[ Jody's POV ]

I don't know if you guys are like this or not but when I'm waking up, my eyes will automatically jiggle. My eyes slowly opening, embracing the light of the surroundings.

As I realized that I've woken up, I scratched my eyes, wiping out the rheum.

I yawned.

I was on the bed, a very soft bed, I glazed to the right and found Syd was still sleeping next to me.

You ain't hear it wrong, yes, Next to me.

We are sleeping on the same bed. I was in his room.

Seeing him in sleepy mode, the first thought that pops up in my head is a baby sleeping.

Look at the face he made... How cute.

Not going to lie but if I ignore the fact that he's such a cocky boy, He's quite good looking, though.

But I know what the situation is.

You may have many questions in your head.

Why the fuck you guys sleeping together???

Don't Syd prepare a room for you?

Yes. He does.

But there's a reason behind it. Let me explain. I'm really serious.

Now, I'm going to tell you a reason what has brought me up to sleep next to him.

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Yesterday; after school, at Syd's house.

After we have Thai food as our dinner,

Seraphina went home at 7. Right now it was me and Syd cleaning up the table.

" Your cooking skill is amazing. They bring back my memory when I first tried Thai food... No, they're even better."

I speak my mind while collecting the plates.

" That's normal because they were made by me. This is original Thai food, They aren't that Thai food made by a Vietnamese chef in Thai restaurant in New york."

He replied.

Hey...Hey.Hey. That's very sarcastic.

But I couldn't come up with an argument.

Because his mouth is as good as his skills.

It may be strange when speaking of Syd, I have been with him for a week now.

I find that he has a weird charisma.

Believe it or not. Although Syd is a hotheaded, impetuous, Cocky, and confrontational.Quick to violently respond to the slightest provocation. Love to fool around, annoy people, master of sarcasm, bluffing, show off and many more in my head...

I never really get angry at him whenever he does that to me.

I don't know why. He's the first person who has made me feel like this.

In contradict, I even like it when he does that.

Maybe because he doesn't pull it up without any acknowledge of time&place, but he knows when he should do it and when not.

This shows to me that he is at least mature enough.

But still, I know his weakness...is that he hated being treated like a child.

And that's what I love to do to him.

You guys may like it too, it is so fun to see Syd getting annoyed instead.

After I do the dishes, It's time for Swapping technique training.

Today is like usual, meditating.

Syd said that I have to do the meditating until I feel the

'Flow of Nature'.

I don't know what that is, but he claims that I will immediately know when I succeed.

Have no choice but to trust that...

What time is it now?

10 minutes? 20… 30? An hour?

While meditating, I feel like I was thrown into another world. I don't even know what time it was.

Now only what I focused on was concentration. I forsake the surroundings, only care about one thing and one thing only.

Here it comes, like yesterday, I feel hot from the inside, it's like I'm burning. As if there was something expanding beneath my chest. The heat flows from around my body to the heart. My sweat is running down from every part of the body.

Syd said that the meditation drains out my energy drastically, so what was happening to me had happened to him before... So I should succeed it too.

I felt like my body was going to explode.

!?

I heard the air wavering, this must be the heat from meditation... Holy shit.

A smell in the air turns muggy by my sweat. My thumbs lost feelings... Followed by my arms, then my legs... They started to lost their senses...

... I can't do this anymore...

" GUHHHHH!!!!"

I suddenly opened my eyes, my hands holding myself not to fall down.

Lots of water drops on the floor... Coming from my face...that's my sweat. My body felt extremely exhausted from inner pain. Same as when you finished an exercise without warming up.

"Here"

I lift my face up, Syd was lending me the handkerchief.

" Thanks..."

I wiped my face off. The aroma smell from a handkerchief help reduces my muggy smell a lot.

Speaking of it, I felt a little embarrassed being in this look in front of him...

" Are you feeling that something has flown to your heart? "

He asked.

" Yes..."

" Good. This means you're improving. If you are used to it, you can hold it longer. And when you can hold it longer, you can last until you hear the sound of nature, and when you can hear the sound of nature, you succeed in the technique. Easy, right?"

He said.

This is good news for me.

" Alright..." I replied.

" Now, go take the shower and sleep. We have lots of things to do tomorrow."

He said.

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[After a shower]

I walked out of my room, wearing my blue pajamas. I still heard the sound of the TV on the first floor.

As I walked down the stairs and peeked down, Syd was watching TV. But the most important thing right now was... He's watching power rangers.

Looks like he didn't know I was here... He must have thought that I was already in my room.

I slowly walked behind the sofa he's sitting on.

The explosion sound&guitar solos from TV makes it easier for me to approach.

I stood there for like 15 seconds before Syd realized someone was standing behind him.

He quickly grabs a remote and turns it off as he saw me.

" JODY, WHAT THE FUCK, why aren't you sleeping already?! "

He looks very embarrassed and panic.

" You... You watch POWER RANGERS?...pffff "

I can't help bursting out a laugh.

My body starts shaking.

" No...Naw..naw, mate IT'S JUST A RANDOM CHANNEL POPPING UP WHILE I WAS SWITCHING---"

The more he tried to explain, the more he gets embarrassed.

It was like I caught him watching porn, but instead, this is power rangers!

" Ok."

" JODY, you have to believe me! I didn't intend to watch it alright?! Don't take it wrong---"

"Um, hm."

" Hey, don't get me wrong! Okay?! This is not what you think!!! The time is still 21.00 the kid's show is still on the air! It's normal, isn't it?! "

" K."

" You even listen to me?! "

" I just asking. Syd, but I didn't ask for a reason. Don't you realize you're overreacted finding excuses? Heheheh."

I did nothing but smirk and laugh inside my mouth.

I turn back and walk up the stairs, going back to my room.

An hour later.

Looking at the clock, it's 22:20.

I dropped my phone on the lamp table next to my bed, leaving it charging.

I walked to the switch, turned the lights off, walked back to my bed, Turned off the lamp.

The room becomes dark, I usually used to the darkness because it helps me get easier to sleep.

Closing my eyes, laying in the most comfortable position. Diving my mind down to the sleepness.

I feel like I was sinking down, deeper and deeper and finally...Not for long... Things turn black and I fell asleep.

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"w...w...w...w...w"

"...."

"......."

"W..WWWWWW.WWWWW"

"....h..ah...?"

My eyes instinctually flew opened.

What the?

Opening my eyes and saw nothing but darkness in my room made me realized that I just woke up in the middle of the night... But still half-sleep.

But ... This is strange... I have never been like this... My sleeping always flows for the entire night.

I didn't even feel the urge to go to the toilet. So this means...somehow I got woke up?

Welp, it could happen to anyone.

Tomorrow, we will have an investigation about Mr.Lake, I must go back to sleep now.

Around me ... It's so quiet you can actually hear the silence echoing in your ear

"...."

But wait...

Who's at the end of my bed?

"...!?"

Am I misunderstand?... Or is it just my imagination?

" A...."

"A....a..."

I can't speak??? ... No... I can't even move my body.

What's happening??

"wwwwwwwwrrrwwwwwwwwwwwww"

!?.... What's that sound?... Wait... What the hell?? What's going on????

I swear I saw something standing at the end of my bed.

(...Syd... Is that...you?...) I thought.

But then my whole body froze as I realized.

(....but... Wait... The only woman in this house... Is... Me?!....)

Yes. Because that shadow was the shape of a woman.

The more I tried to avoid looking at it, the more clearly it becomes...

(...That shadow...was the shape of a woman... Does she wear a red dress??... I can't tell...)

I can't fully see it... It's very goddamn hard to widely open the eyes in this situation.

My heart is beating faster and faster... As my whole body froze, sweat runs down from my head.

(...What is this thing??? That's not my imagination!... No... I don't want to think about it... I don't even want to mention it!! )

Since I was born, I never encounter anything like this before...My awareness is rising... So do my heartbeat.

I feel like something was pressing hard on my chest. Like it's trying to crush me down. I can't fully breathe.

"wwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww"

(...The sound ???!!!... It's very low... I can't hear it clearly....)

"wwwwwwwwwWWwwWWWWwwWWWWWWWWW"

I'm GOING TO GO CRAZY!

I KNEW THAT SOMETHING WAS LURKING IN MY ROOM!

I COULDN'T TURN MY HEAD BUT I KNEW! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS STANDING RIGHT THERE!!!

Suddenly, that thing... As if it knows that I have noticed its existence. It starts moving.

And as she moved, My heart was almost gonna stop.

Because she didn't move by walking at all.

She FLOATS.

THE WOMAN IN RED DRESS, SHE FLOATS FROM THE END OF MY BED RIGHT NEXT TO MY EAR!!!!

RIGHT NEXT TO MY EAR!!!

While she's floating, her body organs like arms and legs waved! Like a flag!!!

[ Jody's breathing gets more intense and intense. ]

And as she comes, the words she tried to speak gets louder and louder...

"wwwwwwwwwwwrrrrrrwwwwwwwwrrrrrrrrerrruuuuuuuuwwwwwwwwwwWWWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOUWHOAREYOU!!"

I knew immediately that she speaks with her voice full of anger and vengeance.

At that point, She, the woman in a red dress, SCREAMS. She blasts a screaming in my ears.

And that's when the rope got stretched until it breaks apart!

[Jody Johanson's girly scream]

( ( Loud High-pitched screaming ) )

I don't know whether she intended to let me go, but as she finishes screaming in my ears, My body is free to move.

As I felt it, I instinctually got off the bed and ran with my life out of the room.

I quickly open the door and go straight to the safest place in this house.

It is Syd's room.

" SYD!!!! SYYYYYYDDDDD!!!!! "

I broke into his room. Slamming his door so loud that made Syd woke up from his bed.

"huh?...ummmm....What the...JODY WHAT THE FUCK?! ..."

I didn't have time to reply. I quickly slammed the door back and laid my back against it.

At first, Syd looks like he gets frustrated that I interrupted his sleeping... Well, of course, it's reasonable.

But maybe because of my panic expression, I show towards him made him know that something wrong had happened to me.

He then quickly jumps off his bed and ran to me.

I felt he grabbed my shoulder and tried to cool me down.

That makes my heart feels warmer that at least I'm not alone with that thing.

" WHAT IS IT? JODY?!... An Intruder???"

His eyes glow and his body radiates a red Aura. Meaning he's in fight mode.

" A---...A... *Gasp* ..... A GHOST!!! SYD I SAW A GHOST IN MY ROOM!!!!"

( ( Visible Confusion from Syd) )

" You WHAT?????"

" I SAW A GHOST!!! A WOMAN GHOST!!

SHE....S-S-SHE ....SHE FLOATS!!!? A-A-A....."

" Yoyoyoyoyoyo.....calm down...alright? Hey-HEY!!! JODY!!! "

Syd slapped his hands to both off my cheeks and pull my face closer to him.

" Just... Calm the fuck...down. Okay...?"

He continues,

" Are you realized that you're in the woman's anxiety mode, where all the woman tries to say something but got stuck on the tongue due to her own panic?"

That word makes me calm down a lot.

Syd locked his room, to prevent anyone out there broking in.

" Now. Tell me. What happened?"

I then tell him all of the things that happen to me in that room.

[More Visible confusion from Syd]

" What?... A ghost???? ..."

Syd was stuck in confusion like he doesn't know how to react to this.

[ Jody's shaken voice]

" This is a safe house... And there's no way... someone could find out you are Thrak and tried to eliminate us...right?... So there's NO fucking way she's a human... I didn't even hear when did she enter my room... "

" You sure it's not your imagination?"

[Jody's shaken voice]

" Syd... You have... To believe me... That THING. I'm 100% sure that I was at my full consciousness at that time."

Syd looks kinda like he doesn't believe Jody. Right now he has that feeling of "This is bull shit" but also have a

"But it comes from Jody... Which is...not a person who will fool around like this" contrasting each other.

" Okay... What was she like? "

" I..I don't... See her face... But... But she wears a red dress and she floats! "

As I said the word "Red dress", I noticed that Syd was stunned by it for a second like he is familiar with this word before.

" O...Okay..? Let's go and check that out."

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C r e a k....

( ( Sound of the opened door) )

Syd was leading, I followed his back.

We headed back into my room.

He turned on the light.

And we found nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

No floating woman in a red dress.

We went through the entire house. But the result is the same.

We got back to in front of my room.

" Now. You have anything else to say?"

He asked in a disappointed voice.

" You don't believe me???"

" I didn't say I don't believe you! But I didn't see any fucking thing. Jody, I have watched plenty of movies that have this situation. So I understand how you feel, okay? I didn't say I won't believe it But I won't "Fully" believe it if I don't see it with my eyes."

He continues,

" It may be a ghost...OR... your sleep paralysis demon, who knows? I have been in the sleep paralysis once when I was a kid, I have a girl ghost I named her Sassy... She's a girl in long black hair with a white dress. You see, when I was tired and went sleeping, I suddenly woke up half-sleep... And I saw Sassy crawling up my bed. But you know what that time I thought?"

" What?"

" I think in my head. I use my telepathy to her, asking HEY GIRL, LEMME SEE YOUR TITS, FAGGOT. And you know what happened? "

"...."

" Sassy fucking disappeared. Guess she's too shy to show me her tits. So when the time goes on, Sassy disappears as I grew up. You know why?"

"...."

" Because she's just my fucking sleeping demon. She locates nowhere but inside my head. I was the one who created her."

"....so... You're saying that all of this was my imagination? ..."

" Because reality perceiving when you are paralysis and when you are dreaming. Both are similar. It would feel real than usual."

" ...."

" ... I'll go back to sleep now...It is still 3 A.M. ....*yawn*..."

" Wait..."

Without realizing, I held back Syd.

" I... I...uh..."

I tried to say to him that I don't have any courage to go back to sleeping in my room.

Although he tried to soothe me with the scientific reasons, it didn't help any bit.

"....."

" Okay... You can sleep in my room tonight."

As if he could read my mind. Thank god.

" I will sleep in the living room then."

" W...wait!! ...but... *lowers voice* I'm afraid if she would come back and..."

" Jody what are you, You are scared of things you don't even know if it's real or not??? Why don't you shoot it with your bullets?"

" that's not the same. What if I shoot her and the bullet just pass through? The game!"

" .....sigh....."

" Okay fine. I'll sleep with you tonight."

" Thank you, Syd..."

" If you were a boy, I would have named you "little pussy" right now."

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Right now I was lying down on the soft bed... With Syd Barrett right next to my side.

Come to think of it... a boy and a girl... Laying on the same bed like this...

My face suddenly turned red.

No...Jody... It's not like that...look at him...

" zzzzzzzzzz...."

He's already gone.

" .... "

I should sleep too. Always remember...tomorrow is a big day.

I took like 30 minutes to fall asleep.

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