We Were There

Chapter 4: Lost

Yhan loves horror stories and Kim despises them. And I am somewhere in between. I looked around the room and watched them paint their nails while drinking champagne. I mean, come on. It's a rare sight to see two young adults act like this. Both of them are in their twentys. Imagine that. Yhan has her hair in a ponytail. She was wearing shorts and a purple sleeveless shirt. She was blowing her nails with a loud huuuuu sound. Yhan, is the only blonde that I know of that loves horror stories. Kim, on the other hand, was wearing pink Snoopy PJs. How cute. Her hair was kept in a low ponytail. They're both beautiful. Why am I even part of this bunch? 

I have dark brown hair and I didn't keep it in a ponytail nor did I even keep it in a bun. It was loose and messy and I didn't even care. I was wearing a white shirt and some baggy shorts. And I care more about biting my nails than painting them. Ooh, the odds. 

" So..." Yhan broke the silence first. " ... do you really believe in urban legends or don't you?" she turned to me for an answer. 

Not this again. 

" What? Does it really matter to you if I answer?" Let's be honest here. I was getting pissed. 

" Yeah. Like it totally matters." Yhan turned to her nails.

Kim grunted. " Guys, like how many times do I have to repeat myself? Don't have scary conversations when I'm around." 

Thanks, Kim. 

"  We aren't having one." Yhan quickly said. She turned to me once more. " Come on now. A yes or a no would suffice." God, she's persistent.

I sighed. I already told her no this morning but I'm sure she wants me to say yes.

I let out a loud " Yes." as I sighed heavily. I could see Kim cover her ears at the corner of my eye. 

" Not this again!" I heard her say. 

" Then you must listen to this urban legend that I just recently heard from my grandfather!" Yhan exclaimed with glee. 

I let out a giggle. Yhan and her creepy stories. This again. And a gleam of nostalgia hit me. This is us. Yhan, Kim and me. This is definitely us. Yhan smiled, I returned the gesture and Kim was grinning. No wonder I was part of this bunch. We belong together. We're like puzzle pieces that would complete one another. I belong to this bunch. 

We all started to laugh. 

The next thing we knew, we were now huddled in a circle and there was a bowl of popcorn at the middle. We turned off the lights and had three lit candles placed in front of each one of us. Don't ask but we always do this every time we would exchange ghost stories. After you're done with your story, you blow your candle. And that's that. We looked at each other and smiled. It has been such a long time since we did this. And we're about to do it again.

And of course, I was the one to go first. 

I told them what happened to me when I was a child and the nightmares that followed after. As always, Yhan was grinning with excitement and Kim was covering her mouth with both her hands. Their facial expressions were priceless. But I never told them that I had that nightmare again recently. Just recently. I don't want to scare them. Or rather, I don't want to scare myself. 

I blew  my candle.

One light was lost.