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As the Sunday phased away in the old cabin, a huge "Congratulations, Taki" sign was being obnoxiously drilled into the walls of Maki's personal enclosure. Maki doesn't like the smell of burnt fuel, but he hates the smell of hope even more.
So, when the 5th owner decided to move in on a random Saturday, he knew that the broker of the cabin had started to find absolutely lost cases or lied to sell the place.
Maki wondered how long this tenant would last, but he had to admit that he was particularly impressed by how quickly the cabin was resold by the last owner. (Who decided to abandon it after Maki was able to manipulate a thud or two in the attic.)
This is ridiculous, Maki thought. He knew that they don't get the walls like he does; they don't know why the living room has four different colors of walls, or why the kitchen has a smoke spot on the extreme right of the gas stove.
The new voice in this huge cabin felt nothing more than an annoying rodent constantly on the move, sniffing, analyzing, but keeping that cheeky dimpled smile on his cheek. It hurt to watch him take the place in like it was his own.
Something about the simple similarities they shared — from his hair being ruffled all the time, to the spark he carried in his eyes and the way his cheek dented at the slightest show of his teeth; Maki thought there was something so wildly tender about this boy, and it made him all the more irritated.
As he watched Taki with careful consideration, moving things around, he felt a sort of gloom every time he brushed past anything or decided to push a piece of furniture away from where it was previously.
The diploma and congratulatory frame sitting on the top shelf of the old rustic bookshelf gave the cabin a pop of color and youth that Maki hadn't seen in a while.
Taki felt a sort of glee; he gloated at the achievement of finally being able to set up his bookshelf. Next to Taki stood a taller brunette with a round face and soft eyes. However, Maki could tell he was a little older than Taki.
An ID hung low from the taller stranger's neck. It looked like a worker's lanyard with the name "BYUN EUIJOO" displayed on it pretty clearly. He moved some of Taki's boxes to the upper compartment of the bookshelf while helping him clean up and sanitize the surfaces.
Taki moved into the kitchen and started to unload his kitchen utensils. As he did so, the pit in Maki's soul started to boil. He felt heavier, more doomed, and more cold. Before he knew what he was doing, he tipped over a water vase from the counter.
Maki felt mischievous, and he decided that this was the perfect time to play into that. The glass cup shattered, and the resulting shards got a little too close to Taki.
Maki watched him closely. Panic, panic, panic, he hoped.
"Taki! Are you okay?" Euijoo asked as he stumbled his way over, concern engulfing his features. Looking up with eyes wide, Taki shot a light nod and a weak smile his way.
"Yeah! Yes. I have just been SOOO clumsy lately," he responded while letting a nervous laugh out.
"God, Taki, please be careful and let me know if you need help, okay? I am here for you, and I can always call Nic-"
Taki cuts Euijoo off as he clears his throat, "I am okay! I swear, I am just so out of it lately."
Watching his eyes intently for a second before Euijoo sighs and nods, "Okay, let me help you clean up before I have to leave".
Euijoo and Taki spent the next 10 minutes cleaning the place up carefully. Now and then, they would let out small winces as the shards accidentally cut them. Eventually Taki gave up and rummaged through his luggage to find gloves. After handing them to Euijoo, they finished cleaning up the rest of the glass.
Later in the day, after Euijoo left, Taki felt a sense of achievement with how much both of them got done, and in feeling so, he decided to celebrate with himself on the couch and a bottle of sake.
"To new beginnings, college debt, and hopefully getting a new job!" he exclaimed in the cold and empty living room. He turned on his new TV attached to his brand new PlayStation and decided that playing Mario Kart was the go for the night.
Maki watched him eagerly, assessing every small step, breath, and expression he laid into the world. But his goal remained stagnant:
I need to get this boy out. of. my. cabin.
With mischief and a light grin, Maki tipped over three books from the table.
Can't justify this now, can you? He gloats to himself.
But Taki seems not to notice; that seems to agitate Maki even more.
What is wrong with this guy?
You are alone, and things are moving?
How is this little shit so unbothered?
As he watched Taki continue to play his game and take burdening gulps of alcohol that stung as they went down, Maki wondered one thing:
What is his story, what brings him here?
Like Maki noticed before, it's undeniable how similar they are: their boyish humor, their sparkling eyes and ruffled hair, and something even deeper that Maki couldn'tseem to point out quite yet. Maki just couldn't get his attention off him.
Maki, eager to make anything scare him, finally decided to knock over a flower vase by the television so Taki could finally see things move on their own. Taki was taken aback; his heart pounding in his chest, and he hoped he hallucinated it.
"What the fuck?" Hitting pause on his game, he scooted slightly forward to fix the vase, but Maki knocked it down again.
Maki believes his plan is working. No normal human will see things moving on their own and assume it could be anything good, right?
"No way!" Taki exclaims with a bright smile on his face, "This thing bounces back?" He starts to knock it down, and Maki fixes it anyway, confused.
Why is he…intrigued? What is wrong with him? How is this not working on him?
Maki felt a sense of defeat fill him until he decided that he needed to understand what would truly scare him, not create fascination.
After more drinking, a slightly tipsy Taki takes his weight off the floor and onto the small dining table in the room across the hallway. Finally, as he plops himself on the 2nd seat from the end, Maki hisses to himself. He wished he could stop him, strangle him, kill him, maybe.
But there Taki was, drunk and relaxed on HIS chair, the chair he sat in all his life with his parents and ate food, took singing lessons from, and did his late-night studying.
Maki had had enough; he knew what had to be done. With a swift simmer through the cabin and a few vents, he used his energy to push an older vent with rats out. Within a minute of doing so, two huge rats had graced the living room and immediately taken Taki by horror.
"NO. No. no. FUCK NO." Taki exclaimed.
As a chef, he was extremely particular when it came to bugs and reptiles in general existing in his space. The sight of one was enough to make him consider burning the whole place down. Maki knew this only because his mother had been a baker
Taki held his bottle of sake close and dashed out the front door immediately, leaving the cabin eerily quiet like it used to be, and Maki existed in the solace of the peace and silence he was so used to. But even then, Maki couldn't shake how full of life the cabin had gotten in just one day since Taki got here.
The water was still running, and the doors were letting the smell of wet leaves and fresh air in. The lights were brighter than they had been because Taki got them replaced. The beaten beige rug that used to lie next to the sofa, looking lifeless, was now replaced by a huge Pikachu one.
The brightness of the yellow rug continued to illuminate the room along with the 10 different flower vases that existed alongside an older shelf in the cabin.
Maki wanted to know who he was, because Taki was nothing like the previous owners. All the previous owners seemed to only care about molding the cabin to become their own financial machines. A lot of it was because of its beauty, lake view, and location in the countryside, along with its proximity to the city.
He couldn't stand watching old men who knew nothing about the bed that held him on his darkest days, the lake where he spent every summer learning how to swim, or the garden his mother committed her entire life to, try to put a 'value' on it. It disgusted him to his very core.
After what felt like a really long time, Taki returned with an annoyed blonde who looked like he had been woken up from what may have been a very deep slumber. Maki recognized him almost immediately.
"So it's Yuuuu…ma?"
Taki gave him a look as he awaited approval, and Yuma gave him a polite nod back. "Mm."
"Ahh, thank you so much for being okay with helping me, Yuma-kun," He exclaimed as he subconsciously used Yuma's body as a shield and remained close to the doorway.
"It's no problem, really. I was only a little…concerned when you were banging on my door at…" Yuma checked his phone. "1 am"
Taki's face flushed as Yuma fixed his hair while letting out a yawn. Taki felt terrible that this was the first impression his neighbor had to get of him.
After a long tussle between the creatures and Yuma, they were able to run the rats out of the cabin, and Yuma left Taki his number before returning to his place.
As the night started to seep into early morning with birds chirping, Taki was finally able to get comfortable in his bed with some peace of mind. He knew the rodents were gone, but his mind wandered to the range of curveballs this cabin could possibly throw at him.
Are the rodents the start of it? Could there be things that I missed during the inspection? Did I just throw away all of my savings on the down payment of a cabin that won't even want me?
He fidgeted with his pajamas as his thoughts raced. He knew that the only reason, realistically, that he owns the cabin was because of the almost "too good to be true" price. The story of the previous owners definitely deterred Taki for a while, but in the end, the cabin felt warmer and kinder than people would give it credit for.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Maki was lodged on a cold surface on the rooftop, like he usually was every night. He remembered how he would put on a jacket and talk to his father about the constellations and how they came to be. They would then stare at the moon and guess which phase it was in. Right now, his spirit is probably cooling the cold, hard concrete, but it was a good thing he couldn't really feel it the way most would.
The moon illuminated the cabin, and Maki continued staring at it with longing, hoping his father was somewhere guessing the phase too.
It looked like a waxing gibbous, but almost there. It's basically full, he reasoned.
Light sounds of the night crickets populated the air, and the warmth of the sudden summer wind brought by the humidity made Maki wonder if that meant that the cabin would go through another phase of mold unaccounted for.
The dark swirls in the night sky, nothing less than a tapestry, had bored Maki now.
Same old skies, same old moon, he thought.
But it had become the closest thing he had to normalcy after he had lost everything, even in the comfort of his four walls.
Caught off guard, the quiet was disturbed by a sort of muffled sniff. It sounded like nothing at first, but it got louder and more muffled. Maki could tell it came from somewhere directly under him, probably his old room. He decided to peek his head through the window to investigate the sound.
A curled-up Taki was in his bed, two blankets rolled up on him. A small decorative pillow was held close to his mouth as the other hand held something that looked like a frame.
Maki treaded lightly through the window, not wanting to accidentally use his energy to knock something over that might scare him. He didn't understand why he cared, what exactly possessed him to be gentle the way he was, but seeing the owner of the cabin cry warmed him. It humanized him.
Maki took light steps towards his bed. Seeing him curled up like that in a way reminded him of himself. A shiver ran up his spine at the thought.
Once Maki was close enough to see, he stuck his head right behind Taki to see who was in the frame he held. The picture seemed kind of old; Taki was in the picture with his hair askew, a taller man next to him looking down on Taki with endearing eyes. They seemed a few years apart, but you could tell the taller one was definitely an athlete of some kind. Probably track, if Maki had to guess through his toned legs.
Taki looked a lot younger in it. He still had his boyish clothes and soft facial features that seem to have sharpened since.
There was a certain disservice that the portrait did to the taller. His cheeks looked like they shone, his eyes looked like they could be swirls of chocolate, and his fingers seemed to carry a light gentleness, but his arms had faded scarring as they tugged at Taki. The picture remained dull.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
The days passed as Taki used up all of his free time working on his cookbook. He didn't think it was anywhere close to being good enough for publication, but after a little work, he hoped that it could reach someone. He yearned to get his ideas out there, but his situation was dire, so it mattered now more than ever.
His new job kept him afloat, but he quickly realized it was not enough. As graduation seemed to get farther away, the pressure to get a full-time position at one of the nearby Lavender hotels only got stronger. He knows he is good, and that is probably what upsets him: his competence. Yet his age deceived him, and he continued to get mistaken for something he was not. Unprofessional.
He has a way with food, he believes. It's time the old fossils who run these restaurants got a taste of it.
But that doesn't erase why he is here. Why he holds onto this weird abandoned cabin, why he still holds on to the flawed recipes that his mother taught him.
No matter the confident and outgoing front he put on, the deeper pit that lives in his stomach aches for an answer.
But he knows the answer.
His brother was hurt, and he was too late to the bridge.
Taki takes the rest of the time in his day to finally give attention to the withering flowers in the garden that seemed to have been abandoned way before Taki arrived. He knelt down to reach the soil and rub it between his index and thumb.
"Who did this to you?" he whispers with a warm smile, his tone playful and lighthearted.
Maki hangs off the ledge behind him on one of the windows facing the garden.
He feels nothing, but his gaze remains sharp on Taki's nape.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Maki had abandoned the moon. While there was no offense taken by her, Maki had some thinking to do.
He seemed to spend his nights in Taki's room, watching him hold the frame close to his heart and stifle a sob now and then.
What was he like? Maki wondered.
He wanted to know if the man was his brother, friend, or lover. Maybe something less, something more. It was all new to Maki. This was the first time he was particularly taking interest in any of the owners that have come by.
The way Taki's eyes welled up, creating little pearls in his giant, dark brown eyes, became a point of obsession for Maki. He reminded him of puppies in their first year, brave and expressive yet so terribly dependent and emotional.
Taki was a pretty crier; Maki did not particularly feel sorrow watching him cry. But he did hope that he had someone like himself for Taki to confide in.
His body shivered with cold sweat every night, but Taki made sure to hold himself strong. Waking up every day with the same positive attitude. His smile never left the corners of his lips as long as the sky was bright and he had people around him.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Taki struggled to pack his bags for the day. He was finally brave enough to land an interview for Lavender. It was a long shot, but he hoped that they could see past the usual antics of his personality. He knew he was worth the effort and chance; he just hoped that it could be seen.
He spent the morning cooking all sorts of delicious food, trying out recipes and combos that he usually wouldn't. Cooking became his escape, but right now, it was more of a reassurance that he would be okay.
The dusty old cabin's new aromas from Taki's cooking seemed to invoke different emotions within the walls. In a way, it wakes the cabin up.
As of right now, Taki is trying out a recipe he found in the book kept in the attic. He wonders if the family had any distinct chefs. He feels like him cooking from the recipe book is some sort of an offering to the cabin.
Please accept me, please.
He begins to clean up after himself once he is done meal prepping for the next few days. He is hoping they get busier if he is hired on the spot.
As the drawers struggle to close because the newly furnished cabin is still adjusting to the new owner, there is a squeak from the kitchen that makes Taki jump.
With light steps, he prays it isn't another rodent of some sort.
To his surprise, it's just a salt container knocked over. With a sigh of relief, he reaches out to prop it back up. That's when it happens.
The salt container fixes itself in a swift movement.
Taki stands still, hand still mid-air. He blinks a few times to make sure his eyes aren't deceiving him. They aren't.
He decides it's the mind instead. Nods. And goes back to work.
Things don't just move on their own; there is no way that really happened, right?
The question rings, but he knows better than to look deeper into that thought. Maybe all the caffeine and stress is finally getting to him. He knew he should have met that therapist Euijoo recommended to him. This is his fault.
Taki pulls his documents from the top shelf and starts to fit them inside his bag. The fit is a little tight, but it will do for the time being. The top drawer is still a little stiff, so Taki tends to push it harder than usual. Putting his weight on it, he gets ready to push the shelf back into place.
Except he doesn't.
The shelf fits itself.
Taki is frozen with his elbow up, still ready to push, still having his eyes fixated on the shelf. But the shelf had pushed itself.
No.
NO.
"I really am going insane, oh my god."
Taki takes his phone and hits the dial. A polite greeting chirps on the other side, "Taki!"
"Euijoo-hyung, do you have time after your shift today?"
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Euijoo leans against the book cart, keeping his right arm on his hip after he adjusts his glasses. "So your cabin was dirt cheap because there were stories that it's haunted?"
"Yes."
"And now things are moving on their own?"
"Yes."
"And you said your bedroom has been eerily cold lately too?"
"Yes."
Euijoo looks defeated, scrambling through his notes for the day as he proceeds to work on clocking out of his shift.
"How did it not cross your mind that it was like... a terrible idea to do that"
"I dunno! I wasn't the superstitious one in the family…it was only-"
"Yudai. Yeah, I know." Euijoo's eyes soften as he looks down at Taki. "Okay. I think your first step should be looking into a priest."
Euijoo hands out a small notepad as he slips his phone out of his pocket. "Write this down"
Taki sets his hand on a hard surface, ready to take notes.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Maki felt stupid. Dumb dumb dumb Maki. Why did he think that helping him would have any other effect?
Maki knew how hard it had been with the new furniture; he knew how clumsy Taki had also been with the way he kept things. He was only trying to lessen the pressure he was going through. Small miscellaneous tasks. It didn't seem like he should have cared or even noticed. Maki's actions were not threatening to the very least.
Just as Maki thought he had given up for the night, the door slammed open.
Taki's hair, clearly ragged from the drizzle and wind out in the dark, slightly covered his bloodshot eyes. His black tank top was wet from the rain; Maki wondered where his flannel ended up.
But in that moment it didn't matter; Maki's heart felt a release of air, like a weight had been lifted off of him. He wished he was human so he could smile and hug him, tell him he's so glad he came back home and is safe. That he's not dangerous.
But something was off. Maki suddenly noticed the big wooden box cradled by Taki on his right arm. His bicep curl had a small cut on it.
Taki scanned the room before he switched on the light. It took him a beat longer to step inside. Maki wondered what Taki knew about the cabin; If he had gone to find the same bony priest that the previous owners found within a fifty-mile radius of the cabin.
Maki wished he had lungs so he could sigh, his anxiety was eating his existence.
Not because of the priest, of course, but because he doesn't hate Taki or want him to leave the cabin in this moment. Not even close to it.
Taki sets down the box on the carpet floor. His eyes travel up to the roof and follow all the way down to the furnace.
"I hope you aren't real."
If Maki had knees, they would have given out. What is he about to do?
Taki finally opens the box and reaches inside. The silence is deafening. No water running from the pipes, no food cooking in the kitchen, no gameplay or music playing in the background.
He takes out a book. Rustic brown, looking like it was bought from the closest thrift store.
Spirit book.
In a way, Maki was endeared. Taki. So, so unprepared. So naive. It's cute
Taki exhales, "Whatever you are, I am keeping the book open in this room." he takes a bulgy ink pen out of his bag, "I don't know if this is stupid, but I don't know if I want to fight with you..god, this is stupid."
His defeated breath hits Maki. Maki wishes he could hug his spirit. Instead, he stays frozen.
"Alright, you have until tomorrow morning. If not, I am officially insane," Taki demands and nods to himself. The box is still splayed open with other things inside. He closes it in one swift movement and hoists it under his right bicep.
He takes quick strides to the bedroom. Maki looks earnestly at the book. He knows this is the perfect opportunity to get him out of the cabin. He knows he could write something to totally fuck him over, to make him want to burn his own skin because of fear. He knows he can.
The paper and pen tempt him.
He could push him away. The question is, does he want to push him away as he would; or does he, for once, jump in the wishing well?
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
It lay there, paper covered in ink.
Taki cocks an eyebrow; this is definitely not what he was expecting.
The spirit book was still on the carpet, with an ink spill and a torn paper kept next to the book. The torn paper had a very visible note.
thank you for watering the flowers. ps. sorry about spilling the ink
Taki, at this very moment, is unsure of what to do. This basically confirms that something is haunting the cabin. Unfortunately for Taki, whatever this is, is extremely polite. His next step would essentially be to call the priest.
He could push him away. But the question is, does he want to push him away as he would; or does he, for once, jump in the wishing well?
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Euijoo fixes his tie. "So if I am understanding this right, the plan worked?"
"Yes."
"But the ghost is… nice?"
"..yes"
"And you are hesitating to call the priest?"
Taki lets out a sigh. "I don't know; something in my gut tells me that he isn't trying to hurt me. Don't you think he would have killed me by now?"
Euijoo let a shy giggle hit his lungs. "You have unbearably low standards. How would you know what a ghost is thinking?"
Taki's head drops. "I don't know. Could you talk to Nicholas Hyung for me? Isn't he into all those ghost hunter YouTube channels or something?"
That makes Euijoo drift into thought for a second. "Yes, actually, I wonder if he is any sort of help," he starts to type out a message as he speaks to Taki. "He is picking me up from work in about five minutes anyway, so you can ask him then"
"Perfect."
The time passes embarrassingly slowly, but Euijoo takes that as an opportunity to show him the collection of fall romcom books he is going to display at the front desk for the coming weeks.
"Alright! He is here, even though he will probably just join us in here if he reaches us first."
A slightly shorter figure from behind Euijoo let out a giggle. "Too late."
Taki's eyes sparkle with excitement. He truly looks up to Nicholas, especially after meeting him in Yudai's workplace as his "favorite intern". Since Yudai's death, Nicholas has been the creative soul of the company. Fuma, Yudai's husband, takes care of the finance and market front of it.
Nicholas grabs Euijoo by the waist and plants tender kisses on his nape. Feeling ticklish, Euijoo let's sweet giggles out.
Taki looks at them with a smile; it reminds him a lot of Yudai and Fuma.
Nicholas finally shifts his gaze to Taki. "So I hear you got a spirit in your cabin."
Taki nods. "Yep, or a ghost; I don't know if it's the same thing."
Nicholas looks at Taki a beat longer than he intended to. "Be honest with me. okay? Are you sure you aren't imagining things?"
Euijoo elbows Nicholas lightly. "No, it's serious. I saw the note with my own eyes, and I know Taki likes pranks, but this seems to be beyond him. Right, Taki?" Taki nods, a serious gloom on his face. It catches Nicholas off guard, but he covers it up with a smug smile.
Taki lifts the wooden box kept on the floor this entire time. "I have some devices I panic-bought; I don't know how any of it works, though…"
Nicholas reaches in and takes out a box that looks like a walkie-talkie and an obvious Ouija board. He gives Taki a look before setting them both down. "Is there a reason you haven't called a priest yet?"
Taki doesn't respond. He doesn't know why he hasn't, if he had to be quite frank.
Nicholas looks at him intently before finally taking his hands off Euijoo. "Alright, get a notepad. Let's start with this." He holds up another small telebox. "This…" he shakes it playfully, "is called the EMF reader."
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
The next day transpires almost robotically. Taki wakes up, eats something he made a few days ago, waters the garden, plays a quick game on Minecraft before he goes to the gig of the day. This one in particular, if Maki had to guess, was a rich family two streets down.
The night seems to dawn quietly in the cabin as the blinds are already lowered since he left in the afternoon.
At exactly 10:05 pm, a very tired Taki walks through the door. His sweat removes the good aroma his food had left the cabin in the past few days. Maki doesn't mind it, though.
Maki keeps his eye on Taki as he gets ready to sleep, and turns away when Taki decides that he wants to essentially sleep with only his boxers on. Maki's gaze only returns after a short while, once he is fully in blankets.
A spirit box.
Maki steps away. Where did he get that from?
It is kept next to Taki as he holds on to his second pillow, cuddling and squishing his soft cheeks on the sides of it.
After working some controls, the spirit box finally opens itself, and Maki's senses heighten.
Taki looks distantly. "Listen, I know you are in here. I used an EMF reader," he starts to fidget with the blanket.
He takes a deep breath,
"Who are you?"
"…Maki."
Taki's voice gets caught in his throat at the sound of Maki's mildly distorted voice coming through the spirit box.
"Maki…"
Maki feels warm; he hasn't heard anyone say his name in almost two years.
"Maki, did you live here?"
"Yes."
"How long ago?"
"8 years, almost."
"I wonder if it's okay for me to ask…when did you die?"
"2 years. Ago."
Taki takes it in; Maki has been looming over here for two years. Maki can see the gears turning in Taki's head as he pauses.
"Don't want hurt. Won't hurt you."
Maki finds it harder to speak into the spirit box, especially with the lack of wind to carry over the frequencies accurately.
Taki holds the box tenderly. "Why are you still here? Did something happen to you?"
"Only home. Only family. Only left."
"Are you saying this is all you have left?"
"Yes."
"How old are you?"
"Twenty."
Taki takes a quick breath to stabilize his shiver. Just a year younger than him.
"Is there something keeping you here?"
"What [distort] mean?"
Maki is getting frustrated; he hates when people question why someone like him would still be here. To protect the cabin, of course! If people tore this down, what would genuinely be left to show that his family ever existed? Losing his parents wasn't easy, but losing all that proves their humanity on earth would be a lot harder.
"Never mind, I'm sorry."
"Forgiven."
Taki can feel himself getting braver, but he also knows that he is treading on uncharted territory. He decides that it's probably for the best to end the conversation here. All he wanted to know was if his intentions were to hurt him. Now that he knows, he has no reason to engage, right?
"Thank you for your time. Goodnight, Maki."
"——————-"
A light breeze passes through Taki's hair, but he remembers the windows are closed.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
The flowers seem to regain their colors. The soil, mixed with compost from the kitchen, seems to gain saturation again. The dry display seems to finally house some color and hydration.
Taki mindlessly waters the Black-Eyed Susans.
He wondered what Maki looked like, what he smelled like, what he was about to study in university before he... died. Did he even go to university? His curiosity started to gnaw at him.
Taki looked at the dining table by the backyard window. The cookbook that he found in the attic was open on a new recipe he wanted to play around with.
Something clicked in that moment. He sprang up and walked over into the cabin, leaving his sprinkle can on the grass.
He sped through into the attic, rummaged through the things, and finally set his eyes on a cardboard box with some dates written with a Sharpie.
"February 17th 2006, December 7th 2001."
The box had a heavy layer of tape. Taki felt uneasy and intrusive. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the EMF. The reader read red, a clear 30 degrees Fahrenheit. Taki sighed with a resolve in his chest and stepped outside the attic.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
That night, the room felt a lot cooler than usual. He ends up wearing a cozy sweater, which felt out of the ordinary for him. His palms grab onto the blanket as he holds the frame of his brother close to his heart. His eyes are forced shut— scared that if he opens them, he might see something inhuman.
Sleep blankets him. His consciousness starts to drift, and before he knows it, he is awake again, but somewhere completely different. The area around him seems to exist as a state of limbo, everything but nothing at once. It looks like a clear blank slate, but he can smell something strong, and while it may feel like he's floating in this nothingness, he feels the sharpness of the wind rushing by him.
Out of the blue, a shadowy figure walks towards him. Its existence is nothing but a moving silhouette. Its presence is static, but overwhelmingly there.
What are you?
He keeps walking, slowly revealing features.
His boyish, ruffled, brown hair. His dimples and downward-turned eyes, with irises behind the strands of hair that fall in front of them. He is fairly muscular and taller, and as he gets closer, Taki starts to step back.
Before he realizes it, a taller guy, about his age, is standing in front of him. He looks down at Taki with his eyes, slightly bloodshot. His face remains void of any expression.
"Hello, Taki. My name is Riki."
That can't be right.
He remembers his mother calling him Riki, calling him out in the playground. Is this a weird projection in his dream?
Taki steps forward this time, for some control.
"That can't be right; I am Riki."
The boy looks blank. "I know that; I read the papers. The lease papers."
This catches Taki off guard. My lease papers? He knows he should not entertain the idea, but he is curious.
"Who are you?"
"Riki Mauss, I live here. But people call me Maki"
Taki chokes a sob; he takes in his presence. His eyes travel up and down multiple times. His mouth remains open from shock. "Maki," he swallows his cry, "It's…so nice to see you, Maki."
Maki and Taki sit in nothingness; he can't tell how his weight shifted itself on literal air. But he also knows he is in his head right now.
Taki's eyes travel over Maki's jaw, up to his lips and his eyes. His gaze fixates on the downward turn of his eyes. He finds it endearing. Taki feels that, to anyone else, it may look like he is in a constant state of sadness, but to him it just gives Taki the strongest urge to fluff his hair.
And so he does.
His hand reaches up, in an attempt to fluff his hair. But Maki backs up slightly, avoiding any contact. This snaps Taki out of his daze,
"I am so sorry, I didn't realize-"
Maki sighs. "Yeah, I get that. Go ahead, touch it." he leans back into Taki's fingers
Taki takes this opportunity to run his fingers through his hair. The light brown curls tangle ever so slightly on Taki's fingers as he slowly takes the feeling of them in.
"Why did you not call the priest?" Maki searches for Taki's eyes, his gulp getting stuck in his throat.
Taki looks shocked; he's not sure if it's because Taki is breaking the fourth wall in a way or because he's not sure if he's dreaming anymore. Is this real?
Taki decides to take a moment before he answers; he doesn't want to say something that may come off the wrong way and scare him away.
He gently removes his hand from his waves and drops them to Maki's shoulders. This causes Maki to tense up, but he stays put.
"I didn't want to assume you wanted to hurt me."
"You don't know if I would have."
"You didn't give me a reason to think so. Plus, if you are still here, I felt like you had a reason to be."
Taki sighs before he continues. His fingers cup Maki's nape. "You look sad, Maki"
A pathetic feeling crept up Maki's neck, electrifying him. He doesn't like being read, but he enjoys the feeling of someone recognizing him, seeing through him for the first time in a very long time.
The birds felt a lot closer than they were,
and before Taki knew it, he was awake.
He sat up on his bed, like trying to reach for something. When his vision finally adjusted enough to be able to tell where he was, he let out a deep sigh.
What just happened?
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
Taki decides that the house could use more people, so he takes the time to invite Euijoo, Fuma, Nico, and his new friend across the street, Yuma.
Euijoo is still serving his own plate before Nico sweeps it under his fingers. "Let me do it for you."
Euijoo huffs a protest, "No, let me do it myse-"
Nicholas shushes Euijoo as he pushes his hand with the plate out of his reach.
Fuma is conversing with Yuma about their gym schedules and maybe setting up a time to go together.
As they stay busy in their own worlds, Taki finally brings out the last plate of food.
"Ta-da!" excitement in his voice, his hands shimmy on the plate he set down in front of the extra space Fuma had. "Ravioli!"
Euijoo's eyebrows shoot up. "Woah! Taki! That looks so good."
Yuma nods. "It looks delicious, thank you, Taki."
Taki's eyes squint as he smiles brightly. "Alright, let's dig in!!"
Maki sits alone in the corner of the room, spectating this new side of Taki. He knows what he wants to say if Taki wants to talk to him again after last night. He knows what he deserves. A smile finally creeps onto his face. If his heart could bloom flowers, they probably would right about now.
You are so easy to love, Taki
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
That night, Taki was able to sleep with no palpitations. His heart was at ease; he felt a different kind of peace after being around people he has.
He took the frame from his bedside again, looked at it for a beat too long, and everything suddenly came flowing out. He couldn't hold his sobs. He held the frame close to his heart, clutched with a force he held his big brother's hand with as a kid.
He wished he could hug him again; he wondered if he thought about him from wherever he is. It felt irrational, but he wanted to try it.
Click. The spirit box was activated,
"Maki, do you mind if I ask you something?"
He wants to talk to me?
Maki hesitated. He still watched him every night; he wanted to see if he slept well. If the nightmares came back. If he was crying himself to sleep.
"Yes. Taki."
"Are the dead ever happy?" Taki hesitates. "You don't have to answer that."
I'm sorry, Taki. I wish I could help you more.
"I like. think. they—re."
"You like to think they are?"
"Yes."
There is a beat of silence
"I—sorry that— still—-in house"
"Are you kidding me? This is your house as much as mine." Taki sighs for a second, "Not to dump on you, but…I lost my brother last year…he took his life. But you would have never imagined it, you know? He was always smiling."
Maki knew to listen intently; this was the first time he felt pity for someone besides himself.
"I. Am sorry."
"It's okay. What's your story, Maki?"
And so, through static and some broken words. Maki told Taki the story of his family. How he went to high school, spent a year in college before it all went down. He told him that his sister and mother loved to cook, a lot like Taki did, and that his mother's recipes are the ones Taki has been recreating.
Without realising, Taki noticed a tear slipping from his eyes. He appreciated how hard Maki was trying to open up, to let his guard down. He felt kind of special in a way; maybe he was special or just insane.
Maki touched upon the garden, and how he was so grateful Taki wanted to try to revive it again. He felt like the cabin felt the closest to home in years. This gave Taki the chance to open up more about his brother, and a small scratch of static indicated Maki was listening.
They went back and forth for a few hours before Taki had dozed. Maki didn't realize that he had gotten dangerously close to Taki during their conversation. He felt himself rest on the fabric of the bed as Taki cuddled with his cheeks pressed into the blanket.
Maki lightly used the air around him to gently stroke his exposed cheek. But he quickly pulled back in fear of waking Taki up. But Taki didn't flinch or shake himself awake from the sensation. Instead, his fingers lightly reached up to his own cheek, trying to find the sensation of what was there before Maki got scared.
Maki watched him endearingly; he knew what he had to do.
.˚⊹. ࣪𓉸 ࣪⊹˚.
The morning started slowly; the breeze encompassed the surroundings of the cabin. Fall leaves seemed to stick to the edges of the window, giving it sort of a frame. Taki had used the day to stay home and work on his recipe book and maybe watch some TV.
The coffee warmed his palms from the slight chilliness of his cabin; he used the window to lean in and watch the fall wind spin the ripe leaves out of control. He loved the smell of fall; he took the time today to take as much of it in as he could.
Something in him felt a lot calmer today. He wondered if it was the slow start to his morning or last night's company.
He removed the EMF reader from the drawer by his bookshelf.
No beeping, interesting.
Taki decided to walk around the cabin with the EMF reader. There was no ringing or even a slight drop in temperature.
"Maki?"
Taki continued to scurry through the rooms, his pace picking up. Light panic was setting in on him.
Where are you?
He started to turn his fast-paced strides into full-on mini jogs around. He felt like a madman trying to catch something he couldn't see.
The attic seemed to keep the EMF at bay too, so instead of continuing to run, Taki decided to go back to where he was earlier, by the window.
That's when he knew where he had forgotten to check: the garden outside.
With urgency, Taki slammed open the doors to the backyard garden he had been caring for, and there it was.
A small framed portrait, sitting right outside the box from the attic with pictures of Maki in every year of school. Next to his stack in the box seemed to be an older girl, who looked a lot like him; Taki assumed it was probably his sister.
He looked back at the small framed portrait. It was Maki, the boy in his dreams. He seemed to have the widest smile Taki had ever seen, his teeth visible from the clear excitement. It seemed like a dorm room, a bed lofted with a pillow that said "CLASS OF 2027". His tank top and shorts were paired, revealing how he looked slightly younger than his dream; the date written in the corner helped him decipher that this was probably 2 years ago.
Right under the portrait was a small paper.
Taki felt a breath escape him as he read it, his eyes pooling,
"Thank you for letting me live again."