The teenage boy is quite tall compared to me. His hair is dark black, yet his face looks glowing. His nose is not too pointed or sharp. His gaze seems to convey a mysterious yet serious impression, like the eyes of spies in movies.

When I turned to him, he seemed to be just staring at the sky, which had a warm orange color fading into a dark black that gave off a feeling of quiet and lonely.

He sometimes sipped his coffee, then gazed back at the sky.

I just looked at him, then looked at the sky, then looked back at him, then looked at the sky again.

He seemed so calm as if life's troubles had never come his way.

His calm also infected me. In the evening, as night came, my mind felt peaceful looking at the sky. I never thought it would be so calming.

"Do you want?" Without me realizing, he had placed the coffee right next to me, offering the chilled coffee.

"No, thank you," I replied shortly.

I looked at him, he still hadn't turned away from looking up to the beautiful view in the sky.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" The boy asked.

At a glance from the side, his eyes seemed to release light. Of course, I knew it was only a reflection.

I turned my gaze back to the sunset sky. "Yes."

"You know, this scenery was nothing compared to when you were in the wilderness," he said, continuing to sip his coffee.

I didn't answer, nor did I nod. I just stared at the sky.

I've never been to places with nature views like beaches, forests, mountains, or stuff like that since I got my abilities.

It's not because I'm afraid of ghosts. Maybe when I was younger, yes, but not now. The reason I avoid these places is that tourist spots are usually crowded with both humans and ghosts. I don't particularly like places crowded with humans, they tend to drain my energy. But places crowded with ghosts are even more dangerous.

Unlike graveyards, places filled with ghosts had different kinds of ghosts, including vengeful ghosts. Graveyards usually were quiet, or at least ghosts in graveyards weren't harmful.

Why? I didn't know until Desmon explained it to me.

Vengeful ghosts and other ghosts with unfinished business will leave the graveyards to 'resolve' their issues. Meanwhile, those staying in graveyards are usually the kinds who've accepted what happened. Moreover, those who died peacefully, naturally, and have no unfinished business will disappear immediately and won't linger in the ghost world like my father.

So, that's been my reason for avoiding tourist spots.

While I was still lost in thought, enjoying the beauty of the sunset sky, the teenage boy had gotten up.

"Are you alone?" he asked, bringing my full attention back.

"No. Waiting for a friend. You alone?" I replied.

"Alone. Just sightseeing," the teenage boy said before sitting back down after throwing away of his coffee cup.

"My name's Robert. Nice to meet you." I extended my hand to introduce myself.

The teenage boy only glanced at my hand for a moment, then gazed back at the sky without making any effort to extend his hand to shake mine in return.

I pulled back my hand, looked at him briefly, then resumed looking at the sky alongside him.

In my mind, I counted the seconds it took for the teenage boy to tell me his name. But it seemed he had no intention of sharing his name at all.

Maybe my voice wasn't audible earlier?

I glanced at him and said, "Hello, my name's Robert. Nice to meet you."

"Likewise," the teenage boy replied without bothering to turn his face towards me, very briefly.

"Um, if I may ask, what's your name?"

"It doesn't seem necessary."

I wonder what kind of person he is.

I know several kinds of people who are difficult to talk to, usually, they're introverted, or shy, or antisocial, and nearly all of them wouldn't likely choose Ventus as a tourist spot. Another kind I know is arrogant, they feel powerful and won't tell their names. But this person is different.

He could be considered friendly, and usually, friendly people like to introduce themselves. He also didn't seem arrogant or playing favorites, as shown by him opening the conversation by offering me his coffee.

Maybe this is what people call stepping out of your comfort zone and trying new things.

"Oh, sorry," I said, shortly.

I didn't want to make him uncomfortable, or rather, disturb him because who knows what he might do to me if he felt I was bothering him. I mean, better safe than sorry, right?

"No need," he replied. I could hear a slight giggle and see a thin smile for a brief moment, "Why apologize if you haven't done anything wrong?"

"Sorry. But I thought I might be bothering you."

"No, not at all. You're not bothering me at all, so just relax. And don't apologize all the time."

"Um... okay."

I ended up just staying silent, gazing at the sky. Honestly, the situation felt so awkward for me at that moment, I didn't even know what to say or do.

Usually, saying sorry and showing regret is enough as long as you haven't made a fatal mistake. But he told me not to apologize.

Should I apologize for apologizing? Or say something as an apology for apologizing? I don't know, I'm really confused.

So, I just stayed silent.

"Are you from here?" the teenage boy asked after a brief silence.

"From Ventus Sector? No. But I'm from this city, just a different sector."

"So, you're just hanging around here?"

"Yeah, you could say that. Actually, my friend invited me here, we wanted to talk about something. But it seems like she either didn't show up or left because I was late because of the traffic."

"Why don't you contact her? You have a smartphone, right?"

"Of course, I do. But unfortunately, I don't have her contact or social media, she deleted it a few days ago."

"Seems like your friend is unique."

Unique? A somewhat strange word to me.

Usually, others would say 'weird' when meeting someone different from them or different from the general. Like me, who has the ability to see ghosts —my friends all think I'm weird.

I understand completely why he might call my friend unique. I mean, in this day and age, it's nearly impossible for someone, especially a teenager, to not have any social media. It's the 22nd century.

But what surprised me was that he used the word 'unique' instead of 'weird'.

I became more sure that he's actually a good person, or at least he didn't judge or treat people differently just because they were different. He saw 'different' as something unique, not weird.

"Yeah, something like that," I replied with a wide smile.

"About yourself, are you unique?"

Once again, his words caught me off guard. "I don't know. I don't consider myself unique."

"If so, why are you friends with her?"

I fell silent for a moment, pondering his words. What did he mean by his question? I didn't want to answer it with a wrong perception.

"What do you mean?" I asked. This time, my face wasn't gazing at the sky but looking at her with a serious expression.

"Anyone who befriends someone unique has only three scenarios. First, they are similarly unique. Second, the unique person is just being used. Third, the unique person is just using others."

He stayed quiet for a moment to shift his sitting position. Now, his sitting position is solely focused towards me, just like his face and eyes.

"You said you're not unique, so there are only two scenarios. Are you being used by her, or are you the one using her?" he continued.

"Hmm..." I fell silent and could only murmur.

I didn't know what was on his mind or what experiences he'd had to think like that.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

I mean, could friendship to him just be about using and being used?

At least, his question seemed to prove why he could travel to the Ventus Sector alone.

"Let it go if you don't want to answer it," he said after waiting quite a while for my response but not getting one.

I felt a bit relieved and smiled, "Sorry. But it's not that I don't want to answer, it's just..."

"No, no. You don't need to apologize. I said not to apologize if you haven't done anything wrong."

After asked that annoying question and told me not to say sorry, then he moved around and looked up at the sky, but it wasn't orange anymore.

I'm still puzzled by people like him, the first time I've met someone like him. So, because the day was almost turning into night, and I was actually getting curious, I decided to 'counterattack.'

"Sorry, but do you think friendship is only about using and being used?"

"Of course not. Why would you think that?" He responded to my question without turning towards me.

"Then, what did you mean by your earlier question?"

"It seems like you didn't quite get it. Maybe you should learn more about vocabulary." He took a quick break before continuing, "I said before that in the case of unique people, they usually only befriend others who are like them, or their relationships with non-unique people are usually just about using and being used."

"Sorry, but I still don't understand."

"You know, it seems there's a lot you need to learn," He finally turned back to face me, "First, understand not to apologize if you haven't done anything wrong. Second, understand that my earlier words were actually to determine whether you're unique or not."

If I could visualize my current thoughts, it seems like a traffic jam at the entrance gate to the Ventus Sector would fit the situation.

I really didn't know what to say. His words were really hard for me to digest.

What did he actually want to tell?

Fortunately, I didn't have to ask because he immediately answered my confusion.

"For me, it's clear that you're unique because you don't understand it. Those who are different or unique are usually ostracized and only hang out with others who are also shunned by society. However, there are some among them who can befriend a few members of society, or let's just call them normal. Usually, these unique individuals use their normal friends to blend in with society, or conversely, their normal friends use the unique person to step away briefly from the monotonous society."

Even though it took me a while to figure out the vocab, but now I get what he meant.

Indeed, what he said made sense. For example, there's Chloe. Chloe befriends many people to blend into society, at least to gain protection or support if someone bothers her.

I also understood why he could say that I'm unique. Because myself was actually different and not like Chloe, who tried to blend in, I actually avoided it. So, I don't get why it's so crucial to have a friend who fits in with everyone else.

It made me wonder if Chloe understood this. If so, perhaps her reason for choosing the busy Maneuvers coffee shop in the Ventus Sector, crowded with teenagers hanging out, was indeed to help me blend in into society.

Chloe was unique, but thanks to hanging out with normal people, she also had common traits like everyone else. With Chloe's 'normal' side, she seems to be trying to encourage me to socialize and have many friends so that I won't feel lonely anymore.

I imagined how it would've been if it wasn't traffic jam earlier or at least if Chloe was at the coffee shop. Would I have some new friends by now because of Chloe? I don't know.

"By the way, because you're unique, you should be careful," said the teenage boy, "But I'm sure you're already aware of that."

This time, he didn't need to explain anything to me. As someone who was kind of weird or unique, I needed to be careful. "Yes, you're right. Thank you."

A thought crossed my mind. His words from earlier seemed to indicate that he might also be weird or at least have a weird friend.

I mean, not everyone cares or has enough time to pay attention to those who are different or weird. In fact, to most people, we might be seen as not existing or inferior. But he wasn't like that, isn't that enough to say he's also weird.

"And what about you? Are you also unique?" I asked him, now back to gazing at the sky.

"Yes," he replied shortly. "You shouldn't need to ask, you've guessed it, haven't you?"

I smiled, as if he could read my mind. "You're right."

"I'm curious," he said briefly before falling silent and standing up, then sitting back down. "What actually makes you unique?"

I chose to ponder the words I was going to say. His question was simple and I could answer directly if I wanted to be honest, but I thought it might scare him.

"No need to answer if you don't want to," he said.

I briefly thought that maybe I could follow in Chloe's footsteps, being honest with everyone about my abilities. At least I could be myself. Moreover, if I could make new friends, I considered that as a bonus to my courage.

"I'll answer, just thinking about the right words," I replied.

I fell silent for a moment, considering where I would start explaining my uniqueness.

"This is actually related to the ability I have," I continued.

"Ability?"

"Yes. I have the ability to see ghosts," I said, closing my eyes.

I didn't want to see his expression because it might shatter what little courage I had. So, I couldn't tell whether he was laughing at me or not.

"Okay," he replied shortly.

It was a response I didn't expect and had never imagined.

I mean, I thought he might mock me, call me a liar, or at least laugh at me. On the other hand, maybe he would avoid me because of a fear of ghosts.

Besides those negative thoughts, I also thought getting a positive response, like him praising me or at least admiring my ability.

But he responded briefly without expression, without showing whether it was a positive or negative response, just 'okay' Is that all.

"Hmm, alright... I mean, do you believe it?" I asked.

"Believe what? In ghosts? Or that you can see them?"

"My ability."

"I believe you can see something, but I don't believe what you see are ghosts."

Why does he always give such interesting, confusing, and unexpected questions or answers?

Usually, people either believe in ghosts or don't. If they don't believe in ghosts like my father, they'd think my ability is fake or that I'm lying. For those who believe in ghosts, they're divided into those who call me a liar or believe I can see ghosts.

But his answer was different again.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Like I said, you need to learn a lot. In my opinion, what you see are not ghosts. Something living isn't dead, and something dead isn't alive. You have to understand that."

Confusing? I didn't understand his meaning either.

"Sorry. But I still don't get it," I asked again for an explanation.

"You don't need to understand to comprehend, you just need to feel it. I'm sure you can sense something that normal people can't."

"Sorry. But really, I don't understand what you mean. I'm not smart in school, so could you explain a little more clearly? If you don't mind." This time I really asked him directly for an explanation.

His words might be full of meaning, maybe with some crucial advice, but it would all be pointless if I didn't understand. Or was he just bluffing? I don't know.

His gaze focused on me before he started his explanation, but when a word was about to come out of his mouth, he immediately shifted his gaze elsewhere.

The teenage boy stood up and looked to his left.

I didn't know what he was looking at because I didn't see anything in that direction except passing vehicles.

He didn't look at me or gaze towards me as he began to speak, "You'll be confused if you rely on your five senses or information from others, including me. If what you say about your ability is true, then you must be able to sense something that normal people can't, so rely on that feeling to know the truth about something."

Wow.

The teenage boy cleaned his clothes by shaking them with his hands and then walked in the direction he had been looking.

"Wait, I still don't understand what you're saying." I hurriedly stood up and headed to him, asking him not to leave just yet.

"No. I've already said you don't need to understand, but feel it. Isn't it because of something you felt that you wanted to talk to me and get to know me?"

I stopped following him. Not because he asked me to stop or blocked my way. There was nothing in my way. I stopped because his words raised many questions in my mind.

How did he know? Can he also sense auras? Does he actually have the same ability as me? But he doesn't believe in ghosts? I don't know.

"I have to go," said the teenage boy, then he ran off.

I wanted to chase after him to ask for the meaning behind all his words. I needed an explanation from him.

But I couldn't catch up with him. Not only was the distance getting farther, but I also had to wait here in case Chloe, or at least Desmon, could find me.

###

I went back to the coffee shop to order coffee and snacks while waiting for Desmon to return or for Chloe to arrive.

However, it seems that my order takes longer than Desmon, who returned shortly after the teenage boy left and I entered the cafe.

While waiting for my order and seeing Desmon wanted to talk, I gestured to Desmon to hold on. Besides the noisy environment in the cafe, I didn't want to get everyone's attention to me while talking to Desmon, who they couldn't see. Even though I could've used hand signals to communicate with Desmon, it was too complicated and time-consuming.

There's no harm in waiting a bit, right?

It didn't take me more than five minutes to get my order.

Desmon and I immediately left. Once outside, Desmon, who seemed eager to speak, hurried to explain what he wanted to say.

"Quick, order Let's-Ride, we need to leave from here," Desmon's words rushed out as if he were being chased by something.

"Wait a minute. What's going on?" I asked in a more relaxed tone while sipping the coffee I had just ordered.

"Order it now, please. I'll explain while we wait."

I looked at Desmon carefully. His face didn't show signs of joking, he looked very serious.

Because I was sure Desmon wasn't joking, I ordered Let's-Ride to go home right away.

"There was chaos not far from here," Desmon said as I was ordering Let's-Ride on the app.

"Why didn't you tell me earlier? Where have you been?" My reply wanted to stare at him because he for being late in warning me about the chaos, but I couldn't. I had to finish the order at Let's-Ride first.

"It actually happened quite far away, but it's spread now," Desmon replied.

Desmon then flew way up. I wasn't sure what he was doing, but I thought he was checking how far the chaos had spread.

"If it gets closer, why wasn't there any public warning?" I asked.

As far as I knew, the government had a system to detect chaos or anything dangerous. When the system detected chaos, everyone in the nearby location would receive a warning to stay away. But there was none this time.

"The chaos isn't caused by humans, but by ghosts," Desmon replied.

Just as the Let's-Ride car I ordered arrived, I suddenly felt a cold and dark sensation —a death aura.

I jumped right into the car without any second thoughts. As soon as I got in, the car automatically started its trip towards my home.

"I've never heard of ghosts causing chaos before," I said.

"As a ghost, I'm also seeing this for the first time."

"Very strange. But I'm feeling the death aura, and it's getting stronger. Is the chaos getting closer?"

"It's getting closer. Can't you adjust the speed of this car?"

"Unfortunately, I can't."

Every second, I felt the cold getting colder, dark getting darker, noise fading into silence, and a foul odor starting to reach my nose.

The car I was in could only speed up when it got onto the main road, and luckily, the road wasn't jammed at that time, though it wasn't empty either.

At least our car's speed was enough to reduce the death aura I felt, a sign I was getting farther away from that ghost's chaos.

"Are we far enough now? Or is the chaos getting closer?" I asked Desmon to confirm.

Desmon came out of the car and flew high. Then, with all his strength, he flew towards the car I was in that had already moved away from him.

"It seems like the chaos has stopped spreading. I'm not sure, but I saw a bright light coming from the direction of the chaos," Desmon replied after re-entering the car.

"Thank goodness."

I took a deep breath and let it out through my mouth.

I wondered what would have happened to me if I had been trapped in that ghost's chaos. It might not have mattered if they didn't know I could see them, but if they did, it would have been a big problem, especially if there were vengeful ghosts.

"Why didn't you tell me on time?" I grumbled to Desmon, who still seemed worried.

"I wanted to tell you earlier, but it's like something was stopping me, something that kept me away from your location."

"What was it?"

"I don't know either, but it seemed like a life aura," said Desmon.

####