Her whole body was stiff, and it felt like a thousand tons of weight pressed down on her eyes. As fragments of the previous day slowly returned to her mind, she remembered how much she had cried—and how she'd leaned against Jackie's shoulder. What had she done?
Forcing her eyes open, she saw that she and Jackie were lying on the floor, wrapped around each other.
She jumped up with a scream, startling Jackie awake.
"What happened?" Jackie asked groggily.
"Why are we sleeping here?"
"All this drama just for that? You fell asleep on my shoulder last night, and I didn't want to move you. So I guess we passed out here. Don't you remember?"
"Was there something I was supposed to remember?"
An amused smirk crossed Jackie's face. "So you don't remember. Nope, nothing happened," she said, grinning mischievously.
Aera wasn't drunk, so why couldn't she remember?
"Then why are you grinning like that if nothing happened?"
Instead of answering, Jackie grabbed her shoulders and gently pushed her toward the bathroom. "Relax, champ. Nothing happened. Go wash the gunk out of your eyes."
Instinctively, Aera touched her face. What luck she had—being in love with someone who saw her in every state imaginable. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Pouting, she ran to the bathroom.
One look in the mirror and her mood worsened. Her face was swollen from all the crying last night. Of course this would happen to her. She spent ten to fifteen minutes stalling before leaving the bathroom.
Sounds came from the kitchen—Jackie was cooking. When she saw Aera, she smiled.
"I'm making a proper breakfast to make you feel better. You looked so down yesterday. How are you now?"
"I'm fine."
She wasn't. Memories of her mother flooded back. Maybe she'd been loved as a child—her grandmother used to say so—but ever since her mother decided she was insane, all Aera had seen in her eyes was hatred. Once, her mother even blamed Aera for ruining her marriage. Maybe she was right. Both parents had remarried and seemed happier without her. Her father disappeared overseas, and her mother only acknowledged her when necessary. Aera had endured it for years, but the pain never dulled. Her eyes began to well up again, so she changed the subject.
"Why are you making breakfast?"
"I miss eating. I can't anymore, so you have to eat for me. Cooking always helped me clear my head. And you should feel honored—this is the first time I've ever cooked for someone."
A smile spread across Aera's face despite herself. Who wouldn't enjoy this? She sat at the table and watched Jackie prepare the meal. She could've stared forever. Eventually, Jackie set the food in front of her, pulling Aera back to reality.
"Taste it. Tell me if you like it."
Aera took a spoonful of soup. It was possibly the best thing she had ever eaten.
"This is amazing."
Jackie smiled with satisfaction. "We really need to go grocery shopping. No wonder your skin's so bad, eating like you do."
Aera almost choked. She reached for her face. Was her skin really that bad? She was only twenty!
"There's nothing wrong with my skin."
"After breakfast, get ready. We're going shopping."
"But you can't go out... right, I forgot—you're not like other ghosts."
After eating, Jackie dragged her out of the house to a mall. They wandered through fancy cosmetics stores. Aera argued with Jackie the whole way, and since no one else could see Jackie, people thought Aera was a lunatic talking to herself. Jackie seemed to notice and pulled her into a fitting room.
"Take out your earbuds and put them in. That way people will think you're on a call. And don't look at me while talking—look at the displays."
Genius. Why hadn't she thought of that before? After buying more cosmetics than she cared to see the receipts for, they moved on to grocery shopping. Unfortunately, the market was on the mall's basement level. On the stairs, Aera tugged Jackie's arm.
"I don't want to go there. Let's find another store."
Jackie didn't understand her panic and tried to pull her along.
"I can't go in there." The memories of the other day surfaced, and her fear intensified. "There's no sunlight in there. The spirits could bother me."
Jackie immediately took her hand. "They won't come near you while I'm with you."
Her voice was reassuring, but Jackie couldn't stay with her forever. Still, something inside told Aera to just live in the moment, for once. So she decided to listen. She held Jackie's hand tightly.
...
When they returned home, Aera was exhausted—but oddly content. She collapsed on the couch, planning to nap without even eating. But Jackie had other plans.
"Take a shower. I'll make dinner. After that, I'll show you how to use your new creams."
In the books she'd read, mothers cared for their daughters like this. She had to stop herself from saying, "Okay, Mom." These feelings were foreign. Normally she might have resisted, but after such a miserable day followed by a surprisingly normal one, she decided to comply. She started a good playlist and headed to the shower.
As she shampooed her hair, singing along to the music, Jackie's sudden voice startled her, causing her to slip and fall.
"You can sing?!"
Why was he in here? Had he no shame?
"What are you doing in here?! Get out!"
Eyes shut from the soap, she fumbled for a towel. This was mortifying.
Jackie's voice cracked in panic. "Sorry! I didn't realize—I didn't see anything!" He tossed a towel her way and vanished.
Mortified, she quickly rinsed off and stepped out. She tiptoed toward her room, only for Jackie to intercept her.
"About what just happened—sorry. Let's pretend it didn't. Come eat."
How could she forget something that had just happened?! Head down, she avoided eye contact and sat at the table. Jackie sat across from her. He was way too relaxed.
"You really can't sing?"
"I can't," she muttered.
"Are you joking? I heard you. You're amazing. You should audition."
She sighed deeply. "That might sound normal to you. But no one wants to see a ghost-seeing freak on stage."
"But spirits can't get near you when I'm around."
"Exactly. When you're around. But when you return to your body, I'll be alone again. Only now, I'll be a nationally known weirdo. They won't leave me alone even in this house. So no—I don't want to talk about it."
"Alright, fair enough. Then let's go to Lotus Company tomorrow. I know the head of security there. He's very kind. Maybe he can help you get a job."
She nodded without speaking. That sounded reasonable, at least. After they cleared the dishes, they sat on the couch.
"First impressions matter at job interviews. You need to take care of yourself. Once your skin starts glowing, your mood will improve too."
Jackie stood over her, making sure she used each skincare product in the right order. Aera already knew she wouldn't remember a thing by tomorrow.
After nearly an hour of skincare, she finally made it to bed. She was exhausted. She needed rest for tomorrow. As soon as her head hit the pillow, she fell asleep.