———Mira———
"Say, Minho. You said you've encountered a ghost before in your world."
I had a feeling there was something my Human demon wasn't telling me. No servant should keep secrets from his master. He should know better.
"Yes."
"What was it like?"
Minho hesitated a little, but as I probed his ribs with my elbow he let out a sigh and responded.
"I don't want to talk about it."
That wasn't exactly what I wanted.
"Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong with you? You haven't been looking quite yourself since we went to Celestine's."
"It's just that… my encounter with a ghost wasn't pleasant."
"Of course, it wouldn't have been! It's like encountering a monster, isn't it?"
No answer.
"How did it attack you?"
"It didn't attack me."
"And you couldn't see it?"
Minho closed his eyes, and then vigorously shook his head as if to shake away a memory he did not want to recall.
"I really don't want to talk about it."
This won't do.
I stopped walking and put my arm around his shoulder.
"Hey, you can tell me all about it. It's ok."
"It's not that I don't want to tell you. I just don't want to recall that memory."
Sigh…
"Listen, we've promised we will fight Celestine's ghost tomorrow. Without knowing what a ghost is like, we can't devise any plan, can we?"
"We'll improvise."
"Enough!"
Minho did not look me in the eye and just looked at his toes instead. I've never seen him so down before, except after the Mirror of Despair.
"What's your problem? Spit it out!"
"I. SAID. DON'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT!!!"
What the hell?
His sudden outburst startled me. Normally I would have bonked him but there was just something about his expression that made me hold back.
What is it?
What is it that he's feeling?
Why do I even care…?
But he looks… kinda sad?
Then I remembered something.
"Hey, if you tell me, I will give you a chocolate."
Then I fished out a chocolate that I snuck into my pocket. It was all melted and sticky in my hand.
Duh… what did I expect…
"OK then. If you don't want to tell me about that time you met a ghost, at least tell me some stories. What do humans think of ghosts, like, in general?"
"I suppose they are like spirits, as you say they also exist in this world."
"Yeah"
"Are those spirits friendly in this world?"
"Mostly, yeah. Either friendly, or they just don't really care for people and not interested in interacting."
"Mira."
"Yes?"
"Ghosts in my world… are usually spirits that haven't been able to go to either heaven or hell."
"Kinda like you then?"
"I'm not kidding."
"So… why do they stand in the world then?"
"Usually they are people who died with great grudge, or in the best case scenario, people who died not achieving something that they desperately wanted."
"Now we are going somewhere, hehe. Explain some more."
"Can you imagine what kind of a grudge one must have to not be able to go to either heaven or hell? Heaven should offer them eternal peace, right? They are refusing to go even though they can rest in peace forever. Hell must be a place where people who deserve it would be forced to go, right? Now look, their grudge is so strong that even the devils are not taking them to hell. Maybe devils think it's worth it to keep them in the world to do their wicked things."
"Well… that does sound unpleasant."
"The ones who died with such a grudge… it's a very powerful thing. They suffer, they grieve, and they have burning hatred in their dead heart. A cold flame that doesn't stop burning."
"You think the ghost Celestine summoned is one of those?"
"That's the feeling I get."
Now was the time to maybe push him a little again.
"And how did you encounter them?"
Minho looked extremely agitated, refused to answer, and grunted through his gritted teeth.
"Even your mirror magic won't get me to talk about it."
What?! How can something be more horrible than what the Mirror of Despair can show?
I simply couldn't fathom that that could be even possible.
"That's impossible."
"In my case, and in this very specific scenario, that's how it is."
Wait…
Wait…
The dots started to connect in my head.
It made perfect sense.
If what he sees in the Mirror of Despair is as bad as facing his memory of his encounter with a ghost, it is conceivable that the experience itself was part of his deepest despair.
"I see…"
"Now, can we just go home?"
Minho looked tired, emotionally drained and mentally fragile.
"Very well. Let's go home and I won't talk about it anymore. At least not for now."
"I appreciate it."
"But let me tell you one thing."
I too had my share of bad memories, although I've never looked into the Mirror of Despair myself, which is supposed to show even the things that you did not fully remember or understand - but I could understand how having a bad past could haunt you in a way that Minho was saying ghosts could.
"If you are so scared of a ghost, don't you think finding a way to defeat one will make you feel better?"
Minho thought about it for a moment then shook his head in defeat.
"Not for this particular case."
Am I doomed to lose now… and here I was thinking my Human was invincible…
My heart sank to my stomach and I almost felt sick.
To lose everything… to never make it as a real mage… losing my dream, letting down my parents who gave their all to give me this opportunity…
:Bonk:
"Ouch, what was that for again?!", Minho shot back.
"Listen. We are going to do it. Don't think about tomorrow's practice with Celestine as something we win or lose, although I'd hate to be defeated, practice or not. But let's use it as a chance to find out what we can do. I can't help with your past, but all we can do is move on, right? That's what my Dad always used to say."
Just as I thought I gave an inspiring speech, Minho closed his eyes and placed his hand on his heart as if to physically steady himself.
"I wish I just straight went to hell… but I guess I deserve to be cursed…"
That was all Minho had to say.