38 Am I a Ghost?

In a small room plastered with white walls, quiet breathing sounds and rhythmic soft beeps could be heard. The sterile environment accompanied by the stifling antiseptic smell made it clear that it was not a place that many would intentionally visit.

There was not much in the room, only a bed, a chair and a few strange equipment next to the bed. Laying on the bed was a delicate little girl around the age of ten. Although her face was currently sickly pale, her beauty could not be hidden.

Occupying the chair, was a young man who had fallen asleep. While his bottom half remain seated on the chair, his upper body was laying on the right side of the bed. Even with the haggard look on his face, one could tell that barely in his twenties.

The little girl with her eyes half-opened, had a soft smile on her face as she weakly stroked the hair of the young man.

Luo Xi could tell that she was slowly dying. She knew that she would very soon close her eyes, never to awaken again.

Surprisingly she was not afraid of death. What she regretted though, was leaving this world and not being able to see her big brother anymore. Regardless of how hard she prayed, the heavens was determined to separate the pair of siblings.

"Big brother, after Xixi leaves, you must not be sad. You have to take care of yourself…" the little girl whispered to the sleeping young man. These were the last words she uttered before falling into an eternal slumber.

As Luo Xi's soft breathing faded and her heart gradually stopped, agolden glow suddenly emitted from the emerald jade necklace on her neck.

As if alive, the glow on the necklace grew brighter and brighter, as it slowly encompassed the body of the little girl. At the same time, a white wisp that flowed out of the girl's body was instantly sucked into the jade necklace.

Gradually, the light faded and the necklace returned to normal. Seconds later, an abnormality occurred to the jade necklace once again, except this time there was no golden glow.

Rather, a familiar white wisp slowly flew out from the middle of the coin sized jade. The wisp that hovered above Luo Xi's body, grew larger and thicker until it formed into the shape of a person. Surprisingly, the person looked exactly like Luo Xi. The only difference was that her body looked corporeal and was floating off the ground. It seemed to resemble the so called ghosts or spirits from folk tales.

The floating little girl opened her eyes as a shocked expression painted her face.

"I… didn't die?" Luo Xi was confused at what was happening. She could clearly feel her consciousness slipping away as she died. There was no rumored white light or anything of that sort, just the feeling of herself sinking into a dark abyss.

....

In the room, the young man, perhaps having sensed the loss of his loved one, suddenly awakened from his sleep.

Long Yu, due to taking on several jobs in order to support his sister's hospital expenses, constantly tired out his body to the limits. It had become a habit for him to work during the day, and rest at night in the hospital room.

Since he had paid for a private room, the hospital staff allowed him stay over even after visiting hours were over. As long as he did not cause any troubles, they were willing to turn a blind eye towards this caring brother's actions.

As Long Yu opened his eyes, an ominous feeling flooded his mind. He jerked back into a sitting position and shook off his sleepiness.

His eyes widened in horror as his mind blanked. The situation in front of him was one that he did not wish to see most.

A flat beeping sound could be heard from the machine, as the green line which was supposed to occasionally fluctuate, had become horizontally straight.

Even though he panicked, Long Yu immediately slammed the call buzzer next to the bed. He then rushed towards the door and opened it, shouting at the top of his lungs to call for the nurses.

Luo Xi who was on the opposite side of the bed, awoke from her confusion.

"Big brother, Xixi is here!" she tried to call for him.

Seeing that he did not hear her, Luo Xi quickly went towards him. To her surprise, when she tried to touch Long Yu, she found that her hands just passed through him.

"Am I a...ghost?" she was frightened at what was happening to her. She could not be seen or heard, nor could she come into contact with anything. She was truly not far from being a ghost.

"Xixi, please wake up! Please don't scare big brother! Please wake up!"

Seeing the tears falling down Long Yu's cheeks, she realized that it was the first time she ever saw him cry. Luo Xi felt suffocated as she saw her crying brother squeezing the hand of her lifeless body on the bed.

No matter how much she called out to him or tried to hold him, it was futile. Long Yu was completely oblivious to her existence.

...…

Days passed, as Luo Xi eventually got used to her new spirit-like body. She could now move around easily. Unfortunately, there were no changes to her condition, as she still could not be seen or heard.

Even after thousand of tries, the only thing she could come into contact with was her own body. She also did not feel any hunger nor the need to use the toilet.

Luo Xi had watched her own corpse being cremated yet she did not feel sad. It was a surreal experience to witness one's own body being destroyed in front one's own eyes.

She did not know why she had turned into a spirit, but she had a feeling that it was somehow related to the jade necklace. This was because she discovered that there was connection between her and the necklace.

Whenever Luo Xi got close to the necklace, she would feel herself being pulled into it. To avoid the possibility of herself being trapped inside it, she kept her distance from the necklace.

What pained her most though, was the constant look of misery on Long Yu's face. Although, she had technically not left him, she could not contact him either. It was as if the heavens was messing with her.