"Okay"

"Then later, take the keys from Uncle. What time do you finish class? What time you'll ..."

She followed her mother pacing up and down the house as her mother rattled on instructions and questions, her head nodded on cue to show that she was paying attention, adding the occasion uh-huhs and yeah-okays. The dog sitting upright at the end of the living room had caught her eye. Their eyes met, and the dog's tail began to wag excitedly.

"Girl, listening?"

"Eh? Ya... I know I know..." She continued staring at the dog, mentally beckoning it to come to her heel with her stare only but to no avail.

"So you want to bring any girlfriends to stay over with you, so you don't have to be alone?"

She snapped back to attention, "What? No need lah."

"Are you sure?" Her mother gave her a doubtful look.

She sighed with a weak smile, knowing full well her mother's maternal tendencies to be over-protective sometimes and conveniently forgetting her eldest daughter was already a big girl of 21. An adult, thank you. I can take care of myself, realllllyyyy.... she mused to herself.

"I'm sure, mum. How hard can it be? Just staying over for 3 nights!" She said, and gave her mother what she hoped was a reassuring innocent look, whatever it meant to look like. Besides, she thought to herself again, it's just don't jive bringing over a stranger to a home that even I'm a stranger at.

"You won't be scared? The house is quite big you know? I thought you would be afraid to sleep alone, you're afraid of ghost what." Her mother cautioned, her eyebrows furrowed deeply as she sank back into her favorite chair. She picked up the dog, who by then was uncontrollably happy to have found attention, and sat it on her lap, stroking its soft fur absent-mindedly. She was recalling the times when her little girl would cry as a child pointing at things she herself couldn't see, and the uncountable times as she grew older when she 'saw' things that disturbed her days till her sleep would be affected.

She heard her mother, and knew what was implied. The last 'encounter' was still fresh in her head. It had happened less than year ago in her own bedroom in an empty house, but by that time she also knew the remedy to get rid and rebuke of it.

"Nope, I've got Jesus!" She replied with a cheeky grin.

Her mother let out an amused laugh at her determined declaration. As she scanned her mother's face, she knew it was a good laugh that was agreeable. Her mother would now be at ease to know that she will sleep well each night. Satisfied that she had reminded her mother of Jesus today, she sat down to face her laptop and began to complete her long neglected assignment. 1600 words more to go.

"Dear Jesus...help..." she cringed, as her figure slid downwards to hide behind the laptop screen.