Beside You

Irene woke up two hours later.

She stretched her body and left the bed, then went to the bathroom and emptied her bladder.

A moment later, she emerged from the bathroom and went to the window. Looking below, her eyes were drawn to the backyard that needs cleaning. She's not planning to clean the entire five-hectare property, she only needs to clean the entire house, the front yard, and the backyard where the fountain was located.

A sigh escaped her lips.

It's already 3:00 in the afternoon.

Still, so many things to do!

Sighing, she left the bedroom and went back to the basement to mop the floor.

Half an hour later.

Irene had finished mopping and cleaning the entire basement.

Tired and hungry, she went to the kitchen to feed her grumbling tummy. She rummaged through the cupboard, grabbed the jar of ham and egg sandwich spread, and placed three sliced bread on the platter.

A few minutes later, she was already munching on her snack.

All of a sudden she heard the kitchen door closing...

She turned around and saw no one.

Suddenly all the hairs on her neck stood up, then a cold gust of wind enveloped her body like a lover's embrace.

"Whoaaa! W-what was that?" she blurted in confusion and shock.

Then the cold gust of wind vanished instantly as if it never existed at all.

She closed her eyes for a few seconds. Did her grandmother's soul just visited her and hugged her?

"Grandma, is that you? Please don't scare me!" she said, pleading for her sanity.

Summoning her strength, she left her seat, went to the door, and opened it wide, blocking it with a chair to prevent it from closing again.

Shaking her head, ignoring the spooky phenomenon that took place earlier she went back to her seat and inspected her finger.

She removed the band-aid...

Her eyes widened in shock. To her surprise the ripped skin on her finger was already healed!

Did it miraculously heal on its own just now? As in-?

Unbelievable!

It wasn't 24 hours yet but the cut on her finger was already healed.

"What is happening? What's going on?" she said in amazement. It was the first time that such a mind blowing miracle happened to her.

Normally the cut on her skin doesn't heal right away.

She stared at her finger for a long time, trying to find the answer to her question.

She tried removing the ring again but failed, it can't be removed! As if it's already glued to her finger forever!

She took a deep breath, what she's going to do now?

Well, technically, she is now the owner of the ring based on the quote that says... 'The finder is the keeper.'

If she can no longer remove the ring from her finger then so be it!

It's tiring and painful removing it, from now on it shall remain on her finger forever.

She looked at the ring as if hypnotized, her mouth chanted on its own ... "Till Death Do us Part!"

"Till Death Do us Part!"

"Till Death Do us Part!"

"Till Death Do us Part!"

While Irene continues chanting the words, the blue mist starts gathering in the ceiling of the kitchen, thickening.

Suddenly...

Irene's chanting was stopped by the loud knocking on the main door.

She blinked her eyes several times, finally freed from the trance, she looked at the door. There's someone outside the house!

She rose to her feet and left the kitchen, going to the main door, opening it.

Standing outside was the plumber whom she had contacted a few days ago to repair the leaked pipes all over the house.

"Miss, sorry, I wasn't able to come the other day because my son got sick," the plumber apologized.

"It's okay, I'm not in a hurry. The pipe is leaking in the basement, in the kitchen and in all the bathrooms in the second floor," Irene informed him.

"We can change all the pipes if you want," the plumber suggested.

Irene shook her head. "No need. Just fix what is needed to be fix so that it won't leak. It's up to the new owner if he wants the entire pipes on this house to be replaced or not," she replied.

"Ah, okay. I'll go and fix the leaking pipes now," the plumber said.

Irene turned around. "Let's go to the kitchen first..."

"Okay, after you," the plumber responded.

They went to the kitchen and the plumber turned off the main water source and then set to work while Irene watched him performed his job efficiently. The plumber applied an appropriate amount of silicone sealant to the leaking pipes.

A few minutes later, the plumber finished fixing the leaky kitchen pipe. Then they proceed to the other rooms in the house, the plumber repeated the same procedure through out the house. Their last stop was the basement.

Half an hour later.

The plumber finished his job, Irene paid his services.

"Thank you for hiring me. If you need my help and assistance don't hesitate to call me," the plumber said.

"Okay, I will," Irene replied with a smile.

"I'll go now, bye..." the plumber said and exited the door.

"Bye!" Irene responded. After the plumber left, she locked the gate and returned to the house.

The night is fast approaching.

Irene decided to forego cleaning the back of the house, she will just do it tomorrow morning.

She wants to rest early tonight. She went back to the kitchen and prepare her dinner, consisting of boiled rice and fried sardines in olive oil.

After she finished cooking, she began eating right away while the food is still hot.

While eating...

Irene's mind was preoccupied, she was deeply bothered by the recent turned of events. Why on earth she can't remove the ring from her finger while she was able to wear it without any problem? Does the skin on her finger grew thicker after she wore the ring?

Impossible!

Sighing, she continues eating, ignoring the ring on her finger.

After she finished eating, she washed the dishes and cleaned the table before going to bed.

Inside her room.

She entered the bathroom, discarded her clothes, and took a shower.

Twenty minutes later, she emerged from the bathroom door already wearing her pajamas.

She checked the messages on her phone and read one from her mother, informing her that everything is alright back home.

She read the messages from her friends, nothing new.

Done reading the messages on her phone, she placed the device on the side table. She went to the dresser table and starts brushing her long wavy dark brown hair.

While brushing her hair, she had this uncomfortable feeling that someone was watching her...

She looked around the room, there was no one inside the room, only her!

Ah, maybe she's just getting paranoid. Her imagination is getting wild!

She finished brushing her hair, closed the window, locked the door, and turned off the light.

She lay in bed and switched on the lampshade. She covered her whole body with the blanket, and closed her eyes to sleep.

Fifteen minutes later.

Irene's eyelids began dropping fast, she was about to drift into dreamland.

But suddenly...

Her eyes flew open instantly after she felt a weight being added to the bed. When she removed the blanket from her face, she saw no one on the bed with her! No other person inside the room except her!

Dammit!

She's getting paranoid!

She released a deep sigh, how can she sleep tonight if her imagination is torturing her with scary thoughts?

Groaning, she turned off the lampshade and turned on the light of the room instead. Tonight, she will sleep with the light on!

She went back to bed and closed her eyes again.

One hour later, she finally drifted into a deep slumber.

The blue mist materialized in the middle of the room and formed a human shape.

The naked guy walked towards the bed, slid beneath the blanket and joined Irene in her sleep.