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Mina was never superstitious, but she was pretty sure that the lady in her house wasn't just a figment of her imagination.
Her presence was quite noticeable upon the day of Mina's official stay in the newly rented house across the suburbs. She didn't move around like how the cliché horror films would depict a ghost's movements. No broken mirrors, no swinging ceiling lights. This ghost's hand was light as a feather, and Mina first met her when she felt the soft graze of a hand on the side of her cheek after she had passed out on the couch.
It would've tricked her into thinking that she was back home and that it was just her mom gently waking her up for breakfast, but the stranger's fingers were cold to the touch. They leave a slightly cold trail along Mina's cheek as it sent shivers down her spine.
Usually, Mina would be the type to instantly book it out of there and call over a friend as soon as possible, but something tells her that this stranger was just checking in on her.
So, she lets it be. And slowly, the stranger becomes her housemate.
It starts with the subtle shadows that would pass by the doors whenever Mina would be preoccupied with a task in her room. Mina would watch the shadow come and go, slightly unnerved but quite unbothered by it.
Then came the long end of a white dress getting caught in peripheral vision as she was working on her laptop late at night.
Mina would say that it was just her hallucinating due to fatigue, but something about the figure makes it feel like it was shyly greeting her every day.
Mina makes sure to make it known to the ghost that her presence was welcomed as long as she meant no harm. She'd leave small bits of snacks on the counter and would soon notice that some of the sweets that she had left out had already been taken.
The system was simple for a while, until the ghost finally decided to say Hi.
Mina's eyes scan along the pages of the book that she was reading, mouthing the words and practicing her annunciation. English was a language that she was trying to get a hang of lately. It would help with a lot of her tasks, so she took the time to try and read a few short novels whenever she'd want to pass time.
She's gotten good enough at it that she was able to read faster than she used to, and that was quite the plus.
However, the ghost didn't seem to like that at all.
Mina flinches when she hears someone clear their throat beside her, eyes widening for a moment before she catches the reflection of a young woman sitting right next to her from the TV.
She slowly turns around, and the ghostly pale face of her new friend greets her. Her eyes were round as her pupils shined against the ceiling light. Everything about her was lifeless, yet, the girl remained life-like as she tilted her head at her.
They sit in an uncomfortable bubble of silence for a while before Mina finally gulps down her sudden fear and decides to talk to the woman.
"You must be my new friend… I'm Mina." She says and the girl stares at her for a moment.
"Mina." The woman says, and Mina nods. A smile then finds its way on her face, her eyes forming crescent moons.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Sana."
She holds out her hand for a handshake, and Mina hesitantly takes it. She was definitely just touching air, but a slight bit of electric buzz makes its way from Sana's fingers which immediately gives Mina goosebumps. The girl chuckles as Mina tenses for a moment before laughing along as well.
Sana decides to get comfortable and peeks back at Mina's book. Mina looks at her and quickly understands, she must've turned the page too quickly.
Mina comes back to the previous page and watches as Sana carefully reads through the lines.
"I am who I am and I have the need to be." Sana says, her accent was heavy but she was trying. Her eyebrows knit together as she reads it again, only mouthing it this time before looking at Mina with a confused look on her face
"What does that mean?" She asks and Mina thinks for a while before answering. "I think that it means that… As humans, we are what we were created as and we can't change it. We are all just humans living on this earth, that's our true defining feature." Mina explains and Sana nods before leaning back on Mina's shoulder.
It felt weird to be a supporting pillow for a ghost, but it also felt nice. So Mina let it happen, turning the page as Sana hums at her to do so.
They read the book at their own comfortable pace, with Sana asking questions here and there.
It was peaceful, and it was definitely unlike the horror stories that Mina used to be scared of as a kid.
Mina always had a slight fear of ghosts, but Sana's presence feels like home. It was faint, but Sana's scent was definitely not of the undead. It was lavender, the same scent that had been lingering in the house right as Mina moved into it.
It was never discussed between the two, but a bond was formed between them that night.
Mina sometimes wakes up by pure chance and catches Sana as she basks in the sunlight, only to disappear as the sun finally reaches its peak on the pale blue sky. She liked being in the sun, but it seemed to drain her energy. Mina knows this because she sees Sana hanging out by the corner of her living room space right before she leaves for work.
The girl would give her a small wave and Mina would give one back before watching the girl disappear into the walls. She gets worried sometimes, thinking that Sana would never be seen again. But the girl would always be there, appearing on the couch just as Mina would open the door.
They would greet each other, and if anything, it all felt normal.
It was a comfortable space for the both of them. Sana learns more words than she did during her mortal existence, and Mina would learn fables that Sana would remember whenever they would read through a novel.
Of course, Mina was puzzled as to why Sana was there in the first place. But she never asked, opting to just enjoy the girl's company. Sana thanks her for that, feeling content as Mina never questioned her presence from the start.
Sana would've left long ago, but there was something in their dynamic that made her feel somewhat alive as she joined Mina during her nightly reading activities.
So they stayed with each other, their friendship blossoming as they taught each other what they knew.
In the small confines of the rented house in the suburbs, it was just Mina and Sana, two friends from different wavelengths of life.