Chapter: 3

The trip to Tania's house turned out to be quite far.

Henry thought she lived around the compound where they met this afternoon but she didn't.

'I'm not one of those rich people, Henry. So don't expect this girl to invite you to a big pretty house.'

The station she was going to was far from the station near the complex.

It was only natural that he had seen Tania's face for the first time even though he had been wandering around the complex for quite a while.

"I was going to take my friend," answered Tania when Henry asked why she was around the complex.

"But, well," Tania's face looked sad even as her mouth smiled a little, eyes looking in every direction except Henry.

Henry felt himself to be a man who rarely thought someone looked beautiful or cute.

But this girl is pretty cute.

Henry waited for the continuation but Tania kept her mouth shut as if ending a one-sided conversation.

"But?" Henry provoked when Tania's words stopped just before the desired answer.

"Oh, it's here," Tania immediately got up from her seat and pulled out the white earphones and unplugged them from her ears.

She used it as a trick to make it look like she was talking on the phone instead of talking with an empty seat next to him.

Henry looked around the road they had passed along the way, indeed Tania's home environment was not a luxurious place like the houses in the complex where they met.

Yet, the neighbours looked friendly.

They greet each other with a smile and a simple greeting.

It was different from the people in the complex who were arrogant and could only talk bad about their neighbours.

Oh, believe him, Henry was well aware of that after roaming for a week.

Those people were hypocrites.

Tania continued to talk about her friend, Fania.

One of the friends that she considered as one of her close friends but recently could not be contacted.

Tania heard that Fania had a sweet seventeen party and Tania wasn't invited!

"I feel so betrayed!" she hissed.

So today she wanted to invite Fania to chat and accompany her to the book bazaar, but Fania wasn't home.

Tania then showed a photo of Fania who was enjoying a red velvet cake with other 'friends'.

Tania pouted, clearly hurt by her friend.

"I know I'm an odd girl," Tania mumbled softly, "but at least she could give me a decent reason and not suddenly ghosting me like this."

She ended up telling her classmates how talking with supernatural things rarely ended with something good.

Though their conversation stopped halfway.

Henry's shoulders jumped as they stopped at a small house. Not high, it only consists of the ground floor and one level above it. It was the sky blue barriers that made Henry tremble in fear.

He felt a shiver went down his spine, his chin raised as he tried to find the top of the blue barriers surrounding the house.

It was a freaking magic barrier, a protection barrier!

Henry didn't need anyone to tell him but he knew well that spell could prevent creatures like him from trespassing.

Surrounding the house was a magic spell that would be invisible to humans, but for those of Henry's kind?

The spell could be seen unquestionably, making every hair on his body stand.

The power oozing from the spell was insane.

A hint of electricity twitching, Henry felt he wanted to run in an instant.

Tania reached out to Henry and smiled innocently, liking Henry's reaction when he saw her house.

"Let's see, you're a good ghost. I can help or not," she said with an innocent smile while Henry's face looked very frightened.

He stared at the girl's face intently as he thought about what he should do, don't tell him he had to walk past this shield?!

Henry glared, Tania just replied with a flat face.

Yes, Henry had to get past the shield.

She said it with a straight face!

As if she didn't tell Henry to jump like small mice into a mouse trap!

"Are you insane?!" he choked out, "that barrier will cut me into tiny pieces!"

Just looking at it was terrifying, let alone going through the thick barrier that looked very, very painful.

Unbearable!

The surroundings shouted loud warnings 'DANGEROUS! DON'T TRY TO ENTER!'.

"Oh chill dude," Tania yawned.

"Don't worry too much," she laughed, patting Henry's back lightly.

"These barriers will only feel like a waterfall," Tania sounded playful.

Then her face turned serious even though she was still smiling, her hands were still raised waiting for Henry to accept her invitation.

"Waterfall?" Henry's face looks calmer hearing Tania's parable. Waterfalls sound not so dangerous.

"You've got my permission to enter," she said as she stepped in, one of her legs inside the barrier.

"And as long as you're a good spirit."

Henry regretted it instantly.

His confidence in getting through the barrier was fading as fast.

One thing Henry knows about him, apart from his name, was he wasn't the good spirit Tania was referring to.

Henry shook his head and walked back slowly, he firmly believed he wouldn't be able to get past the barrier now.

"It seems that outside is fine," he said to Tania.

Tania just sighed, walked over and pulled Henry's hand with her small hand making Henry take a step forward.

"Listen here pretty boy," she said seriously, " not after sticking with me."

This close, Henry noticed Tania's brown eyes together with her long and perfectly curled lashes.

"You think your aura and energy hasn't changed?"

"Even if it's less than a day, it will still affect. You have at least been affected a little by my energy that you call dazzling."

The energy Tania had must be affecting Henry's spiritual core as a supernatural being.

Which made the ghost's energy extraordinary, it was a nice meal for hungry dark creatures out here.

Henry gritted his teeth to keep his mouth from gaping in confusion and looking stupid.

It seemed Tania mistakenly thought this ghost was experienced.

No, Henry is as stupid as you think he is.

He had no idea, okay.

Tania slapped her forehead in frustration, "another spirit will try to eat you if you stay away from me without protection."

He knew many spirits were eating each other to strengthen themselves but imagining himself as a target of those predators?

Never.

He was the type of ghost who was neither weak nor strong, he just stood in a corner trying not to be attracted to or attracted to other ghosts.

"But," Henry tried to reason, unable to admit he was afraid of being bounced off or even disappearing completely like dust if he forced his way in.

The barriers stood so high and majestic, strong spiritual power screaming at him to stay back.

As if understanding Henry's reasoning, Tania added, "you will not disappear if you fail, you will only be stuck in the front and have no other choice but to endure when the evil spirit comes to you."

Henry's mouth made an 'O' shape.

"You should tell me sooner! I embarrassed myself!"

Tania should have said that earlier so Henry didn't have to embarrass himself for insisting on staying outside for fear of getting past the barrier.

The girl laughed, waiting on the other side of the barrier.

Henry took a deep breath, clenched his fists and got ready.

It wouldn't hurt if he tried.

The shorter girl waited, stretching her hand out once more.

She was nervous too.

She never brings supernatural beings from outside to her home.

Together they braced themselves, a small test.

When Henry's hand gripped Tania's smaller hand, he felt a very strong tug. A familiar one like the one he felt on his pinky before but this time a lot stronger.

He felt as if someone had splashed his face and body with buckets of cold water when he passed the barriers.

Surprisingly the cold water was at the right temperature limit.

It was refreshing for Henry, not a piercing cold type.

He felt comfortable as if he had just come out of the bathroom with a clean and fresh body.

The feeling was similar to when you opened a new page, wearing fresh laundry.

"You can," Henry opened his eyes which he just realized were closed tightly.

Tania's sweet smile made his cheeks feel hot and his heartbeat fast, this strange sensation again.

She was proud of him.

"You did it!" she jumped a little, excited and happy for him.

It meant Henry was a good supernatural being, he wasn't an evil creature.

"Come on in," said Tania, who subconsciously took Henry's hand. Henry chose to let it be because Tania's warm grip made him feel calm and safe.

He looked back once again, watching the thick barriers didn't waver and stood tall.

Tania was indeed a weird human.

She had a house protected by a magic spell.

Could it be her whole family is a family who practised witchcraft- I-

Stepping into the house, they were greeted by a sharp gaze from a middle-aged man who was sitting while sharpening a kitchen knife at the living room table.

On his left upper arm was a tattoo with foreign Asian characters, from a distance that was too far, it was difficult for Henry to see clearly.

"Dad, I'm home."

'Oh, her father,' Henry thought innocently and casually walked over to the table when Tania let go of his hand.

The girl was about to stop him but he already walked to the table.

Judging by the face, with a firm chin line and sharp eyes (that must be admitted were much sharper than Henry's own eyes).

His father must have been quite handsome when he was young because even though he had been eroded by old age, Tania's father was still having this quite cool aura in Henry's opinion.

If someone said Henry's gaze seemed sexy and naughty, then Tania's father seemed like a look that would kill you right now.

"Who is he?" Tania's father asked.

Henry's eyes widened when their eyes met head-on, he jerked back abruptly.

Tania's father looked Henry straight in the eye and his hands stopped sharpening the kitchen knife.

His brows knit together, he was making his face look even deadlier.

He could also see ghosts like Tania!!

Of course...

Pulling a stool from under the table, Tania looked a little apologetic.

Ignoring Henry's gaze that had been asking for an explanation, she sat before her father.

"His name is Henry, father," she clasped her hand before her chest.

"And he needs help," replied Tania, making a pleading face.

"Pleaseeeee"

Come to think of it, that's right, there's no way Tania got the ability on her own.

There must be relatives who have a sixth sense too.

Tania's father was silent hearing the name, he sighed.

"How many times I tell you not to pick up strays," Henry felt offended.

Tania's father seemed scary though so he chose to bite his tongue instead of replying.

"Hmm," the older man hummed.

He seemed displeased, his daughter had to learn not to pick up every spirit that needed help.

Either he should praise his daughter who brought home a handsome man who was sadly not a human or feel proud of his youngest children's kindness to help a spirit.

"What's the problem with you?" his tone became softer and his face relaxed as his hands started to sharpen the knife again.

The duality in expressing his expressions was amazing; thought Henry secretly.

"I don't know," said Henry, who chose to sit beside Tania, not wanting to be too close to Tania's father.

Being able to answer the question of the human who looked like he was going to kill him in a casual tone made Henry quite proud of himself.

"If you don't know how can we help?" Tania's father spoke without looking at Henry in the slightest.

Make sense.

It was the reason he was here.

To find an answer.

"I don't remember anything," at that, the older man put down the knife.

"All I know is I'm a ghost, but yet I couldn't reincarnate."

"I even met them who were supposed to deliver souls to the afterlife but all they said was I'm not in their list."

"I remembered meeting a little girl, she was the one who led me to a neighbourhood where I met Tania."

"A little girl?"

Henry nodded, "she said I could find an answer if I follow my heart."

He never knew who the little girl was until now, "she was around seven years old maybe?'

"Then you met my daughter?"

Henry nodded once again, "it was as if she knew I would meet Tania, right on that alleyway."

He let out a long sigh, he was frowning as he continued, "do you believe in gods, boy?"

"Is it a coincidence?"

gods?

"It said, every human would at least be touched by them once in a lifetime."

"Do you think the little girl who led me to meet your daughter is a deity, Sir?" Henry wondered why he could easily say his thoughts in front of this middle-aged man.

Was it because he had not spoken to humans in a long time and was too lonely that he became very active in talking to Tania before and now with his father?

Or do they have special abilities that make creatures like him say anything they ask?

"I don't know," the older man said as he moved the things on the table.

"Come here," he ordered.

Henry immediately got up from his seat after looking at Tania and saw the girl nodded.

He walked stiffly and then stopped in front of Tania's father.

When he looked up to look at Henry, everything changed.

Another impossible thing happened.

Henry's whole body stiffened as if someone had turned him into a boulder, his shoes suddenly felt so tight and his clothes too thick that he kept feeling hot and sweaty all over.

His body shuddered, his vision became blurry for a second.

He saw Tania's body become rigid for a second at the corner of his eyesight.

Previously the man looked very normal like an ordinary human, nothing special at all.

Now, the man's surroundings shone much brighter than Tania.

It was similar to a sun, so bright and blinding.

Uncomfortable unlike Tania's bright light.

The older man's spiritual energy was intimidating.

It was like catching fire, a huge volcano ready to erupt and Henry had no place to hide.

Fiery spiritual energy that was ready to melt him into pieces, into nothing but dust.

Henry felt the man was gazing at the deepest side of him, the side that he didn't realize was there.

Tania's father held Henry's shoulder with one hand and his other hand was calculating something.

Henry held his breath, he felt he was being judged inside-out.

The tug inside his chest made him freeze.

Several seconds turned into minutes but he felt like it had been an hour.

The older man let out a confused sound before letting go of Henry's shoulder, he then got up and closed his eyes for a moment.

He nodded to himself as he rubbed his chin and hummed to himself.

"Okay," he said, Tania's father's mouth lifted slightly almost to a smile.

The older man then whistled, a gush of wind suddenly blew and both of him and Tania closed their eyes for a moment.

A blast of spiritual energy, the breeze caressed their head and they heard a burst of small laughter.

This voice!

Henry opened his eyes and he saw a glimpse of the little girl he met before.

Tania's father's aura turned warm and not intimidating anymore.

"She is indeed a deity," Tania's father said with a low voice, "she left a protection spell on you, boy."

Henry was utterly confused, "pardon?"

"Some said they also had favourite children," the older man sat back, "it seems you're her favourite."

"The funny rule is gods couldn't use their hand directly to help mortals," the older man continued.

"Sometimes they would ask or lead their lamb to seek help from mortals who were blessed by special powers by deities."

Henry was dumbfounded, "I'm afraid I must say I don't understand anything, Sir."

"You're not dead, son," Henry's mouth opened in shock and his eyes widened and immediately looked at Tania whose face also looked no less shocked.

"You're still alive, and being protected by gods who led you to meet my daughter."

To seek help.

"It must be something related to your condition, for not being accepted by heaven nor hell."

"It's because you're still alive, somewhere."

"But yet, your spirit is roaming around outside your body."