The Haunted
Part 2. Ghosts in the Room – 510 words
Misaki walks into the room carrying a glass of water. An ornate box is tucked on his side. Before he could take another step, he sees someone who should not be there. She is standing by Narumi's side with a small hand on his frail shoulder. She is trailing her fingers along his back. He feels the hair on his nape stand on end. His hand grows numb and he drops the glass he is holding, whereas his grip on the box grows tighter. The glass shatters into a million crystal pieces on the floor. He blinks a few times then rubs his eyes before staring at the apparition in front of him.
The woman looks back and sends him a chilling smile. Misaki gazes at her once bright eyes now filled with loneliness and sorrow and something inside him quakes.
"Hello, Misaki," the ghost whispers, running her fingers through her hair. "It's been a while."
Misaki opens his mouth to speak but he finds himself unable to do so. He simply stands there, absolutely transfixed. His emotions are thrown into turmoil, threatening to explode like a geyser he could never contain.
"Do you have nothing to say to me?"
He steps towards the phantom but she is slowly fading out of view. He hears a crunching sound and finally realizes that he had dropped the water glass and that the shards were digging into his shoes. He sets the box on the floor then squats down to pick up the broken pieces one by one. He knows that he is buying time and adamantly denying what is in front of him.
"You foolish boy."
On an impulse, Misaki wounds himself with a shard of broken glass, and then watches his blood come out and form a small drop on the tip of his finger. The pain is real. This must be real.
His head shoots up again but the spectre is gone. The blood from his wound drips to the ground, staining the carpet crimson. The whole damn incident leaves him shivering. Telling himself that it must have been a hallucination after all, he gets up and approaches Narumi's still figure.
"Narumi?" He shakes his friend's shoulder, but he receives no reaction from the unconscious man. "Narumi, come on, wake up."
"Narumi…"
He trembles when another voice calls his friend. He spins around but there is no one there. He hears nothing but echoes of footfalls through the open door. He wonders and doubts his senses. He knows he is not alone and yet—
Narumi finally stirs and slowly sits up. Misaki tries to assist him but his friend evades the touch, as though he is afraid of contaminating him with a dreadful illness. Narumi's eyes move to a corner of the room. Misaki's gaze follows but the corner is empty and he knows his friend is once again losing lucidity. A name escapes his lips.
"Yuka."
She brought him love and joy.
She took it all away.
He brought her peace and kindness.
He never meant to stay.