I'M NOT A GHOST

Brian mumbled as he stared intently at the fallen cup shifting in an irregular direction. It looked like someone was toying with it.

Brian closed his eyes and fell silent. He seemed to have had enough of what he had expected since he started there. There were other occupants in the room and this was not a very nice welcome. Brian was annoyed.

"Why don't you just come out and show yourself?! The methods you use are too childish!" said Brian with a bold snarl.

Moments after Brian snapped, there was no sound or movement. It was a little relief when his yells were useful and stopped 'them' who had disturbed his composure.

"You guys spoil my mood! You guys are not fun at all! I just want to sleep!" Brian grumbled as he got up as turned off the television.

Brian decided to sleep. Feels lazy to respond to 'them' who try to interact with him to annoy him like that.

Brian closed his eyes and slowly his breathing began to steady. That meant Brian was already late in his deep sleep.

***

'Bro, look at me, please! I'm beautiful, right? You don't want to tease me, huh! Kik Kik Kik Kik…' said a strange-looking woman that Brian had already marked was not a human.

'Auzubillahiminassyaitonirrazim!' Brian said with goosebumps.

'Who said you were beautiful? Is the person still alive?' continued Brian mockingly.

'She's a ghost, right? It's dead. Stupid me!' Brian cursed to himself.

'Kik Kik Kik Kik. Why is that, anyway? Earlier, weren't you the one who kept looking at me? Kik Kik Kik!' the woman kept giggling at Brian.

'Geez, you're too confident, you know! When would I like to see an ugly woman like you?!' Brian replied annoyed. But, Brian still trying to remember the odd thing.

It turned out that the old granny, who had an ugly face, actually changed her expression to be more sinister, just like the look on the scary woman's face at the train station this afternoon.

'Oh God, Old Granny! You're an old woman, why are you still bothering people like this? Aren't you ashamed of your only two teeth, huh? Geez!' Brian squeaked mockingly as the old woman's sinister grin was deliberately shown to him.

Brian knew there was no point in continuing the debate. Brian chose to run away rather than accept the old granny's red eyes that seemed to be about to pop out of his eye sockets.

Brian ran, kept running forward to nowhere. For him, the most important thing was to just run, because the old grandmother, whose laughter was like Wiro Sableng's grandmother, kept chasing after him. Until Brian was exhausted and stopped running.

'All right, stop! Just stay there, Grandma! I'm tired!' Brian said breathlessly. But the terrible old granny kept laughing at him.

'Why are you laughing all the time?! Were you not happy in your childhood, huh?!' Brian protested the granny's sinister laugh.

'Now just like this! Who did you hit? Me!'

'Who fell in pain? Me!'

'Who should be angry? Me too, right? So why do you keep bothering me, huh?! Just piss people off!'

Brian couldn't bear to nag the ugly granny anymore.

'Don't follow me all the time! I don't want to be followed by an ugly woman like you! Go there, go all the way!'

Brian kept trying to get rid of the old granny who kept laughing. Even though he had yelled at her repeatedly, the ugly old granny only make her laugh louder and approached Brian.

'Go away! Don't come near me! Go away!'

Brian's voice was getting louder and louder, yelling at the ghost of the old granny, until his ears felt his noise and forced him to open the eyes that had been wanting to open immediately.

"Aaaaghr!!!" Brian reflexively covered his face with a bolster that was originally clamped by his feet.

"You crazy ugly old granny! Did she fall in love with me, to the point where he had to follow me in my sleep?! Astagfirullahalazim… Oh Allah, why does it feel like this, anyway? I'm just about to learn to be independent," Brian grumbled exhaustedly,

"Mommy, I miss you..." he continued whining calling his mother.

In the bolster, Brian tried to get up the courage to open the bolster that covered his face. Slowly but surely, Brian lifted his face to look around his room and…

"Booo!!!' The woman's face and voice startled Brian again.

"Aaargh!!!" shouted Brian in surprise.

Brian was startled again, but this time he didn't close his eyes again. Now Brian opened his eyes wide to look at the woman's face. Why? Because the old granny's face wasn't even as scary as before.

The one in front of Brian now looked very different. The shape or body of a woman currently looks like a solid shadow and is faded in color.

Anyone who often sees horror films can imagine what a woman's body looks like.

And that made Brian not cringe and be happy instead. Even though the woman showed a straight face without a smile, her face seemed pretty, with her pale and faded skin.

Very different from her beautiful face when they first met, it seemed flashy and wow, far from the soft impression it is now.

"Are you satisfied with looking at me? Aren't you scared? Wow, you are brave too, huh!"

The woman's words woke Brian from his daydream. But Brian was still silent and didn't know how to respond to the woman.

Brian blinked many times to make sure what was in front of him was real or not. And it seems real.

Brian immediately got up and headed for the bathroom, washing his face to get rid of the wrinkled look he had on him.

Just imagine, the gift of moving to a new place is extraordinary. Brian received a surprise from a ghost. Hiiiihh!

Performing ablution allows Brian to think more clearly and accept the fact that this room is haunted.

Brian came out of the bathroom and still found the ghost of the woman sitting on the sofa, with a straight face that was also looking at Brian.

Brian is still lazy to respond. But he didn't know how to react to what he saw.

Brian's eyes looked at the clock on the wall which showed it was already early morning, so Brian felt it was appropriate to perform the night prayer at the same time making the ghost of the woman hot.

But after finishing the prayer, Brian was a bit surprised. In general, ghosts will stay away from the heat when they are near people who are worshiping. At least that's what Brian knew long ago.

'Is my worship so bad that the ghost doesn't overheat and leaves? But I'm not an obedient person, anyway!' Brian murmured admitting that he was a human who was still full of mistakes.

'But I'm even more curious about her!' he continued muttering to himself.

Brian sat quietly on his bed. He watched the woman he thought was a ghost, and it looked like she was waiting for Brian to say something to him.

"Just straight to the point. I don't know what your problem is. But I'm already here and don't want to be bothered by anyone. So don't bother me because our realms are already different!" said Brian firmly.

"I also want to shorten this matter. I want you out of here. This is my room, so please understand and leave!" said the strange woman and sounded like she didn't want to lose.

'Just like that?' Brian cursed in his heart.

"Didn't you say something wrong, huh? I've lost a lot because of you, so why should I go? You just go!" Brian grumbled, "Are you not aware that the world you live in is different? You're dead. You're a ghost, you know?" he continued.

"Stop! Don't try to lecture me about this world and that. You are a newcomer here, you are staying at my house! To understand and go the right way!" the woman scolded Brian back, "One more thing, I'm not a ghost!" she insisted.

'What? Why did he even scold me? But strangely, why didn't her face turn into that of a scary old granny like before? What a freak!' Brian grumbled in his heart.

"If you're not a ghost then what are you? You're not human either! No human can break through walls, you know?!"

Brian was already so irritated that he was provoked by the strange woman in front of him. But strangely, instead of answering, the woman was silent.

"I have no obligation to tell you who I am. Why is it so hard for you to leave when I've made my sentences easier without being rude?" the woman grumbled to Brian.

"Oh, I see? I'm also under no obligation to do as you say! This house is already rented, so I will stay and do whatever I want! I want to sleep. Don't come into my dreams again!" Brian replied in annoyance.

"You think I'm not so busy that I have to go into your dreams? No way!" the woman grumbled again, "I don't want to know, tomorrow morning you have to leave here!" she continued.

"I do not care! You can't order me!" Brian replied annoyed.