So I'm a ghost. Great.
I think that almost everybody wonders how it would feel like to be a ghost. Well, I know. You feel… cold. Nothing else. You are invisible to the world. Nobody notices you. They walk right through you and they won't even know you were there. It's sad really. It's a lonely after-life. Sometimes people you knew walk right through you and it hurts. A lot. And it's ironic because you don't feel nothing. All you do is wander around with no purpose and nowhere to go. You sometimes feel inanimate objects, but you can't feel people. Heck, if you are lucky, you can watch your own funeral. That's what I did. It wasn't pretty.
So, to the people that sometimes think being a ghost is cool, well, I hate to break your bubble, but it's not. It's the worst thing ever and you can't never live again once you are dead. Unless some miracle happens, but I gave up on that miracle long ago.
Sometimes I wish I haven't walked right into that fire.
How stupid of me, really.
I went to save someone who was as good as dead. And then I discovered, because I was watching the news on one of those sample TVs in the stores, that the man I went in to save was in fact very much alive. And that he used my brother's invention for evil.
I shook my head. A man I admired; turns out he was a monster. Not to mention that he tried to kill my brother. Good thing he is in jail now, though.
I keep walking down the street to no place in particular. Did I mention that ghosts don't sleep either? It's kind of creepy now that I think of it. It makes me wonder if there were ghosts around me when I was alive. Watching my every move…
I shiver. Which is also ironic because I'm not supposed to feel anything other than inanimate objects. And that is sometimes.
Speaking of my brother… yes, I knew what he was doing about all those superhero stuff. If I could touch him, I would smack that bonehead, yell at him that he was crazy and then I'll tell him how proud I was. I'm just relieved he's not into bot fights anymore.
And Baymax… God… Baymax. I created him with the purpose of helping people. But I never thought that he would develop a personality. It is amazing really. He became some sort of… 'guardian' for Hiro.
I sigh. Baymax is taking my place now. I'm not jealous. It's just that… well… I just don't want Hiro to forget me, that's all.
Baymax would make the perfect replacement for me. He can take care of Hiro's health and wellbeing. I could tell that Baymax was very affectionate towards Hiro. He could be there for him and if something went wrong, like what happened with that stupid portal, Hiro could fix him back. Good as new.
Baymax is… the perfect big brother…
But I… well… I rather not think about it.
Speaking of not thinking about stuff, I found myself in front of Aunt Cass's café. I sigh. Oh, Auntie Cass. I wish I was here with her.
I decided to step into the café. I opened the door. Hey, I already said I could go touch some stuff, didn't I? There was no one at the café except for Aunt Cass, who was cleaning the tables. She frowned at the door.
"Not again. I really need to fix that door. It's like a ghost opens it!" She exclaimed. I chuckled.
Oh, if only you knew, Auntie. You see, I have done this a few times already and it always gets Aunt Cass irritated. I walk further and lean against the far wall. I watch as Aunt Cass finishes cleaning and closes the café. I walk towards the staircase that leads to the house before she went upstairs.
There, I see that everything is the same. Untouched. Just like before I left. There's also Mochi, who actually stares at me. In my time as ghost, I figured that animals are intuitive and that they can see the paranormal.
"Hey, Mochi." I say. He happily walks towards me and snuggle into my legs. I can't feel him though, but he seems to feel me.
Just in that moment, Aunt Cass walks in and sees Mochi on my invisible feet. She rolls her eyes. "Oh, Mochi, you crazy cat. I think you are getting blind or something. There's nothing there." She walks and picks him up, passing through me.
It actually stings that somebody you love walks right through you. Literary!
Aunt Cass puts Mochi in the couch and she sits beside him. "Let's see how Manolo tells Ramonita that they are brothers in today's episode."
I laugh. Aunt Cass was such a fanatic of soap operas.
I turn around and see the staircase the leads to the bedrooms. I sigh. Hiro must be up there doing some project or simply messing around with Baymax. Or maybe he's not there at all. I don't know. Or maybe he's with Gogo, or Fred or Wasabi.
Or Honey.
That name is something else that stings. Though I loved my friends, Honey was something else entirely. Getting to see your family but they can't see you it's one thing. It hurts because they are the most important thing in your life- scratch that- past life. But getting to see the love of your life suffer for you and you couldn't even tell her how you felt is another thing. That hurts all the same.
I sigh and shake my head, trying to forget about her. I only wish for her that she finds love in someone else and to be happy. To forget about me.
I walk upstairs and go to our room. Well, now it's Hiro's room now. I take a look at the insides. Hiro was there, reading a comic book. And unaware of my presence. It was still the same room, though. Nothing has changed. I look at my right and my gaze saddened. Absolutely nothing has changed. My part of the room is exactly the way it was before I died. And my cap was there. I take a few steps inside the room and sit at the edge of Hiro's bed. I look at him and smiled sadly.
"Hey, bonehead." I say. I know he can't hear me, but it makes me feel a little better. "Reading comics, I see."
He doesn't answer. He passes a page and starts reading the other.
"I know I left you, and I'm sorry. You don't know how much."
No answer.
"Do you believe in the paranormal stuff? Because, I'm right here, you know. Watching over you… even if…" I choke a little bit. "I'm not exactly there with you."
Hiro keeps looking at the comic book. I sigh.
"This is stupid." I say to myself. Well, most of the things I say are to myself since nobody can hear me. "Why am I talking to you anyway? You can't even hear me." I rest my chin on my hands.
Hiro mutters an 'ow!'. I look at him. He was sucking at his finger because of a paper cut. I roll my eyes and smile. Bonehead.
There's a loud beep coming from a red luggage connected to the wall and something familiar inflates. Baymax. He steps out of his luggage and walks towards Hiro. "Hello. I am Baymax. I sensed a distress signal. Is there something wrong, Hiro? I will scan you for injuries." Baymax scanned Hiro. "Scan completed. You have a slight cut in your finger. Diagnosis: paper cut."
Hiro rolls his eyes. "No kidding, genius." He smirks.
Baymax takes a bandage from a small box and picks Hiro's hand. He disinfected it with anti-bacterial spray from his finger and then puts the bandage around Hiro's finger. "There you go."
I smile at them. Suddenly, Aunt Cass calls Hiro. "Hiro! Time for diner!"
"Coming!" He turns to Baymax. "I'll be right back." He walks out of the room and down the stairs. He and I used to run the stairs, competing with each other on who would arrive first to the table. I sigh and turned my head around to look at Baymax.
Who was looking at my direction.
I blink and turn my head around and back at him. He couldn't be looking at me. Could he?
"I know you are there, Tadashi."
He must be malfunctioning.
He get up and slowly walk towards the desk. And he keep on looking at me. Yep, he was looking at me. "Baymax?" I asked slowly. "Can you… see me?"
Baymax blinked. "Yes, I do. Hello, Tadashi."
I smile widely. Baymax never ceased to impress me. "But… but how?"
Baymax stood there unmoving. "I… don't know." He lowered his head. Did he just… hesitated? A robot just hesitated. That's new. He must have developed so much of a personality, he was human-ish.
I look at him. "This is just… amazing."
Baymax looks at me. "I thought you were dead."
He said he just thought. He said that. Baymax is much more than just a nurse robot. "Well, I'm a ghost now."
"Is it a sickness?"
"No. I'm still dead."
Baymax blinked and walk towards the computer by my side. He puts a hand over it and starts downloading information. He removes his hand a few seconds later. "Download completed. The definition for ghost is: a spirit of a passed away somebody that still roams around. A ghost is a spirit of someone who left unfinished business in the living world and would not go to another place unless the spirit finishes that business." Baymax looks at me. "What is your unfinished business, Tadashi?"
I blink. I think I know why I haven't left. "I… once promised Hiro I would be there for him always…"
"I believe that is your unfinished business. Haven't you ever seen the movie 'Para-Norman'?"
I raise an eye brow. Baymax watches movies? "No, I haven't."
"In the movie, ghosts stay on the living world for as long as they have to, until they finish whatever they left unfinished when they were alive. I believe that is why you are here."
Like I said, Baymax never ceases to amaze me. "I guess so."
Baymax grabs me in a hug. I don't feel him, but he grabs me anyways. "I missed you, Tadashi." He pats my head.
I smile. "I missed you too."
"Are you going to stay now that you know your unfinished business?" He keeps hugging me.
I chuckled. "Sure. Don't worry about that."
Baymax missed me. He watches movies. He can see me and I can't make out how. He's a badass superhero. He's the cutest thing in the world (in my opinion). He had a soul. Baymax is just amazing. I smile at him. I knew from the moment I created him that he was special. And I still believe that.
Suddenly, Hiro walks in and sees Baymax hugging me. Well, hugging thin air in his eyes.
"Um? Baymax? What are you doing?" He asked hesitantly.
Baymax let go of me and I stand beside him watching Hiro. "Tadashi is here."
Hiro sighs. "Baymax, we talked about this. Tadashi is not here. Physically, anyway. I know he's here as long as we remember him, but you were hugging thin air!"
"Tadashi is here." He repeated.
"Tadashi is not here." He sighs again. "I think I need to check on your circuits." He looks at the floor and then his eyes widened. "What the…" He says. I look down at the floor as well and all I see is… my shadow.
I look back at Hiro. He rubs his eyes and then frowns when he looks back at the same spot. I look down again, and all I see is Baymax's shadow replacing mine. I don't believe it either.
Hiro looks at Baymax. "You know what? I won't check on your circuits because I am not one to judge. I'm just going plain crazy." He turned around and started walking. "I'm just going to take a good bath and forget what I just saw. Or think I saw…" He was out of the room again.
I look at Baymax. "What was that all about?"
Baymax shrugs. He shrugged. "I don't have an answer for that, Tadashi."
I look at the floor, only seeing Baymax's shadow. "I don't have one either, Baymax." I smiled. "But I guess that means you're the big brother now."
Baymax blinked at me. "I cannot be a brother. I am a robot."
I chuckled. "As much as you amaze me, you still have a lot to learn."
And I do as well.
I smile at the floor. I DID promised Hiro I would be there for him. And I guess being a ghost doesn't leave me much of a choice but to keep that promise.