Taylor walked back across the campus deliberately slowly, hoping Charlie could follow her. After all, she had no idea how badly Colby had really injured him.

She held her phone to her ear and said, "If you lose me or can't keep up, meet me at Harper's. I think you were there before, so you should know where she lives. I can't believe it, but that creepy chick is currently our only hope for having a decent conversation."

Charlie was grateful that Taylor was walking slowly. He could stand again, but he was hobbling badly. Ghosts have the same injuries as humans; they just heal much faster.

"We can do this, Charlie," she reassured him.

He wanted to believe that. He didn't know this Colby who had beaten him up. This wasn't the person he had waited alongside for 20 years, the one who had unconsciously taught him the meaning of friendship. He followed her, his steps heavy and labored. Every movement was a struggle against the pain pulsating through his ghostly body. But he persevered; he simply had to.

The door creaked open a crack, and a tired but still alarmed face appeared in the doorway. As Harper realized who was standing at her door and saw their companion covered in blood, her eyes widened.

"T-Taylor," she stammered. "I've been trying to stay away, I-I promised to leave you alone. Why are you here?"

"I..." Taylor glanced toward where she presumed Charlie was. He actually stood somewhere else. "We... We need your help. It's important. Please, can we come in?"

"This is a test, isn't it!" Harper snapped. "As soon as I let you in, he will come back and punish me for talking to you! Leave me alone!" Harper stared at Taylor, then scanned the hallway as if searching for the one she once adored.

Taylor swallowed and took a step back. "I know you hate me, Harper. But he's in danger. Please, we need to talk to you."

Harper hesitated, her hands trembling. She looked into Taylor's eyes, searching for any sign of deception but found only desperation. Finally, she sighed and opened the door a bit wider. "Come in, but quickly. I don't want any trouble."

Taylor entered cautiously, followed by Charlie, who was scrutinized closely by Harper.

The apartment was just as Taylor remembered it—but completely empty now. All personal touches were gone.

Harper wore an oversized hoodie, her hair hidden within its hood, and her dark circles reached almost to her cheeks. She didn't look very healthy. "So, what do you want from me?" she asked suspiciously, continuing to glance at Charlie. "And who is he?"

Taylor breathed a sigh of relief. Good, so Charlie was here. "Harper, this is Charlie. He's a ghost, just like Colby. I guess I have a lot to explain to you."

Reluctantly, Harper sat down on the couch, staring vacantly, clearly stressed. "And what exactly do you expect from me?" she asked skeptically. "Do you even have the slightest idea what he's done to me? What you've done to me? The heart attack was the least of my problems." She laughed nervously. "There are ghosts. Fucking ghosts. Colby Vance is a ghost. And I, I can see ghosts."

"Since your heart attack and the near-death experience, yes. And you have to understand, Colby was afraid of you."

"Him afraid of me?!" she shouted angrily.

Charlie remained silent, looking at Taylor.

Trying to reason with her, Taylor said, "Be honest with yourself, Harper. How would you react if a total stranger had more pictures of you than you do, if someone had a pillow and a doll meant to represent you? If that person wrote online about wanting to smell your farts. How would you feel?"

Harper looked sullenly down at the floor. "I had no idea he still exists. He's been dead for over 20 years. It's like Marlon Brando. How many women still spread their legs watching his films, how many loins still lust after him, even though his peak appearance was 70 years ago and he's been dead for two decades."

Taylor sighed. Harper still didn't seem to grasp how disturbing her behavior was. But she had to remain patient if she wanted to win Harper's help. "Harper, I understand you are a big fan of Colby. But-"

"Were. I was a big fan of him. But he made it crystal clear that I should not be his fan. When he stole all my stuff."

"Harper, you were wearing his bracelet."

"His coochie bracelet," chuckled Charlie amusedly, but only Harper could hear him.

"I don't care about that now. Keep the stuff. My obsession is in the past. You know, since my heart attack, I've seen someone else. A ghost, I think."

"Really?!" Taylor asked, surprised, and Harper nodded.

"That was shortly after. After he ran off with my stuff. I had to get some fresh air. I mean, I just realized there are fucking ghosts. And there he was. Outside, in front of the apartment building. He didn't realize I could see him. But he was floating there. He looked really depressed. So much so that he didn't even look human anymore. And he was completely gray."

"Fading," Charlie interjected, and Harper looked puzzled at him.

"Fading?"

"When ghosts lose themselves in their grief. Equivalent to severe human depression. When they think they have no other choice. They fade, their face melts away, and then they're gone. No idea where they go, but it won't be good."

Harper didn't bother trying to understand all of this. She just kept talking. "I was devastated. I mean, my whole and complete world fell apart. There are ghosts. Ghosts! What else is there? Vampires? Demons? Angels? God? No, there can't be a God who allows this. " She pulled her hood off her head and took one of her light blue strands of hair in her hand. "See this? My hair is dark blue. Not this light. They'll turn white. My hair is going white. Out of fear. Yes, that's possible. Apparently, it's so strong that it even ignores the blue."

"I'm sorry, okay. Really. Maybe we've gone too far," Taylor admitted. She hadn't expected the hair thing. "But please, we need you."

"Anyway, what am I supposed to do?"

"You can see ghosts. Including Charlie. You just have to be our interpreter."

"Wait, you can't see him?" She gestured at the shrugging Charlie.

"No, I never had a near-death experience. I can't see ghosts, well, except Colby somehow."

Harper let the information sink in for a moment, trying to grasp the situation. "So, you can see Colby, but no other ghosts. And you need my help to talk to him here."

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Taylor nodded. "Exactly."

"What happened to Colby anyway? Why is he in danger?"

"He attacked me," Charlie began.

"What do you mean, attacked?"

"Please, tell me what Charlie says so I can follow along," Taylor interjected, and Harper sighed.

"He says Colby attacked him."

"I don't know, I expected him to be angry, but that wasn't Colby anymore," Charlie continued. "I've never seen anything like it. He tried to kill me. I would be dead again if I hadn't already been. And he enjoyed it so much he wanted to throw me out the window a second time. And before that, he hit me so many times the blood just sprayed. It was downright sadistic."

Harper frowned. "But that can't be. Colby is an angel. A perfect man. He would never do that." Taylor looked at her expectantly, and Harper finally translated for her. "Colby is supposed to have beaten him bloody, almost thrown him out the window, two times, and Colby is supposed to have enjoyed it."

"He's not perfect, Harper. No one is," Charlie said.

"He says Colby isn't perfect."

"He wasn't either, I agree with him." Taylor massaged her forehead. "But something must have happened. No idea what."

"Ask Taylor if she swears she had nothing to do with it."

Harper turned to her. "He wants to know if you swear you had nothing to do with it."

Taylor looked at Harper seriously. "I swear it."

Charlie just frowned.

"So, was that your plan? Find an interpreter so you could fight?"

"We're lost too," Taylor said desperately.

Harper had an idea. "Well, I think I might not be. I've been googling thousands of things since my heart attack. I mean, ghosts!" She took out her phone and went to her favorites in the browser. "There I found her." She held out her phone to Taylor, and Charlie squeezed in front of her to see something too.

"Elphira Celestii, Medium of the Stars," Taylor read doubtfully.

"She's in Laguna Beach, we'd be there in a quarter of an hour by car," Harper explained hopefully.

Taylor crossed her arms. "I don't know." Not only does she not have Colby helping her with strangers anymore. It also sounds very far-fetched in general. A medium? Of the stars?

"It says, 'Stars'," came from Charlie. "Don't we need something for ghosts?"

"Charlie means, don't we need something for ghosts. But if anyone knows, it's her. All the reviews on Google look very promising. And visiting an expert in this field would be a better plan than fighting here." Harper quickly looked back and forth between Charlie and Taylor. "So, are we going?" Charlie shrugged. "He seems not to care. Taylor?"

"Okay, fine. For Colby."

"For Colby," Charlie mimicked.

"For Colby."

Elphira Celestii's shop... was hardly a shop. "Tent" would be a better description. No, actually, a tarp stretched over a makeshift frame standing in the sand. The whole structure looked shaky and unstable, placed so close to the sea that Taylor wondered what Elphira Celestii, Medium of the Stars, did when the tide came in. It resembled a merchant's tent at a bustling marketplace, minus the busy surroundings. Different-colored fabrics fluttered lightly in the wind, colorful banners and cloths flapped at the sides, and small twinkling lights gave the whole thing a touch of magic. There wasn't even solid ground. Everything was simply set on the sand. Taylor hated sand.

"If I had known this wasn't even a proper shop, I would have said no immediately," Taylor complained cautiously. She stood with Harper and Charlie in front of the tent, eyeing it skeptically. "Is she even here?"

Charlie took a cautious step towards the tent. Harper explained to Taylor that he was checking. The ghost poked his head through the entrance of the tent, which surprisingly looked cozy from the inside. "Yes, she's on her phone," he explained, then stepped back.

"Young man, while I don't have a door to knock on, you could at least say hello briefly, asshole," the woman said indifferently, not even looking up from her phone. "If you want to know something about Colby, come in and you, you, Charlie, stop acting like a voyeur. You're not one."

Quickly, Charlie withdrew his head from the tent. "She can see me," he said bewilderedly.

After Taylor was brought up to speed, her eyes widened. "Okay, I didn't expect that. So, she's a real medium? A genuine medium?"

"Yeah, bitch," came the voice from inside the tent. "In or out, got it?"

Together, they approached and pushed aside the entrance. The interior of the tent surprised all three of them. Despite its humble exterior, the inside space was remarkable. The tent opened up to a wide view of the sea, as if the tarp had magically expanded. Large window openings offered breathtaking views of the turquoise water gently lapping at the beach. The air was filled with a fresh, salty sea scent that eased the tense atmosphere somewhat, even more so than outside the tent.

On the sidewalls, shelves held all sorts of mystical items: crystals, vials of glowing liquids, and old, mysterious books. Candles were placed everywhere, their flickering light casting the scene in a magical glow. And in the middle of the room, on the sand without any cushions, sat Elphira, still engrossed in her phone.

Elphira was a small, ancient woman with a round body clad in a flowing white dress, now covered in sand. She wore a distinctive pink sunglasses that partially obscured her face. Her skin was wrinkled and sun-browned, and her white hair, also sandy, was tied loosely in a bun at the back of her head.

"Money," she grumbled. "Or get lost. Do I always have to pull everything out of your noses? Yes, I do."

Taylor and Harper exchanged a quick glance. Charlie settled in the sand, opting not to interfere here. Harper hesitantly stepped forward, pulled a crumpled bill from her pocket, and silently handed it to Elphira.

The medium took the $50 bill without putting down her phone and tucked it into the pocket of her dress. "That'll do. So, let's get this over with quick, I have a date with the tide today."

"Do you know what this is about?" Taylor asked.

"You still don't believe me, you timid little bitch? You want to know what's up with Colby. And how to help him. Because that is not him," Elphira replied.

"Wow. Nailed it," grinned Charlie.

"As if that's anything new to me." She set her phone aside, scooped up some sand, and threw it into the air. The sand swirled through the air, glittering in the sunlight. It hovered for a moment like a sparkling veil above them before gently cascading back down to the ground.

Elphira watched the falling sand with a knowing smile. "You see, grains of sand are like the stars," she said with a hint of mysticism in her voice. "Each tiny grain is a star, a minuscule entity in the vast universe. So small that you can hardly see them." She turned and gestured to the wide horizon where the sky met the sea. "But together? Together they form a whole. Our universe. And this whole, the universe, is full of mysteries that we can't even begin to imagine." She grinned mischievously. "Well, I can, but you can't. You're wondering what all this has to do with ghosts, what all this has to do with Colby. Even ghosts are part of the universe. They're like the grains of sand dancing in the wind, just waiting to be seen by the right eyes. Each ghost has its own story, its own journey through the universe of life. Some linger in the past, while others seek answers in the present. Just like a star. Or a grain of sand. Star, ghost, grain of sand... it's all the same. Ghosts may be invisible most of the time, but they are still present, just like stars during the day. Just because you can't see them doesn't mean they don't exist." She took another handful of sand and let the individual grains trickle from her hand. They glowed like stars in the midday sun shining into the tent. "That's why I can help you. Ghosts are nothing more than stars. And stars are my specialty."

"So, do you know what's wrong with Colby?" Taylor asked hopefully. Her initial doubts had completely vanished.

"Of course. He's angry," Elphira replied, looking at Charlie. "At you, buddy. I can't blame him, but I get you too. But ghosts, they're angry differently than humans. Okay, maybe not so differently. More extreme. Colby woke up and chose violence."

"What does that mean?" Harper wanted to know.

"Angry ghosts are dangerous. They see nothing but anger. I know, it sounds paradoxical, but at the same time, their other emotions and feelings are amplified. That explains his behavior. Colby is naturally very narcissistic. But in this state of anger, he truly believes he's a god. He truly believes it, with every fiber of his being. The power Colby has... is immeasurable. You might think even his power has its limits. But I say, it's limitless. He's not your average ghost. The universe has big plans for your Ghost Boy. But you'll experience that for yourselves. What you should know, though, is that he regrets it. Going off like that. A lot."

"What can we do?" Taylor and Charlie asked almost simultaneously.

"Talk to him. Plain and simple. Show him he's not the monster he thinks he is. Like the one he behaved."

"I think I have an idea where he-" Taylor began, but was quickly interrupted by Elphira. She wasn't finished yet.

"You also want to know what happened to Colby when he died. How Charlie clearly saw Taylor when she was at most a toddler at the time. And she would never do anything to him. Never. I won't answer those questions for you. I hate spoilers. You'll have to figure that out yourselves, I won't meddle in that shit."

Charlie didn't like that at all. "But-"

"Charlie West, all I can tell you is there's a good reason for what she did from your perspective. What she'll do from hers. She's not your enemy. On the contrary, she's your ally. So stop with the bitching-"

"But, that doesn't make any sense, I mea-"

"Goodbye." The medium grabbed her phone again. "Good luck, but you don't need it, because you're gonna get it done anyway. Now get out."