Chapter 3

"... What?!"

Kai sighs as he lets his hair loose from its half bun, scratching the back of his head in frustration. "The gandaruwa ignored me, even when I'm harming it with prayers and mantras. Its sole focus was on you because it noticed your different scent and wanted to make sure. Once it did, it escaped and probably went to tell all the other ghosts, spirits, what have you, in the area to tell them a rare blood appeared, they're now either against each other or working together, who knows, honestly." He recounts, walking over to the kitchenette to pour water for both himself and Irene.

"But I've been here for a year now and I'm just fine?" Irene asks, motioning to herself.

"Well, remember the string of unexplained deaths that have been happening since we started our third semester?" Kai asks as he slides a glass for Irene. She nods, remembering how no one's been charged for any of the murders that took place. "That's when the ghosts started acting up."

Kai walks over to the balcony and lights up a cigarette, leaning his back on the doorframe. "My mentors suspect someone's behind it, a powerful person at that."

"And how... how did your mentors come to that conclusion?" Irene prods, sitting on Kai's sofa.

"Gandaruwas have a specific habitat, that being forests with thick trees, a dark corner of a room, abandoned buildings, and big, luscious trees. Our campus has no places like that but somehow a gandaruwa was able to appear there," Kai explains." That gandaruwa is also not the only case I've encountered, I've encountered at least five other cases after the murders started, which would be about a month and a half now." He adds, taking a hit from his cigarette.

"... And how are your mentors trying to solve this problem? This seems serious." Irene queries but immediately regrets her question seeing Kai's serious face turn soft and melancholic.

"Well, they wanted to put an end to it as soon as they possibly could but... well... whoever caused all of this shit didn't like that, obviously, and sent multiple ambushes. No matter how strong you are, you can also get overwhelmed when faced with too much." Kai says and takes another hit from his cigarette. "They didn't survive an attack sent to them last month. Hurts like a bitch when I need advice but realise they're dead, left me incomplete with my lessons too."

"I'm sorry... I didn't--"

"Hey, I never hinted, you didn't know, so you asked. It's been a month anyway, it still hurts when I think about it, but I know they would much prefer if I don't get stuck in a slump." Kai says, shrugging and turning to face Irene. "And before you ask, no, they're not going to become ghosts or anything, better for them to not become ghosts, really."

"How so? If they were murdered, wouldn't that qualify for them to become a restless spirit or something? I mean, their murderer or murderers are still running free and harming other people as well." Irene asks cautiously, gripping her glass of water in her hands tightly.

"Well, because technically, they don't qualify," Kai answers as if it's the most obvious answer to the question. "I'm not sure how you view life, death, and life after death but humans are given a soul and while it's up to us to try and soothe our souls during life, it's entirely up to other people to soothe it in death."

"I don't quite follow..."

"There are a few common similarities to how these restless spirits are formed. One, they died while still having unfinished businesses, they're usually either murdered or they died by suicide though I've encountered ghosts of people who died because of natural causes, rare cases though. Two, they died while holding a lot, and I mean a fuck ton of resentment, anger, grudges, anything related to that. Three, they weren't given a proper burial or cremation, like no matter what religion they follow, if they're not buried or cremated or whatever they prefer properly according to their beliefs, they'll most usually come back as a restless spirit. And lastly, they were rejected by both life and the afterlife because of how they lived as humans without repenting."

Irene blinks owlishly at Kai's explanation, she has never in her life thought that ghosts are that complex. If she hadn't witnessed that gandaruwa attack firsthand, she might have dismissed him entirely and maybe even laugh directly at his face. Kai sighs seeing that maybe this is too much information for one night, he puts out his cigarette and walks over to his small sofa. "It's a lot to take in for one night, I think it's best for you to rest. Do you want to go back to your homestay now?" He asks.

"Will I be safe if I go back now?" Irene asks, her voice small and nervous.

"I'll give it straight to you, I can't guarantee it if I just let you go home like that," Kai answers bluntly, walking to the cupboard next to his collection of small plants and taking some things out. "I can increase your chances and protect your room with a spell that can last about a month. It'll probably need to be recast again the same time next month, but I can guarantee your safety for this month, but that's only for your room and bathroom."

"Then... if you don't mind... please..." Irene says.

After rummaging through his cupboard, Kai leads Irene out of his apartment and heads to the basement where he parks his motorcycle. He gives Irene a ride back to her homestay, which is about 6 minutes away from his apartment. They arrive at Irene's homestay at about 11.30 p.m., just half an hour before the gates are locked due to the curfew set in place by her homestay.

"Can I enter freely or do we have to sneak around to get in?" Kai asks as he takes off his helm.

"I live in a mixed homestay, you can come on in. Besides, we're not here to do anything, you're just helping me and I'm keeping the door open." Irene answers, rummaging her bag for her room keys and leading Kai up to the second floor.

Even if Irene is the one leading Kai, it almost feels like the other way around. His large hand rests on her shoulder as they both make their way to the last room in the hallway of the second floor, the lights barely illuminating the end of the hallway where Irene's room is located. The grip on Irene's shoulder tightens as they make their way to the end of the hallway, Irene can't see it, she would've scoffed if anyone told her this before, but she feels like she can actually feel something waiting for her at the end of that hallway.

She wants to ask Kai so badly but she's unsure if it'll end up provoking whatever is currently interested in her and make it appear before her to possess her or something, Irene doesn't know, she doesn't want to find out what will happen. "This is my room." She says softly, opening the door with her key to reveal the neatly organised room.

"Well, all I can say is I'm glad both of us decided that I should tag along." Kai mutters to no one in particular as he steps in and pulls Irene in.

Kai begins to do a ritual that Irene can't exactly understand, with him placing small rattan bowls in all corners of her room as well as her bathroom while muttering something so lowly under his breath, it sounds more akin to a whisper. She would ask, but she doesn't want to run the risk of accidentally ruining the ritual in some sort of way.

"Alright, it's done." Kai informs as he approaches Irene. "Those herbs and leaves and whatnot in the rattan bowls serve as both the things to ward off the spirits as well as a sort of reminder. I've never taken on a job to, well, protect someone since I've mostly dealt with sealing off the spirits instead so I may accidentally forget. When the stuff in the rattan bowl starts to wilt, tell me immediately. Just don't miss exactly 30 days for your room to be recast."

Kai takes out his phone and begins taking screenshots of something before giving it to Irene through text. "That's my schedule, though my class for fluid mechanics is not that one, tech lab 6, 9307. I'll give you updates if any lecturers decide to move classes again or if I'm not on campus grounds at the moment." He says and scoots past her to exit the room.

"You sure they can't get into my room?" Irene asks.

"100%, though when the stuff in the rattan bowl start wilting, you'll notice that the spirits will be noticeable outside your room, especially through windows. Don't panic and don't let the fear get to you, it'll make the protection wear off faster." Kai explains, turning around to leave. "I'll see you around, don't hesitate to spam me if it's an emergency!"

Irene watches Kai leave as if the last few hours never happened, well, she would have preferred that it never happened and maybe it didn't and it's all just a dream. But even as she lays in her dimly lit room, ready for bed, she can't help but smell the fragrant contents of the rattan bowls in every corner of the room, she can't help but feel as if something is constantly near her. She really wants to believe nothing happened and all that happened was just a dream since she and Theresa discussed the weird rumour surrounding the murders and Kai just happened go butt in to joke around.

But as the sun starts to rise and the light bleeds into her room, she realises that none of it was a dream as the rattan bowls still sit snuggly in all corners of the room and the tiredness she feels are all too real to be a dream.