****
As I sat in the bathtub full of hot water, the balmy liquid started to warm my shivering body. The room was being filled with steam from the warm water and had misted over the windows. From the outside, a silhouette of my figure could be seen.
Why is he doing this? I thought about the events that led me here, in the tub.
----
I followed him to his room, at the edge of the building. He unlocked the door with the key from his pocket and opened it. The boy told me to get inside and make myself at home. He turned on the lights. The room was fairly sized, enough for one person to live in.
"The bathroom's over there." He pointed to the room beside the kitchen sink.
Bathroom? What does he want me to do? Spirits don't really do anything in those. He seemed confused about something. I asked him what was wrong. He said, "It's nothing." And told me to take a bath. A bath? Wait. He wants me to take a bath? I know what taking a bath is, but spirits don't usually do that, do they? I decided to just accept the offer and went to the bathroom.
----
And that's what's happened. This was my first time taking a bath. Actually, I think I'm the first spirit to take one. I took my clothes off before I went in and placed them in the basket in front of the sliding glass door. I didn't know it feels this good. My body temperature was slowly rising from the hot water. My arms were no longer shivering to keep me warm. But I questioned something.
Does he not know what spirits are? I mean, he did look confused when I told him I was one. But I feel that he has great potential. I guess he really does have no idea what we are. As I was contemplating, I heard someone knock on the other side of the door. I answered.
"Yes? Who is it?"
"Umm, it's me."
Oh, it's him. I thought there was another person in the house. I'd have to explain myself if there was someone else. He continued.
"Here are some clothes for you."
Clothes? We Spirits don't have to change our clothing. if something were to happen to them, they would immediately be restored to their original state. This is why we've never replaced them. But I thought it would be rude to refuse. I was already taking a bath in his bathtub.
"Umm, thank you so much, please leave them there."
I asked them to leave the clothes at the front so he didn't have to enter. I didn't want him to see me taking a bath naked. I blushed at the sudden thought. Suddenly, I heard the doorknob twist, and the door opened.
Wait! Wait! Wait! My mind started panicking. I asked him to leave them outside because it would be awkward if he sees a girl bathing. Luckily, the bathroom has a glass door so he shouldn't be able to see me. Even so, I was freaking out inside my brain. Having a boy enter the bathroom with you inside is a girl's nightmare unless that boy is your boyfriend. I blushed even harder and my cheeks became a deep red.
This is bad! This is bad!
"I'll put the clothes here..." I heard him say.
"Eh?! Here?! Here Where?!" My mind was still panicking. My muscles tensed up as he got close to the door. If he opened the door, I think I would pass out. But surprisingly, he stopped right before the front of the door and turned to his left. He seems to be placing something in the cabinet, which was probably the clothes. Finally, I decided to answer.
"Yes, thank you." Afterward, he left the room without a word. At last, I was alone again.
Thank god. I finally calmed down. My cheeks returned to their normal appearance and I was no longer tense.
****
A few minutes later, I decided to leave the bath. I had removed the coldness of my body so best not to linger here for too long. pushed my body up and slowly got out of the tub. I grabbed the hanging towel, dried up my body, and afterward, wrapped myself in it. I tied it up at the side of my chest and held it to not let it drop. Using my free hand, I carefully grasped the glass door and slowly opened it a bit. I took a peek, making sure no one was there. I looked around, but there was no one.
"Thank God..."
I fully opened the glass door and stepped out with my levitating feet. I turned first to my left first to make sure my clothes were still there, which they were. Then to my right, I saw the cabinet with some clothes on the second shelf.
"These may be his..."
I held the clothes he left for me. I slowly took off my towel and placed it on the shelf next to the clothes. I decided to put on the shirt first. I unfolded it, seeing the blue stripes on the front. I put it over my head, pushed my hands and arms through the gaps at the side, and passed my head through the middle opening. The size was a perfect fit for me. I arranged the bottom part of the shirt, pushed it down to my waist, and pushed up my hair that was tucked in the shirt.
"I should hurry..."
I didn't want him to wait for long. I quickly took the red joggers and put them over my hovering legs. I grabbed the towel from the shelf and used it to dry my hair, pushing down the water from it. It was still a bit wet but it wasn't dripping. I went to the door, twisted the doorknob, and opened it. The steam from the bath was quickly leaving for the opened exit. I stepped out into the air. When I got out of the bathroom, I saw a boy wearing a long white coat over a black shirt and dark blue pants with his mouth wide open. He looks like he just saw a ghost, which I guess is sort of true.
"Umm...is something wrong?" I asked the gasping boy.
"N-no, it's nothing" He stuttered.
It seems he was thinking of something, but I had no idea what. I paid it no heed. He suddenly shook his head.
"Please, take a seat." He gestured to the empty seat in front of him, separated from his with a coffee table in the middle. On it was what seemed to be cakes and an opened large cup.
"Ah, thank you." I was a bit taken aback by his sudden invitation. I floated on the floor while going to the cushioned seat. I sat down on the chair, well not really. My body was still floating even when I sat down. The same thing happened with the bathtub.
"Firstly, you must be hungry, so here." He gestured to the food at the table.
He wants me to eat? Spirits do eat once in a while as our bodies need sustenance to live. But I heard that it's rare for the person to feed their partner. Though, it's been a bit since I ate. Guess I'll take the offer.
"Thank you very much." I took the fork and ate the cakes. Whilst I was eating, he suddenly spoke.
"Anyway, should we continue our conversation?" He asked about the conversation we had earlier outside.
"Yes," I put the fork down and answered seriously.
"Then, Megumi-san, can you tell me," He was asking me with honorifics on my name. No one's ever called me "Megumi-san" before, so I was a bit surprised. Afterward, he looked at me sternly and continued his statement,
"Who or what are you?"
To be continued...