Three Idiots and a Ghost

When a ghost went on a trip

Later that night, Archer said goodbye to his grandma and watched her and his mom drive away. Once they were out of sight, he stared at the small red paper bag in his hand. Inside was the item that could help Rags remember everything prior to her death. But it did come with a warning which he would have to thoroughly discuss with her first.

Before entering his apartment building, he remembered the paper talisman his grandma also had gotten him from her shaman friend. He had it stuffed inside his back pocket and thought it'd be better to dispose of it as soon as possible. It was apparently for warding off evil homo-spirits. His grandmother noticed that despite being twenty-one and decent looking, he'd never had a girlfriend. This deeply worried her.

As Archer ripped the talisman to shreds and discarded it in a nearby dumpster, the reason he couldn't ever turn straight called him. "Alex! How are you doing?"

"I'm okay," Alex responded, though his voice sounded raspy and strained. "I just wanted to let you know that, um, we've been planning Ashlyn's funeral. It'll probably be this weekend..."

Archer didn't know how to respond to this nor did he know how he'd break the news to Rags. Instead of a reply, he asked, "How are your parents?"

"Trying to cope, but it's not exactly working. My mom's having the worst time... Anyways, I don't want to keep talking about depressing things. Tell me about your day."

"Well, I spent it with my grandma. She came to visit from Korea."

"That's good. Did you have fun together?"

Archer wondered if he should inform Alex about the details of his day. It wasn't exactly the most normal thing to discuss, but he did consider it to be amusing enough to make his boyfriend feel a little better. "We visited a shaman. My grandma's concerned that some evil gay-inducing spirit might have possessed me and that's why I've never had a girlfriend. She got me this talisman to repel those bad spirits."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Archer heard Alex chuckle. "Are you going to keep it?"

"I already threw it out."

"You're not worried about the bad spirits?" Alex teased. It was nice to hear him being playful again.

"No, not really. If these spirits are what allow me to love you, I'd rather live as a sinner."

After Archer's hour-long phone conversation with his other half, he finally returned home. Skyler and Cooper had finished eating dinner and were getting ready for bed. Meanwhile, Rags was sitting in the living room watching TV like usual.

"Guys, I have some news," Archer called out. Once he had everyone's attention, he carefully continued, "Alex told me Rags's funeral will probably be this weekend."

A solemn silence took over the room. Rags knew this would be coming, but she needed time to fully accept the fact that her body would soon be six feet under.

Now that the hard part of the conversation was over, Archer switched to the more hopeful one. "But I also have good news. My grandma got me something that could possibly help Rags find peace and move on."

"Move on?" Cooper repeated. "As in like Rags won't be with us anymore?"

Skyler made no comment, though he too found it hard to welcome this idea. He looked at Rags who wore a blank expression that was impossible to read. It was because she didn't know how to react. Rags never took the chance to think about what would happen to her once she departed from this world. But she would have to start doing so soon. Her time truly was coming to an end now.

Archer said, "Trust me, I want Rags to stay too. But at the same time, if she doesn't find peace soon, she might be trapped here forever as a vengeful spirit. I don't want to take that risk. We need to realize that Rags is indeed a ghost. She shouldn't remain here forever. Perhaps it's about time we help her leave."

Cooper merely pouted in disagreement like a child who had been refused to get his way. On the other hand, Skyler knew Archer was right. He asked, "Then how can we help her?"

Archer lifted the red bag for his friends to see. "Inside this is some kind of special incense that works on ghosts. We have to light them up tonight while Rags is asleep, and next morning, she'll be able to remember everything prior to her death. Once she gets her memories back, she'll be able to move on."

"This will help me regain all of my memories..." Rags spoke to herself. Throughout her entire afterlife, she had been living through a huge mysterious fog. Yet now that she was finally given the chance to get her long-desired answers, she suddenly felt nervous.

"It does come with a warning though," Archer said in a serious voice. "The truth you uncover might not be very satisfying. But no matter what, you can't hold any regrets or grudges. My grandma said those two are the easiest ways for a ghost to turn into an evil spirit."

"Wait, didn't you say we shouldn't listen to anything your grandma said?" Cooper asked.

"I know what I said this morning. But after spending the day with her, I feel like I was a bit too quick to judge. Besides, if her shamanism somehow turns out to be fake and this incense idea doesn't work out, it can also mean she was wrong about what will happen to Rags. And if it does work, we've successfully helped Rags. It's worth a shot."

Skyler turned to the quiet ghost and asked, "Are you up for it?"

Rags didn't have a clear answer. She was currently full of doubt, worry, fear, but at the end of it some hope as well. She eventually nodded. "I think we should give it a try."

Thus, within the next hour, Archer filled a glass cup with the incense sticks and lit them up next to where Rags would be sleeping. He said his goodnight to her and turned the living room light off. Staring up at the dark ceiling, Rags wondered what would happen to her after tonight, after she uncovered her past. There was only one way to find out. She watched as the scented smoke surrounded her, twirling above her in a hypnotic dance. Before long, Rags was fast asleep within a dream that took her down memory lane.