I stretched, sitting from my bed. I needed to go to Spider's house. I picked up my phone, then realized there was no one to talk to there. My room was fairly plain with a mirror on the closet door. A yellowish color coated the walls. I got up from my small, comfortable bed. I got dressed in my favorite skirt, leggings, uggs, and a white button-up shirt to complete the look. I found some courage in the mirror. I checked the driveway from the window to make sure my dad wasn't home.
"Dan!" I say as loud as I could.
"Where are you?" I shout. I start walking on the sidewalk, looking from side to side. When I looked up, I saw him floating down from the roof of my house.
"Stargazing, you could say." He said.
"Stargazing? It's sunny, " I reply with a glance.
"The sun's a star." He says with a smile. It was a Saturday, and that Friday, Spider had asked me to visit. I think it rude to say no to a direct invitation, so she gave me her address.
Spider's house was strange. It looked haunted, dim paint on the large shutters and wood. It was slightly bigger and more different than all of the houses on the block, and it felt eerie just to be around it. Dan had left me a bit before I had arrived, stopping at the park to play with a cat.
I walked up to the porch to ring the doorbell, but Spider opened the door before my hand reached the button.
"You've arrived." Spider was wearing a black-spotted sweater with jeans. They wave me into a big room with some modest chairs that were surprisingly comfortable to sit on. The room was cozy, like being under a big blanket in a pitch-black basement listening to your favorite song. There was a coffee table that had little cookies and tea in two large mugs. There was a big piano with some kind of animal sitting on it, about the size of a cat.
"That's Horse." Spider said, after catching me staring at the creature.
"What is it?" I say, and they just shrug. It was silent. Horse was flicking its tail to the beat of the clock on the wall
"You can have some tea. It's chamomile." They slid a mug towards me which I take gratefully, The tea was good.
"I have a question, Brian," Spider says. They looked almost nervous. I cross my legs and nod at them to continue.
"What do you see..?" They gestured behind them. I notice one of the figures floating behind them. I figured there would be a few, so I just blocked it out as best as I could. I was shocked.
"What- what do you mean?" Spider sipped her tea.
"What's up with you? You're very strange. I always catch you staring into space, sometimes mouthing words to yourself. What are you talking to? What can you see?" She looked frazzled, exasperated like she had an unsolvable question.
"How do you know I'm not crazy?" I say, raising an eyebrow. The ghostly figure was now draped over Spider, bored eyes facing me. They looked extremely similar, I realize. Spider shivers.
"He's here, isn't he? Describe him." She says, shaking. I decided it wasn't worth it to lie.
" He looks very similar to you, except-" I squint. There was some giant difference between the two, but I couldn't put my finger on it.
"The eyes. There's something different about the eyes, right?" tears had started to fall silently down her face. The expression had turned blank, and the figure looked to her, almost concerned. All of her hair was completely covering her eyes.
"And- the bangs." She chuckled to herself.
"Yeah, that's him. My- brother." She sniffed. I was shocked. In all the years I have known them, they have never shown that much emotion. But, there they were, crying. I couldn't tell if they were happy or sad, but they were smiling.
"Do you need a moment?" I ask.
"Y-yes, please. My bedroom is upstairs, the third door on the right. We can read, or whatever people do." I nod. The figure had followed me out of the room.
"What is your name?"
I say. He looks at me, confused.
"Me?" I nod,
"Clyde Joy." I'm about to open the door to the bedroom when I stop from shock.
"What, not a spooky enough name for a ghost?" Clyde says.
"I'm guessing that you and your sibling shared a last name. I'm shocked it's so normal. I've known them from middle school. No one knew her actual name, and she never introduced herself as anything other than Spider."
I answer. He laughed, a wispy, whistling laugh that sounded like it used to be full.
"That sounds like them." Spider's room was not as plain as the living room downstairs.. Giant bookshelves lined the walls, with all sorts of nonfiction subjects and titles like The Life Cycle of a Tree Frog, or The Psychology and Science of Panic and Stress. There was another whole bookshelf dedicated to books that seemed self-written. There was a bed in the corner, with simple white sheets and a big fluffy green blanket. There was a dresser next to the bed with a cat bed on and a food bowl that said "Horse" In bold letters. There was a large aquarium that, when I looked closer, I saw an octopus no bigger than my hand.
"You've found Frederick," I heard Spider say from the door.
"An octopus named Frederick and another animal named Horse..?"
"If it is believable, I was a big fan of Horses when I was little, and Horse is as old as me. I just got Frederick from my aunt who wasn't taking care of him properly." Spider said. The mentioned Horse was sitting on her shoulder, making a content noise akin to a purr. I sat down on the bed, feeling the soft fabric of the big blanket while watching Clyde float near the ceiling.
"Where did you get Horse? He seems quite odd, as a species." I ask. Horse had climbed off of Spider's lap, purring and pawing (clawing?) at their hand. It had black fur that wasn't that long leading up to its tail. Its tail had long hair, with white on the edges. Its back legs were long, but folded. The fur on its legs was soft and white. The body of the thing was long, and stretchy. The one thing that was completely familiar was the torso, front legs, and head that were completely cat-like. Horse came up to me like a friendly cat, purring and meowing with the occasional odd sound. I stroked his fur and he sat in my lap, content.
"It is strange." Spider said, distracted. I picked up a book and began to read. In all the years Spider and I have been friends, this is the most she's ever shared with me. From the beginning, I've felt drawn to them. Definitely not any sort of attraction, not any sort of hatred, but something deep inside of me that knows I need to be by their side.
As I was stroking Horse, I found something. There seems to be ridges in certain areas. Between the legs and tail, the neck and the mid-body.
I lifted up the fur right behind the shoulders to find... Stitches. Barely recognizable, but I could tell. I didn't want to ask. There had been a certain comfort building, and after what had happened I thought I could keep my questions for later. Horse probably had to go to the vet, or something completely normal. Likely nothing risk this for.
