pale boy
Make A Shadow
You were seven when you met Taemin for the first time.
It was a pure coincidence. A combination of various events that led you to lifting your chin, squinting your eyes at nothing particular in the room and saying, "Hello."
It all began with Mr Waffles. Mr Waffles was fat, brown and had a white spot on his tail. He was also a cat, obviously. He did that thing any other cat would do, which was basically staring at something non-stop. It seemed as if he's able to see things that are invisible for human eye. You ask your mom about it one day while munching on cereals and she says, "Well, I've heard that cats can see ghosts. Maybe there's one in this room now."
You simply hummed at that and decided to check that theory later on. You still pressed with questions, though.
"Why? Are cats special?"
"I don't know. They have many souls, maybe that's why. If I would see a ghost, I would probably start screaming, throwing things at him and eventually faint," your mom said, imagining the whole situation in her had. She suddenly shivered and regretted starting the topic.
"How can I see a ghost?" you asked. You were playing with your cereals and half of the milk was already spilled on the table. Your mom heaves a sigh, turning towards you with a ready answer, only then she notices the mess you've made and pulled at her hair. She always did it when she got angry.
"Eun, sweetheart," she grumbled, going to pick up a cloth to clean after you.
"Mom, how do I see a ghost?" you repeated, demanding an answer.
"Ghosts only like girls who don't spill their milk or play with their food, so he or she wouldn't like you anyway," she scolded. Your heart fell and your eyes got watery.
"Oh no," you said, looking down at your knees. You leaned on your mom's shoulder and she sighed, patting your head.
"But if you will learn how to... not spill the milk, then maybe you will be able to see them," she admitted. "Grandma once told me that you have to greet them when looking straight at them."
You giggled.
"That's silly, you can't look at them!"
"That's the point. You have to find a way around it," the young woman took away your bowl with cereals and you jumped from the chair. You started to look for your cat, but he wondered off somewhere again.
"Mr. Waffles!" you called, but didn't expect an answer. That cat never, ever listened to you. With a sad face, you went to your room to get your backpack.
*
"I have to do some shopping," your mom said, giving you the keys. "Close the door and don't open to anyone, I will be back soon," she added. You simply nodded and exited the car. "Bye honey," your mom said and you waved to her. Even though you were only seven, she was out a lot. She was working until night usually. You were glad that she was able to drive you school in the mornings.
You went to the house and closed the door as she said. You threw your shoes somewhere by the wall and left your thin jacket in the corridor. Then, you collapsed on the floor in the living room with a loud sigh.
You looked at the ceiling.
Most of the people think that children don't have any problems or troubles. Most of the time they're right. But saying that you have no problems would be a lie. You raised your hands up and stared at them for a minute or two. You had two big bruises on both of your wrists. Your heart and face fell and eyes began to water.
"Stupid Minho," you mumbled, tear falling down your cheek. You embraced yourself with your own arms and rolled to the back. The floor was pretty comfortable.
But then your heard your cat meowing and you turned your head slightly. Mr Waffles came to you and your nose. You giggled and him behind the ear.
"Good boy," you said. "I'm glad that you're not like Minho or other boys because I wouldn't like you."
Your cat purred and closed his eyes as you were petting him. But he suddenly opened them and looked up at something. You frowned and looked at the ceiling, still laying on the floor.
You remembered your mom's story about the ghost and about greeting him. Your eyes widened and you stared in the air with your heart beating rapidly. You glanced at your cat. He was still observing something which seemed to be above you. His tail was twirling weirdly.
You swallowed hard and looked straight up.
"Hello," you said, not taking your eyes off the spot.
And maybe normally nothing would happen. Normally no one would be as brave or, as adults would see this, as stupid as you to talk to the air. You didn't know if your mom's words were true and to be honest, you didn't fully believe it. But you hoped that what she said was true.
And suddenly, you saw a pair of big, black, misty eyes looking straight at you. You saw a boy with almost white hair, with see-through, pale skin and a bored expression. He blinked at you a few times, frowning a little.
Your eyes widened and you felt a wave of fear. Out of shock, your body shivered and convulsed in quite a funny way (if you would look at it from beside) and you shouted suddenly. You shot up and ran towards the wall, frightened. You were imagining the weird boy chasing you and pulling out his white hands to catch you, but nothing like this happened and when you turned, he was standing in the middle of the living room, your cat beside him, a shocked expression on his face.
You have probably never seen anybody making such big eyes as he was making in that moment.
"You," he said. His voice was normal. You got even more shocked. "You can see me?!" he asked, pointing at himself. Your head spinned and you fell on the floor, opening your mouth widely.
You felt very sick, but in the same time, you wanted to jump and shout with happiness. You only stared at him and he stared back, but soon doubted the fact that you can see him and frowned. He came closer to you. He was walking like a normal human being, but the carpet under his feet didn't move like it normally would. He didn't have a shadow, either. He stopped in front of you, frowning.
"You can see me, Eun Ri?" he asked again.
"How do you know my name!" you gasped out. It didn't exactly sound like a question.
The blonde boy opened his eyes widely and a big smile appeared on his face suddenly. He giggled like a little kid, covering his mouth a bit. He took a step back and looked around shyly. It looked as he can't believe what he's seeing, and you thought that you were shocked.
"How do you know my name?" you repeated. But in the same second, you heard the front door opening.
You glanced at Taemin and then back at the door. The boy raised his hands in a protective manner. "Wait, no!"
But you already took off towards your mom, ready to throw yourself at her and cry or scream, you weren't sure which one yet.
"Wait, Eun Ri!" the boy shouted to you, but you were already holding your mom's hand and jumping up and down. Your mom couldn't keep her balance and almost fell on you.
"Eun, calm down, I have groceries!" she shouted, lightly slapping your little head.
"Mom mom mom mom mom mom!" you chanted.
"Eun Ri, no, don't tell her! She will get scared! She will get a heart attack!" the boy stood behind your mom and waved his hands crazily. You looked at him and stopped jumping. Finally, your mom was able to take off her shoes and put the groceries down.
"Gosh, Eun," she said, getting away from your strong grip. She took the groceries and passed you without a word, not noticing anything. You looked at the ghost with curiosity, a bit lost.
"She can't hear you at all?" you asked.
"Of course not, dummy," the boy said, frowning. You pouted.
"Let's introduce you to her," you said, smiling.
"I don't think that it's a good idea, Eun Ri," the boy said. He bend down to see you clearly. He had pretty eyes and plump lips. His skin was almost see-through, you could see the outline of furniture behind him. But his eyes were very clear. He had fluffy hair and was wearing a striped white sweater and jeans.
"You look like a bleached person," you noted. He blinked a few times and laughed. He seemed quite comfortable. He looked happy too. And very relieved.
"Eun Ri, who are you talking to?" your mom asked from the kitchen. You startled a little at her voice, then tou looked back at the boy.
"What's your name?" you whispered.
"Taemin," he answered shyly. You giggled.
You ran to the kitchen. He slowly followed you.
"Are you going back to work today?" you asked your mom.
"Yes honey, I have to," she answered. "I will make you a delicious dinner," she added with regret in her voice.
You nodded. You looked at Taemin. He was observing you very carefully, examining you. You grinned at him and at first he didn't react, but then he realized that you smiled at him and chuckled.
You wanted to ask him so many things, but you decided to wait until your mom will go to work. You wanted to spend as much time with her as you could. You started talking with her and the boy was sitting by the table in the kitchen, listening to you. He seemed used to it and he even laughed at your mom's lame jokes.
"Okay, now it only has to boil for a few minutes," your mom said, mixing the meat and dressing in the pan together.
After the rice boiled and the meat was ready, you sat to eat together on the couch. You watched some cheesy drama in the TV. Taemin was sitting by the table all the time and observed everything around him. He was sometimes forgetting that you could see him and he would space out or stare at you without a single blink.
Your mom went to work soon after. You closed the door and your heel. Taemin was standing on the stairs, holding the railing with one hand, the other flat against the opposite wall. He hovered above the steps, his legs dangling in the air. You ran to him.
"Can you fly?" you asked.
"No," Taemin answered, jumping from the stairs to you.
"Do you breathe?" you asked.
"Of course not," he answered.
"Why are you a ghost? Did you die?"
"Yes, I did," he nodded.
"Then why didn't you go to heaven? Are there any ghosts beside you here? Have you ever meet any ghost beside you?"
"I don't know," he said evasively, looking to the side. You pouted.
"You're not going to tell me?" you asked.
Taemin looked you in the eyes.
"I can't answer you these questions, so you shouldn't ask anymore. Okay?" he said and smiled.
You blinked a few times. You were a good child. Your mom raised you the way that you always listened to the older people. At first you were hesitant about his order, but he asked you nicely.
"Is that your secret?" you asked.
"Yes it is," he answered simply.
You nodded.
"Then I won't ask," you sighed. Taemin laughed.
And that was it.
I finally added the first chapter! It's really short and really boring, but it had to start somehow, right?
Thank you all so much for your comments and for subscribing even though there was no chapter yet. I'm also thankful for your patience and I hope that I didn't disappoint you. Hopefully the second chapter will be added today as well, but it will be much longer.
Please comment and let me know what you think this far! ♥
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