Presence Ch. 02

"Maybe I'm just crazy," I said, my voice hollow. Kenji shook his head and smiled.

"I doubt that."

"But he tried to strangle me. Can they, I mean ghosts -- can they do that?"

"Well... I've heard of instances where people have been slapped, been struck on the head, scratched... but I don't think I've heard of a case as extreme as what happened to you. However, I wouldn't say it's impossible."

I didn't feel very convinced. He put his hand on my shoulder and lightly rubbed it.

"Trust me, you're not crazy. I would know."

I massaged my temples with my fingertips.

"If I'm not crazy, then that means that Ryan is still stalking me from the grave. I'm not sure which is worse." I looked up at Kenji. "What am I going to do? Can you help me?"

He took a sip of the same coffee he'd been drinking throughout my story. It must have been cold by then, but he didn't seem to care.

"Communicating with the dead isn't really my specialty," he said. "I can pick up on their energy, but for something like this we are probably going to need a real medium." He drummed his fingertips against the table. "I know the right person for this job. Let me make a call."

He went and got his cell phone, then made the call.

"Hey, Carl! Can I talk to Pinky?"

Pinky...?!

"Uh-huh? Oh... do you know when she'll be back? I need her help with an unwelcome guest. Okay... we'll, have her call me, alright? See ya." He ended the call.

"What's a Pinky?"

"You'll like her. Her real name is Penelope, but nobody ever calls her that. She's the most powerful medium I've ever met. She's out of town right now, but she'll be back in two days."

"Oh..."

"Don't worry." Kenji placed his hand on my shoulder. "She'll help us."

I looked up and my eyes met his.

There's that warm feeling again...

It occurred to me that I had always felt like that whenever I looked at Kenji, but it had been an unwelcome feeling because of my relationship issues. But now... it didn't really feel unwelcome anymore. It felt nice.

"Tell you what," Kenji said as he swallowed the last of his cold coffee. "I'll go over to your apartment and do a little recon, see what I can pick up on."

"I'll go with you."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..." I unconsciously rubbed my neck. "That thing is dangerous. You shouldn't be there alone."

He smiled.

"I'll be fine. Spirits usually aren't as active during the day as they are at night."

"I still want to come with you."

"Okay. Let's go, then."

* * * * * *

Standing outside my building, we hesitated before going inside. Bending his head back Kenji looked up at it, shielding his eyes from the light. Then he closed his eyes and jerked slightly.

"Are you okay?"

He took a deep breath and nodded.

"Can you feel... it... all the way out here?"

"Clearly. I sense his presence." He took another deep breath. "Shall we go inside?"

We went inside and walked up to my apartment. Standing outside my door as I unlocked it, Kenji shivered a little. As we walked inside he quietly gasped.

"It's bad... he whispered. "It's very bad... His energy is so strong... it has seeped into the walls. I can feel it all around us. I can feel anger... coming at me, bombarding me from every direction. He hates me."

"Why you?" I asked quietly. Kenji turned to me with a grim little smile.

"Because I'm with you. He's jealous."

As he uttered those words, a few books fell off their shelf and onto the floor with a loud bang. I jumped, but Kenji just closed his eyes, then opened them again and started pacing around the room with slow movements. He looked strangely pale. At one point he stopped and seemed to be in deep concentration.

"I can see him." He spoke slowly, as if he wasn't talking to me, but to himself. "I can see him hiding behind a corner out in the hall, or on the street outside, watching you. I see him leaving the roses... He was planning to... He was convinced that you wanted him as much as he wanted you, but the thought was there in his head that if you did reject him he was going to..."

Kenji stopped talking abruptly, and his eyes snapped up and looked at me. They were wide and startled.

"I'm sorry," he whispered.

"Look," I said worriedly. "Maybe we should get out of here. You don't look so good."

"Yeah, it's... I can't breathe in here. You're right, we should go."

We hurriedly left. As I was locking the door , I could hear a strange growling noise beyond the door. I did not stop to take a look. Whatever it was, I didn't want to know.

* * * * * *

"Feeling any better?"

We sat in a nearby park, sipping coffee.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Sorry, I didn't mean to make you worried."

I glanced up at him. The color was slowly returning to his cheeks, and he didn't look so shaken anymore.

"Does that happen a lot? Do you always get affected like that?"

Kenji looked down and thoughtfully sipped his coffee.

"Sometimes," he replied after a minute's silence. "Being like me isn't always so pleasant. I mean, I have this great ability to help people, but it comes with a price. Sometimes I have to see thoughts and actions of the worst kind of monsters in this world. People who prey on children, or who get off on the pain of others. Most of the time I can handle it, but sometimes -- like today -- it just hits me like a hammer, and I can't shield myself from it."

I tried to imagine what it must be like to be Kenji, but I couldn't.

"How do you do it? How can you stand it?"

He smiled softly, looking up at the sky.

"By concentrating on the good parts. You know, I try not to 'eavesdrop' on another person's thoughts and feelings, but sometimes I can't help picking up on a few things, and the things I hear sometimes remind me that the world might be evil people in this world, but there are also good, and if I can help some of these people then I've made a difference."

I stared at him in awe.

I've never known anyone like Kenji. I could never do what he does. I could never be that brave.

"You're braver than you think," he said, turning his head to look at me.

My eyes widened.

"Sorry, I couldn't help it," he smiled. "But it's something you often think about, right? 'I'm not brave', 'I'm a coward'. You can't help thinking that can you? Well, you're wrong. You're not a coward."

He tried to look me in the eye, but I turned my head away.

"That Tim..." he said cautiously. "He really messed up your sense of self-worth didn't he? Isn't that why you keep thinking of yourself as a coward?"

"Please stop."

I stared straight ahead, trying to ignore the feeling of a lump in my throat.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to push. I just want you to know that that's wrong. You are brave, and someday you will realize that."

We drank our coffee in silence.

"So..." I cleared my throat as I broke the silence. "This Pinky person... is she really as powerful as you said?"

"Oh, yes..." Kenji gave a short laugh. "She's remarkable. She's been all around the world, and done some pretty amazing things. People contact her all the time with book deals and TV contracts, but she's happy the way she is, helping people in her own way. She says she channeled Jim Morrison once, but I'm still not sure whether she was telling the truth or just shitting me."

"What's she like?"

He laughed again.

"It's impossible to describe her. She must be experienced. But you will like her. Everyone likes her."

I tried to imagine what someone named 'Pinky' would look like, but I gave up after a few minutes. I have to say I was quite curious about her.

"She was out of town, right?" I got up and threw my empty cup in the trash. "When did you say she'd be back?"

"Her husband said two days, but she might be back sooner."

I nodded.

"So... what are we going to do until then?"

Kenji got up and threw his cup away as well; standing with his back towards me he put his hands in his pockets.

"Well, I was thinking..."

He turned around.

"...maybe we could go on a date."

Huh...?!

To Be Continued