The dark, cramped bedroom was dimly lit by the three ignited talisman papers that formed the invisible walls, and my egregiously badass lighter. Curtains still wavered, tapping the back of his head through the triangle.
He stayed silent for a bit, his jaw dropped but no words came. He was hesitant because he saw me as an enemy, but now I was giving him a reason to believe I wasn't.
"I shouldn't have crashed, man." He finally spoke, slapping his knee. "My mind was fully clear, I was not intoxicated. A few cans of beer can't do that to me."
"That implies that you drove under alcohol. The man who lives here never did," I debated flatly.
"Alright, but it was..." He pressed his lips. His head movements were animated, indicating that he knew he was guilty but didn't want to admit it. "It was one mistake I made. Everyone makes mistakes."
"That, I do agree on." I nodded lightly.
He sighed, slapping his knee again, harder this time. "I had a fiancé, man. She was... She was so excited when I proposed... her 'yes' was the best thing I've ever heard... Just a few days more is all I ask... I want to experience that life with her..."
That, I agreed on too. I nodded firmly. "I see. Love can be far more intoxicating than beer, can't it? It could drive you to even kill a man."
He tsked and looked away, knowing full well I was right.
"The man who lived here," I continued, pointing a finger around the room, "whose face you're slowly becoming, is called Ethan Nicholson."
"Yeah, I know that."
"You know that because you want to replace him. Of course you'd know that. You'd also know about his three older brothers who treat him like their baby boy." As I continued listing it out, he pouted impatiently, feet thumping on the floor like a rabbit. "You'd also know his best friend who couldn't live without their weekly pizza night. You'd also know about his father who's so proud of his boy for making it into the university of his dreams. You're very aware of all of that, aren't you?"
He shut his eyes, a long exhale followed, then he tried reasoning again. "Come on, man, I'm leaving her behind like this. Wouldn't you understand that?"
"I do." I forced a smile. "I do understand that."
We both paused as I recalled my own past.
"My first love was in high school," I started. "Mother hated that, because... well... Asians." I shrugged and chuckled, but my ghostly client didn't reciprocate.
I massaged my neck awkwardly before continuing. "She wasn't even much to me until one day, a rumour reached me saying that she had a crush on me. And me, being stupidly young... or youthfully stupid, fell in love just because of that."
"We're all young once. We were all... mistaken about what love is at some point in time." He defended my teenage self.
"Hmph." I smiled, genuinely did so. "We had some great times together. Café dates, mall dates, sunset by the beach, the whole package instead of studying."
"Teenage love is unforgettable."
"Really wished it isn't." I drummed my fingers on my thigh. "When I told her how I feel... she said that she does like me too, but getting into a relationship wasn't on her list." I shook my head; my smile became forced again.
"Ouch." He was a lot more relaxed now, arm straightened and rested on a raised knee. "That kinda rejection, huh?"
"That kinda." I tilted my head. "She said when we both achieved the best versions of ourselves, we'd meet again at the summit."
"She's good with words."
I nodded almost instantly. "She is, a literature genius she was. I'm now a 43-year-old working man and I still haven't moved on, never dated, never caught feelings for anyone else..."
"That must suck."
"It does. Love can be so intoxicating. I would've done anything; it could've driven me to kill too if that was the price."
He chuckled; he was comfortable enough to chuckle now. "See? You understand me."
"Fully do. Unfortunately, that's just because we're blinded by this love. We couldn't see reality properly because of it. Any third party would realize how unjust it is to take away Ethan's life for your own selfish desires." I pointed at the dummy I planted on the bed. He didn't follow my finger; instead he looked down, fingers twitching.
"I still don't wanna die, man... I wanna be there for her... truly do... Emily's my everything..."
I lifted my head in surprise, eyes widened.
"Emily?"
"That's her name."
"Were your name in the living James Brian?"
He too was shocked. "How'd you know?"
I burst into laughter. This was unprecedented. "Haha... Emily's my client. Don't worry, she's doing fantastic, I'm her shrink."
He breathed a sigh, then immediately followed up. "She doing alright, you sure of that?"
"I'm sure, and I'll make sure she stays that way."
He almost wheezed. "Good... Good..." and leaned back against the invisible wall relaxed. "Oh she better be doing good, otherwise I'll mould my face into yours and haunt your ass instead." He jabbed his index finger at me.
"Hahaha... This... This is a first, two clients of different worlds who're connected to each other..."
"She moved on?" He raised his eyebrows.
"Do you want her to?"
He paused for a bit before shaking his head. "Not gonna lie, man... I'd like her to give me at least... half a year or something..."
That was a good answer. "Listen, James, I know you from her and you're a good man; your funeral proved that too. Emily told me about it. Everyone you'd want to show up showed up. And the tears then could fill a river."
He nodded with a smile, then escalated to a soft laugh, a content laugh.
"Now, what will all of them think of you, if you returned to them in Ethan's face and body?" I sterned up, and his chuckle ceased.
James' head was moving up and down, unsure of whether he should be feeling guilty or angry. "Hm..." He hummed.
"Do you know what word did Emily use to describe you most often? Kind." I answered my own question, "She told me you saw her through her addiction, no matter how much she pushed you away. She said 10% of your income doesn't go to savings, it goes to—"
"Charity." He finished my sentence with his eyes locked on the ground, accepting the guilt.
"She told me all about you, she told me that it was that pure heart of yours hidden behind pricks that made her fell... Your life was beautiful, James, and trust me, hers will be too... as long as her image of you stays," I reassured him. "And if ever she feels down for whatever reason, feel free to 'haunt my ass.'"
"... That's a deal." Those words came out joyfully after a brief pensive pause, but that joy quickly dissipated from his face after realizing what was going to happen next.
"Your life was truly beautiful, James," I told him again. "You may not have had it all but you've always stayed true to yourself. You've always been a genuine, honest man in a world that encourages you to be selfish. So please... don't lose that, don't lose the man Emily fell so hard for."
James seemed down again, he stared at the floor while his knees shrunk back.
I quickly pulled out another yellow talisman paper, wrote the character '觸' on it before slapping it on my forehead.
Now that I could actually touch James, I got out of the chair and knelt in front of him, clenching his palm tight. "You were there for her at her weakest. She's clean of drugs because of you. She got to live life because of you, because you were a bright beam of inspiration, never leaving the straight and narrow... I'm certain every time you haunted Ethan, slowly moulded your face into his... you were hurting inside."
He nodded, with tears running down his cheeks. "I was... I was..."
"Yes, yes you were. James Brian, you will never be forgotten, especially not by her." I unsheathed my cross-dimensional dagger from my back and pierced his stomach with it. "Keep being you, for her, for everyone that loves you. Rest in peace, James."
His body started to disintegrate into untouchable dust from the point of stab. In his last moments, he used his last breath to mutter, "Thank you... Chen Mo..."
And his body turned to dust in front of me; the dust danced in the air elegantly before disappearing into nothingness.
The three yellow talisman papers that were used for the invisible barrier burnt out, leaving the only light remaining in the room my outrageously fancy lighter.
I don't think any other exorcists out there work the way I do. Usually, just finding, trapping, and exorcising the ghost is how a job is done. But I enjoy doing this instead; I enjoy knowing people passed properly from the living without regrets.
My name is Chen Mo, therapist by day, still therapist by night, albeit for ghosts before I exterminate them. I'm a 43-year-old single male with close friends countable by fingers.
Since 22, I've studied the art of exorcism under the guide of Yuki Fujimono, leader of the sixteenth division in the Global Exorcism Association or GEA. I'm now a licensed exorcist under the same organization but with an unorthodox working method — Death by therapy.