The Intruder

"Get the coat, it might get cold!"

Beyond the bounds of the burial ground, a silent prayer was going off in a church. The chilly air wafting from the town brought with it the scent of candy and of cakes. Somewhere further down the empty road excited children were clenching their importuned sweets, laughing at the sheer existence of a festival they could neither understand nor comprehend. I sat beside Shane under the non-existent shade of a large tree in the cool night. Perhaps on a hot sunny day, the gentle tree would serve as a cool umbrage for the fugitives of life. I held his hand and sat quietly for a long time listening to the claps and the clamor of minors pranking innocent victims. Every Halloween night we would sit under the cool affectionate tree and watch the stars as it twinkled above the cretinous world. 

'Getting quiet.', Shane murmured. 

Downtown, the clock struck 1. Shane and I snuggled into the blanket we had brought with us. The night had taken a swift turn. The town collapsed into their beds with their fagged cubs. Drunkards and vagabonds lay waste to the festivities. The light breeze had turned into spikes of cold icicles piercing into our cheeks. Shane hugged me tight, imbibing my body heat, keeping himself from shivering. His warm breath tickled my ears and I closed my eyes in comfort. At this moment, nothing was going to scare me. This was much more of a convivial atmosphere than the debacle of the foreign world. This berth held its own vocabulary, speaking through the chilliness of the air and hugging us with its stone cold breathing. 

'What was that?'

I opened my eyes startled. Shane was sitting up, his eyes screwed up in concentration, trying to see into the dark lonely burial ground. 

'What?', I asked him anxiously. 

'I...I think I heard something...from...down there..', he breathed, still staring into the night.

I sat up a little and squinted into the direction he was gawking at. The moonlight plowed itself through the clouds, illuminating the fatigued tombstones. Engraved into a gravestone a few feet away from us was the words, 'Faith requires no reason'. In this dark lonesome night, there was a certain beauty to it. An epitaph of desolated meaning urging for understanding - a measurable failure, yet giving refuge to the fugitives of life. In a wave of affection and sympathy, I looked at Shane. He must have thought he heard his father. Grief can do a lot of things to people and sleeping near their loved ones' tombstone is no small feat.

'Come back to sleep, honey. There is nobody there.', I told him fondly. He looked at me for a few seconds and then pulled up his blanket. As I cuddled up into his arms, I heard a cold hushing of an intrusion. Alarmed, I sat back up tearing from his warm chest. What the hell was that? From the corner of my eye, I felt Shane pulling out a pocket knife from his jacket.

'Who is it?', I choked. My voice was trembling, out of fear or the cold, I couldn't really tell. From beyond the tombstone came a rustling noise, more like a snake gliding through dried leaves, yet nothing like the warm heavy glissade. The crackling of the warm dried leaves filled the memorial ground. The cold strange air filled our lungs. Nothing moved or made a sound, the wind seemed to have dropped dead. I sat frozen grabbing Shane's arm who also seemed rooted to the spot, listening to the noise that was now etching its way into our skin, waiting for the moonlight to expose the intruder. 

'Who...Who is it?', I called out grappling on to my strength which was oozing out steadily. 

From behind the tombstone, boomed a voice, unfamiliar and anomalous in every sense.

 'A traveller', answered the voice. It crippled around the graveyard, clawing at our skins. The voice seemed distorted, quite human-like yet nothing like human, a genderless voice. I held onto Shane's arms who was now evidently shivering. 

'What...what do you...what do you want?" I croaked to the eidolon for the moonlight lighted up no body or no shadow. 

'A companion.', It cawed back. We quivered under the weight of Its voice pressing onto our chest and our body. 

'Show yourself', called out Shane who seemed to have regained some of his courage. Maybe because he sensed my failing sense of spirit. 

It said nothing. We waited and waited.

'Are you there?' I called out to the moonlit graveyard.

'Yes.', It said, a little quietly, probably flushed. 'I am afraid, you might think me hostile.'

A sense of sympathy rose in me. The bodiless voice sounded a little more humane now. 'You have already done the damage. It's better you come out.', I called out warmly as I could.

From behind the tombstone, something rustled. Shane groped my hand tight and his mouth fell open. For a minute, I couldn't see what he was startled at and then I saw it too. A thing, an umbra like figure on top of the tomb. I couldn't really tell whether the figure was a woman or a man. I couldn't tell what it looked like or what it was wearing. It seemed distorted and perverted. I couldn't even tell what I was feeling about it. The moonlight seemed to be illuminating everything, including him. He looked quite opaque and yet invisible at the same time. An unfathomable existence of something long forgotten.

For what seemed like a long time, Shane and I stared at the figure. We lost our voices along with all the logic I could conjure. On the crippled face, I sensed a smile forming. How I understood it, I do not know. 

'I get that.', the quiet voice boomed in the night, 'I am just passing through. Your presence startled me as much as mine did to you. On such a festive night, what are two young lovers doing here?'

Shane gulped and said nothing.

'I... We spent Halloweens here.', I said.

The entity pondered, his face went back to being lifeless again. Despite the cold and dead aura the thing brought with it, I did not feel any fear or angst towards it, yet the feeling of foreboding hung around the burial ground. Sensing disappointment, I continued. 'We dont really much enjoy the festivities. I'd rather be here than the ruckus of the world outside.'

The distorted face broke into brightness. Was it smiling? 'Haaa... The ruckus. Indeed...Indeed... quite discomforting I believe. I remember when I used to touch the ground. The scent of green and the blue...' the voice fell silent and the opaqueness lightened.

'Do you miss it?', I asked sympathetically.

'I do not know. I can't really tell.', silence fell.

'Do you have any living family?', I asked, a little curious. The face looked up and its lifeless eyes bored into me, calculating its answer. 'I do, I think', It paused, 'The living is abysmal, atleast for us. It never did so when I was in your space. I roamed the wild lands and took everything for granted. And here I am still... roaming... but...I do not feel.', he continued, 'Yet I sense their fears and their sadness. My loved ones living in anguish. It lingers around me, teasing my helplessness. I wish...I wish I could hold it and make it disappear but...I am forever bound to live with their fears.' 

My heart melted. I couldn't express my warmth for it, but it sensed my fondness and turned a little brighter. 'I could hear them breathe sometimes. It's like listening to warm music. I sensed comfort on my way which was how I stumbled upon you.', it boomed excitedly.

'Can you see other people?', said Shane suddenly.'I mean, like, other people who are dead.'

The entity pondered over his question for a while. I could feel Shane's anxiety building up beside me. Finally, the spirit spoke. 'I doubt whether I would be of any help, kid. As you see, I am helpless as much as you are.'

'But you are a ghost!' Shane argued. 'Obviously, you would be able to speak to other ghosts. What is the point of being dead, then?', The ghost peered at him.

'I understand why you would think that. The living assumes a lot of the unknown. Mostly out of fear or out of desperation. They create scenarios of escape of the torment they endure in the living world. I should point out to you that death is nothing like you think it is.' it paused and looked down the tombstone. 'I believe I am stepping on your father. My apologies.', it stepped aside and gaped at us. 

There was nothing I could do but share my disappointment with Shane. Today was his father's third memorial day. 

'Can I see him? Like i am seeing you, can i see him?' choked Shane.

The entity conjured up all the kindness he could muster and spoke softly, yet the voice boomed around us, almost like it was coming out of our skins. 

'He senses you, I fear. Your anxiety and your desperation. It only makes him feel terrible. If he comes to you, he would never want to leave and will rot in your presence. Your heartbeat and your breathing will be like drugs to his essence. And eventually, he would forget everything he is and turn into something even the dead fear. Do you want that?'

There was silence in the air. Nobody spoke. The air was still cold and crispy. There was no wind or noise. A vacant silence suppressed into our ears. Only the soft thudding of our hearts echoed around us. I felt vulnerable at the thought of the entity enjoying the beats. 

'He knows. Whatever you want to say to him, he knows. It is our curse to know it, sense it. It is torture for our likes. Your pain is excruciating to the dead. As long as you hold onto that pain, we will walk the earth pining for the warmth of the living.' 

Even in the dark, I felt Shane's tears. There was nothing much I could do but hold his hands. Shane had been my best friend as long as I could remember. There was a certain sonance to our relationship only we could hear, a language that only we could understand. As much as his presence comforted me, I knew mine comforted him too. After what seemed like a long time, the entity interrupted. 'I think it is time for me to leave. Thank you for the company. It was getting quite... for want of a better word,lonely.' he bowed and started to leave.

'Wait!', I said, suddenly realising I should have asked this a long time ago, 'If you don't mind me asking, what is your name?'

The entity turned around, 'Does it matter?'

'Are you...Are you real or are we both hallucinating?'

 'Faith requires no reason.', It chuckled and faded into the moonlight. A gush of wind picked up its reminiscence and flushed the court.