"Eh, Em, did we receive a little girl's body dressed in red?" asked Dawn.
His question made Emily's hand stop, she looked at Dawn, then looked at her dad behind her, Pops shrugged his shoulders not understanding what he meant.
"The girl in red? What do you mean, small kid? How old is she?" Emily asked.
Dawn thought. He wasn't sure how old the kid was, she looked so young. She's half of his height, she couldn't have been more than ten.
"I'm not sure, um, maybe, under ten?" Dawn answered.
Dawn's answer made Emily and Pops look at each other again, both of them unconsciously widening their eyes. Dawn saw that the two were serious, it seemed they knew what he was asking.
"You guys, know her?" he asked.
….
Dawn was already sitting in his room. Emily came back after making warm ginger tea for him. Meanwhile, Pops has returned to the funeral home to do his work.
There are three burial rooms today, two of which will be leaving this afternoon, and one just arrived last night in room three, where Dawn encountered a child spirit so strong that it almost caused him harm. Emily pushed the glass of warm ginger water in front of Dawn.
Dawn looked several times at the figure of the man sitting at the end of the sofa next to the bed. Sit in the shadow of light. As usual, the spirit didn't really like sunlight and likewise, it would disappear when exposed to too much sunlight, it being nothing more than an almost transparent essence residue. However, Dawn felt that this figure had more power than the spirits he usually encountered. Dawn remembered, that just before he lost consciousness, he saw the man's face. He was the one who helped him escape from the evil spirit, otherwise his fate might not have been this good.
Emily put the tray on the table and sat on the edge of Dawn's bed.
"Are you better? We will go to the doctor after today's event is over, I have contacted Doctor Regan and we will see him tonight. Doctor Regan doesn't have a practice schedule at the hospital, so we might just visit the clinic, that's better, isn't it, than going to the hospital?"
Dawn took Emily's hand on his cheek, lowering it to his lap.
"I'm getting better Em, I don't think I need to go to the doctor anymore. I was just tired."
Emily pursed her lips.
"You can't, you said yes earlier, and I made an appointment. Besides, it's just a normal check-up, you haven't been there for a long time and your asthma hasn't recurred for a long time, this time the relapse is definitely due to one or two things. Sleep now, I'll wake you up in the afternoon, okay?"
Dawn held Emily's hand when his aunt was about to stand up from her seat.
"Em"
The woman sat back in her seat, seeing a pair of Dawn's large round eyes looking at her.
"What else?" she asked.
Dawn looked into Emily's eyes.
"Emm, the child's family, can I meet them?" asked Dawn.
Emily looked at Dawn for a long moment, holding his hand.
"What for? The family is in mourning, and besides, the funeral will not be long, tonight they will take the body to be cremated, they don't want to be carried away by the feeling of mourning any longer. You won't be able to meet them." Emily patted Dawn's hand.
"After they leave, the spirit will also go with them, so, for now, you stay here for now," continued Emily.
As if she didn't want to compromise, Emily got up from her seat. But, again, Dawn's hand grabbed her clothes from behind. Emily turned to see Dawn's face, she remembered what the child did when he was little. He would tug at her clothes stopping her from leaving, he had always done that since he was younger. How could Emily not melt with those eyes?
"Dawn"
"We, have to do something, Em. Pops is right, what we meet, is our fate. Today, I was able to meet the child's spirit, this is a sign that we are soul mates. She was just a little spirit that had lost her identity. Let me help her, Em, she's a poor kid."
Emily held Dawn's hand. She knew that Dawn's fate since his birth was beyond what she and her dad could interfere with. However, she and Pops tried hard to prevent him from becoming a victim like what happened to his parents. It all started with something like this.
"Dawn, you know what happened a few years ago. You know why we forbid you from approaching them. The child's spirit will leave when the family is finished, this meeting may not necessarily be a good match. We can reject or accept it, depending on what you want. And in your current condition, it is impossible to help her. Be patient, and listen to me for now, that's all."
Dawn looked at his palm. He fainted not only because he met that little girl, but before that, he had expended a lot of energy by doing purification in the cold storage room.
"That" and Emily would be even angrier when she found out he did that.
Emily didn't want to compromise this time, she stood up from her seat and rushed towards the door, no longer looking back where Dawn was still trying to persuade her. The woman went through the door and closed the door from the outside.
Dawn lowered his head to the pillow. Emily still stands her ground, there is no way she change her mind. Then, what will happen to the child?
Dawn's head hurt, he was about to close his eyes to sleep, but, he remembered, there were still other guests in the room. If Emily knew, how could she remain silent?
The figure approached him. He resembles humans in general, has a tall, big body, a perfect body with a handsome face without any flaws. The man walked up from the couch, crossed his arms over his chest, and stopped in front of Dawn. He lowered his body and sat down. Dawn could even feel the sway when the big man sat on the bed. Is he just a ghost?
Dawn just silent and looked at him. The man smiled at the pair of big, beautiful eyes that didn't blink on him. From the first time, those eyes had caught his attention.
"What, do you admire my good looks? Looked at me like that?"
Dawn tugged at his lips, averting his eyes. The spirit can still be narcissistic like this, he just knew that.
"How did you get out of that room?"
The man looked at Dawn for a long moment, then sighed. Whether it was his breath or not, he was already lifeless. He was just a spirit. The remaining essence of life, how could he be so calm? Dawn thought. He didn't understand what was really happening.
"That's what I have to ask you, why did I come out when I heard you were in trouble? Previously, I tried to bang on the door but it was like very strong steel. Usually, I can bang it easily, look at my muscles. But, when I heard your screams, I had the strength to open the door, it wasn't difficult, just turned the handle and I managed to get out. It's so easy."
Dawn turned, frowning at the man.
"What do you mean? How can my voice make you come to me, it's so unreasonable"
The man pursed his lips, shaking his head.
"Well, don't ask me. Maybe because you're the only person who can help me right now. Thank you, for making me come back to myself, you don't know, what I felt for some time, time seemed to stop there, but, all the darkness swallowed me, making all the bad thoughts and negative energy come out. I was very angry, full of emotions, crying and screaming non-stop. Everything filled my head as if trying to take my identity, eroding me little by little. If you didn't come, perhaps, I would also turn into that little girl."
Dawn still looked at the figure for a long time, observing him. He was indeed very handsome, his face was clean, with wavy brown hair with the front part falling over his forehead. A pair of dark blue deep-set eyes and neat eyebrows, a big and sharp nose with thin lips behind a row of neat, white teeth that can't stop smiling. He has a firm jaw with a few faintly growing beards. The bluish color makes him look very masculine.