Pain in my legs continued to gnaw at me.

Exhausted, cold, and unbearably thirsty, I had been running for who knows how long, yet the light remained far away. I wanted to stop for a moment just to catch my breath, but I couldn't. They were still behind me.

The clamor of wild animals, scavenger birds, and people seemingly out to kill me continued to echo behind me.

Cold hands with sharp claws kept trying to touch my body.

I could only keep running with all my might to evade them. But what were they, actually? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I remembered, they had slashed my legs.

Pitch darkness enveloped my surroundings. I couldn't see anything around me at all, except for a beam of light in the distance.

Oddly, no matter how fast or long I ran, the beam of light didn't seem to enlarge to indicate that I was getting closer. It was as if I was running on a treadmill, going nowhere. Had I not been moving at all this whole time? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I remembered, when I realized I was in a running position.

Similarly, the foul odor was sharp and pierced my nose. How long had I been smelling that odor. It was so foul that it made my head spin and became overwhelmingly heavy. I had never in my life smelled anything so awful, even the scent of a landfill was far more pleasant than this foul odor.

Every time I ran, the foul odor would disappear, only to be replaced by another foul odor. I'd lost count of how many kinds of foul odor I'd smelled all this time. What kind of odor was this, really? And where were they from? I couldn't answer or even think. There was only one thing I believed, the odor never ended.

I couldn't take it anymore, I was very exhausted.

Had the monsters stopped? No, the beam of light was still far away, and the foul odor continued to deaden my sense of smell.

I only had two choices left, I thought. Death from exhaustion due to ceaseless running or death from being torn and slashed by those monsters because I stopped running.

The first choice might sound lighter, I thought. But after a very hasty consideration amidst the unending run, I decided to stop.

The piercing cold air slowly vanished from my body. The foul odor gradually faded away. The beam of light shifted and enlarged. The monster's sounds grew distant. The thirst began to subside. The exhaustion started to fade.

I closed my eyes, pondering what had happened. My body felt so light, the air rushed upward forcefully. I opened my eyes as the light pushed at my eyelids to penetrate into my eyeballs. Then I realized, it wasn't the air rushing upwards, but it was my body that plunged downward.

I wasn't running anymore, but I was plunging towards the famously hard surface of the earth.

What actually happened? I repeatedly thought.

I looked around, down, left, right, up, front, behind. I couldn't find anything I could use to save my life hurtling towards the ground.

What actually happened? I tried to recall everything I'd experienced.

My house, I thought. I saw my house when my body was almost nearing the ground. It was unmistakably my house because I recognized the pattern of the streets from this height.

Could I survive?

Just a few hundred meters left... less than a hundred meters... a few dozen meters... ten meters, nine, seven, six, five, four, and I woke up.

###

The darkness has now vanished.

The cold has turned warm and comforting.

The clamor has disappeared, leaving only one sound, a very familiar one.

The cold hands with sharp claws, replaced by gentle, warm, and loving hands.

Slowly, I opened my eyes. The light from the lamp was bright enough to illuminate the entire room but not enough to blind me.

My mother appeared on my left side, looking at me with a lot of affection. I could clearly see her mouth moving as if saying something, yet even though I heard it, her voice remained faint.

"Honey, are you alright? Is your leg still hurting? Can you move your arm? Let me call the doctor," those were the first words I heard from my mother's voice.

My mother seemed so concerned about my condition, but all her words made no sense to me. I was struggling with the question: what actually happened?

The doctor entered the room shortly after my mother pressed a button beside my bed. That's when I realized my current location. Not in my room, not at house, not at school, not at my tutoring place, but in a hospital room.

The doctor who entered wore a name tag that read 'Dr. Klio' and something else below the name that I couldn't read. His uniform was standard for a doctor, all white except for the light blue shirt. The doctor looked quite young, he might be in his thirties, if I had to guess. His body was quite tall and had noticeable muscles when when he raised his hand to check on the drip in my arm.

"Any complaints, Robert?" the doctor asked.

"Nothing," I replied, or at least that's what I wanted to reply if my mouth could move.

I tried moving my other body parts, but they all seemed disconnected from my mind. Every limb lay stiff. Only my eyes could move.

"Robert? Can you hear me, Robert?" the doctor asked repeatedly.

Repeatedly, I wanted to reply, but the result was still the same —my body couldn't move at all.

"Robert, if you can hear me, try blinking your eyes," the doctor ordered, seemingly aware of my paralyzed state.

So, I blinked several times.

My mother sounded happy seeing my response.

"Robert, can you move your body? Look at your mom if you can't, blink your eyes if you can," the doctor continued.

Following the doctor's orders, I looked at my mom. My mother seemed like she was crying, but I guess they were tears of joy. I waited for a few seconds before directing my gaze back at the doctor.

The doctor lifted their clipboard and wrote something on it. At the back of the clipboard was the word 'C.I.A' written in large, grayish letters.

I was well aware of the abbreviation, an intelligence organization that had been disbanded decades ago, but I could guess why Dr. Klio wrote it —He was a fan of the C.I.A series that was trending at the time. However, I didn't really like series like that.

The doctor explained some things about my current condition. According to him, I had to stay for another two or three days, or longer, depending on my health progress.

"Wait, the doctor said the word 'another'..." I thought, unsure of how long I'd been in this hospital.

The doctor left the room.

Now, only my mother remained, looking worried about me. In moments like this, I desperately wanted to move my body to hug her and tell her I was okay, to reassure her. But what could I do when my body was disconnected?

About an hour later, my mother fell asleep beside me. She cared for me so much that she slept sitting up just to be close to me. I could feel her love.

I couldn't tell if it was day or night or if my mother was just exhausted. I couldn't be sure. I looked around the room corners, there wasn't anything that could be my main source of information to know how long I'd been lying here or what time it was.

Then I realized something, 'Where's Desmon?' I couldn't see Desmon at all. Where did that ghost disappear to? Had he forgotten about me? Or was he just busy playing that Ghostube he talked about? I didn't know, but I missed him.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

###

Doctor Klio's prediction was off. It only took me one day to recover my health back to normal. Now, I could not only move my mouth, but my entire body could move normally again.

Dr. Klio allowed me to continue treatment at home, even though he himself confirmed I was fully recovery. However, he was concerned that my condition might suddenly worsen. Therefore, he insisted on a medical check-up at least every two days and advised me to rest more. He even suggested to my mom that I take a day off from school every week and he didn't recommend me to attend additional lesson for a while.

My mom was happy to see me back to normal. Her happiness was clearly expressed not only through her facial expressions and body language, but she also offered to take me to my favorite restaurant or tourist spot.

I declined the offer to go to a tourist spot but accepted the invitation to the restaurant. No, I didn't feel hungry or thirsty like in that nightmare, but I missed the taste of delicious food. You know, hospital food, no matter how much they try, always tastes bland.

My mom returned my smartphone to me. I turned on my smartphone, and my heart skipped a beat. Nothing surprised me more than finding out I had been hospitalized for more than two weeks. I still couldn't remember what happened.

"Mom... I've been in the hospital for two weeks?" I asked calmly, trying not to ruin my mom's happiness.

"No," she replied, appearing somewhat disrupted by my question, "Just a few days, but since the last tutoring day, you've always..."

Tutoring? I started to search my memory bank about tutoring. However, I could only find fragments of memories.

"...how should I put it? You were always absent-minded. As if your body was there, but your soul was gone. That's why I'm very happy that you're back..." she continued.

My mom seemed to pause briefly to hold back her sadness. It was clear that tears were welling in her eyes. She still seemed saddened when recalling my previous condition, but she didn't want her sorrow to spoil the celebration of my recovered health.

Actions speak louder than words; that's what my dad used to tell me since I was young. I knew I could calm my mom by saying, "I'm okay," but I didn't say it. Instead, I hugged my mom tightly and kissed her cheek.

"I was fine. Hmm..." she said.

She tried to regain her happiness, wiping away her tears before they fell, and resumed, "So, to celebrate today, just tell me whatever you want to do or where you want to go, I'll follow your lead."

I was already happy seeing my mom happy, "No need to go anywhere, Mom. Let's just go to that pizza restaurant and then go home."

Honestly, I would have been happy to roam around the city for a while, but I knew my mom might get tired. Maybe not physically tired, but mentally tired from seeing her child sick. I could understand that, although not entirely, maybe.

We arrived at my favorite pizza restaurant. Unlike what I thought earlier, I ended up ordering just one tray of pizza for my mom and me. We finished our meal while chatting about the past, I didn't want my mom to keep thinking about recent events.

After I finished the last slice and emptied my drink, we immediately returned to the car to head home.

###

My mom and I immediately went our separate ways upon arriving home. My mom rested in her room, while even though I said I'd rest in my own room to her, I searched for Desmon in my house. Where had that ghost gone?

I called out to him in every corner of the house. I even stepped outside briefly to make sure Desmon wasn't out there.

I entered my room cautiously, hoping Desmon wouldn't startle me. When I opened the door to my room, there was no sign of Desmon at all. Had he gone forever?

Because Desmon was nowhere to be found, I lay down on my bed. I wasn't tired, but I just wanted to rest for a bit. I switched off the bedroom light. In the dark, I could see glowing writing on the ceiling of my room.

"Hey, Robert. If you're reading this, you must have already returned. Don't worry, this writing is made of material from the ghost world, so only you can read it.

I was shocked to find out you were affected by the 'ghost curse,' so I left temporarily not to distance myself from you, but to gather information about this 'ghost curse'.

I'll be back, but if you've returned home before that, you can press the button on the device I placed under your bed. Again, the device is from the ghost world, so only you can press it.

Stay healthy always,

Desmon."

I got up from my bed, then lay back on the floor next to my bed. I reached out far with my arm to access under the mattress. Although I couldn't see clearly, my hand managed to touch something, so I immediately pressed it. Nothing happened. Maybe this was one of Desmon's pranks, I thought as I withdrew my arm.

I returned to lying on the bed, waiting for Desmon, but he didn't show up. My incredibly soft bed caused my eyelids to slowly close. I tried to stay alert, faithfully waiting for Desmon. However, eventually, my eyes closed.

###

When I woke up, the day was starting to get dark. I changed my position to sit at the edge of the bed, while Desmon appeared on my chair.

"Huff... Where were you?" I asked Desmon.

"Are you okay? What actually happened at the tutoring center?" Desmon's lips pressed together in a thin line of worry.

"Okay. I..." I actually didn't quite remember what happened at the tutoring center before Desmon asked about it, "...saw that ghost girl."

As that memory surfaced, I immediately felt the ghost girl's aura. The air became suddenly very cold, and the lights in my room dimmed.

I saw Desmon standing, tossing something to me and around my room.

"What's that?" I asked while clutching my knees to warm myself.

"You can call it ghost salt. I worked hard to buy a lot of this stuff."

As if Desmon could read my thoughts, he quickly explained the use of the substance before I could ask, "This ghost salt can repel the aura of the ghost girl and remove the curse she placed on you. I tossed this salt at you while you were asleep, but it seems the ghost girl's aura is so strong that I have to regularly toss this salt at you."

I might have not believed Desmon if, after he tossed that ghost salt, all my memories of that incident at the tutoring center didn't come flooding back. Yes, I could remember everything, including the way she smiled with a terrifying grin towards me. Then, every few minutes, Desmon would toss the ghost salt at me. My body also felt more refreshed with each toss of the ghost salt.

Our conversation continued with my story about the incident at the tutoring center. Desmon's facial expression remained unchanged. His lips were still pressed thin, his shoulders tense, and his gaze fixed on me.

"That ghost girl is a 'Phantom', an entity even more supernatural than ghosts, or you could say she's the ghost of a ghost," Desmon explained after listening to my story.

"So that's why the ghost girl could make herself unseen to you?"

"Yup, just like ghosts who can make themselves unseen to humans, phantoms can also make themselves unseen to ghosts."

"If you couldn't see her, then how could I?"

"Technically, you shouldn't have been able to see her. I've said it before, your abilities are still untrained. You haven't fully seen ghosts or even entered the ghost world, so it's impossible for you to see a phantom. In the same way, I didn't have that ability."

"Then how did I see her?"

Desmon furrowed his brow, scratching it before answering my question, "I searched all sources I could find for information. I asked about it on Ghostube, searched on Find-a-Ghost, and even read ancient literature about the ghost world. There's no information about phantoms explaining why you could see her, except for one source from a ghost on Ghostube who said you're 'The Exception'..."

Now, it was my turn to furrow my brow and scratch it.

"... In short, you're special. But why and how you became special, I'm also puzzled about it," Desmon continued.

We remained silent for a while, each of us pondering why I could be special. I never expected to be more special than being able to see and talk to ghosts. But now I was faced with the fact that I could even see the ghost of a ghost, a 'Phantom'. I didn't know whether to be happy or not.

Phantom, an entity more ghostly than a ghost itself. Perhaps there were some good Phantoms and some bad Phantoms, just like humans and ghosts. However, considering all my interactions with ghosts, none of them ever harmed or caused me terrifying nightmares for days. Even the old lady I met at the mall or the vengeful ghost back then wasn't as dangerous as the ghost girl or the Phantom did.

When I remembered the incident at the tutoring center, there was one thing that bothered me —Ryan. Because as far as I could remember, the first time I saw that ghost girl, she didn't move at all from Chloe's side, except when she flew to follow Chloe, but her position stayed exactly the same. However, when Ryan whispered something to me to be careful, at that moment, the ghost girl instantly moved over to my side.

"Desmon..." I called Desmon for his attention, "before I saw the ghost girl's face, before she instantly moved over to my side, a tutoring classmate of mine whispered something to me to be careful."

"Chloe? or Ryan?"

"Ryan. Before that, he said he wanted to talk to me alone outside, but I refused."

"Do you suspect that Ryan might know something?" Desmon asked, leaning towards me.

"You also suspect it, don't you?"

"Yeah. He might know, but..." Desmon paused to stand up, "how could he know?"

"I don't know either."

"I actually waited outside your tutoring place the whole day. I wanted to confirm what happened and who caused it, but I didn't see any ghosts coming out of your tutoring center. I even saw Chloe and Ryan after they were both called by an adult, probably a tutor, who asked what happened to you..."

I didn't expect that Desmon would wait the entire day to confirm why I had become absent-minded as if my soul had vanished during that time. I thought Desmon had left just to play Ghostube, but once again, he proved his loyalty, even though he was no longer bound to me.

"...at that time, Ryan never glanced in my direction," Desmon continued.

"Could it be that he didn't look at you because he knew you were there? I mean, he intentionally avoided making eye contact with you?" I asked as I stood up.

"That's what I thought too after hearing your story." Desmon continued, now standing in front of me, was looking me directly in the eyes.

"We should ask him about it," we both said at the same time.

"But how?" I sat back down. "My doctor said I shouldn't attend tutoring for a while and need more rest."

"Yes, because you're still sick since the curse hasn't completely lifted. But now we have a countermeasure, the ghost salt I brought can counteract it, well, albeit temporarily."

"You're right, but will my mom believe? Even if I agree and go to the tutoring center, she won't allow it."

"In that case, I'll go. If Ryan can see me, I can ask him directly. But if Ryan can't see me, I might be a bit..." Desmon raised both hands and wiggled his index and middle fingers, "...bothered him."

"Good idea, but don't be too bothered him. Just come back. Let's wait a while until my condition fully recovers according to the doctor, then I'll ask him about it directly."

"Okay. By the way, I might go out more often to find something I can use to buy this ghost salt. You don't mind, right?"

If Desmon weren't a ghost, I might have hugged him. How could a ghost be as good as Desmon while humans could be as evil as my schoolmate who often bullied me?

"It would have burdened you, so there was no need to do that." I replied.

"It's okay, as long as you're okay. Besides, I'll have more time to play Ghostube."

I could only smile as Desmon left when the day had fully darkened.

####