Voice of the Mind Ch. 03

During summer it would usually be a tank top with a light skirt or shorts, while she would go for a baggy sweater with sweatpants when the weather was too cold for bare arms and legs. Though it was already November the weather was still warm enough to go with the skirt. Unfortunately, her skirts were all tightly packed in the laundry box and her sweatpants were all in there too, which meant she resorted to a light blue dress that covered her legs to her knees. It was her favorite home-dress.

The dress was a little too nice not to wear outside, but after all the time she had worn it, the colors had started to fade. She couldn't wear it outside anymore -- after all, she did have an image of being a reasonable fashionable girl -- but it was such a comfortable dress that she kept it around to wear it when she didn't have any plans to go outside the house.

When she came down, Vincent was busy trying to make dinner. Seeing him in the kitchen with an apron always made her chuckle. He totally wasn't the type to stand in the kitchen, so him wearing an apron was quite a funny sight, not to mention that most people she knew never wore one because they were confident they wouldn't spill on their clothes. Vincent, on the other hand, simply wore it because he felt like he should be wearing it when he was making dinner.

Yet, despite his apron, the food he made was particularly good, much better than when she cooked. He didn't seem to mind while she would start throwing fits after a few minutes. It all took so long, the preparations, the cooking ... and by the time they got around to eating it, she didn't have much of an appetite anymore. So when Vincent realized that, he took over and made dinner most of the time when she was home.

He's such an attentive guy, she thought.Makes one wonder why he doesn't have a girlfriend. I for sure could use a guy like him. And yet there are so few of them to find. So few worthy of spending your life with.

He used to have a girlfriend, but that didn't work out. Back then he was too awkward around girls, so when he ended up dating one, she could tell it wouldn't last too long. He was more eager to talk to his online pal Jenny than to his girlfriend and she had seen the relationship dwindle, until there was nothing left but the idea of being a boyfriend. He was too nice to tell that to his girlfriend though, so eventually she had broken up with him, giving her the idea of having dumped him rather than being dumped. It was so typically Vincent to keep it up so she wouldn't feel heartbroken from being dumped.

He had always been a nice guy. Back when they were young, he'd always been the one who could calm her down when she was crying. She still remembered his warm hand on the back of her head when she was smearing her tears all over his t-shirt.

"What are you doing? You're snickering like you've seen something funny. Better not be me, y'know."

She hadn't noticed him having finished cooking dinner and he stood in front of her, two plates in hand, his head cocked, a little smile on his mouth in mild amusement.

"Ah ... just a little daydream, I guess." She pinked away a little tear from the corner of her eye.

"You okay?" he asked, concerned. "You're not the type to stand daydreaming in a doorway."

You're not the type for an apron either, she thought and chuckled.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Don't worry about it. Let's go eat dinner."

She let him through and followed him to the table in the living room, where she took the seat with the back to the kitchen -- she didn't want to see how much clutter there was. She wanted to eat. She was famished. The dishes would come later.

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Chapter 3.4 -- The intruder

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About a week ago he had started to notice her. He had always been a bit susceptible to paranormal things and although he wasn't particularly interested in the paranormal, he had never dismissed them as nonsense. Since his mental connection with his twin sister seemed to him a very natural thing to have, he was much more open to other things he couldn't explain. So when he had felt a presence for a while without being able to point out what it was, he hadn't dismissed it, but acknowledged it, although with the latest events he had been worried he was losing his mind in the first place. But a few days ago he didn't only feel a presence, he actually started to see it as well. First it was a shimmer, then he had noticed a fleeting shadow; now he could see a girl, about his age, with a caramel colored skin like his own was regularly visiting his room.

The first time he saw her, he was startled -- or rather, the sight almost scared him to death when she stood at the far end of his bed when he awoke at night; a mirage of a person looking down on him, her head a bit cocked and an expression of curiousity on her face. He'd stiffened when he saw her and despite his openmindedness, he had genuinely felt scared. He had never seen a ghost after all and he had read plenty to know that ghosts generally tended to be hostile against humans -- or perhaps it was only the particular stuff he read that approached them like that, although he didn't consider that at that moment.

She hadn't done anything back then, but when she noticed that he was awake and actually seeing her, she kind of panicked and fled from the position she was standing. He didn't hear the door open over the blood-rushing sound in his ears, but he also didn'tsee the door opening. So when he sat up, his heart beating wildly, he switched on a light and didn't see anyone hiding in his room. Nevertheless, he decided to keep on the light for the rest of the night. But he didn't manage to fall asleep anymore.

After that first encounter, he hadn't seen her anymore, although he could hardly keep himself awake all night. But he had been thinking about that encounter for a few days straight, wondering why she was there and why she'd fled all of a sudden. Eventually he came to the conclusion that she panicked when she saw he was awake and that meant that she'd been there more often than he knew; he could recall a few moments where he would've sworn he had heard or seen something but hadn't been able to see anyone. And she hadn't done anything to him either, so he figured she wouldprobably be harmless.

He decided to test it and one night when she was once again standing at his bed, he glimpsed at her through his narrowed eyelids and spoke to her. Again it startled her, but since he could speak to her, he figured he could also calm her.

"Don't worry, I'm not planning to do anything to you," he said, while still laying down in bed. He also tried to emit an aura of calmness to calm her down, just like he always did with his sister when they were young.

Her arms were flailing and she was already halfway to the door, when she hesitated, stopped and turned to looked at him. Her eyes were large and scared and this time Vincent didn't suspect that she was harmless, but was convinced that she wasn't there to hurt him.

"Yes, I can see you clearly now," he spoke to her.

He had both of his eyes open now and looked at her. He tried his best to keep the aura of calmness and tried to avoid any sudden movements. But there she was, slightly illuminated in his dark room which was only brightened with the light of the moon coming through the cracks of the curtain which he had not closed properly. She stood pretty much in the middle of the spot where the light fell on the ground, so he could see her clearly.

That's insane, he thought by himself.A ghost getting illuminated by the light of the moon? I wouldn't have believed it even if I were there. And hell, I'm here alright.

She had dark hair in a simple style, where her hair in bangs hung slightly above her eyes and her hair fell down halfway her back. It wasn't quite straight, but it wasn't curly either. Her eyes were anxious, but they were narrow and they gave him a feeling she had eastern blood in her somewhere, although he couldn't quite pick out where she came from. Still, he thought she looked beautiful, despite him not knowing who she was or what she was doing in his room at night. But he was also afraid that she would flee soon, if he didn't calm her some more. After all, she'd fled from him before.

"Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I only want to talk to you."

She didn't really seem convinced and he didn't really believe she would be. After all, this particular line was being used by all kind of suspicious people around the world who actually wanted to harm you in one or another way. Vincent realized it after he spoke it -- and realized he had said the same thing before as well -- and felt like he could bang his head against the wall for not realizing.

"Well, actually, the one feeling scared should be me, I guess," he followed up, while raising himself up on one arm. "After all, you're the one visiting me while I'm completely helpless in bed. But you didn't do anything to me and you even got scared after I realized you were there. So I trust you for not hurting me while I was helpless. Could you also trust me for not hurting you? You have seen me while I sleep and you've probably seen me while I wasn't asleep as well, so you probably kind of know me already. So you should know that I wouldn't hurt you, right?"

The girl hesitated, but eventually nodded. Vincent nodded back.

"Thank you."

So ... what exactly am I supposed to talk to her about? he wondered. After all, it was the first time he had actually spoken to a ghost and the only thing he prepared for was how toget to talk to her, not the actual conversation topics. He felt stupid for not having thought about that particular aspect.

"Well ... for starters, would you mind telling me your name? If you're lingering around here, it would be nice to be able to have a name for you so I know how to call you or how to refer to you."

Charissa.

Her voice sounded sweet. He couldn't think of another word to describe it but that. It was like drinking a dark coffee, but upon drinking it turns out to be sweet chocolate. Her voice sounded just like that; a slightly dark voice with a very pleasant tone.

"Nice to meet you, I am Vincent."

I know.

"I figured you'd know," he said sheepishly. He realized he was actually blushing and hoped she couldn't see that in the dark. "How long have you known me? Or perhaps I should ask how long you've been around here, in my room."

She didn't answer immediately, but it didn't seem like she was hesitating to speak; she rather seemed like she was wondering how to say it to him. But he did notice that she happened to be calm enough by now, so he decided to loosen up a bit on his calming aura.

When she spoke, she said:I've been here ever since you arrived, so I have known you for a while now. But you have never managed to see me before, so I got startled when you suddenly did.

"Yeah well, it was a complete surprise for me as well. I didn't expect that there would be a ghost here in my room, although I did feel your presence at times. But to actually see you ... well, I hadn't counted on that either."

Do you know why you can see me now? she asked.

He shook his head. "I don't know. As far as I know I haven't done anything different than usual, but perhaps the fact that I see you at night helps. Are you also here during the day?"

I am. But I am not restricted to this room, so I generally wander down the house.

"You watch tv with us as well?"

She hesitated, but this time he didn't feel it as she was trying to find the right words. He felt she was actually flustered, and although he couldn't see that too well in the dark, he believed she had averted her gaze.

I do. I'm often there when you two are watching tv downstairs, but I'm also often there when either you or Nicole are watching ... alone.

Alone. That word struck him as he now understood why she got flustered. He also has been watching porn movies downstairs when he knew Nicole wouldn't be home for a while and the realisation of him being watched by her now finally kicked in.

"Oh my God!" he exclaimed and he saw the figure of the girl acting like she might get hit by someone. "That means you've also seen ..."

He didn't finish his sentence but the girl, still in her defensive stance, nodded shyly. He held a hand over his eyes to cover his shame, but of course that didn't help at all.

"I'm ... sorry," he eventually said to her. "Sorry that you had to experience my lewd behavior."

She looked up, surprised and spoke out:No! No, that's really no problem, it wasn't your fault in the first place as you didn't know I was there after all and the reason I was there was, well, I ...

This time he could actuallysee her blush despite her skin color and her only being illuminated by the light of the moon.

I really enjoyed seeing you do that.

This time it was his turn to blush. The girl pretty much told him that she appreciated seeing him masturbating and he didn't know how to react to that at all.

"I ... guess ... I'm happy to be able to help you enjoy it." he said before he couldn't take it anymore and turned around to cover his face in his pillow. "Oh, man ... that soundedcorny."

Do you ... hate me?

Wait, how did we get to hating?

He glanced from the side and turned his head just enough to be able to see her again and realized she had taken a few steps away from him while he was pillowfaced. She took one more back when he looked at her, effectively stepping out of the light from the moonlight.

"Um, what did you say?"

Do you ... hate me?

He sat up straight now and looked at her. A knee-long dark skirt, a short sleeved blouse and a face he thought was beautiful. The moonlight accentured her features well and he was at a loss for words about how this girl could actually doubt her own beauty.

"Why would you think like that? You haven't done anything bad to me. Besides, I'm sure that most guys would fall head over heels for you."

She seemed surprised.They would? What about you?

"I don't think many guys would fall forme," he said, realizing only afterwards that that wasn't what she meant.

She giggled, a first sign of her loosing up.

"...but I don't believe you meant that. I think you're beautiful," he corrected himself.

Thank you, she replied. And when he looked up at her, he saw that she breathed a sigh of relief.I was afraid you would hate me after all I did and saw of you.

"I don't think there's much to dislike you for. You never did anything bad to me, so why would I? But since I can now see you I would like to know you better. Since you seem ... well, you seem like you will be around here for a while."

That would be correct, yes. I'm glad I could finally meet you, Vincent -- in a proper way, I mean. Not being able to be noticed is kind of lonesome, so having someone to talk to makes me really happy. I haven't been able to talk to anyone in a while. And so far you're the first one to actually see me as well. I don't know why either.

"Just don't disappear on me again, okay?" he winked -- and saw her blush again, but this time she didn't avert her gaze. "And try to make yourself visible to me when I wake up, okay? I would like to be able to see you when I'm awake, rather than when I'm sleepy."

Well, I'll try, but I don't know how to do so. After all, you happened to see me only recently and I have no idea why you would be able to see me now. So I can't promise you anything, but I'll make sure I'll be around when you wake up tomorrow.

He glanced at his alarm clock. "Um, make that a few hours, I see that it's already after 4 ... and I really need to wake up at seven, so I really need to catch some sleep."

Then, I'll wander the house for a bit until seven then, in order to let you catch some sleep.

"I appreciate that, Charissa. Although I wonder how much sleep I can get after finally having been able to talk to you."

We'll see, then.

And with that their first contact had been concluded. He'd believed he wouldn't fall asleep until 6 but he actually fell asleep a few moments after his head hit the pillow. He was roughly woken by his alarm clock by 7 in the morning, but the first thing he saw after turning off the alarm was the face of a beautiful girl, still a little transparent, sitting next to his bed. And he smiled. This time she smiled back.

Good morning, Vincent, she greeted him.

"Good morning Charissa," he replied. "Did you have a nice night?"

A wonderful one. I was over the moon to have someone seeing me; in fact, I still am. I'm not sure if I've ever been this happy before.

"You haven't slept at all?"

I don't seem to have a need for sleep. Comes with the virtue of being a ghost, I think.

"You don't really seem much of a ghost, to be honest. The only ones I know about are the creepy ones that scare you," he admitted. "And you're not creepy or scary at all."

Don't say that! she exclaimed, but added afterwards:I'm scared of ghosts.

"I used to say that too," he grinned. "But if all real ghosts are like you, it seems I've been misinformed."

He sat up and rearranged his position to talk to her in a comfortable position.

"My apologies for the bed hair, I don't seem much of a gentleman to greet any visitor like this."

She waved her hands apologetically.No, no, it was I who was coming by unannounced. I can't expect you to appear all ...

Her voice trailed away, just like her gaze trailed downwards. It was only then that he realized he had taken off his shirt at some point during his sleep. He hadn't realized it and couldn't imagine why he would do that in his sleep anyway. But it would be silly to start covering his nipples now like a girl being caught while changing.

Umm ... it seems I'm a bit distracted.

He laughed out loud. "You can say that again. Come on, you can still talk to me, I won't eat you."

ButImight. Oh, crap. Did I say that out loud?

He snickered. "Okay. Let me go put on a shirt and then we'll talk, deal?"

She nodded.

"Then again," he said, glancing at the clock, "I might not have time to do so. I need to go to college."

Don't worry. I'll be here when you get back.

He smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."