

Though I was curious. He said he'd been dead for three years, which I guess was a proper amount of time for the family to move on. I wondered how it happened and why he wasn't mentioned at the dinner. I saw pictures of him in the living room along with a little memorial on the wall so they obviously hadn't forgotten, but it wasn't something they wanted to talk about. Then again, it probably wasn't customary to talk about dead relatives when you were meeting new people. Whatever the case, Matthew would probably tell me sooner or later. A question I couldn't ask, though, was why he was still here. Every spirit had their reasons, from feelings of vengeance that would never be taken, to the inability to make peace with the circumstances of their own deaths. Usually they had no idea themselves and it was their job to figure it out so they could move on. Matthew didn't seem to be distraught about anything, besides his loneliness, so I couldn't help but wonder.

It wasn't my business, though, so I didn't wonder too much.

It should get more interesting next chapter. There will be a lot more Alfred. :P