As I’m fixing my mindset, the window by the shower slowly creaks open.
Hasn’t that window always been locked?
… Isn’t this also what happens before the ghost murderer shows up in thePagpagmovie?
A window opening is normal!My brain tries to scream at my quickening heart rate. I’m paranoid because of sleep deprivation. On the very slim chance that there’s truth to the pagpag superstition, a ghost should’ve appeared yesterday! Ghosts are known to be very punctual! Even in the movies, ghosts never wait a wholedayto show up.
My heart comes to a full stop when a butterfly suddenly flies into the bathroom… and I hold my breath when it lands on the sink.
Ma’s words ring in my head:Butterflies are the souls of the departed.
Shit. Am I staring at the soul of the departed?
I put up my hands in case this soul has murderer tendencies too. “I come in peace,” I declare.
“Kumain ka na?” I ask, remembering how Ma always welcomes guests in our home by offering food. Maybe the departed soul will be hesitant to kill me if it thinks I can cook.
“Have you already eaten?” I give the English translation in case this butterfly is a foreigner.
The butterfly stays completely still. Its black wings don’t even budge when I try blowing on them.
If I paid more attention during Chinese class, maybe I would know how to ask the question in Mandarin too.
When I take a closer look, it still doesn’t move. No budge in its legs, its wings, antennae. Would a dead person be reincarnated into a dead butterfly?
I empty the cup that carries all the toothbrushes and hold my breath when I carefully place it on top of the butterfly. “Hello?” I ask and wait for some spiritual reply.
Nothing.
But I do feel better that I’m staring at a cup instead of a possible departed soul. Hiding my problems can sometimes solve them, right?
Maybe there’s a superstition about how covering a butterfly with a cup can protect people from ghosts! Yes, yes, I like that a lot better. Let’s go with that.
Okay, back to planning out my Monday.
Step one: Cook Ma the best eggs in the world and bask in her revelation thatI’mthe one who’s on the right side of things.
Step two: Ask Kayla what in the world is going on in class.
Step three.
AAHHHHHHHHH.
I jump when I see a figure in all white next to me in the mirror. Oh god. It’s the departed soul!
Fuck. This is how people die, right? The ones who see the ghost first always die in the movies!
Squeezing my eyes shut, I try my best to stay calm. If the ghost wanted to kill me, I should be dead by now. A non-supernatural being would’ve killed me faster.
Okay, Nika. Remember, hiding from your problems can work.When I open my eyes, I will just see my regular, normal reflection. Not a man who I think looks exactly like…
The mirror shows the same man patting down his head and squinting as he checks his reflection. The squarish face, the graying hair, left eye slightly smaller than the right…Why the fuck does he look exactly like my dad?
His eyes widen when he turns to me. “Nika?” The sound of his voice makes me knock my head on the towel rack.How the fuck does he know my name too?!
Then I hear Achi from the outside yell out my name. “What was that noise?”
“N-nothing!” I yell back, and cover my eyes again.
