Guardian Ghost

Chapter 4: The undead teaching some lessons

"It's about time." I ignored the snide remark as Xiang drew himself up taller and cleared his throat again. "Now, to begin with, I am a ghost that is, as you put it, 'haunting' you. However, I'm not here to hurt you or anybody else. First point: Ghosts are not evil spirits. They are guardians of mankind."

And big jerks! "Guardians?"

"Like I said before in my three-minute crux—"

"Of which you only took a minute tops in. Shame on you for wasting all that time."

"... As I was saying, ghosts are individuals who died before they were supposed to. That's to say they died from unnatural causes. So I didn't die from old age or from sickness or from a natural disaster, if that wasn't obvious enough." He glanced ruefully downwards at his ruined t-shirt. "But that's a story for another day.

"Lesson two: Ghosts only become visible to a human if they are a victim destined to die prior to their natural passing. This unnatural death is to occur at an undetermined time after meeting their ghost. It is rumoured that the time period between the meeting and the unnatural death is decided by fate or chance. No one knows for sure. What's important is that it is the ghost's duty to prevent the death of the victim. And yes,"—his face was serious beyond his age—"failure to accomplish this task results in the death of the victim and another period of time in purgatory for the ghost, with the victim in question joining them in serving it. Any questions?"

My bright pink room seemed to be crumbling to pieces before me, but I nodded robotically. "I see..." The whole thing seemed unreal. This is completely insane! "Then if you're a ghost, how can I touch you?"

"Lesson three: The ghost can only be touched and seen by his or her protégé, unless various circumstances occur."

"Okay, then what about you going through stuff? Why aren't you slipping through the floor?"

"Lesson four: Ghosts can touch and affect specific materials around them based on their choice. This choice doesn't include people, however." His lips held a ghost of a smile. "You're quite observant, Yuelian. Any other questions?"

Well, yes. There's a big one. How do I die? I steeled myself to ask, "And unnatural death implies...?"

"Usually murder. That option is highly likely. Our goal is to figure out who will be murdering you as soon as possible." Xiang spotted my discomfort and sighed. "I know it's a lot to take in, but it's useless to dwell too much on it now before we've made progress. Might as well do... schoolwork."

"Homework," I corrected automatically.

He seemed exasperated. "Do I care? In any case, I'm here as your bodyguard-"

"Bodyguard? People will go straight through you!" Suddenly I was yelling, in hysterics for the second time that day. I jumped to my feet, much too anxious and restless to stay seated. "You want me to trust you with my life?!" I snorted despite myself. "Please! You're just using me to get out of that ghost jail of yours!"

"I'm all you've got." He put a hand on my shoulder. "If you want to call me selfish, go right ahead."

I huffed in annoyance, drawing back from his icy touch. "Don't touch me! Just leave me alone!"

"Fine."

With that, I was alone in my room.

Knock knock.

"Yuelian? Is everything okay in there?" It was my mom, with a worried undertone in her voice.

I ignored her. "Xiang?" I whispered. No answer. "Xiang?" Louder this time. Still no answer. Xiang is completely gone... My mom was sounding even more worried from behind the door.

Then this is it. My voice wavered as I answered. "Mom, gather the whole family.

"I need to tell you guys something."