A Banana Fish Christmas Carol

You Will Be Haunted By Three Spirits

Ash suddenly found himself standing on the porch of their old house in Cape Cod again. The all too familiar house that he had shared with his brother Griffin.

What the hell am I doing here again? How did I even end up in Cape Cod?

But this time Cape Cod felt different. It wasn't a nightmare or a bad memory for once. It somehow just felt nostalgic. The strong wind, the smell of the sea, the wild nature surrounding their house, the view of the sea... He didn't even need to close his eyes to see himself and Griff enjoying themselves in the wild garden while Griff was reading a book to his 5-year old self. The childhood memories with Griff were always happy ones that made him feel relaxed and warm inside. Just like now...

Especially because he wasn't alone. He had noticed it right away ... there was someone else standing on the other side of the porch. That person was leaning against a wall, reading a book he was holding, a frown of deep concentration on his face while his blue eyes were scanning the pages. He looked as if he had always been there... Waiting for him to finally come back to him... Back home.

As if his brother had never left Cape Cod and would still live here with his little brother. As if time had stood still all these years. He even wore some clothes Ash remembered from his childhood... A single tear escaped from his eyes and was running down his cheek.

His brother's eyes weren't empty anymore as they had been after being drugged. Instead they were clear, alive and warm while he smiled softly at him. When seeing him, Ash suddenly realized with a start how much he had missed his brother, this genuine smile and those bright eyes that looked exactly as he remembered them from his childhood.

"Griff..., Ash choked out, unable t stop the tears from running down his face. He just stood there, suddenly frozen up, eyes widening in disbelief at what, or rather who, he was seeing...

Griffin just smiled, closed his book and slowly went over to him, hugging him tightly.

"Aslan, it's so good to finally see you again. You've grown so much. I've really missed you."

"I - I missed you, too.", Ash sobbed into his shoulder, gripping his back a bit too tightly, practically clinging to him. As if he was afraid he'd disappear as soon as he let go. Still, after a moment, his curiosity won out and he slowly pulled out of the hug, looking at him suspiciously.

"You're dead.", Ash reminded him bluntly, a confused look crossing his pale face. "If I can see you, does that mean I'm dead, too?", he asked, horrified at the thought for the first time. He still didn't care about his own death and still wasn't afraid to die. But after living in Japan with Eiji for a while, he had realized that Eiji would be devastated when learning about his death... Like last time when he chose to bleed out in that library...

What had he done this time? He thought he'd be safe in Japan...? Had he made Eiji suffer again...? He was the worst! Ash didn't even notice his surroundings anymore because he was slowly wondering what could have brought about his death in a safe country like Japan...

Griffin gripped his shoulder when he saw he was trembling slightly.

"Ash, you're not dead, ok?", Griffin assured him. "Would you believe me if I told you I'm a ghost?", Griffin asked, smiling at him.

"No, of course not. Ghosts don't exist. And even if you were a ghost you'd be transparent and I'd fall through you when hugging you. That's how it works in books at least."

"So you're still a book worm, I see.", Griffin said, grinning. "Good to know. But not everything you've read is true, Aslan. You're smart enough to know that. Especially because those stories were written by people who have never experienced death. So how could they know what ghosts look like?"