Darkness lingered even after I opened my eyes. For a few seconds, I didn't move nor did I think. Didn't even breathe properly. I just… stared. At the ceiling above me, it felt unfamiliar
or maybe it was me who felt out of place.
A dull ache pulsed at the back of my head.
"…You're awake." Kevin said, his voice soft and careful.
I turned my head slightly.
He was sitting beside the bed, leaning forward, watching me like I might disappear if he blinked.
"How long…?" my voice came out dry.
"A few hours," he replied. "You fainted."
Fainted?
The word echoed strangely in my mind like it didn't belong to me. I blinked slowly, trying to gather the scattered pieces in my head.
"…What happened?"
Kevin hesitated just for a second but, I noticed. "You don't remember?" he asked.
I didn't answer because I did. Not everything clearly but enough for something cold to settle in my chest.
'…You were acting strange," he continued. "Standing there, not responding properly. You said someone was here."
Someone? My fingers tightened slightly over the bedsheet. "…And?" I asked.
Kevin exhaled lightly. "There was no one."
Silence. There was no one. The words should have settled something but they didn't.
My gaze drifted away from Kevin, back to the ceiling-blank, unmoving. "…No one," I repeated quietly and it sounded wrong. I could still feel it. Not a memory not imagination-something real. Something that had been there.
My fingers curled slightly against the sheets. "…He was here." The words slipped out before I could stop them.
Kevin didn't respond immediately. I didn't even need to look to know the expression on his face.
"You're not making sense," he said carefully.
Maybe I wasn't but still my breath caught faintly. That feeling… It hadn't disappeared. It lingered. Like a presence just out of sight. Like someone standing too close, just behind me.
My body tensed.
"…No," I whispered, almost to myself.
The silence in the room pressed in on me, heavy and suffocating. Even if it wasn't real… it feel so familiar.
My brows drew together slightly.
" …This isn't the first time," The thought came quietly. "But once it did - it won't leave." A faint frown formed as I shut my eyes briefly, trying to grasp the feeling slipping through my mind.
My breath hitched. "…Was it really him…?" the question came out in a whisper but, before it could settle - another thought followed. "…Or… someone else?"
My eyes opened slowly.
"…No…" I muttered, more to myself than anyone else. That didn't make sense. How could it even make sense? A person couldn't feel like two different people - or two people feel like one. Right?
My hand rose slightly, pressing against my chest as if it would steady the chaos building inside but it didn't help because the more I thought - the worse it became.
"…Why do they feel the same…?" the question barely formed on my lips and for the first time - fear wasn't the only thing I felt. There was something else, something deeper, something far more dangerous.
"…Why do they feel the same…?" The thought wouldn't leave. It circled - again and again - refusing to settle into anything clear.
"Hey." Kevin's voice cut through everything.
I flinched slightly, my thoughts snapping apart instantly. He stepped closer, frowning, eyes scanning my face like he was trying to read something I wasn't saying.
"You've been zoning out for like five minutes," he muttered, a hint of irritation mixed with concern. "That's not normal - even for you."
I didn't respond. I couldn't because my mind was still stuck there.
Kevin sighed, running a hand through his hair.
"Look," he said, softer now, dropping into a more familiar tone, "whatever you think you saw - just calm down first, okay?" A pause. Then, with a slight nudge to my shoulder, he said, "Seriously, don't go all ghost-story mode on me at this hour. I just got here."
His weak attempt at humor. So-very Kevin.
My gaze shifted toward him slowly.
I know he was trying, trying to keep things normal. Sometimes at a serious situation he would completely forgot how to comfort someone and, sometimes he would explode like a bomb to comfort someone.
"…It wasn't nothing," I said quietly.
He held my gaze for a second then exhaled.
"Yeah," he murmured, not fully agreeing - but not dismissing it either. "We'll figure it out."
He watched me for a moment longer then, suddenly leaned closer, nudging my shoulder again.
"Alright, enough," he muttered, a little more forceful this time. "Your brain is going to explode at this rate."
Before I could react, his hand lightly grabbed my wrist - not tight, just familiar - and pulled slightly. "Come here." he said.
I frowned faintly but didn't resist.
He shifted me just enough so I was angled toward the window.
"Look outside."
"…What?"
"Just look," he insisted, a bit clingy now, like he wasn't going to let me slip back into my thoughts again.
My gaze drifted, almost unwillingly, toward the window. For a second, nothing registered only the vast sky and some roof top of our neighbours and suddenly I saw it. The mango tree which was right outside.
The branches swayed slightly in the night breeze, soft and quiet. Small and fresh light green new leaves on every branches.
My eyes lingered on them without realizing.
"They just started growing a few days ago," Kevin said, his voice softer now. "Did you even notice?"
I didn't answer.
"They were completely bare before," he continued casually, leaning back a little but still close enough. "Now look at it." A small pause. "Still growing."
Silence settled again - but this time… it wasn't heavy.
My gaze stayed on the leaves, the faint movement calming something inside me.
Kevin exhaled quietly, satisfied.
"See?" he added lightly. "Not everything is creepy and mysterious." his weak attempt. But it worked just a little and the tightness in my chest eased.
"…Yeah," I murmured.
Kevin stared at me for a few seconds. Then suddenly, he leaned in. Way closer than he usually is.
"Don't move."
I blinked. "What-"
"Shhh."
His eyes narrowed, scanning my face like he was analyzing something critical. After full fifteen seconds he finally said, "…Yeah."
"What yeah?"
He leaned back slowly, nodding to himself.
"I knew it."
"…Knew what?"
A pause. Then he pointed at me. "Your brain lagged."
I just stared at him. "It what?"
"Yeah," he continued, completely calm. "Like bad network. Your soul exited your body for a second and now it's trying to reconnect."
"…Kevin."
"Don't interrupt, this is seriously serious."
I exhaled slowly. "I'm fine."
"No, no," he shook his head, already standing up. "I've seen this before."
"You have not—"
"I need... holy water."
"What?"
"Or a slipper. Either works."
"Are you trying to beat the ghost out of me??"
"If needed, yes."
I stared at him and he stared back with his serious, brown almost black eyes.
A chuckle slipped out before I could stop it.
Kevin froze.
"…Wait."
I turned my face away, pressing my lips together but it didn't help. That chuckle quietly turned into a small laugh. It was like the soft breeze outside but at least it was real.
Kevin's eyes widened like he'd just unlocked an achievement.
"OHHH?"
"No-"
"IT WORKED!"
"It didn't-"
"I FIXED YOU!"
"Kevin-"
He pointed at me dramatically.
"Ladies and gentlemen, after years of research-"
"Stop talking."
"- I have successfully rebooted this man."
I let out a breath, shaking my head slightly but the smile didn't fully disappear this time.
Kevin crossed his arms proudly. "…You're welcome."
With that, he didn't moved, didn't blinked just kept staring at me like he was calculating something deeply important.
"…Wait."
" I groaned softly. "What now?"
He slowly raised a finger. "I need to confirm something."
"…No."
"Yes."
"I hate you-"
"Quick question," he cut in, serious again. "If a mango falls from that tree outside-"
I blinked. "What?"
"-and it hits you on the head…" A dramatic pause, "…does that make it a fruit attack… or a natural disaster?"
"..." Silence.
I stared at him. "…What?"
"I'm asking because legally it matters."
"HOW does that matter??"
"What if the mango had intentions?"
"It's a mango-"
"Exactly.It is suspicious."
I dragged a hand down my face. "…You're not real."
He nodded slowly, like he agreed.
"That's what the mango wants you to think."
I turned away and a laugh slipped out again.
It's not like I was laughing because of him yet because of him at the same time. His expression and the way he talked was the only reason.
Kevin gasped softly. "There it is."
"No-"
"HE LAUGHED AGAIN."
"Kevin, stop-"
I'm telling you, it's the mango tree."
"…What?"
"It's healing you."
I let out another breath, shaking my head but I couldn't stop smiling now. Kevin crossed his arms, satisfied by himself.
"…Nature is amazing."
I chuckled. The kind that slipped out before I could stop it. Kevin was still going on about something ridiculous, something about the mango tree outside deciding to attack me personally. And for a moment it worked. The tension eased. The weight in my chest loosened, just a little.
But then, "…Wait." My voice came out quieter than before.
My gaze shifted toward the window, landing on the tree Kevin had pointed at. The branches were still. Bare except for a few soft, newly grown leaves.
My brows drew together slightly.
"…How would a mango even fall on my head?" A slow pause. Then I muttered, "It's winter."
"..."
Slowly, I turned to look at him.
" It's winter."
Kevin didn't even blinked. "Okay - and?"
I stared at him. "There are no mangoes."
He frowned slightly, like I was the one not making sense. "According to you."
"According to biology-"
"Biology is a suggestion," he cut in immediately.
"What?"
"Yeah," he nodded, completely serious. "Plants don't follow rules. They just… vibe."
"…Vibe?"
"Exactly."
I stared at him for a full second. "…You're insane."
"Or," he raised a finger, "hear me out-"
"No."
"The tree is hiding them."
"…Hiding them?"
"Strategically," he added. "Waiting for the perfect moment."
"To do what?"
"To attack."
I turned away, pressing my palm against my forehead. "…I can't deal with you."
"Wow," he scoffed lightly. "So when a mysterious man breaks into your house, you're fine-"
"I am not fine-"
"-but when a mango shows initiative, suddenly it's unrealistic?"
That thing made no sense. Absolutely none and yet a laugh slipped out again. I tried to stop it but obyously Kevin's logic won.
Kevin went completely still. Then a smile spread across his face and slowly a grin that reached his eyes.
"…Yeah," he muttered proudly. "I'm saving lives out here."
I shook my head, letting out a quiet breath. "You're impossible."
Kevin grinned like he'd just proven something.
I didn't replyed, didn't argued, didn't even thinked, I just let it go. The confusion, the questions, that strange, lingering feeling, I pushed it aside because right now with him here, it didn't feel as heavy anymore.
A faint smile stayed on my lips without me realizing.
Honestly… how was anyone supposed to stay serious around him?
I leaned back slightly, closing my eyes for a brief second. "…Idiot."
Kevin didn't even react to the insult. Just leaned back like he'd already won and maybe just this once he had.