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Gulf looks around in confusion. He knows he is in his condo, but can’t recognise the deserted landscape and the empty spaces he sees. He wanders around the house and steps into the balcony. It’s in the middle of the day. The sun is scorching hot and blinding, yet he doesn’t feel the heat, which must mean that he is dreaming, maybe even hallucinating. He then slowly realises after standing outside for a solid ten minutes that the sun is very real, but the heat won’t reach him because he is incapable of feeling it.
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“Are these the last one?” Mew glanced over his shoulder towards the direction of his brother's voice; Tong and another person appeared from behind his brother. It is his best friend; Mild. Both of them are panting from rounds of trips they made.
“Yeah, just put them in the kitchen. Those are the plates and utensils,” Mew walks towards the kitchen to help clear the floor.
"Who knew moving house could be so stressful" Mild complains, his weary body settling against the cushions of Mew’s couch.
Tong chuckles as he sets down the box and walks towards what might be a living room joining Mild. After five years of sharing an apartment with his brother, Mew had decided that it was time for him to get his own place. It’s not that his brother minds his presence, but somehow, he thinks it’s time for him to show his brother that he is fine on his own. And maybe (just maybe), his brother can finally be at ease and settle down.
Mew hands both of them cold water before joining them on the three-seaters. They have been moving things nonstop since the morning. Mew had declined both Tong’s and Mild’s help insisting that he can do it alone. But secretly he was grateful that they were as stubborn as a mule and popped up at his door. To say moving the bed and the sofa had been back-breaking was an understatement but the trios had been quick to slump to the floor when it is finally in the house, a thin sheen of sweat covering all of them.
The rest of the day hadn't been much better, Tong repeatedly cursing as he kept on knocking boxes with his feet and Mild was just complaining about everything under the sun. Mew could only smile and shook his head, watching their antics.
They took a break for a quick lunch Mew ordered and was surprised to see that the delivery guy went out of his way to deliver the food to his doorstep. He was even more astonished that security let the guy in. But the delivery guy is just curious as he was an acquaintance with the last occupant of the condo. He wore this sad smile on his face when Mew asked him what happened to the previous tenant. The delivery guy leaves, but his goodbyes still echo in Mew’s head, “Take care of him phi.” Take care of who? But Mew pushes the thought to the back of his mind as he is still in the middle of moving in.
After lunch, the three of them moved the lighter boxes into the house, one Mild turning his nose up as he carried a box of Mew's socks, noticing that he still had an addiction to quirky pattern socks. On the other hand, Mew and Tong lugged every piece of furniture around, their muscles screaming for a break, but they continued until they were fit to drop.
Mild yawned, a hand moving to cover his mouth. He let his eyes slip shut, body sagging. Sleep was overpowering him. Mew chuckled, nudging his side, “You can’t sleep here Mild.” Mild just groaned at that which earned him a burst of laughter from the two brothers.
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Tong and Mild had left ages ago, and Mew wasted no time unloading things in his kitchen. He pulls out a neat dining set and begins stacking it in the cupboards and slotting cutlery into a drawer with all them arranged to face the same side; all perfectly aligned. Mew closes the drawer and breaks down the boxes and leans against the kitchen counter.
Mew smiles proudly at his new place. It was a decent size condo with good amenities; closer to his workplace, access to public transportation but that’s not the entire reason why he chooses this house instead of the other ten houses that his agent had shown to him before. What makes him fall in love with this house is the architecture of the house—more specifically, the walls of windows the condo has to offer. From the very first moment he set foot into the place, he felt at home. Mew is unsure whether the setting is just right, but lights that flow through, illuminating the wooden floor's sweet-toffee browns sealed the deal for him. Because the next thing he knew is that he was signing the last page of the contract, and the house is sold.
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Gulf watches from the bed as the new occupant of his condo sets the last boxes that are neatly declared, clothing – sock.
“Wow, you really don’t waste any time, do you?” Gulf marvels. “You literally just got here, who cares about unpacking? Sit down for a moment, breathe, sleep. It’s not going anywhere.”
The stranger, of course, gives absolutely no sign that he’s heard him. He pulls out what seems to be a whole bunch of socks. Gulf props his chin on his palm and watches curiously. This new occupant sure owns a lot of socks, with unique patterns Gulf might add.
“You know,” Gulf announces, “pretty rude of you not to introduce yourself. I was here first, after all. You’re living here out of my boundless generosity.” He stood up and walked towards the new occupant that is now busy arranging figurines on a makeshift shelf he installed after he had lunch. “I’m Gulf, but you can call me baby if you want.” He winks.
Expressionlessly, the man reaches right past Gulf to settle a huge figurine head on the bedside table where Gulf’s fantastic-never-been-used night lamp used to live back when Gulf was more of a person than a vague concept.
“You’re not chatty, that’s alright, I get it. I was not chatty too when I was.... well alive,” Gulf says. “I can talk enough for both of us. Being dead sucks. And our neighbour is not chatty too. He's dead too. But you don’t have to stay depressed, you know? All he does is moped around the house and disappears the next day. Come on! We need to enjoy life… or death if that makes sense.” He pauses to grin ruefully.
Without so much as blinking, the stranger finishes unpacking the last of the figurines.
“Fucking finally! I thought you’re going to flood the entire condo with those pirates!”
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Mew groaned loudly for the nth time and huffed before turning to lay on his side. Fuck Mild this is all his fault.
Well, technically, it was Mew’s fault as he was the one who was in charge of picking up the movies. But his brother’s teasing had hurt his pride, and he is going to show them that he is a grown-up man who is not afraid of ghosts. And so, he had picked up Sinister. Mew had, of course, ignored his brother’s and Mild warning. And now he paid the price. Well, I know that no one was murdered in this house.
He sat up quickly and grabbed his phone to see what time it was and saw that it’s already 11:30 PM. Mew rolled his eyes and groaned loudly and laid down in a flounce. And I don’t have an attic, which is a relief considering I live on the 17th floor.
He has no idea how to put himself to sleep. But he had to think of some way. And so, he thought of counting sheep. How could he forget? But when he closed his eyes, his brain started generating images of Bagul staring back at him. His eyes flew open, and his breathing ragged.
Fuck. He chewed his bottom lip and started thinking of a way again but grew restless because he couldn’t think of any. There was just no way he could sleep. He could get up and get a hot shower, but he realised that’s out of the question because he knows his knees would give up on him the moment he gets up. After all, he knows his imagination would start spiralling out of control and have not only that pagan deity in his mind but also the other scary characters. Having such a vivid imagination is both a blessing and a curse.
Maybe listening to some songs might help. And so, he unlocked his phone and blasted off some Ed Sheeran songs. “Fuck you ghost! Or pagan deity! I am not afraid of you!”
Well, little did he know, he is not alone, and someone just declares war against him.
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His ability to interact with the world at large is flimsy at first. He can’t think so much as touch things as he can influence them; coaxing chairs to scrape across the floor, or items to leap from shelves. However, it gets better. Gulf is proud at the spectacular mess he made as he whirlwinds the cushions around into a position he doesn’t really think much about.
“Let’s see if this will fuck you up or not.”
Soon after that Gulf hears the familiar clicking sound from the front door, he sits on the couch with his legs crossed. He tried to make the scariest face he could muster although he knew the other person couldn’t and shouldn’t see him. But Gulf needs to do this. However, he couldn’t contain himself and laughed so hard that he thinks if it is possible, he might die again. The sight in front of him was too hilarious and satisfying. Seeing Mew’s pale face and how his leg had given up that he had to lean against the wall to support him from falling. How his lips are trembling and his hands shaking so hard that he is having a hard time calling his brother, asking if he could rescue him.
The next day, Gulf thought of carrying on with his plan to move the figurines in order to mess up with Mew’s head some more. But he had to go against it seeing how Mew almost had a panic attack yesterday while waiting for his brother. Gulf wants to prank him for fun, but it’s not fun if the other person ended up in the hospital. The game had just started!
But! He changed his mind when he saw Mew had stuck a bunch of papers on the doors and had placed a different type what seems to be... a Buddha? What is that? Gulf walks towards the kitchen counter to have to close up on things that Mew had just placed near the fruit baskets.
It took him a good five minutes to finally realise that Mew had placed a bunch of talismans that was meant to fend off evil spirits. “I am extremely offended mister! I am not evil. I am an apparition. A spirit, yes. But evil? How could you??” Gulf had angrily stomped his feet to the bedroom where the superstitious guy was busy thinking if he had placed the amulets strategically on the bedside table and decided against it and placed the amulet below his pillow instead.
“Well, you think that placing it under your pillows is going to stop me?!” Mew, of course, does not reply.
“Well, technically, I don’t know if I am an evil spirit or not. But I am still here am I?” Gulf watches sullenly as Mew places the last amulet under his bed. Satisfied aura radiates from his body as if there’s nothing else he’d rather be doing.
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Mew was relatively pleased that he had a very good night's sleep. He woke up at six, feeling refreshed. It’s as if the amulet had given him a surge of energy. He was rather happy that not only the amulet fends off the evil spirits, it kind of radiates good energy. Worth every penny spent.
He swung his leg, landing his feet onto the cold tiles and make a bouncy step to the bathroom. He passed his figurines shelf before halting and turned to look at the shelf. Mew frowned. Why is this amulet upside down? I must’ve placed it wrongly yesterday. He quickly rearranged it and proceeded to take his shower.
Mew pats his hair dry while adjusting the towel on his waist. He was about to grab his phone on the bedside table but stopped dead as his eyes swept across the shelf. The amulet was back to their previous position with the head upside down! Maybe waking up too happy has messed up his head. He must have just thought about moving them, without actually doing it? He shook his head to clear it, and then walked over and rearranged them again. There.
He starts his morning with coffee and breakfast, checking his emails and arranging his documents. He returned to his room to unplug his charger. Mew’s eyes unconsciously travelled to the shelf, where the amulet was again back to its upside-down position. He jumped back in surprise. Okay, there's no way he could have forgotten actually to move them, twice.
“Fuck this shit!” He unplugged his charger and bolted out of his house.
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Gulf harmless prank intensified. He would occasionally help out in the kitchen. When Mew was busy fishing out the broccoli from the refrigerator, Gulf would help to stir the chicken in the pot and would say, “I don’t want you to burn the chicken.” While Mew had to recite prayers to protect him from the evil, closing his eyes and poof, the ladle is not moving on its own anymore.
On the good days, Gulf would help Mew with the fogs on the mirror. Mew was frequently greeted with a good morning wish written on his foggy mirror. The message was sometimes a little too creative that Mew can’t help but wipe off the mirror angrily. Gulf would sometimes scold Mew, “Hey, it’s true isn’t? What I wrote just now. You do have a nice body. I was complimenting you! A thank you would be nice.”
He scatters papers on Mew’s desk, rearranges the furniture into a chaotic mess, loosens the bolts in the kitchen sink. Mean spirited pranks that Gulf is sure he’ll feel bad one day. But not anytime soon.
He’s not made for holding grudges, but he just wants to make sure that Mew doesn’t feel lonely. And that he should’ve just admitted that he was afraid of ghosts when his brother asked.
After a while, Mew was not scared anymore. In fact, he was not scared at all. He was annoyed. No, it was beyond that. He was pissed! But deep down, he was relieved that when he told the monks about the pranks, he’s been getting; the monk had assured him that it is not an evil spirit he is dealing with. And the spirit in his house is harmless.
He also brought the amulets that he bought the other day to confirm if it helps exorcise evil spirits. The monk smiled and politely said that they were a mere house decoration. He knew that the monk wanted to laugh at him as what he brought was just a bunch of rubbish.
Well, evil spirit or not. A spirit is still a spirit. The monk had given him some protection amulets and blessed him. I’ll just have to accept the fact that I’m living with a ghost.
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Mew reached home from drinking with Mild. He was a little tipsy but was definitely not drunk. He hung his coat, put away his shoes, put on his house slipper and went straight to the kitchen, pouring himself a glass of cold water. He chugs the whole glass in one single breathe and pour another glass before walking towards his couch.
He almost dropped his glass if it’s not for the reflexes he had. He thinks for a moment before clearing his throat and, “Are you the ones that have been pranking me?”. He didn’t know where’d his courage come from, but he was brave enough to ask the ghost and even more brave to slowly walk towards the ghost. He stops when they are 2 meters apart. Careful not to invade anyone’s personal spaces.
“I thought you were scared of me?” Mew would be lying if that didn’t send chills to his spine. But it must be the alcohol's influence that he didn’t think of anything and answered the ghost question.
“You seem… normal?”
“I am not normal. I am not even solid.” Well, Mew thought that the ghost has a point. He is see-through, that if you don’t pay attention good enough, you could almost believe that your eyes are just playing tricks on you.
“What is your name?” Mew blurted out suddenly. That earns him a light chuckle from the ghost. Is it weird to think that his laugh is beautiful? Or did I have too much drink just now?
“Gulf. My name is Gulf.”
“Gulf,” Mew said, tasting the name on his tongue. Not quite sure if it’s his usual flavour but he kind of likes the taste of Gulf’s name on the tips of his tongue.
“Hey Mew, you think that maybe you could company me tonight?” I don’t want to be alone today. Gulf knows that he shouldn’t make himself known to the apparent world. It’s just some sacred ghost rule. There’s no rule in the ghost world, but it’s just easier to be invisible than having to explain to people that he exists on another plane of reality.
“Y-yeah. Sure.”
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Mew opens his eyes to the dimly lit room. Fuck. The aching in his skull ebbs and flows like a cold tide, yet the pain is always there. Mew understands at once why they call it a hangover, for it feels as if the blackest of clouds is over his head with no intention of clearing.
Mew lets out a heavy puff of air and focuses on recollecting the thoughts of the night before, he remembers what happened, they’re just scattered in fragments, and he needs to put it back together first.
He remembers having a couple of beers, went back home, going to the kitchen, and…
“Are you the last occupant of this house?”
“Yes. I bought the house because of these.” Gulf traces the steel column of the ceiling-high windows. The windows took up entire walls with only polished steel beams to break them into separate rectangles. “The agent said that an architect designed this house for his daughter. Sadly, the daughter passed away when the house was almost finished building.”
“I love the windows too. I fell in love immediately with this house because of them.” Mew smiles fondly at the memory of his first visit to what he can proudly call his home now.
“I know. I was here the entire time, remember?” Mew can’t help but cringe at that question.
“uhhh so I know it sounds rude..”
“You want to know why I am still here?” Mew just nodded his head apologetically. “Well, I don’t know, actually. I don’t know if I am just stuck here unable to move on or I still have some unfinished business here. I don’t even have any memory of how I died. And I can’t remember most parts of my life before this. All I know is that one day I woke up in this house, dead.”
Mew does not look reassured. In fact, he seems downright dubious, probably because the look Gulf had on his face or the almost audible choked when Gulf said the word dead. But Mew chooses to respect it if Gulf decides not to dwell on it.
The city spread below them. Behind the glass, a majestic view of the skyline appeared with startling beauty. Rows of towering skyscrapers stretched as far as their eyes allowed. Through the frame of the window comes the soft glow of the city lights. Mew jumped when he felt a brush of cold air on his arm. “Sorry. You didn’t respond. I thought you passed out while standing.” Gulf chuckles lightly.
“I didn’t hear you,” Mew was extremely thankful that the room was dimly lit, or else Gulf would have noticed how flushed his cheeks are right now. He has a beautiful smile.
“Yeah, it’s late, you need to sleep.”
Slowly, Mew sits upright. After drinking the water on his bedside table that he didn’t remember putting last night, he felt slightly better. He pushes his memory further and slots in another piece; of Gulf trailing behind him to tug him in.
“Are you going to be here tomorrow?” Mew bit his lower lips when he realised that he had asked it out loud.
He doesn’t answer it immediately.
“Why? You’ll miss me?” Gulf laughs lightly and continues, “Sleep.”
After a moment of searching Gulf’s face, he felt his eyelids getting heavier. He felt his consciousness was floating through an empty space filled with a thick static. Before he blacked out completely, he heard, “Thank you for making my death anniversary less lonely this year.”
Mew blinked out of his memories and said, “Gulf!”
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It was an unusual week in Mew’s condo. It was exceptionally quiet. To quiet that he starts to feel a little bit scared. He is worried because no ghosts were terrorising his house. Gulf hadn’t shown up all week. Usually, he would materialise Mew’s every waking hour. What’s wrong with me?? It’s not as if I miss him.
Mew gets out of his bed and walks to the kitchen. Sunlight streams golden through the window in a well-mannered announcement of the risen sun. The sky was painted with the warmest hues of the rainbow. Mew felt cosiness rising in his core. It will be a good day indeed. Mew didn’t know that he spoke too soon. He went to open the faucet and…
“GULFFFFFFFFF”
“I KNOW YOU MISSED ME, MEW!”
— [♡] ;
The end.