as i stuck the key into the hole, there was a distant melody of a handphone ringing somewhere. someone's in the lift foyer, the thought immediately sprang into my head and just as quickly dissipated into thin air. my brain continued with its idyllic flow of aimless musings, as it usually do in standby mode, whilst i turned and locked the door behind me.

still deep in day-dream, i nearly jumped a mile high when i saw a figure squatting at the far end of the lift foyer. staring directly into the direction of the sun behind her back, i was barely able to make out the face and shape of the person. despite my earlier acknowledgement that there will be someone in the lift foyer, i still couldn't shake out the feeling that this was 'someone' beyond our realm. damn those scary japanese ghost movies and damn ringu! those things are usually portrayed squatting eerily in some dark corners whilst the victim walks unknowingly by. i felt like i was the main character in one of those movies. i could even hear the imaginary suspenseful music building in the background.

squinting, i barely made out a maid in yellow cap, busily punching messages into her handphone and glancing up to look up at me for only a split second. really? you couldn't do your texting, and frightening innocent yellow-bellied people, in some other obscure spots? i stopped believing in ghosts a very long time ago. strictly speaking, i do believe that spirits exist amongst us but i am also convinced that most of the time, they are unable to make contact with us or interfere with our daily lives, unless some special circumstance exist. therefore, i have stopped being afraid of things that go bump in the middle of the night and monsters under the bed for a long time now.

still, i couldn't help but take another glance at the figure by the window one more time as i entered into the lift, and wonder if she was really someone from another world. thank goodness she didn't roll out her foot-long red tongue at me :-p