No One, But You

It was a cold wintery night, that should have been like any others, but this one was special. The steering wheel was unusually heavy and the tyres on the road, noisier. Adeline pulled to the side, got out, and rounded the car—the snow crunching beneath her feet. Just my luck, she thought, looking at the culprit: a deflated tyre.

I can change a tyre; I've done it before. She slapped her thighs and rummaged her boot for the tools and got to work.

Everything was going well until the last wheel nut. She stepped on the wrench, bouncing her whole weight on it, but it wouldn't budge. Her chest heaved; beads of perspiration trickled down her frozen face. She stared at that nut. Life is tough as it is, stop making it worse! she thought.

"You stubborn nut!" she shouted aloud, but the nut remained annoyingly silent and she kicked it.

Suddenly, a voice said from behind her, "I've been called a lot of things, but that's a first."

Adeline started, turning her head to see a white, blurry figure. A ghost! Her breath caught. Her eyes shut and her body whipped around. She faced the supernatural being with raised fists—as if that would do any good.

"M-M-My life is very boring, I'm broke—it won't be fun," she shouted, trembling, either from the cold or the fright. "P-P-Please don't possess me!"

There was silence.

Then, the voice laughed. "First accused to be stubbornly crazy, now, a ghost. You're making my night interesting."

Adeline reluctantly opened an eye. After a second glance, she realised the figure wasn't a ghost but a young man wearing a white jacket. Who wears white at night? But also...

"Sneaking up on people in the middle of the night," Adeline said, "are you trying to scare me to death?"

The man rubbed the back of his head, sheepishly and said, "Sorry, that was completely unintentional." He gestured towards a direction. "I live in one of the nearby houses and saw your stranded headlights from my balcony." He looked at the tools laid around her feet. "Need a hand?"

Her eyes darted to the silly nut: she could really use his help. "Yes, thank you."

The young man walked over and crouched beside the damaged tyre, puffing misty breaths.

"It's just that last bolt," Adeline said, "I've been trying to get it out for the past fifteen minutes."

He looked up at her with widened eyes. "You were counting?"

Her cheeks flushed. "No, just a guess."

"Well, Miss Timekeeper, let's see how long it'll take me." He tried wrenching the nut loose with his hands at first, but that didn't work. He then moved to stand on the handle of the wrench. A loud squeak sounded through the cold air as the stubborn nut finally loosened.

Adeline jumped and her hand shot to her chest. "Oh gosh, I thought something broke."

"Do I look that heavy?"

Adeline goggled at first, but then, raised an eyebrow and folded her arms. "You know that's not what I meant."

He laughed, handing her the last nut. "To be fair, I wouldn't know any better since we just met." He extended a hand. "I'm Keith—Keith Wilson, by the way."

Adeline glimpsed the hand in front of her. They weren't delicate and dainty like hers; they looked rough, calloused, with protruding veins—showing signs of laboured work.

She took his outstretched hand, shaking it. "Adeline Lee. Nice to meet you, Keith."

"Likewise, Adeline." Keith beamed a smile at her.