Matt, or Monty as he was known to Yasmine, wasn’t sure why he chose to reveal himself to her as she was moving in. He basically spent all his life essence to get her to forget everything about him. But he couldn’t help himself as he watched her carrying things in. It had taken him a while to even realize just who she was. She had changed so much more than what even he remembered. What once was a plain, small girl with glasses had become this petite, natural beauty lying before him.

When she came into the house, his first thought was that some strange woman had bought the place and was moving in. What was worse, she sensed him almost immediately, forcing him to hide even though he was already invisible.

“Mmmnngh.”

Matt’s thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sound of Yasmine groaning on the floor, slowly stirring. He was still sitting there with her, keeping the ice pack to the bump on her head. With his time short, he set the pack to the side and sped off into the bathroom to grab a large bandage and some antibiotic ointment. Once he was back, he quickly treated the small cut and bandaged it, much to her discomfort. He then placed the pack of ice back against the bump.

“Nngh, my head’s….cold,” she complained, lifting a hand slightly, but it fell back to the floor with a lack of energy. Matt debated for several moments whether or not to speak to her again. The last thing he wanted was for her to freak out on him again, especially while injured.

“It’s an ice pack, you hit your head pretty good. Just rest for now. I will take care of you,” he said in his calmest tone possible. Still, he readied himself for another freakout, but it never came, thankfully.

“Oh…okay,” Yasmine mumbled before taking a deep breath and seemingly relaxing. Matt let out the breath he had been holding, even though he didn’t actually need to breathe. He liked to try and keep his more human habits intact. They helped him stay grounded to this plane.

Once again, he found himself staring down at her face, amazed at how much the little girl had grown. Time had little meaning to Matt, especially when he had no one to share it with. Unable to help himself, he reached out hesitantly. How long had it been since he actually touched someone, much less a woman? In the end, his desires won out. The digits of his ghostly hand lightly brushed against her face. His senses were dull and, well, dead, but he could still tell just how soft and supple her cheek was as he cupped it, stroking his thumb along the yielding flesh. Yasmine’s body shivered in reaction.

“Nnngh, s-so cold,” she complained. With a sigh, Matt pulled his hand back from her face. Of course he was cold, he was dead, a ghost occupying a world meant for the living. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to let go.

“Sorry,” he whispered to her as she continued to lay there. After a few more moments, he lifted the ice pack to see how her head wound was doing. The swelling had gone down thanks to the ice, which he was grateful for. Though he still felt horrible for making her hurt herself in the first place.

Inside Yasmine’s head, her thoughts swirled, uncoordinated. She was trying to place the voice that was talking to her. She remembered hitting her head, but she had been running from something. Her brain struggled to remember just what it was. It had been scary, scary enough for her to run away. Hell, it could have been a spider or a mouse, and she would have run, but that didn’t sound right. Even though she was scared, there was something eerily familiar about it.

“Who… who is talking to me?” she asked herself, trying to remember who it could be that was taking care of her right now. She could feel the ice pack on her head, and then there was what felt like a cold breeze hitting her cheek that made her entire body feel like it was freezing. But even that had felt somewhat familiar.

With tremendous effort, Yasmine forced her eyes to open slowly. She needed to see who it was that was there with her. As her eyes finally opened enough to see, all she could make out was the blurry ceiling of her grandfather’s home. With her hands, she padded around and quickly found her glasses and put them on. Her world sharpened in an instant as the large lenses corrected her vision. She blinked slowly and reached up, placing a hand on the ice pack that somehow had been balancing on her head. She grabbed it and lifted it to look at it. It was a simple homemade ice pack that basically anyone would make to treat swelling.

Slowly pushing herself up, she immediately felt dizzy. She had to stop for a moment as she got her bearings. Instinctively lifting her hand to her head, she winced as she touched the bump. She was surprised to find that there was a bandage on it as well. Someone had treated her injury while she was passed out. That was right. She needed to find out who it was. She turned to look around the room, but there was nothing. The only thing out of place was the couch pillow on the floor her head had been resting on.

“H-hello?” Yasmine called out, a feeling of unease slipping in. Matt wanted to answer her, but now he suddenly had cold feet, both literally and figuratively. Stuck between wanting to talk to her and not wanting to scare her again, he debated for long moments on what he should do.

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“Umm, if anyone is here… thanks for taking care of me.”

Matt’s eyes widened at this, and he almost felt the sensation of his heart beating rapidly. Though grown up, she was still the sweet and polite little girl that he remembered. He could have just said nothing and let her continue to forget that he existed. But he just couldn't stay quiet anymore. Couldn’t let her go unanswered. But if he spoke right in front of her, she would certainly get scared again. With some quick thinking, Matt flew around the corner, back into the hallway, out of sight of her. With a faux deep breath for courage, he tried this whole reintroduction thing again.

Yasmine wasn’t sure if she would get a response, but she wanted to say it just in case someone was nearby. After all, someone had to have put this bandage and ice pack on her. As she was about to get up, a voice came from around the corner and down the hall.

“Umm h-hey there, how are you feeling? I hope your head doesn’t hurt too much,” Matt called out from down the hall. Yasmine’s head snapped to where the voice came out from. It was male and full of concern. As much as she wanted to be worried about a stranger being in her new home, it didn’t sound like they wanted to do her any harm. If they did, they had ample opportunity to do so while she was knocked out. Though she wasn’t sure how long she had been out.

“Oh, umm, well, it does hurt still, but are you the one who gave me this bandage and ice pack?” she asked, turning to face the hallway.

“Yeah, that was me. You had a small cut and a pretty good lump on your head. I would keep the ice pack on for a bit longer to keep the swelling down. I have some Tylenol in the wash closet if you need it,” Matt called back. Yasmine’s eyebrow rose, which actually made the bump hurt more.

“Wash closet?”

She was a little confused but then remembered that’s what her grandfather always called the bathroom. The flash of nostalgia forced a small giggle out of her. However, she still wondered why he was hiding in the hallway.

“Haha, you talk like my grandpa. Yes, I think I would like some, please.”

Matt felt himself smile, but he also felt a little embarrassed. Her laugh was so sweet he couldn’t help it. He didn’t even care if she said he talked like an old man, after all he kinda was.

“Right, I will get you some. Just sit right there.”

He swooped into the bathroom and grabbed an ancient bottle of medicine. As he got back out into the hallway, he stopped just in time to see Yasmine up and coming around the corner. With a panic, he darted back into the bathroom and slammed the door.

“W-what are you doing? You shouldn’t be standing! You have a head wound!” he called out.

Yasmine had gotten up on unsteady legs and used the wall for support to make her way to see who her mysterious benefactor was. But as she turned the corner, he shut himself in the bathroom and yelled at her. She frowned at this, growing even more suspicious as to why he was hiding from her. It filled her with unease but also determination to figure out just what was going on.

“I’m fine, but why are you hiding? Do you not want me to see your face or something? I’m not going to call the cops on you or anything,” Yasmine said as she walked up to the bathroom door and knocked on it.

“That’s not what I am worried about…”

“Then what is it? Why are you in my grandpa’s old house anyway? Have you been squatting here or something? If you don’t tell me what is going on, I just might have to call them.”

Not sure if it was the head wound that rearranged her brain to make her braver, but she didn’t feel any real tension talking to this mysterious man.

“I….I…” he stuttered out, trying to think of what to say before eventually deciding that the truth was the only option at this point. “The truth is, I have been here for many, many years. And I am the one that caused you to hurt yourself. That's why I don’t want you to see me.”

Matt’s voice was somber, worried about how she would react. Yasmine was mostly confused as she stared at the doorway.

“You…what? You aren’t making any sense. Just open the door!” She was getting a little frustrated now, trying the handle and finding it locked. She banged on the door again.

“Okay, okay, I will open the door, but please, promise me you won’t scream or run away. I don’t want you to hurt yourself again.”

At this point, that was the only thing that he was worried about. If she hurt herself trying to flee again, he wouldn’t be able to forgive himself.

Yasmine was again confused by his strange choice of words, wondering if he was wearing a Halloween mask or something. This was all getting far too weird for her tastes.

“Fine, I won’t, now open!” she demanded.

“Alright, alright, I’m opening the door.”

With a heavy sigh, Matt unlocked it and slowly opened the bathroom door. Yasmine watched it as it continued to open, and what she saw was more than a little surprising. She saw…nothing.

“Where are you hiding now?” she grumbled and was about to step into the bathroom when he spoke once more.

“I’m right in front of you…”

Her eyes bulged as the voice sounded right in front of her face, like someone standing right there speaking to her.

“A-are you a….a….”

She could feel her blood start to run cold as the memory from earlier came back to her.

“It’s good to see you again, Yasmine.” the voice said meekly, fingers crossed she wasn’t about to scream bloody murder.