WHEN Helene left, Jonathan stayed at the headquarters to wait for his cousin Oreo. He was already sleeping soundly when he felt something cool brushing his face. Jonathan got up with a jolt and surveyed the entire room. He did not see anything suspicious. The talisman that Helene made was strong enough that no evil spirit or ghost could enter. He turned to the air-conditioning unit. Its fan was facing toward him. That must be where the cold air came from. He was about to go back to sleep when he felt something strange. There’s a presence of whoever nearby. His forehead creased. He would know right away if a member was coming.

Jonathan stood up to only plop down on the sofa when he saw a white smoke in front of him. He remembered the ghost that he met at the campus.

“How did you get in?” he asked anxiously.

The ghost floated back and forth until it had enough and stopped in front of him. The white smoke materialized into a human shape.  He could not see its face until now. Maybe the ghost was not confident enough to reveal its identity to him.

“Ghosts like you can’t enter this place,” he added.

 “I’m not a ghost, okay? There, that answers your question of why I was able to enter this place,” it replied.

The matter became clear to Jonathan. Now it makes sense. If it was not a ghost, he had an idea what it was instead.

 “You’re a wandering soul,” he uttered.

“Exactly,” it said as it sat beside him on the sofa. “That is why you have to help me leave this realm. I have to crossover before everything gets too late. I beg you, hmm…”

It sounded desperate. Jonathan clearly understood why.

“How long have you been wandering?” he asked.

 “About five years already.”

“What?” Jonathan was surprised it did not turn into a bad spirit yet. But, of course, a soul must hold an intense grudge to become an evil spirit. “Are you running away from the grim reaper?”

“Do you really think I would run away from the grim reaper if I’m desperate to leave this world?” the wandering soul retorted.

Just great! Should he just exorcise this soul to get rid of it for good? But he could not simply do that right away. He might be put in danger because he hasn’t done it even once. Now he realized what Helene meant by what she told him.

Jonathan could only shake his head.

“I can’t remember anything,” it said, which caught his attention.

She was a wandering soul with no memory. If there’s an epitome of misfortune, it could be it. Jonathan scratched his forehead and sighed.

“Look.” He stood up. “I have no idea what you saw in me that made you think I can help you. I can see ghosts, but I don’t perform an exorcism.”

Though they have someone in the organization who could do that, it would not be easy. There were a lot of things to consider.

He grabbed his bag and sauntered to the door. He was about to leave the headquarters when he heard the cries of the wandering soul. He turned to it. For an unknown reason, he felt terrible for it. He heaved a sigh as he walked back to its direction. Somehow, he saw himself in it. He was once helpless… and alone.

“How can I help you?” he asked.

The wandering soul stopped crying. “I need your body.”

Jonathan’s eyes widened.

“No!” he said and ran to the door.

He could help it with other matters, but he could not give up his body.

Looks can be deceiving. Yes, it may be a mere wandering soul, but what it wanted was no different from an evil spirit. Only bad spirits would like to possess a human body!

 “Kuya!” Jonathan halted when he heard his cousin Oreo’s voice. He rushed to him at once. “Where are you going? And why are you in a hurry?” His forehead formed a deep knot.

Jonathan drew a breath before answering.

“A-a wandering soul wants to possess me!” he replied anxiously while looking around him.

 “What?” Oreo uttered in confusion.

“I’ll explain at the house later.” He mounted his motorbike. “Hurry!”

When Oreo finally got on his motorbike, he sped up right away.

JONATHAN explained everything to Oreo, from how he met the ghost in school who turned out to be a wandering soul until to what happened a while ago when he was at the headquarters.

“Whoa!” Oreo said and shook his head. “You mean to say that wandering soul keeps on following you around. The talisman that Helene made for you doesn’t have any effect on her?”

“The headquarters is fully protected by those talismans, isn’t it? But it still managed to get in there.”

“I don’t quite understand how it happened.” His cousin shook his head. “But one thing is for sure. We need Agatha to perform—”

“Don’t,” Jonathan said.

“B-but why? That is the only thing that could stop it from bothering you.”

“Not for now, okay?” Jonathan entwined his fingers. “I don’t know why… But I have this feeling that there is something between us.”

He turned his gaze to Oreo. His cousin stared back at him.

“Something like?”

“A force that drawing us together.”

“Well…” Oreo leaned back on his seat. “Maybe you have the same frequency, and that means trouble.”

“What do you mean?” His brows furrowed.

“It can possess your body anytime, with or without your consent.”

“I guess I should be extra careful,” Jonathan said.

“You must, Kuya…” Oreo said firmly. “We never know what it could do once it possessed your body.

He stared at the ceiling. It was strange that he feared the thought of it possessing his body, yet he felt that he should help it at least.

But how could he help the wandering soul without trading his body? He turned to Oreo again.

“Hey.” Jonathan nudged his cousin’s elbow.

“What?”

“Can you see a soul’s past?”

“I haven’t tried it. And I think it is impossible. I need a connection to see someone’s past. How can I even touch a soul?”