Chapter 16
It Would Be Nice to Speak for Myself... Part 1
The next day, Kan and I set out to find P'Phuenfah's sister. We headed to the address he'd given us, but things didn't go as planned. After asking around, we found out she had moved out and changed her phone number too.
At first, we were pretty disheartened since we'd already spent quite some time on it. But then P'Phuenfah remembered that his sister went to the same university as us.
How lucky is that? Even if she was in a different faculty.
"Ran! Here it is!"
"Hmm?"
We were scouring the university's library for information about her, hoping to find something useful. The university's system stores thesis information, and luckily, it included her contact info.
But... it was the same info P'Phuenfah had already given us.
Useless.
But all was not lost, as we didn't need direct contact information for her. Instead, we called some of her classmates. It took almost the entire day to get the information we needed. Thanks to Kan's communication skills, they were willing to share personal information easily. Lately, people had been wary of strangers due to an increase in scam calls.
What we found out was that P'Phuenfah's sister had changed her last name after getting married and had moved to a different province with her husband. We managed to get her new address, phone number, and a few other details, so we decided we'd visit her the next day.
We were in a hurry because the more P'Phuenfah stuck around, the worse it would be for Kan, and it might come back to haunt her.
Our destination was Nakhon Nayok. It wasn't too far from Bangkok, but it could still be quite tiring. Besides the business at hand, we planned to stop by a waterfall on the way back.
I just hoped that after everything, no little problems would arise again.
"Since we're helping so much, you might as well give us a few lucky lottery numbers, Mr. Ghost," Kan joked as she drove toward our destination. Upon hearing this, P'Phuenfah pretended to wipe sweat off his forehead, while the ghost girl next to him sighed.
"If I could give you lottery numbers, I would have told you already. The truth is, ghosts aren't really that different from people. It's like when a person becomes a ghost; it's just a change in state from solid to gas. Some forms of communication that I could do while alive, I can't do anymore. So when I need something, I have to find new ways to communicate—ways that the living can't use. That's why I can't give you lottery hints!"
"Oh, really? Then what about those who ask ghosts for lucky numbers and win?" Kan challenged.
"That's all just luck. Some people can buy one ticket and win, while others buy tickets their whole lives without ever winning big."
Her tone, face, and words made it clear that she didn't like Kan...
Perhaps it was due to her possessiveness, even when there was nothing really going on.
Speaking of which, I was impressed by how quickly Kan adjusted. At first, she seemed a bit scared, but today, she was chatting with P'Phuenfah and Sulky Ghost like they were old friends. Then again, maybe it was because Kan didn't see them as tangible like I did. If she could see them...
no, maybe Kan was just like that.
"By the way, I still haven't cleared up something with you. About the ability to touch objects—if you say it's telekinesis, why is it that sometimes you can just lie around?"
"I want to act like a living person, too," she pouted at me before continuing, "But doing that requires using telekinesis too, affecting my whole ghostly self. So, I can touch objects, but during that time, I can't pass through walls. It's like having a physical body... Simply put, if I'm lazy and don't want to get tired, I choose the second method. Staying in eco mode is always more efficient."
"You speak as if you're a car," I shook my head at her comparison.
Then what about those moments we had together? That means she used her telekinesis on her own spirit, huh?
I wonder how much energy that takes...
Why have I been so obsessed with this lately!?"
Kan laughed nonstop at the ghost girl's words.
Even though the ghost girl clearly didn't like her, she seemed to enjoy the banter.
It was oddly cheerful in the car, much more than I expected, especially with two ghosts present.
Speaking of which, there's something I've been curious about...
"Um, P'Phuenfah, I have something I want to ask..."
"...Yes?" He slowly turned from the front seat to look at me. I was starting to get used to it, but it still felt a bit scary.
"Was there anything suspicious in the area where you were trapped? Like shrines or talismans or anything?"
"...Now that you mention it... a few years ago, when I first died... I was confused and lost, not knowing where to go or what to do, so I wandered around there for quite a while. I tried to ask them where I was, to help me... but it seemed like the locals were so scared of me that they didn't dare to come near. And it seemed... they spread rumors that I was haunting them... So they brought in a shaman to perform a ritual to trap me. I didn't know what was going on; the next thing I knew, I just couldn't leave that place anymore..." P'Phuenfah struggled to tell the story, but he managed to finish. His expression looked more puzzled than angry about what had happened to him.
Seriously? Poor guy, trapped for over a decade without knowing anything...
"You must have suffered a lot, huh?" I said, feeling a lump in my throat.
Hearing this, the ghost girl's eyes glistened with tears over the story she just heard.
This scene reminded me of those melodramatic movies...
"Hey, what are you guys talking about? Share with me!" Kan, who didn't understand, began to pout, wanting to be included in the conversation.
As the necessary translator between two worlds,
I guess I had to fill her in...
"Well..." I started explaining what had happened, and surprisingly, Kan was a real softie when it came to this kind of stuff.
"Hic..." The sad sounds of crying from both made my head hurt, and I wanted to hold my temples.
Seriously, why are they crying?
From what I gathered from P'Phuenfah, it seemed that this shaman was the real deal and sounded like someone quite capable. I really wanted to get more information about him. I hoped he could help me with my situation...
Alright!
I guess I'll have to ask the locals around there next!
"We're almost there," Kan turned into a housing estate in Mueang District, Nakhon Nayok.
Before long, we would reach our long-awaited destination. Today is a holiday, so the roads were busier than usual. Most of the cars were likely coming from Bangkok, probably heading off to some tourist spot in the province.
But we had business to take care of before we followed those people...
The security guard at this village was quite strict about his duties. Before entering, we exchanged our ID cards as usual, but the guard furrowed his brow, glancing inside the car as if he saw more than two people. In the end, he didn't ask anything and let us pass.
We parked in front of a detached house. It was probably because it was a suburban village, so the space was quite spacious compared to the crowded city.
Before long, a young woman stepped out of the house to see who was parked in front of her home. Her expression looked completely puzzled...
No wonder P'Phuenfah had chosen to follow Kan, as the girl bore a striking resemblance to her. She had a slightly round face, reminiscent of Kahn, but still not quite the same.
"Tawan..." P'Phuenfah called out upon seeing his younger sister's face.
"Who are you looking for?" the homeowner asked us both.
"Tawan!!!"
P'Phuenfah repeated his sister's name and rushed to hug her with longing, but it was futile as his ghostly form passed right through Tawan.
"It's really windy..." Tawan murmured softly before turning back to us with an increasing look of curiosity. Before long, a hint of suspicion began to show on her face.
I exchanged a sad glance with the ghost girl, feeling a palpable sorrow between us, except for Kan, who could only see a wisp of smoke drifting past Tawan.