The bus came to a halt and I alighted from the bus.

I saw the signboard

of the shop Melinda Antique . It used to be my shop. No, our shop. It
was the place where our story started I slowly pushed the glass door
and the soft sound from the wind chimes that hung on the door could be
heard. Everything in the shop was covered with white cloth. The layers of
thick dust lied on them silently. I opened the window, and the sunlight
invaded every corner of the shop, and finally, slept peacefully on the dust
layers. As the sunlight crept in, memories of James filled the shop. I took a
stroll down the memory lane. Memories of the past clicked into place
pieces by pieces, forming a dull picture of my agonizing past.

Dont worry, my little Melinda. Youre just special. This was what
my lonely grandmother used to tell me as she stroked my head softly. I
nodded obediently. Yes, I was special. It was not my appearance or my
background, but my strange ability. I can see ghost. My grandmother left
me her antique shop before her demise. I loved her, and also the ability
that I had inherited from her. I did not tell anyone about this and I kept
this secret in the deepest corner of my heart. No one would believe me
even if I said it out. I never blamed anyone about this. As time fled, I
completely accepted and got used to it. I always caught sight of eerie
figures melting through the walls and the sound they whispered in my
ears. All of them had their own stories. I tried my best to help them if
they came to me and also tried my best to pacify their angers.

Everything had changed since the day James walked into my life. He
was just like the warm sunshine that melted my cold heart. I never
believed in love at the first sight until I met him. It was a memorable day.
James plodded into my shop holding a huge box filled with old toys and
decorations. According to him, his father had just passed away and those
were the things that he left. He wanted to know whether I can help him
to look for some buyers who can take care of them in place of his father.
That day onwards, he came to my shop frequently. We had become the
closest friends ever. We shared about our joy and sorrow. And yet, we fell
in love. I loved this lovely man so much. He was towering and sturdy with
well-tanned skin. His eyes were so charming when I looked into them. He
had the greatest smile in the world which can melt everyones heart. He
was also a capable inspector.

Two years later, he asked my hand for marriage. I could never forget his
dazzling eyes during the day he proposed to me. Finally, I summoned my
courage to tell him about my secret. He was flabbergasted and puzzled. It
was unbelievable to him. I thought that was the end of our story but he
held my hands and knelt down. The moment I said I love you, it means
to say I love everything about you He uttered the words gently.
After we were married, I kept on operating the shop and also my efforts
on helping those wandering spirits. He gave me supports and was always
lending me his shoulder whenever I needed it.

The second year we married, we had our first child. She was a girl, a
stunning baby girl. She resembled James in many ways. They were exactly
a chip off the old block. However, we faced a horrible problem when our
dearest daughter, Jessie was five years old. It was a cruel fact which I
could never accept and also the thing that I afraid of the most. We heard
Jessie muttering during the midnight. And the fact was, there was no one
in her room except her. This was exactly similar with my situation during
my childhood when I knew about my ability from my grandmother. Jessie
had the same ability with me! She started to question me about the
strange figures lingering on the streets. I was completely at sea. This was
because having this ability meant that she would be target of the furious,
revengeful ghosts like what I have gone through. I had to find out who
was haunting Jessie as soon as possible.

I stood outside Jessies bedroom and waited for its arrival. Everything
melted into cold silence, and yet, the weird terrifying whispering sounds
appeared inside Jessies room. I barged into Jessies room. As I opened
the door, I could felt icy wind hitting my face coldly and it sent shivers
down my spine. I was greeted by a shadowy figure in front of me. It had
bloodshot eyes and masochistic grin. Her white dress was almost totally
stained red by crimson blood. Staring at me with her eyes that were full
of anger and fury, she advanced towards me and tried to attack me with
her razor fingernails. A deafening gunshot resounded in the air. It was
James. The ghost seemed to be scared and it skimmed backwards.
Where is it? Tell me! James asked me. Cut it out! You cant fight her!
You cant even see her! I exclaimed at the top of my voice. Jessie started
to cry and run into my arms. Run! Bring Jessie and run! James pushed
us out from the room and closed the door.

Another gunshot came out from the room followed by the ghosts
scream. I lost my consciousness and slumped to the ground. When I
opened my eyes again, they had disappeared, James, and the ghost. Jessie
was sobbing beside me. I attempted to search for James but to no avail.
He had vanished into thin air. What in the world was happening? I was
completely out of my wits. The searching process took three years and I
failed no matter how much effort I had put in. Jessie lost the ability of
seeing ghost after that night and the reason could never be known.

And now, the sunlight was still lying in my poor gloomy shop, but James
was gone. I wondered. Was it my fault for bringing James and Jessie into
trouble? No one could answer me. So I chose to leave, and let the spiders
in the webs to quarrel whether it was my fault or not. I tried to stifle my
tears but I failed to do so. Traitor tears flowed freely down my cheeks
without any sign of stopping. Out of the blue, I caught a glimpse James.
He was standing on the opposite street as I looked through the window. I
was exultant and I dashed out to the street.



Jamess lips curved upward slowly and he walked towards me step by
step until he reached the middle of the road. James! Watch out! I
hollered before one of the cars was speeding towards him and he was still
stood motionlessly on the road without any signs of leaving. Wait. Did I
see it wrongly? The car just just passed through Jamess body and
James was still having a gentle grin on his pale face