Aleyah took a breath and gaped in disbelief at what she saw. What the little ghost showed to her had really happened. She immediately went down the hill carefully. Holding on to a tree to another tree to keep her feet stepping at the right spot. Her right arm was holding the cell phone and after several seconds, she brought the phone closer to her lips.
"There was an accident on Bastao Road. I mean there's a car crash– No, it's not me. I just witnessed, no, discovered this car crash." Aleyah explained nonstop until she got near to that overturned car.
"Yes, I'm checking the passengers just now." She said after receiving instructions from the police.
Aleyah cradled her cellphone on her shoulders and then squatted down so she could see the condition of the car's occupants. "Oh my god. Please come here quickly! They need help." She said quickly. Then she turned off the phone and reached for the body of a middle-aged woman in the driver's seat.
That woman sat upside down with her face covered in blood. Her seat belt was still on so she looked a bit hanged. "No, no, no. Maam? Maam?" called Aleyah when she saw that the woman was unable to move her hands or all of her body. She was too late, the woman's body almost seemed motionless. That's what Aleyah thought, until the woman's lips moved little by little.
"Maam? Can you hear me?" Aleyah called the woman repeatedly and all she heard was a worried voice from a mother.
"My baby. My son.. is he okay? My child. I can't reach him.. my child.." The woman mumbled with trembling lips.
Aleyah immediately did what the woman said. So she looked at the child who was sitting in the back seat. The child's condition was no better than his mother's. He was also covered in blood with his eyes tightly closed. But Aleyah didn't scare at all, nobody knows where that courage came from, what is certain is that she wanted to know whether the child was still alive or not.
Aleyah stuck two fingers in front of the child's nose. There are no signs of life. The middle-aged woman keeps asking but Aleyah couldn't convey that to her. The woman would be devastated if she found out her child had died. So Aleyah pursed her lips to cover up the fact but her tears flowed freely. Those tears were enough to give the middle-aged woman an answer to her question. When Aleyah realized this, that middle-aged woman sobbed and bit her lip to suppress her sadness.
The sound of ambulance sirens started to be heard. Help has arrived and Aleyah moves a little from that overturned car, her job is complete. Several policemen came down the hill and one of them stared at Aleyah sharply.
"You again, you discovered this accident?"
Aleyah wiped her tears and sniffed, "Yes, sir." she answered with a low voice. She hugged her arms and looked down slightly.
"Why is it that every time something happens, it's always you?" said the policeman, annoyed and then left Aleyah with his colleague.
After that, another policeman asked her a bunch of questions about the chronology of how she discovered the car crash accident. Aleyah explained what happened calmly without missing any details. She happened to cross this long road, wanting to go to the next town and accidentally found traces of this car crash. Of course that all was a lie.
Aleyah couldn't explain the truth. What would happen if she said that she was visited by the spirit of an accident victim? Everyone will think she is crazy. Or even worse, she will be suspected of being the cause of that accident or something else that could be detrimental to herself.
The police did not ask Aleyah anything else after that. They let her go and Aleyah thanked them sincerely. She saw Jeremy but the man didn't greet her, even ignoring her calls. Aleyah didn't know what was going on with him but what she knew was that Jeremy looked like he was annoyed with her. Aleyah didn't know what it was and she chose to believe that Jeremy was busy so he didn't hear her call.
The place became very busy and Aleyah decided to go home since she felt like she was the only one standing there. When she walked to her car, the little ghost showed up again in front of her. That little boy smiled and then bowed in gratitude. Aleyah looked around to make sure no one saw her, and then she smiled back at that little ghost.
"You save my momma, thank you." said the little ghost cheerfully and Aleyah felt something inside her. Not long after that, her eyes went teary as the little ghost body slowly decomposed into the air. Aleyah never saw this happen before. Is that what it means to rest peacefully?
"Thank you," said the little ghost again before completely disappearing. Aleyah hoped that the little boy's spirit would find peace. Her smile never faded and without realizing it, this made her feel relieved and happy at the same time.
Aleyah drove the car home safely. She was also not reprimanded or questioned by Smith. She skipped dinner since she didn't feel hungry. Aleyah has been reflecting more since coming home from the car accident. Aleyah felt like she couldn't decide this herself so she knocked on Lucy's door.
When the door opened, Lucy showed a cheerful face to welcome the hot chocolate drink that Aleyah had brought. They spent a lot of time chatting and enjoying songs in that room. When their eyes were tired, the two of them slept covered with a thick sheet on the same mattress with a bolster in the middle. They turned their backs to each other and only Aleyah still had her eyes open.
Lucy pulled the blanket, "Go to sleep, don't even think about going out again tonight. Papa will be angry, remember what you did last time?"
The sound of a police car on patrol distracted both of them. Lucy immediately closed her eyes while Aleyah continued to look at her cellphone which was completely dead.
"It's crazy how this is all happening," said Aleyah. "Lucy, what if, if only I could help Jeremy catch that criminal, should I really help him?"
"What else did you do?" Lucy asked loudly. Aleyah immediately looked away from Lucy, "I'm just saying if. If I can help with the case, is it really a good idea to get involved?"
Lucy realized something from her sister's behavior then she went back to sleep and turned her back to Aleyah. "You're a terrible liar, how could papa not know about your act all this time? It's still a mystery to me."
"I'm talking seriously here."
Lucy lifted the blanket, "If I was you, I would definitely help Remy. You heard the news, that person killed other people indiscriminately. I heard he's still out there, you could be his next target, Aleyah. Considering that you were involved in that incident," said Lucy seriously. Aleyah also listened wholeheartedly.
"Remy, our neighbors, our customers or anyone else could be the next victim, it could be me or papa as well."
Aleyah widened her eyes and opened the blanket that covered Lucy's face. "Don't say things like that. I won't let that happen," said Aleyah irritably.
Lucy turned around and looked into Aleyah's brown eyes. She was always jealous of those beautiful eyes, Aleyah's eyes were similar to her mother's and she always missed her mother every time she saw Aleyah. Her mother's traits were also passed on to Aleyah. Both of them are beautiful and have a strong determination to help others or make the world a better place.
"You can do whatever you want, Aleyah, as long as your life is not threatened. You can help the world if you want to. I think that's the best thing and of course papa's answer will be different from mine, so just follow your heart. Even if papa and I tell you not to, you will still do it, right?"
Aleyah frowned, "That's not true, I wouldn't do it if papa forbade me."
Lucy chuckled, "You're hesitating, which means you've decided to do something, it's just that you're worried and afraid. You're not usually like this," she said.
"Of course I'm afraid, we are talking about crime and a cold-blooded criminal. It would be strange if we didn't get goosebumps or be afraid."
"Just don't endanger yourself." Lucy ended the conversation with a yawn and turned her back to Aleyah.
After that conversation, Aleyah stayed up all night because of the terrible ghosts that constantly appeared in her dreams. They also disturbed her by appearing and laughing continuously in the room. Aleyah couldn't stand living like this anymore.
Until dawn, Aleyah sat in a chair and closed her eyes tightly. She held the ring on her finger and imagined the shadowy ghosts appearing before her again.
"You call us?"
Aleyah opened her eyes slowly after hearing the sound. She hoped that what appeared this time was not a scary ghost. Her wish came true, the black shadows filled the bedroom window and stared at her with their red eyes.
"Y-yo.. long time no see." Aleyah said awkwardly.
The shadows simultaneously smiled broadly at her. "That's a good deal." said the teenage ghost, who could read Aleyah's mind like a book. Aleyah was no longer angry or surprised by this, she nodded and the teenage ghost chased away the terrible ghosts that had been bothering her.
"We will protect you from them, now help us too." said the teenage ghost in front of Aleyah.
Aleyah rubbed the cell phone screen in her hand. She did this to help people, she did this for good and to help these poor ghosts. That's what Aleyah told herself. Aleyah stared at the teenage ghost for a long time, "The evidence that you've told me before, it is in this phone. And you're not lying to me, are you?" she asked in a whisper.
The ghost brought his face closer to Aleyah, "You just need to see it for yourself. You will be very surprised who you will find, Aleyah."
"Is he someone I know?" Aleyah asked suspiciously. The ghost shrugged his shoulders, reluctant to say what he knew. Aleyah frowned and whispered again, "Just spit it out, I don't like this."
The ghost also frowned in astonishment. "By the way, why are we whispering?"
Aleyah turned to check on her sister. The ghost also understood why the woman was acting strange. Lucy was still in bed, she was still asleep with a cat on her stomach. Aleyah then turned on her cellphone which she had left dead because it had run out of battery. After turning on, Aleyah pointed her index finger at the top of the cell phone screen.
"I can't do it. Is there a lot of blood there?" Aleyah immediately turned her cell phone over. The shadows simultaneously nodded in response. Aleyah shook her head excitedly. "I don't want to see it, whoever it is, I just need to hand this thing to Jeremy, no need to watch videos or anything. Just calm down, you don't have to see it,"she said to herself.
"What's wrong with you?"
"I just imagined seeing a pool of blood and I already feel sick." Aleyah said as she walked towards the door and left Lucy's room.
The black shadow ghosts stared at each other. "Shouldn't we tell her?" asked one of them. "It's not necessary, the most important thing is that she wants to hand that evidence to the cops. Don't ever think to tell Aleyah about that bastard. Besides, that man will soon go behind bars or possibly be sentenced to death," said the ghost coldly and his friends nodded in response to his words.