Time Of Our Lives

First Roommate

"Don't forget to clean the altar, and smile more. Let's start the day with a bright smile'' said Yuphel, while I stood there wondering how it came to this. "Why did you follow me? What do you want'', were the first words Yuphel ever said to me. Finally I had met the mysterious girl. She appeared to be around the same age as me. She was a short girl with short hair and wore a black skirt with light blue long sleeves.

"So what do you want?" she said timidly. "Hi, who are you? And why am I the only one who can see you?" I asked. "Well you can call me Yuphel, and I am what you call a spirit. Nice to meet you,"she said cheerfully. My whole body got Goosebumps, she was a spirit. It made more sense now, it was clear to me she wasn't an evil spirit. But how am I the only one who can see her?

"Thank you for calling my friend that day, without you I would have been left in the rain for a long time,'' I said while clearing my voice. "That's the least I could do, it was my fault you ran away like chicken'' she said in a guilty tone. We both laughed after that and went to my house to continue our conversation.

She was a sweet and talkative girl that clashed with my introverted personality, but I enjoyed it. We talked the entire night and shared our stories. Apparently Yuphel was once a human who died when she was 17 years old. She told me she came to Thimphu on a vacation with her friends but she was killed in a car accident. She had been a spirit for almost a year and had been alone all this time.

"Wait, how did you become a spirit?" I asked with curiosity. "When I was alive there were many things I wanted to do, so I have a lot of regrets. Maybe that is the reason why I am a spirit.'' "Well can you tell me your regrets? I can try and help you accomplish them" I said. Little did I know that sentence would change my life forever.

"Really? You would do that for me?" she said trying to control her excitement. "Yes, I'll help you," I said. Suddenly she hugged me while still smiling. Feeling shocked and flustered, both of us slowly backed a bit away from each other not believing what just happened.

"I didn't know I could actually touch you, thank you for helping me,'' said Yuphel blushing. I could not look her in the face, it was the first time a girl had ever hugged me. There was a moment of brief awkwardness between us. "By the way, where do you stay? Do you even sleep?'' I asked her trying to break the ice. Yuphel shyly said ''Well, I never feel sleepy but if I wanted to, I can sleep anytime. I just walk around the nearby monasteries and I.....'' ''WAIT!! How can a spirit enter a monastery?'' I said while interrupting her.

"Before I died, I was religious and I still am religious, so I can step into monasteries,"she said pouting her lips a bit. "I am sorry for being rude, I didn't mean to offend you'' I said while feeling guilty. "It's fine, you were just curious. It can't be helped,"she said while still pouting. We continued our conversation and then I asid to her. ''I have an extra room in my flat, you can move in if you want. We can talk as much as you want if you moved in and you might be able to help me tend to the altar." "I would love that,'' she said with a smile. Yuphel happily went to the altar to tend it, while I cooked a meal for us. She came to the kitchen with a grim expression and walked towards my face. "Why does the altar look like it has not been tended for years?'' she said in an eerie and threatening voice. She proceeded to lecture me for an hour.

The next day I went to work as usual, but this time I was not alone. "Let's start the day with a bright smile,'' said Yuphel smiling brightly. I could not help but smile back, I was no longer alone. I now have a roommate, an extraordinary roommate.

The day was rather slow in the shop, but luckily I had Yuphel to keep me company. "Oh right, what were the regrets you had. Can you please tell me?'' I said with curiosity. "Oh, I forgot about it, grab me a pen and paper'', replied Yuphel.