I woke up a bit later than usual, still feeling sleepy or at least not as refreshed as usual.

Upon waking up, the first thing my eyes saw, helped by the sunlight lit up my room, was a translucent figure seated at my study desk, in a position like someone reading a book.

I immediately shifted to a sitting position, leaning against my bed, "Desmon?"

The translucent figure turned around, "Hey, just woke up?"

"And you just got back?" I replied while trying to fully awaken.

"Yeah. Speaking of getting back, your girlfriend also returned a few hours ago."

Desmon's words helped me gather my consciousness. I quickly straightened up and was about to head downstairs to confirm it, "Are you sure?"

Desmon stood up from the chair, approaching me with something in his hand. "Absolutely, and here's a letter from her, left it with me."

I took the piece of paper held by Desmon's hand. I could feel the cold coming from the paper. Of course, it is, after all, the paper from the ghost world. "From Chloe?"

Desmon nodded, "Of course, who else would be your girlfriend besides Chloe?"

Maybe one of the reasons I'd add to my list of reasons for entering the ghost world would be to punch Desmon as hard as I could.

As expected, he would start thinking and teasing me about my relationship with Chloe. Although I might get used to it and not mind, if these mocks continued without considering that Chloe could be there and hear him, it would be very bad for me, as my relationship with Chloe could be ruined instantly because of Desmon's actions.

"Please stop it," ask me who had given up, "But how could she? I mean, this is a ghost paper, right? How could Chloe write on it and leave it with you?"

Desmon just muttered and sat on my bed, "Seriously, you don't know?"

I shook my head.

"Honestly, I'm a bit puzzled why Chloe would be friends with you. There's nothing to expect from you."

I sighed deeply. How patient should I be when facing a ghost like him? "What do you mean?"

Desmon began his words with his sly smile, "Yeah, you're not handsome, not rich, not cool, and, above all, you're too stupid."

Even though I couldn't physically harm Desmon, at least I could show I didn't like him by squeezing my fist, creating a strong punch that I aimed right at his face.

Desmon seemed unfazed, simply passing through my squeezed fist. "Seriously, how stupid are you not to know how Chloe can write on ghost paper?"

For this time, I wouldn't say I was stupid because I had just woken up, and there was so much information got last night. It was quite normal for me to be a bit forgetful this morning.

However, at least Desmon's words immediately brought back my memory. So, without needing Desmon to explain further, I already understood how Chloe could write on ghost paper. Of course, she could interact with the ghost world, so writing on ghost paper was easy for her.

"Yeah, yeah. I just wasn't woke up. No need to explain." I said, trying to look away from his face, which I figured would once again show an annoying expression.

"Alright, then, I'll go downstairs for a while to give you time to read the letter," Desmon said, then he walked —floated— through my bedroom door.

After making sure Desmon was gone, I sat in the corner of my bed and opened Chloe's letter. It was a bit challenging because my hand went through the paper several times when trying to unfold it. Maybe I needed to practice touching things from the ghost world again. But in the end, I could open it.

Hi, Robert.

Sorry I couldn't find you in the ghost world last night. But I promise we can try it some other time, whenever and wherever you want, just let me know in advance.

Also, sorry for leaving without telling you, but I had to go back as early as possible.

By the way, maybe Desmon has already told you, but I'll tell you again in case he didn't. I left this letter with Desmon after we had a conversation.

If you're curious because Desmon might not have told you, I'll answer, yes, we did conversation in the ghost world.

As for what we talked about, I won't tell you. You can ask Desmon for this, but only if he's willing to tell you.

But at least, that's what I can tell you about what happened while you were still asleep.

Oh, almost forgot. I also ask for permission to visit again the day after tomorrow or three days later. Desmon has allowed it if you're concerned about his permission, but I don't know whether your mom would allow it or not. I hope you can ask for her permission or at least inform her before I come, but it's all up to you.

Bye, Chloe.

The first letter I got from a girl. There wasn't anything I could expect from Chloe. By her giving me a letter, even an empty one, it already meant a lot to me.

It might have seemed a bit too much, but if I had a photo frame, I might keep this letter framed. Because, for me, it was an achievement.

I don't know what people would see if they walked in and saw me right now, but I'm sure they'd see me smiling alone.

I lay on my bed, my mind blank, but my heart filled with joy.

Time feels short when you're happy because not long after lying down, Desmon has returned to my room.

"What's in it?" were his first words after appearing suddenly in my room's ceiling.

I sighed, and that also swept away my happiness. "Can't I have privacy in my own room?"

"Yeah, sorry. But what's in it?" Desmon said, completely ignoring my words.

"Haven't you read it yet?"

"Nope. It's a letter for you, so of course, I didn't read it."

With a smile, I replied, "Because it's a letter for me, that's why you're not allowed to know its contents."

I was quite surprised by Desmon's reaction. His reaction wasn't what I expected. Instead of insisting on making me to tell him, he agreed with me and returned to his chair to continue his reading. Well, even though he had mocked me for not telling him, I appreciated him.

After I folded and saved Chloe's letter, I became curious about the conversation Chloe and Desmon had.

"You met Chloe before, right?" I said.

"Yeah," Desmon replied shortly, as if sulking.

"So, did you have a chat with Chloe?"

"Yeah."

I approached Desmon, and this time, I was the one who showed my face in front of him, "If I may know—"

"No. That's our conversation, so you're not allowed to know," Desmon cut off my words.

Fair enough, but I still curious.

###

I didn't care about the messy condition of my room. So, I went straight to the bathroom, not to take a shower, but just to wash my face.

After that, I headed to the living room with the intention of tidying up the blanket, pillows, and the drink and snacks Chloe used. However, the intention seemed somewhat useless because Chloe had already tidied up the blanket and pillows, while the drink bottles and snacks had been thrown away by Chloe into the trash. So, all I needed to do was put the blanket and pillows back in my room.

But before returning, I noticed something. There was a piece of paper, seemingly a letter, lying under the pillow.

Initially, I thought it was a letter from Chloe, but I was wrong. It was a letter from my mom.

There wasn't much in it. It only had a list of questions about why there were blankets and pillows in the living room and why my blankets and pillows had a different aroma.

It seemed like I had to explain it to my mom as soon as possible.

But honestly, I was quite amazed that my mom could tell apart the scent of me from Chloe's on the blanket and pillows, which had faded when I tried to smell them. Maybe it was because my mom smelled them when the scent was still strong? I don't know, but I'm still impressed with her because, at least, she can tell apart her son's scent.

After saving the letter from my mom in my pocket, I quickly brought the blanket and pillows back to my room.

###

I didn't need much time to tidy up my room. So, I had plenty of time to relax on my bed before going to take a shower.

"By the way, where did you go last night?" I asked Desmon, who had been reading his book without paying attention to me tidying up the room.

Desmon seemed to know that this would be long conversation or, at least, bother him, so he closed his book first. "Just went out, got bored being alone at home."

"With your ghost friend?"

"No, not firstly. I went to the library to read a book," Desmon showed me the book he was reading, "including this one that I borrowed because hadn't finished yet."

If Desmon was going to keep teasing me about my relationship with Chloe, it seemed I had to have something to tease Desmon about. So, I decided to bring up Desmon's relationship with the ghost girl who met me that time.

"So, you weren't with your friend from that time?" I asked.

Desmon silent for a moment, "Cherry, you mean?"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

I nodded, "Yes, Cherry. Weren't you with her?"

"Why do you ask?" Desmon said with a sharp look in his eyes, and I felt he was becoming suspicious.

"Just curious. You said you were bored being alone, so I thought you went to meet your ghost friend."

"Yeah, I firstly just wanted to read a book, but I met Cherry at the library," Desmon answered.

I started to show a teasing smile, trying to imitate Desmon's teasing smile, "Coincidence or did you plan to meet her at the library?"

Desmon give me back his sharp look, "If we did plan to meet at the library, so what? Is that a problem for you?"

I tried to hide my smile, "No, no problem at all. I was just curious."

Even though I said that, Desmon still didn't shift his sharp look.

"I was just curious if you had a special relationship with Cherry?" I asked after waiting for a few moments of silence.

"At the moment?"

"Yes."

Desmon shrugged, whether he did it intentionally or not, "You could say not yet."

"What do you mean?"

"Yes, I like her, and it's still in the stage of getting to know each other, not dating," Desmon gave me another sharp look, "if that's what your question means."

It seemed there was something I misunderstood about Desmon. He was not like me. He was truly open about his feelings and not afraid to be teased by me. Or maybe he did it on purpose to make me think it was pointless to tease him.

"So, you do want to date her?" I asked to make sure.

Desmon nodded, "Yeah, do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not, but I'm quite surprised you're so open about it."

"Yeah, unlike you," Desmon replied, opening his book again, "if you have no more questions, I'll go back to reading."

I knew Desmon liked studying, but he had never been so serious about reading a book until I felt like I was being ignored by him.

I stood up and approached him. I looked at the book he was reading, "What book are you reading?"

"Phantom history," he said briefly.

Phantom history, it seemed he was still curious about the Leina case.

At least for me, I was no longer curious because Chloe had explained what really happened.

"You're still curious about Leina," I said.

"I'm not like you. I'm trying to approach things with a skeptical mindset, like a scientist, you know. So, I can't just believe your girlfriend like that."

I smiled and chuckled a bit when I heard Desmon mentioned being like a scientist. It seemed like his life's dream still stuck even though he was already a ghost.

"Yeah, that's good, keep it up," I said.

I left from his side to give him time to read his book about phantom history and walked towards my wardrobe to get ready for a shower.

"You know, there's something strange about Chloe," Desmon said.

"What do you mean?" I answered while choosing the clothes I would wear for the day, something casual, of course.

"It's not actually about Chloe but you when you're with Chloe," Desmon said, then he looked at me, "You seem to forget important things when you're with Chloe."

I stopped choosing clothes and approached Desmon, "What do you mean?"

Desmon stared into my eyes —this time, his gaze was very focused. "You forgot about Leina, you forgot about the incident at the bridge, you forgot how Chloe gave orders to the black figures to attack Ryan. You forgot all of that."

I didn't understand what was really happening, but Desmon's tone kept rising, and he kept stressing the word "forgot" whenever he said that.

Yes, I had to admit that I did forget about all of that. But I had my reasons. It was because I felt comfortable being near Chloe and talking with her. I mean, I hadn't had a friend for a long time, so wasn't it normal for me to be excited to talk with Chloe and forget all of that? Another reason was that I felt it was too sensitive to discuss with Chloe. If I messed up when talking about that, it could worsen my relationship with Chloe, which I hoped would last forever.

I wanted to say all of this, but unfortunately, I couldn't. I remembered Chloe's words that Desmon could become a vengeful ghost, and Desmon's deepest grudge was against his friends. So, I thought if I bothered Desmon's emotions, I might also bother Desmon's grudge. With that, Desmon could become a vengeful ghost. So it was better for me to hold back, and besides, I couldn't say all of that smoothly if I really wanted to.

"Sorry," I answered while looking at my feet, "I promise I'll ask about it when I meet her."

I had to say it. For the first time, I made a promise that I planned not to keep.

Sorry, Desmon, but I won't ask about it for now, at least until I can enter the ghost world. I don't want my relationship with Chloe to worsen before I can enter the ghost world.

Desmon shifted his gaze back to his book, "If that's the case, after you shower, please tell me what you two talked about last night."

I didn't answer him. Telling Desmon about all that happened last night could have bad consequences, especially if I accidentally mentioned that I wanted to learn how to enter the ghost world.

So, I decided to take a shower first, and during my shower, I could think about what to tell to Desmon and what to hide from him.

###

The water in the morning always feels cold, but not the kind of cold that makes you uncomfortable. Instead, the cold I mean is the kind that makes you feel relaxed.

I don't shower very often, but when I do, it takes me a long time. Not because there are many things to do, but because I'm too comfortable bathing in the bathtub, often losing track of time and my surroundings.

The sound of my house door opening brought me back to reality, and I got ready to grab a towel to check who was opening it. Since it couldn't be Desmon doing it, because he's a ghost, even though he can touch doors, I believed he wouldn't do it.

Fortunately, I don't have to grab a towel. My mother's voice calling my name can be heard by me.

"Robert, are you showering?" My mother's soft voice can be heard by me from the kitchen.

"Yeah, why?"

"No, it's okay. Are you almost done?"

"In a bit."

"Alright, come to my room afterward."

"Okay."

Even though my mother didn't tell me why she wants me to come to her room, I can surely guess that it's about the blanket and pillow in the living room, or maybe it will lead to questions about what I did last night with Chloe.

But one thing she'll definitely ask is about her bank card. I forgot to return it, no wonder she came home early. She can't stay away for long without her bank card. Not because she can't buy things, she can do that with her smartphone. But it's more about her lack of trust in giving me her bank card. Yes, I'm too big spender in her eyes.

To make matters worse, I forgot where I put my mother's bank card. But I'm sure it wouldn't be left in the park since I used it to pay for the food at the restaurant. But after that, I forgot. Maybe it's in my pants pocket, so I have to check that first.

Not wanting to keep my mother waiting for too long and worried she might have other matters to take care of, I quickly speed up my shower and head straight to my room.

###

When entering the room, I no longer saw Desmon. He came and went as if my room were his private room. But let it be, I didn't care too much about it, as long as he tidied up the things he used first, and he always did.

Desmon's book about phantom history was neatly placed on my desk next to my own books.

I quickly put on my clothes after wiping my body once again to make sure my body was completely dry.

Then, after dressing, I put my towel in the dirty laundry hamper. But before that, I, of course, took my pants from yesterday.

I reached into my pants' pockets, all of my pants' pockets. But I couldn't find my mother's bank card, which, of course, made me panic a bit. But still, I tried to stay calm.

Maybe the bank card fell and got stuck among the pile of dirty clothes, so I just poured all the clothes in the laundry hamper onto my bed.

Usually, I would do the laundry once a week, and today was the day I was supposed to do it. So, all the clothes I had worn for a week were now on my bed, and I was making a mess searching for my mother's bank card.

It had been a few minutes of searching, and I still couldn't find it. I tried to remember calmly in the middle of the panic of not finding the card.

"What are you looking for?" Desmon's soft voice came from behind me, and I didn't feel the presence or his getting here, which was enough to startle me.

"Shit!" I said, putting my hand on my chest, "Don't sneak up on me like that."

Desmon floated to my side, looking at the messy pile of dirty clothes. "So, what are you looking for?"

My focus was still on messing with my dirty clothes to find my mother's bank card. "My mother's bank card, have you seen it?"

"No, where did you keep it?"

"In my pants pocket from last night. I haven't taken it out since paying at the restaurant."

"Are you sure?"

Desmon's question sounded simple, just one word. But it was enough to make me silent for a moment.

Desmon was right. I might have forgotten to take it out or forgotten that I had taken it out. So, I stopped my search for a moment and tried to remember what happened on last night.

While I was silent, Desmon seemed to float over to my bed. He seemed to help me find the bank card. And that was good enough, I mean, Desmon could move through objects, so he didn't need to bother moving my clothes to find the bank card. He just needed to move through my clothes until he felt the bank card.

After being silent for a few moments, my memory remained unchanged. I only took it out to pay for our orders at the restaurant last night, both mine and Chloe's, and then I put it in my pants pocket.

"I'm sure, I've tried to remember it again, but it's the same." I replied, then continued with the search activity.

"If so, where did you put your pant last night?" Desmon asked again.

"Of course, in the laundry hamper. Where else?"

"Are you sure?" Desmon asked again, looking the pants I was wearing.

Usually, before going to bed, I would change my pants into shorts. But I just realized that last night I didn't change. Maybe I was too tired and sleepy, or maybe there was another reason that made me forget to change my pants.

And, of course, I was still wearing that pant this morning. Even after taking a shower, I put them back on.

Honestly, I wasn't being dirty or anything, but I forgot. Usually, I would wear my pants again after showering in the morning because I usually wore shorts. Not without reason, I did that because I was too lazy to carry clothes back and forth from my room to the bathroom. So, I choose to change in my room.

But for this case, I didn't realize that the pants I wore were not shorts. I didn't know why I didn't notice. But it seemed like I was in a hurry to my room to check my mother's bank card, afraid of losing it because my mother would be very angry with me, or afraid that my mother had other needs that required the bank card. Until I didn't realize that the card was in the pants I was wearing.

I reached into my pants pocket, and, as expected, my mother's bank card was safely inside. I took it out right away.

Accidentally, when I took out my mother's bank card from my pants pocket, I also took out a transparent paper —more transparent than the letter written by Chloe.

Desmon, who was on my bed —through my bed, actually— also looked at the bank card and the transparent paper I was holding.

"What's wrong?" Desmon asked while approaching me.

With all I could do, I tried to remember my memory of the paper.

I could feel for sure that the paper was different and felt important. The death aura also surrounded the paper, though faintly. It was for sure not from this world but from the ghost world. But from whom, I still couldn't remember.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Desmon said again, now right in front of me. "Is there something wrong with the bank card?"

I shifted my gaze to Desmon's translucent eyes, "Didn't you see it?"

"See, what?"

"The paper I was holding?"

Desmon fell silent for a moment, looking the object I held closely. "You mean, a bank card?"

The paper so transparent, even more transparent than the ghost paper written by Chloe, and now Desmon also said he didn't see that paper —though not directly. Suddenly, my memories could come back, though still faint.

"Leina!" I said, maybe sounding pretty loud, as I saw Desmon's body shake for a moment, like he got surprised.

Desmond, with a puzzled expression on his face, asked, "Leina?"

"Yes, the paper I got from Leina. Oh gosh, I completely forgot that I kept this paper." I continued while sitting on the edge of the bed. "I remember telling you about this paper, right?"

Desmon, who was still standing, stay silent for a moment, with a face like someone trying to remember something. "Seems like it. But you haven't told me what's written on it."

"Yeah, maybe, it seems. But what I remembered is that I haven't read it, or actually, I can't read it because the writing is so transparent."

"Can't see it for me," Desmon replied with a little laugh.

Desmon approached his eyes again to the paper from Leina that I was holding, "I wonder why I can't see it, and you also can't read it. If this paper is from the phantom, and the phantom is a vengeful ghost, as Chloe said."

"What do you mean?"

"Yeah, of course, if the phantom is just a good version of a vengeful ghost, more or less that's Chloe's explanation." Desmon silent for a moment, "So, automatically, I should still see the paper because it should also come from the ghost world."

Desmon's words were reasonable, but it didn't mean I was thinking something bad about Chloe. I mean, there were so many things that Desmon himself, as a ghost, didn't know, so there must be a reason for this.

Desmon continued his words, "We better check this paper, maybe I can contact my ghost friend to help. What do you think?"

Desmon's suggestion sounded good. "Okay, but I have to go to my mother's room first and return her bank card."

"Of course, I also have to contact my friend first. So, you just wait here, don't go anywhere." Desmon asked.

"All right," I said.

I then stood up, putting Leina's paper back in my pants pocket, while still holding my mother's bank card, and walked to my mother's room to explain about the blanket and pillow in the living room this morning and return her bank card.

####