"ONCE YOU DISCOVER THE EVIL I DID IN MY PAST LIFE, I HOPE YOU CAN FIND IT IN YOUR HEART TO FORGIVE ME."
I saw that woman in white again. I really don't get why, since last month, I keep spotting her secretly watching me and trying to get my attention. Is she a ghost with a crush on me?I already told my fellow ghosts about it, but they said she might just be one of the new spirits around here. One time, during an assembly meeting at the quadrangle, I noticed her again. And here's what happened that night.
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It's midnight, and we're here at the Glorious Legendary University (GLU) quadrangle because the Highest Supreme Ghost called an assembly meeting. The agenda's probably about prepping for the Day of the Dead, November 1st—which is coming up soon. Everyone's way too hyped for something that's still months away. Are they really that excited?
Honestly, I don't get it. They keep saying that on that day, ghosts get a power boost. Well, all ghosts except me, apparently. I've never felt this so-called "power" they keep talking about. What exctly is it? Some kind of Naruto-style chakra? That's what I've been wondering all this time. Why don't I get any? It's seriously unfair.
Plus, I look different from everyone else. Sometimes, folks even steer clear of me. And I can't just float around, zip to different places, or vanish into thin air like Son Goku's powers. So yeah, if I want to scare a student, I actually have to run after them. Total pain for a ghost! So inconvenient. But even with all that, my victims still ignore me. I'm the one who ends up out of breath, not the person I tried to scare. AM I THE ONLY ONE! Am I the only ghost who has this much drama?
I looked up when the Supreme Ghost started to speak at the stage.
"Dude! Is it just starting?" Ayan suddenly appeared beside me, looking out of breath. What happened to him? Didn't he use his ability to float? He looked like he was being chased by his own ghost. He looked terrified, but that's impossible. Because this is Ayan? The pro at intimidation, the guy who fears nothing.
"Dude, what's wrong with you?" Carl asked. If you could still remember, he's the ghost buddy of mine who died from a computer virus.
"N-Nothing," Ayan mumbled, stuttering.
"Good evening, my beloved ghosts!" Supremo shouted from the stage.
"Good evening, too," the dead replied, their voices flat and lifeless. But I ignored them. My eyes caught something.
I unintentionally looked up to the second floor of one of the classoom buildings. I'm in the middle of the university quadrangle, so I have a clear view of what's up there.
I saw a woman with long hair, dressed in white, peeking out from a classroom doorway. She seemed to be watching what was going on down here with us. She was in the building behind the stage. Moonlight illuminated her, but her features weren't clear since we were pretty far apart.
I shook my head while squeezing my eyes shut. Maybe we ghosts hallucinate too. When I opened my eyes again, she was already gone. The girl had just vanished from where she was the moment I looked back at her. I frowned. Was what I saw earlier real?
"Tonight, I want to share some very important information!" Supremo shouted. Sorry, we don't have a microphone. But hey, our ghost voices echo anyway. Supremo was spouting a bunch of stuff, but honestly, it just went in one of my ears and right out the other.
I couldn't focus. How can I concentrate on the present when I haven't yet moved on from the past. Just kidding! The truth is, I was still thinking about whether I really saw that girl peeking through the door of one of the classrooms in that building.
"There's a ghost haunting this place," Ayan suddenly blurted out. What the heck is he even talking about? Did he forget we're the ones haunting GLU? If there's a ghost here, that would be us!
My heart started pounding like crazy. I mean, who wouldn't be freaked out by that? I didn't even know ghosts could get haunted too. This heart of mine is another weird thing to add to everything going on in my ghost life. It started beating again when I found myself constantly looking for Misaki and watching over her. I even asked my fellow ghost buddies about it, but they said their hearts haven't beat in ages.
"I saw her," Ayan said, stared blankly into space, muttering incoherently. He was seriously creeping me out. But I tried to play it cool, maybe he was just messing with us.
"Who the heck are you talking about, dude?" Carl asked.
"Hey, guys, wanna help me scare the girls in the dressing room tomorrow?" Joseph suddenly cut in, totally changing the subject. This guy's got nothing better to do than be a peeping creep. Seriously unprofessional as a ghost.
Carl's face suddenly lit up, clearly down for whatever Joseph was suggesting.
"I've got a crush," Joseph said, grinning from ear to ear.
"Actually… I think it's love," he added. I wanted to facepalm so bad after hearing that. Maybe I could relate to all this love talk if the dude weren't such a perv. Now I can't help but wonder what he does when his urges kick in. Like… does he, you know, handle it himself? Is there still something coming out from the ghost? Mmmh...
Honestly, it's pretty sad. We should've let go of this kind of stuff by now. I mean, we're ghosts, love's not really in the cards for us anymore. Sorry if I sound like a bitter ghost, I'm just being real. No matter how many times we fall, it's a dead-end. Literally.
"What if I just possessed her?" Joseph added with a creepy grin.
"What?!" I blurted out, totally freaked by what he said. I was the one who got chills this time. So that's what ghosts are like when they get obsessed with the living. As far as I know, we don't even have the ability to possess a living person… unless we make some kind of deal with a demon.
Until I suddenly noticed the whole quad going quiet in the middle of the meeting. That's when I realized I'd been way too loud. Wow! Thanks a lot, Joseph. This is all your fault. I overreacted. Now, I have everyone's attention.And to play off the awkwardness, I just raised my fist and shouted,
"Long life to us all!"—like I was some kind of warrior chanting a battle cry. Everyone just stared at me with these sharp, unblinking eyes. And sure, glaring eyes might be normal facial expression for ghosts, but damn, it was still terrifying.
Fortunately, I don't actually look like that. Like I've always said, I'm different from them. I'm the hottest one by human standards. Not to brag, but let's be real, I'm basically Jungkook-level handsome. Yikes! The only reason I get bullied around here is because with ghosts, the scarier your face, the more of a 'heartthrob' you are. Gross!
Out of nowhere, Joseph grabbed me by the ear, and then Carl joined in on the other side. Next thing I knew, they were dragging me across the quad by my damn ears. They only let go once we finally reached the lounge.
"What did I even do wrong?" I complained, rubbing my ear that was now red from all the yanking those jerks did. It hurt like hell. How could they do this to me, when they all knew I was the only one who could actually feel physical pain among the ghosts! I'm strangely similar to the living.
Sometimes I can't help but think that, me being a ghost is just one big joke. Like I'm just here for decoration, especially on November 1st and 2nd.
Honestly, my biggest insecurity is my inability to scare people as my fellow ghost does. I'm the one who got scared anyway. Yeah, I know. As a ghost, it's embarrassing.
"And you seriously had to ask? That's basically an insult to them. You know they were already dead!" Carl said. So I just ended up scratching my head in confusion.
"Hey guys, just make sure you back me up when we scare the girls in their dressing room tomorrow, alright?" This Joseph dude, always up to no good. Does he ever think about anything else? Is he seriously not done with this yet? And is he really sure scaring them is all we're gonna do there? Feels like he's got some messed-up plan in mind and just wants to drag us into it so no one rats him out to the supreme.
While they were still talking about their plan to peep.... uh, I mean, to scare the girls in the dressing room, I just stopped talking and stayed quiet, sitting off to the side with them.
But I suddenly straightened up from slouching when an icy, swift breeze rushed past my back, making me turn around.
"Guys, did you feel that?" I said nervously, grabbing onto Ayan, who was sitting beside me. They fell silent for a few seconds.
"Feel what?" Carl asked, while Joseph frowned and Ayan stared at me, dead serious.
"I felt something cold!" I complained again, nervously scanning the area. It was weird because the three of them just exchanged looks.
"Just ignore it. Probably just some attention-seeking ghosts," Carl brushed it off like it was nothing. I decided to drop it, probably just another one of those ghosts messing with me again.
"So what's the plan again?" Joseph asked, and they just went back to their conversation while I kept quiet.
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And that's exactly what happened that night. Thanks again for reading my confession. Don't worry, I'll just visit you every night and let you feel my deepest gratitude. I swear. I'm not scary. You might even fall in love once you see me.
'Til my next blog!
No one is gonna love me,
-Anthony