The Ghost of You I Cannot Deny

~6~ The Ghost and The Meeting

~It is sometimes an appropriate response to reality to go insane.~

- Phillip K. Dick, VALLIS

‘God I am stupid,’ Kalia thought with a frown, her eyes fixated on the wooden door that stood before her. She didn't know what exactly she had been thinking when she walked up the stairs and down the hall to stop in front of the worn wooden door that had caused her trouble on her first night. Maybe it had been the exhilarated feel of victory, or maybe it had just been plain stupidity; but looking at the worn wood, and staring at the silver knob as if it would magically turn and open itself, she knew that that bravo or stupidity or whatever you would call it – adrenaline perhaps?- had worn off , leaving her frozen in front of the mysterious door, unwilling to take that extra step to open it and reveal it's unknown contents.

A soft meow sounded from below her and had her looking down at the small kitten at her feet, reminding her that she was in fact, not alone; and Kalia smiled before crouching down, scratching Kiyoshi under the chin, eliciting a pleased purr from the small cat. The kitten had met her at the top of the stairs, blinking up at her innocently before padding down the hall ahead of her until she reached the worn door, where she proceeded to sit, as if she had know the destination all along, waiting patiently for her owner to open the door.

"You probably think I'm crazy don't you?" Kiyoshi looked up at her as if to say 'Yeah what of it?' before butting her head into the underside of her chin. "I mean, being scared of a door?! That really is insane." She laughed to herself, uneasily.

Kalia knew that she was talking to a cat, and she knew how crazy that that was, but every time, whenever she was scared, she found comfort in just talking to something. It calmed her nerves and when she was really nervous, sometimes she would sing.

"So there isn't any reason why I shouldn't reach out and turn the knob to see what's inside, is there?" Kiyoshi meowed and Kalia smiled, giving the kitten one last scratch before standing up, feeling better already.

"Alright then," She muttered, wiping her sweaty palms on her red checkered pajama pants before taking a step forward determinedly. "I can do this. After all it's just a normal door right?" She laughed silently to herself as she paused, as if waiting for an answer to appear out of thin air, before reaching for the knob; hand outstretched. She really did not expect someone to speak up from behind her.

"Yes; it's just a normal door," Drawled a male’s voice, making Kalia freeze in surprise, "But then again, one can never be to sure about these things."

She turned slowly, hands shaking at her sides as she peered anxiously behind her. She froze at the sight.

A boy, no, a man stood in front of her, smirking at her with a raised eyebrow. His long legs were clothed in a pair of black jeans; his feet adorning a pair of simple black and grey sneakers, and a simple black t-shirt adorned his torso, a black and white checkered hoodie on over it. His messy black hair fell down around sculpted cheekbones, shadowing his sky blue eyes which glimmered with an inner mischief.

Hadn’t she… She could have sworn that she’d seen him before…

“What’s the matter,” he teased, his voice causing her to snap her head up, eyes widening once again in shock, “cat got your tongue?”

“No! I-” She frowned, remembering just how strange this situation was. “How did you even get in here?”

He gave her a condescending look, raising an eyebrow as he spoke as if to a child. “Sweetheart, I live here.”

“What?” She exclaimed, crossing her arms across her chest. “That’s impossible. Tom said no one else lives here, and Linda would have told me…”