YVETTE

"The last time I've had that experience? I guess I would never know anymore." she stared at the blue piercing eyes staring straight at her.

"Sometimes, I could no longer separate them from the real human being. They're slowly immersing themselves in the world of the living. I can't separate them anymore. Some of them follow me on my own property. In my workplace. Some of them have been very good at adapting to the people around them. They can't seem to move on."

Those blue piercing eyes that met her stare grew a little cold. He sighed and relaxed on the chair's back. He swallowed as he saw how her hazel eyes met his.

Her auburn hair is tuck at the side while some of the curls were too stubborn to comply.

"Has any of them tried to hurt you?"

She stared back at him. It took her some time to answer.

From her view, there was that figure again. The silhouette of a woman hiding in the bookshelves. Her hair that's reaching her waist was down hiding her entire face.

She's seen her ever since she started seeing him for her therapy. But she didn't want to tell him knowing how he would react.

Her thoughts searched the depths of her mind. She was trying to recall if any of them has tried hurting her.

She gasped for some air as something heavy was blocking her airways. She opened her eyes as hard as she could to see what it was.

It's hurting her, if she don't do anything, she'll run out of air and may die.

In her blurred vision, she saw a man's face filled with blood. He's wearing a soldier's uniform and his hands were in her neck, suffocating her.

She tried to wiggle her body with all her might attempting to save herself from the danger she's in right now.

She tried her best to get away despite the brute force he had. Yet no matter how hard she tries, she can't defeat the force that's trying to take all of her breath.

She struggled to break free. Then she closed her eyes and tried her hardest to utter the words she dreaded using.

"Liberate me de tenebras posuit"

In a matter of seconds, she felt free. Breathing in her own, without the restriction of the brute force in her neck.

With great panic, she stood up and ran towards the bathroom. She studied herself in the mirror and checked if there were marks. There were none. She took a deep breath and washed her face with tap water.

This is the first time this has happened. Her mind went into a loop trying to remember what it was that she was dreaming or thinking of.

Oftentimes, these thoughts would surface into reality when her mind is unsteady or has been thinking of deeply troubling thoughts.

But today was different. Her thoughts were clear. She was not thinking of anything too vague or too troublesome. She could see no reason why something like that would have happened to her.

When she was still young, about 7 or 8, she drowned during one of her family's camping trips. They camped out near a huge lake. She was a silent and aloof kid. She didn't have a lot of friends.

When they came to that camping, she wanted to stay away from the rest of the bigger kids who bullied her at school.

But they just can't seem to leave her alone. So at some point during the camping, she was forced to jump into the lake as they teased her. They didn't know that she doesn't know how to swim but she had to jump. As though her life depended on that sole decision during that time.

She could remember how for almost an hour, she fought for her life. As her frail body tried its best to swim even if she didn't know how she wanted to try.

But the lake was huge and dangerous. She was running out of breath and her lungs are now filled with the water from the lake.

Before she lost her consciousness, someone jumped for her in the lake.

She woke up that day inside the hospital.

She thought she was okay. But something different has happened to her that day.

She started seeing things she's not supposed to see. She saw ghosts in every corner of the hospital.

She'd find herself crying on some nights because of the unfamiliar gift bestowed on her.

"Yvette?"

Her thoughts were cut off as his voice pulled her back to reality.

"Yes?"

"Has any of them tried to hurt you?"

She gulped as the lady hiding from the bookshelves started to travel slowly towards the back of the seat where her therapist was sitting.

"Did you know that, when you die, you temporarily get a pass to the afterlife?" she started talking with sweats starting to fill her forehead.

"No."

"That's how I got this gift or maybe curse. I died. When I was still young, I died. And when I woke up, that's when I started seeing them."

"There's no scientific explanation to that."

"I know. But that's the only phenomenon that happened to me and then I started seeing them after that."

He sighed.

She looked around the entire space.

"How do you find your office? Is it a good place?" her eyes roamed around the entire space.

"Why do you ask?"

"Has anything been missing? Pieces of Furniture rearranged? Peculiar noise?"

"Not that I've known of. Why?"

She stared at the shadow that was standing just a few inches from the shrink's seat.

"Then she must be here for you."

"What do you mean?"

She smiled.

"Nothing. I don't think you'll understand."

"Please. It's been what, a year now since you've started coming here. What can I possibly not believe?"

"There's someone in here who seems to be watching over you. I've seen her since the day I started coming here."

He sighed as he clasped both his hands and placed them under his chin.

He looked at her again with those piercing blue eyes.

"So you see her too?"

"You know?"

He nodded.

"She's been with me since I was just a child. I've known about her when one of my high school friends happen to have seen her following me. She's like you too. She-- she sees things the same way that you see things."

"Did you ever get sick when she's around?"

"No. I have never been sick. Never been in any accidents. I have so many blessings in my life that I thought maybe she isn't like any spirits. Maybe she's someone good. Someone who's here to help me."

She nodded. She stared back again at the shadow standing over him. Her face was now slowly showing. Her dark glow started to turn into a white glow of light.

"She seems to like it when you acknowledge her."

"Really?"

"She's a good one. But I don't have any way of talking to them. So I don't know how I could help her or you."

"It's okay. I am thankful that she's there." he sighed as he changed the conversation.

"Well, you never answered my question."

"Which one?"

"About them hurting you? Has it ever happened?"

She stared at those blue eyes again. Unsure whether she should tell him or not.

"I don't recall anything of that happening ever. But, I'd tell you if I'd ever meet anyone who would try and hurt me."

"Please do."

She smiled at him while trying to take her eyes off the light that's standing above him.