Kris’ eyes opened for what seemed like the first time in days.  He sat up, confused as to why he was lying on the floor.  Glancing around, he realized that he was in the room that he and his love, Zitao, had shared.  The bed had not been made and there were clothes scattered on the floor.  Based on the darkening blue sky outside the window, it was getting late.  Lifting his self up from off the floor, he called out to Zitao but there was no answer. “Tao!” he called out again, “Zitao!” Still no reply. He quickly checked the bathroom to see if he could be in there but no luck.
                “Tao!” he yelled again, becoming worried. Leaving the room, he stopped at the top of the stairs, startled by what he saw. “What the…” he mumbled under his breath. Downstairs there was a room full of people, dressed in black and white evening attire. “What’s going on?” Scanning the room for faces, he realized that they were all familiar. All of their friends were there. Running downstairs, he dodged through the crowd looking for Tao. Unable to find him, he stopped to ask if someone had seen him.
He went up to his good friend Jongin who was talking to Sehun. Both were close friends of his.                                                
                “Jongin! Sehun! Have you seen Tao anywhere? What is all this?”
They continued their conversation.                                                                                                                                        
                “Helloooo? Excuse me!” Kris furrowed his brows and waved his hand in their faces. “I know you hear me!”                                                                               
                “It , you know? Someone as strong as him…gone. Wouldn’t have expected it.” Jongin said. Sehun smiled small with sad eyes and nodded in agreement.                                                                                                    
                “Guys…come on…” Kris sighed. “This isn’t funny.” He reached out to grab onto Sehun’s shoulder- but to his surprise his hand slipped through him. “W-what…? How?” Trying again to touch his shoulder, he failed.
A loud laugh behind him caught his attention. Kris spun around to see a man dressed in all white seemingly starring and walking towards him.                                        
                 “It’s no use.” The man said. His hair was curly and dark brown with a red tint. He stopped in front of Kris. “No one can see you.” Confusing Kris even further, he said his name. “Kris, don’t you see what’s going on here?”                  
                 “How do you know my name? Who are you? What’s going on?” Kris became frustrated. No one seemed to be listening to him. The man smiled, flashing his pearly white teeth.                                                                       
                 “They call me Suho, the guardian.”                                                                                                                                         
                 “Are you the only one who-“                                                                                                                                                      
                 “Sees you? Hears you? Yes.” Suho cut him off. “And if you’re wondering- no, this is not a dream.” He continued smiling with both his mouth and eyes. Kris swallowed hard and tried to clear his head but all he could do was think about getting to Tao.                            
               “Where’s-”
               “Tao?” he cut Kris off again and chuckled softly.
In the distance, the sound of clinging glass caught everyone’s attention. At the top of the staircase, appeared Tao. His eyes were slightly red and puffy. His skin was pale.
                “…Tao.” Kris whispered.
Tao cleared his throat and began, “First, I would like to thank you all for coming.” His voice was low and barely audible- like a loud whisper. “I truly appreciate each and every one of you guys’ support. You all were such good friends of his…and I…I…” Tao began to choke on his words and tears started to form. “I don’t think…that I can even find…the right…words.”
The built up tears finally fell. “I’m sorry.” He managed to spit out. His two friends, Jonghyun and Kibum raced up the stairs to be at his side.                                                                                                                                                              
“Tao!” Kris screamed and started forward but Suho stopped him. He looked back sulking and nodded as Suho shook his head no.
                “Excuse us.” Jonghyun asked everyone as he guided Tao into another room.                                                     
                “Everyone, please. Thank you for coming. I think it’s about time that we wrap things up for tonight.” Kibum announced and the sound of peoples chatter filled the room and the shuffling of everyone’s feet covered it. As the all filed out, Kris stared hopelessly. Suho stared at him and a frown formed on his small face.                                                                                                                                                                            
                “Do you understand now Kris?”                                                                                                                                               
Kris seemed to be lost in a trance, staring blankly into space but he was well aware that he was being spoken to. He nodded and looked at him.                                                                                                                                        
                “H-how…did I…?”                                                                                                                                                                            
                “You had an overdose.”
Kris watched as Kibum said goodnight to the last person at the door and headed back upstairs. He slumped down to the floor with his knees up, resting his arms on them.
                “Overdose?”                                                
                “Yes. You were taking medicine for some of your heart problems. Remember?” He now stood over Kris. “Your doctor gave you too high of a dosage.”
Kris sat still for a few quiet moments, thinking.                                                                                                                                 
                “Why…? Why am I still here? Shouldn’t I cross over or something?” He looked up to see him once again, smiling.                                                 
                “Kris. Because we believe that since it wasn’t your time to go yet, we’ll give you some extra time.”                                                                                                                                                                                               
Kris sprang up.                                                                                                                                                                                                 
                “How much time?”                                                                                                                                                                 
                “Whenever we find that the time is right. You will be able to tell when the time is near.”                                       
                “But I want to be able to talk to him. Can I?”                                                                                                                       
                “That’s something that you yourself will have to work on. I cannot help you with that.”
The door upstairs opened and out came Kibum, Jonghyun and Tao down the stairs.                                                       
                “Are you sure that you don’t want us to stay for the night?” Kibum asked, hand on the knob to the front door.
Tao smiled and slightly nodded. “I’ll be fine. Trust me.”                                                                                                                 
                “Well, you know you can always call.” Jonghyun said, as Kibum pulled open the door.                                          
                “We’re always here for you.” He added.                                                                                                                                          
                “Thank you, guys. You two are the best.” Tao hugged them both, said goodnight and locked the door behind them. He stood there for a minute or two and the smile vanished. He turned to lean his back against the door and buried his face in his hands and wept.                                                  
                “Tao!” Kris shouted as he ran towards him. “Tao please! I’m right here!” He reached out towards him but Tao walked through him, causing Kris to deform and break into a million ghostly pieces for a brief second, until his particles reformed. His eyes were wet with tears as he watched Tao run up the stairs and slam the door behind him. Kris gripped his fist into a tight ball.                                                                                               
                “I’ll do whatever it takes.” He stared angrily at the door upstairs.                                                                                       
                “That’s the attitude! Now, before I go, I will tell you this: I will be checking up on you. Also, there will be someone here to watch you.”                                                                                                                                                          
                “Can he help me?”                                                                                                                                                                         
                “Yes. He will be of great help to you. I promise. But I must go now. I will check up on you later. Behave yourself.” Suho waved and then disappeared into thin air. Kris headed upstairs to find Tao sulking on the bed- his face soaked with tears. Kris walked over to his bedside.                                                                               
                “Tao…"he whispered. He started to reach for him and hesitated with his hand in the midair.
                “Tao…wait a little longer, okay?”