Something woke me. I wasn't sure at the time what it had been. But my eyes snapped open, and light filled them. I squinted, confused, until I realized that it was only moonlight. The moon was directly East, slowly rising above the horizon. It was so bright, shining on me like a spotlight. I was standing in front of my window, looking out.
...What?
My eyebrows knit together in confusion. Had I been dreaming? Why wasn't I in bed? A shiver rolled through me. I was cold, and I felt strange, almost dizzy, like my head was full of air. I thought, perhaps, I was coming down with something, so I turned, intending to collapse back into the warmth of my pillow.
And I froze. Spirit sat on the edge of the bed, looking at his hands, turning them over as though examining them. He flexed his fingers, almost experimentally. He was in shadow, the moonlight not quite reaching him. But he seemed more...solid? I couldn't see through his form to the wall behind. And...and….he was wearing the soft gray t-shirt and black sweatpants that I had gone to bed in.
He was smiling.
"Um… Spirit?" I asked very quietly, not wanting to risk my father hearing me from down the hall.
The spirit didn't respond immediately, but his expression darkened immediately. I realized I was breathing too fast, and I tried to quell a rising sense of panic. There was something wrong here, something off. I opened my mouth to speak again, but Spirit looked at me. No...past me. His eyes were distant.
"Landlord," He said softly, "I hoped that this wouldn't wake you."
"Hoped what wouldn't wake me?" I could hear the panic creeping into my voice. I tried to keep it down, but why did everything feel so wrong?
"You needn't be afraid," Spirit said gently, standing, stepping towards me. His gaze sharpened, focusing on me. "But you must go back to sleep."
"I-"
"Now, Ryou…"
Before I could protest, before I even had a chance to ask him what was going on, I felt darkness closing in on my vision. Darker and darker, soft darkness, warm darkness. I tried to fight it off, but realized suddenly that I was tired, so very tired. So I let go, and the darkness embraced me and carried me into sleep.
It's a shame I didn't remember that night until it was far beyond the point of no return. If I'd been able to recall the first time Spirit took over control of my body, the wrongness of it, the way he'd looked at his hands, my hands; the way he smiled. Maybe then...maybe I would've made different choices.
But I woke up the next morning feeling peaceful and well rested.
And I remembered nothing.