"It can"t be..." Old Fang stares at his son with horror in his eyes. He flops down on the chair and shakily clasps his cane like a s.h.i.+eld. His eyes are filled with horror. The temperature in the room drops down several degrees."She is also...no...no..." Old Fang speaks like a broken radio, not finis.h.i.+ng any sentences. He wobbles his head like a toy. I have never seen him like this before...even in my past life.
Fang Qi looks like his tongue has tasted a hundred lemons all at once. His icy eyes are fixed the woman like he wants to freeze her with his eyes alone.
He hates someone more than me. That"s refres.h.i.+ng.
"Why are you here?" He doesn"t clarify who is "them". I wonder what"s this need of mystery here. I am frustrated with their lack of words. The woman props her chin in her hand and watches us with a coy smile and a twinkle in her eyes. He wrinkles his nose.
"Will anyone cares to explain?" I ask impatiently. n.o.body pays attention to me. This woman and Fang Qi are having a staring war. Old Fang keeps opening his mouth and then, closing his mouth dramatically. The woman is the only one who is enjoying this drama.
"Should I tell her?" She bats her eyes coquettishly.
"Leave." The iconic one-word reply laced with abhorrence and rage. I am too familiar with this tone.
"I don"t want to." She lazily stretches her arms like a cat. "You don"t care about me, Little Qi. I had to sleep on the street because of that pest. It"s been so many days since I had a good sleep."
"I will call that pest now if you don"t leave." The black lines on the face of "Little Qi" get darker.
"You are too cruel. It"s better if I show her. It"s faster that way." She puckers her lips.
"Just tell me already." I chime in.
" I am going to call him." He takes out his phone. The woman furrows her delicate brows and stomps her feet on the ground. I wonder who he is calling.
"I am not leaving."
The woman suddenly runs to him. She shoves him away from Old Fang. She bends her waist and plunges in her head in the chest of Old Fang.
My eyes must be playing tricks on me. I need to see a doctor.
My feet move on its own. I rush to her and wrap my arms around her slim waist tightly. I am slammed with the smell of dead mice. I ignore the feeling of touching a slippery cold python. I pull her out. Her head comes out without any difficulty as it has never been in there.
"Let me go, you stinky girl!" The woman screams and wiggles in my arms. Her back feels like a flat block of ice against my chest. I feel gooseb.u.mps all over my body. I have the urge to throw up. I let her waist go and run away from her.
"How come you are not scared? Your father peed his pants when he saw me like that."
"Lady, What the h.e.l.l are you?" I can"t forget that feeling of hugging a snake drenched in p.o.o.p.
"Your reactions are so..." She wraps her arms around herself. "You even felt me up. Don"t tell me that you are into women?"
I s.h.i.+ver when I hear her. The heavens must be really trying my patience. I will never try to save this old man again.
I glance at the old man. He is watching me with horrified eyes. He mumbles something incomprehensible. I remember the awkward scene where her head was inside Old Fang"s chest. It"s a scene straight out of a horror movie. Seeing such things in movies are different than seeing in reality. Normal people shouldn"t be able to do what she did. I forgot to be scared and tried to save that old man before I could think. I don"t feel good about it.
I have already died once. I have accepted the fact that G.o.d exists. If G.o.d exists, other things should exist too.
"What are you?" My voice is low, but she hears me anyway. She lays down on the couch lazily.
"You can see the dead, Aisa...Just like me...." It"s Fang Qi. I don"t see the familiar hate and disgust in Fang Qi"s eyes. Instead, I see pity. He said my name the first time in my both lives and...he doesn"t hate me anymore. I don"t like it anyway. I can deal with hate. I don"t want pity. Pity is worse than hate especially when it is coming from him.
"Have you lost your mind?" I ask him quietly.
The pity in his eyes is replaced instantly with the familiar expression. I think that he realises what he has done. I wonder if he is going to cut his tongue for saying my name.
"It"s up to you whether you believe me or not." He flicks his robe and storms off.
"Aisa, please go home." Old Fang weakly follows his son. I guess that our conversation is over. I didn"t get what I want. I sigh loudly.
"You don"t believe me, right?" The woman is still lying on the couch like she owns the house. She might be as well be. Who knows? Both father and son"s att.i.tude toward her was unusual. I have had too many shocks today. My head is starting to hurt.
"If you are dead, why can you sleep on that couch?"
She submerges into the couch like she is taking a dip in the water. Only her head is showing. She has a proud expression on her face. I don"t know how many laws of physics are broken here.
"Are you really dead?" I think that my brain is really malfunctioning. I won"t be surprised if someone comes and say that I have acute schizophrenia. I have already dismissed the idea of being in a dream because of w.a.n.g Mei"s painful iron kick.
"Yes."