If only he had realized it earlier, he could have done something sooner. Time travel existed and anyone could do it. All the clues led him there in a desperate attempt to save her, one who was practically dead. The cold air clung to Daiki as he stabbed the ground with the spade shovel he dared not to let go. He made her a promise and on their journey, he told himself he’d keep it. “I wonder if you’d forgive me if I didn’t?” his heart cried. The thoughts plagued his mind encouraging any last residing strength to seep out. It was only a matter of time before she slipped into death’s embrace. His soul could feel it. The working vision he had began to blur as his body pushed beyond its limits. Their memories lit up like living fire in his mind and like a VHS tape, the adventure they shared rewound to day one. It’s really a silly thing, isn’t it? Falling in love with a ghost. 

—

“Daiki could you do me a favor?” the senior club member asked. “I think there’s an old Ouija board from America in box nineteen. Could you grab it from the storage unit?”

“I’ll do it for that favor I owe you,” Daiki bargained getting up from the chair. The club member pouted in agreement. They both knew finding the box would mean shuffling around furniture and neither of them wanted to waste time doing it so the bargain presented a win-win situation. 

The supernatural experiences club was a group of weirdos but they wholeheartedly accepted Daiki’s claims of being able to see ghosts. Though the members didn’t possess any psychic ability themselves, treating someone who did as a normal person was an ability all on its own. As Daiki opened the unit door, dust particles glowing from the sun's rays warmly greeted him. Immediately, the sense of a stare presented an ominous feeling as he rearranged loads of boxes and furniture. This wasn’t a first. He knew the suspicious glare of a ghost when he felt one. Choosing to ignore it and play dumb, the search for box nineteen continued until nearly twenty minutes later. In all that time, the glare never seemed to fade. Now what? It clearly wanted to communicate but he could become haunted if he gave it the chance. Ending the debate to “look past” and sneak a peek Daiki turned around. Instead, he felt the breath in his lungs hold as he found himself looking at a wondrous view. 

The fluorescent luminance transcended through her body as if she wasn’t there at all. A knee-length overall dress that was wrinkled, weary, and loved hugged her vessel. As the lids on her eyes blinked, the lavender gems giving her sight shifted to examine their surroundings. For the first time, he heard her soft voice as she spoke words that made his brows furrow.

“So is this your room? It’s kinda a piece of crap,” she said nervously.

Indescribable astonishment. One second it’s there, the next, dissipated. They were standing in a storage unit and her eyes grazed him for twenty minutes. She knew it couldn’t have been a bedroom, his nonetheless. Before he could comment in defense, she spoke again. “Oh well, luckily I won’t judge you for that,” she said hypocritically. “Anyway, it seems like you’re to be my savior! I would like for you to listen closely so that you can fulfill my wishes!” Daiki has seen plenty of spirits before. Some of them are trapped in time loops and some have gained their freedom to speak or roam, but this one seemed different. When listening to recordings or devices used in supernatural phenomena, intelligible voices only speak simple phrasing. Speech is limited due to spiritual strength, so when an empath such as himself interacted with dwellers, they’d experience those short sentences as well. It was his first time encountering a spirit who could use free vocabulary. That meant she had to be incredibly strong. It was impressive but, 

“No, thanks,” he responded grabbing the box. “I don’t know who you are, plus, you seem like a real pain to deal with, so ‘Goodbye.’” As he turned over to walk out she glided over to cut off his exit. He then stared into her lavender eyes fully suspecting what she was going to say next.

“No wait, please! I’m sorry! I just wanted to tease you, that’s all!” 

“Bingo,” his conscience muttered.

“I shouldn’t have bossed you around so quickly! I see now that you’re not a guy who’d take that kind of behavior! I apologize! Please just listen to what I have to say!” 

The anxiety on her face rose as her voice desperately shook. Her eyes glossed over with tears but Daiki wasn’t going to fall for it. In the short timeframe of their meeting, she’s already shown that she can be a trickster, full of herself, and rude. Honestly, he had yet to determine if she was what socials considered a “Karen” but she was cutting it close. Not only that but it was silly of her to think she could stop him from proceeding. Maybe she was stupid too? Daiki, attempting to walk through the doorsill,  suddenly had an uncanny inkling ambushing him. It tugged on his soul. “Strange. This has never happened before,” he wondered. He turned back to see her lay a hand over her chest in surprise, showing that there was no foul play involved. Their eyes met and immediately they both knew it, this meeting was a silver lining. It held a mysterious hope that for a moment, kindled their souls. The lavender girl was all of the above plus annoying, but for some reason, her celestial existence called to him and his to hers. With fate getting in the way, the least he could do was listen to what she had to say. What a predicament.

“What do you want?” Daiki sighed. 

She lit up in glee expressing her gratitude. “Thank you, thank you, thank you! You’re the best of the best! Hmm… Now let’s see…It’s actually a pretty long story but-”

“Make it short.” he interrupted. “I’ve got a club and job to be at. I don’t have all day.”

“What?” She complained. “I can’t exactly shorten it.”

“Well, it’ll have to wait until later then. I don’t exactly have time to kill right now. Just stay here and when I get back I’ll play therapist with you. Got it?” 

She smiled warmly and agreed waving a gentle goodbye. Looks like Patience adds to her virtue as well. Tomorrow he would only have two classes, no club activities, and work in the evening. He wondered if it would be considered procrastination if he lent an ear to a ghost girl instead of studying for the midterms. But what would he say if he failed? “I hope this isn’t a mistake,” he whispered. 

In the passing of seven hours, the night sky was illuminated with stars. Aching feet carried him to the train station and after finally reaching the empty platform, Daiki slouched over onto a bench. The commute home wasn’t going to be easy either so he dared not to sleep on it. By 22:23 pm, the last train would stop and pick up the final commuters. If anyone missed it by a hair, they would have to find a hotel or sleep on the streets and he wasn’t exactly eager to spend any money. As he nestled down to relax a screaming voice bounced off the station walls.

“How could you break your promise?!” 

The statement echoed from a young woman who sat hunched over bawling as a man tried consoling her. Their matching outfits told him they were together but the woman’s cries exerted brokenness. Daiki thought it was awkward. Though this area was practically empty wasn’t it still embarrassing to be having an argument in public? Then again not every confrontation can have a perfect time or place so he didn’t complain.

“Yeah. How could you break your promise?”

This time the voice seemed louder than before with a more sassy tone filled with disappointment. Not only that, the voice wasn’t shaking anymore. “Hey! Got nothing to say?” it spoke again. This time realization hit him. The voice wasn’t louder. It was closer. A numbing touch pierced his back forcing the reaction of a one-eighty turn revealing the girl with lavender eyes wearing an overall dress. Her beautiful face pouted in annoyance taking his breath away once again, this time in wonderment of how she found him.

“How are you going to promise me you’ll come back, and then never actually come back?! Awfully rude to keep someone waiting for so long don’t you think?!”
“You’ve got it wrong,” Daiki protested. “I said I would come back later.”

“Yeah and then you didn’t!” She screamed.

The silence grew as he chose not to explain that he had planned to return the next day. The couple just noticing him was now staring in confusion. Maybe it was best to not let them know that he was arguing with a ghost. As if on cue to save him, the train announced its arrival with a Doppler effect. Grabbing his bag, Daiki hurried over to the ledge while the lavender girl stuck close continuing to accuse him of lying. The train’s door gasps open as the both of them walk inside. For some reason, Daiki felt like it was going to be a long night.