A Melody in the Twilight Sky

15 Under the Sunlight

The woman I saw that day was really a ghost, just like Poon said. At first, I didn't pay much attention, thinking that things were chaotic at the time, and Poon might not have had a good look. But now that she's suddenly appeared and is staring at me like she's going to eat me alive, it's proof enough.

Wh-what's this? Where did you come from? Why are you angry at me? What did I do to you...?

And then I saw my way out.

"I can prove it. There really is a ghost following you," I blurted out, closing my eyes tightly. "It's a female ghost with long hair..."

It seemed to work because P'Mai suddenly stopped trying to pull me away and leaned down, his eyes wide.

Seeing that, I continued, "...Hair tucked behind her ear, pale skin, fierce expression, wearing an orange shirt with dots." As soon as I finished speaking, P'Mark's face turned pale.

"H-how do you know...?"

"What's going on here?" Before P'Mai could get an answer, the voice of a newcomer interrupted. He looked at P'Mai and then at his hand on my collar with a startled expression. Then he continued, "Let her go..."

P'Mai, whose hand was already weak, immediately released my collar as instructed. I really have to thank him.

This man had a clean-cut face and was quite good looking. He was tall and probably no older than his early twenties.

"We can talk things out calmly," he continued.

"Th-then who are you?" P'Mai turned to the man in annoyance.

"My name is Din. I'm the son of the subdistrict headman," he introduced himself. "I was walking around checking on the event and heard a commotion..."

The subdistrict headman's son...?

"Good timing. These two kids are con artists."

"Hey, P'... I told you everything correctly. Don't cheat." I protested because the female ghost was still staring at me with hatred.

"Correct about the ghost, my ass... You're just making things up and it happened to be a coincidence."

"We can talk things out calmly. These two young girls don't seem harmful." P'Din's calm and gentle voice sounded again.

"She said she saw a ghost following me." P'Mai turned to complain to P'Din, who was younger than him. P'Din then looked at me thoughtfully, so I quickly blurted out,

"It's a misunderstanding." Then I turned to whisper to the plump man, "Think carefully about how I could have guessed that accurately."

"..."

"Is it your ex-wife who's following you around? She seems very possessive of you. Be careful what you say next, or you might get your neck snapped tonight..."

"Damn you..."

"So, what's going on?" P'Din interrupted again. He spoke with a smile to help ease the tension. He was truly reliable.

"Nothing's going on." I turned to P'Mai, who was pale, and gave him a forced smile. "Right?"

"Uh, yeah. I was just about to leave, but this kid was bothering me." He stammered in response. "I'm going now..."

"Wait..." Before he could hurry away, I lightly tugged on his collar in retaliation and whispered, "Did you forget something? I've proven it. You have to answer my question."

"Wh-what question?"

"What happened to P'Pim's son? How did she lose her pregnancy or was it intentional...? If you don't tell me, I'll..."