Death and a Thousand To-do List

Chapter Two: Asher

I knew what I would find in this house; or rather, who I'll meet. But she was so disheveled looking and so…devoid of life that it took me a minute or two to realize I have dropped the boxes I was carrying for Mrs. Payne. Crap.

“I'm so sorry!” I quickly blurted out and bent to pick up the bubble wrapped figurines. Hopefully none of them were broken. The carpeted hallway would likely save me from humiliation and disappointment.

As I was bending down, I realized another mistake.

I talked to her.

I actually spoke to her.

Crap. Crap. Crap.

Mr. and Mrs. Payne were great people but there was only one rule in their house. Before I volunteered to help them every weekend, they briefed me about their daughter.

Her name was Kari. She's turning 18, a few months younger than me. She would have been attending college at a prestigious university of her choice but life took away that chance in the most bizarre and unexpected way.

Kari almost lost her life a couple of years ago when she decided to take a bottle of sleeping pills. Luckily, her dad came home early that night, feeling something was off. He hurried to her room and saw her lying on the floor with the empty bottle in hand, on the brink of death. He brought her to the nearest hospital and thanked God, she was saved.

Or so they thought.

Kari was brought to rehab for a full month. A few months went by with no indication of the depression that slithered through her mind. There were a couple of panic attacks, painful and hard for the Paynes.

But the real problem started a year ago. Mr. Payne, who had seen his only child almost die, had to see her once again lifeless.

Well, sort of.

Kari woke up one day thinking she was dead.

“You,” I heard her say in a raspy voice that denotes she hasn't spoken in days. It brought me back to the present, hands hovering on the figurines sprawled on the floor.

I risked a glance up and had to cringe. If I didn't know any better, I'd really think she was a ghost. She was pale and so skinny, with her hair a mess of tight knots and matted. Her lips were so chapped and her skin was so rough. But it was her eyes that scared me the most. It was so lifeless, like looking at a doll’s eye. Heck, dolls even looked alive than hers.

“You can see me,” she croaked.

A million more craps. I don't know how to get out of this one. Just pretend like you're being hunted, I thought.

“Crap, why does it feel like I'm being watched,” I managed to say. I knew it was lame but I was already panicking. Hopefully, my panic would come out as being frightened.

“But you can see me,” she said again.

I quickly cleaned up my mess, placed them in the box once stood up as soon as I got the last piece of figurine. As I did so, Kari hovered over my bent head and so I knocked her when I was trying to straighten up.

Of all the things that I could have done, I knocked her down. Who does that to a “ghost”?

“I'm so sorry! Are you–“ I paused. I touched and spoke to her. This is getting so out of hand. I literally don't know what else to do. I’m not much of a problem solver and this situation has got my brain working double time to come up with an excuse to leave.

I could have continued on my way, totally ignoring her. Yet as my hand was outstretched to her, trying to help her up, I was mesmerized.

Kari's eyes glistened. In a split second, her eyes burned with life; a look that told me a thousand stories in a heartbeat, mostly filled with sorrow. For a mere moment, I saw her eyes come to life.

~*~*~*~

“I'm sorry Mrs. Payne, I shouldn't have talked to her, much less touch her,” I apologized to the scrawny woman in front of me. She was short, probably plain 5 feet tall. She had brown skin, a rich indication of her roots (she’s from the Philippines).

“No, that's fine. She's a little rattled a while ago but she's back to normal now. Well, her kind of normal these past few days. I don't know but I think that's actually a good sign,” she said with a bit of accent, the last sentence forming like a question.

“I got Dr. Thompson on the phone. She said it's a great sign. Maybe we should bring her tomorrow for an appointment?” Mr. Payne said as he approached us. His eyes lingered on his wife, who was now breaking down and crying. Then he looked at me, his eyes thankful.

I looked away. I feel like I was intruding an intimate family moment. But I can't go away just yet, they were asking me what happened. Although it felt like I was being interrogated for a crime, I can't help but feel a little pride inside me. I was able to bring out some kind of miracle for the Paynes.

“That's great, Kevin, right?” Mrs. Payne sobbed, melting into Mr. Payne's body as he reached out for her.

“I hope so. Asher, would it be too much if we asked you to come with us tomorrow? After all, you were the one who witnessed it,” the middle-aged man asked me, his eyes hopeful.

“I guess so, Mr. Payne.”

“Please, call me Kevin.” The miracle I created got me into a first-name basis with the father of a girl who thought she was dead. There’s something weird and bizarre about the whole situation. But I can’t turn down such a request. Whatever I have dragged myself into, I can’t back away now. I knew Kari’s story. I saw a significant change, even for just a glimpse. And there was something else. Those few seconds was enough for me to know that somewhere, inside me, I want to become the reason she smile again.