His stomach seemed to be on fire in the morning. The hunger was unbearable. He felt as if he'd swallowed a litre of acid before falling asleep. Which had already been disconcerting enough, to wake up, open his eyes and realise that he had been sleeping. Every part of his body ached from sleeping on the floor. And, for a second, when he sat up and pressed his back against the wall, trying to feel anything but that, he sensed his throat closing up and that burning in his stomach crawling up. Edwin huffed shakily, thinking he was about to throw up, but the intensity of that sensation subsided after a couple of minutes. The need for food didn’t. Just as urgently, he realised he needed to go to the bathroom.
Only when his bodily discordance had settled a little did the memories of the past day finally return to invade his mind. Edwin knew he couldn't spend any more time mourning. He had to get out of there and start working on breaking the curse.
His notebook had vanished. He wasn't sure if he'd lost it at the bus cemetery or in his fall through time. Anyhow, he resorted to making a mental list of what he needed to do.
Firstly, he needed to know more about the curse. That would be the easiest thing to solve. Thirty years in the business had been quite enough to learn where one could find help in respect to the supernatural.
Secondly, he needed to survive. Whatever the curse's intricacies were, and whether he liked it or not, Edwin clearly was human for now. Yet he was still a ghost, in a sense. He had no way to prove his existence, no identification documents, and no relatives who could help him. Acquiring a false ID would be easily fixable. However, shelter and money might be harder to find. And he didn't care how dire his situation was: he refused to reside there, in the Agency that was yet to be, and be reminded of it every day.
Lastly, he had to find a way to befriend Charles somehow. The obvious solution to this was attending St. Hilarion. The start of the school year was days away. Breaking in and faking the paperwork wouldn't be much trouble for Edwin, even if he was in that state. His greater concern was how to actually get Charles' attention. No matter what Charles had said to him a million times, about how much he had already liked him when they met. Edwin strongly believed that he had only been lucky to be there in that vulnerable moment. Getting his attention now would be much harder. And maybe it was the absence of nutrients in his system that was making his thoughts so pessimistic, but establishing a relationship strong enough to even attempt to make him remember, and in such a short span of time, seemed almost impossible.
One good thing about the place Edwin had chosen to spend the night was that he was fully acquainted with the neighbourhood. Since he didn’t have his books or any of his usual means, and he had been rendered mortal for now, he would need to start from scratch. He could try to reach out to some of his contacts that were already operative, but doubted they would receive him in that state. He would need to find something else.
Trying to find the witch in that era was not wise, considering he was even more vulnerable than before. Plain research would do, for now.
Edwin slipped into the nearest library. He wouldn’t find much about supernatural entities and witchcraft there, but that wasn't what he needed either. Aside from the hunger, he was still getting accustomed to being noticed. He couldn’t say it was a good feeling.
Using the bathroom was not a pleasant experience, either. A relief, undeniably, but it had been jarring to face himself in the mirror. It had taken him a few seconds to process the vision, and then he frowned at his own reflection. He was untidy, his clothes wrinkled, and his hair was a terrible mess, his natural waves having made an appearance and falling over his forehead. He tried to fix it, but ended up deeming it an impossible task.
After that, he wandered through the library trying to find newspapers or magazines. Charles had talked to him about that decade, of course, but Edwin needed to know specifically what was happening at the moment. Once he found them, he sat at a table next to a wide window, reading every newspaper dated within the past week.
When he was skimming that day’s newspaper, already considering switching to specialised magazines, an advertisement caught his attention.
After so many years of experience, Edwin knew most of those businesses were a scam. However, the wording of the advertisement was, at least, curious. Most swindlers who claimed to have powers or the ability to read the future and whatnot would be a tad more flowery in their self-description. Its location was not in the Agency's vicinity; it would take him about an hour to get there walking. If it ended up being a scam, he would leave without paying, no remorse. If they helped him in any way, he could offer knowledge in exchange and hope it’d be enough. If that didn't work, he would find an alternative.
In the end, it took him almost two hours to get there.
The place looked like a regular esoteric shop. Edwin stared at the black and purple sign, with golden letters and the hamsa as the shop's logotype. Typical.
Letting out a sigh, he pushed the door open and walked inside. A bell tinkled over his head. A middle-aged woman sitting on the bench next to the window glanced at him and then looked away.
Edwin took a moment to look around. The scent of herbs and incense had definitely impregnated the place, but it was surprisingly vacant. Only a few decorative pictures hung on the soft purple walls, a table with a curtain of shiny pearls behind it, which blocked the view to a doorless hall, probably leading to the back room. And, lastly, a couple of plants here and there and nothing else.
In the end, he chose to sit on the other bench next to the door. He swallowed down a sigh at the relief he immediately felt in his legs. A frown crossed his expression as he rubbed his thigh. He hadn’t had such poor stamina when he’d been alive, he was certain. Maybe he was still getting used to having a body.
Edwin jumped, raising his head towards the voice. A laugh echoed in the distance. Right after, a girl with perfectly ironed blond hair and a pleated skirt strided out of the hall, parting the pearls with absolute fury. A second later, a young woman followed her out, unworried, holding a lit cigarette between her lips. A pair of dark sunglasses covered her eyes, and her round face was framed by rich curls with the tips dyed blond. Grabbing the cigarette with her fingertips, she took a puff without any rush, staring at her pointedly. She breathed out the smoke and, with a pleased smirk, leaned over the table.
“Fuck you. I hope whatever fraudster you find out there picks you clean and that the poor bloke realises how awful you really are before getting under that awful skirt you're wearing,” the woman said calmly. The girl had turned around, face red and fists clenched at her sides. “And don’t dare to come back or I’ll curse you for the next five generations.”
“You’re —You’re,” the girl babbled.
The woman made a scene of watching her invisible watch, eyebrows raised.
“A bitch!” The girl finally exclaimed, exiting the shop.
“Oh, no!” The woman put her wrist on her forehead and tilted her body to the side, as if falling. “I'm so terribly hurt! How will I ever recover from this?”
The girl finally left, letting out an infuriated shriek as she did. The woman righted herself, laughing. Taking another puff, she turned towards the woman sitting there, gifting her an honest smile. “Ms Finnigan! What a surprise!”
The woman walked directly to the curtain and slipped through it with complete confidence. The other immediately turned to follow her.
“Could be better, lass. Same problem as usual, you see?”
“Oh. We’ll fix that in a moment, you’ll see.”
He heard a door closing, and then he was left alone in the semi-silence of the room. For a few seconds, Edwin couldn’t shake himself out of the stupor the scene had left him in. The whole exchange had been surprising. Clearly, that young woman had refused to provide what Edwin guessed was some kind of love charm or potion. Edwin hoped his instinct had guided him correctly, and this wasn't actually a scam.
While he waited, he went over what he wished to ask and how to do it. The minutes stretched, and Edwin started to feel the hunger sharp in his stomach. Edwin sensed himself go limp gradually, feeling as if a weakening wave washed him over, from head to toe. His vision was becoming blurry, the wall before him wavering, black dots dancing in the air. His stomach flipped, and Edwin was reminded again of how much nausea could hurt. Before he could conjure another thought, he felt something hit his body.
A trembling breath escaped his lips. Forcing his eyes open, he frowned at the change of scenery. He was on the floor.
“Shit— Hey! Are you okay?”
Distantly, Edwin discerned two pairs of hands moving him. He sensed the floor on his back and someone raising his legs. Next, a shadow over his face.
“Hey!” A hand tapped his cheek.
Edwin groaned again. “Don’t do that.”
He heard a rough gasp, the shadow disappearing. Even if his limbs still tingled and he felt too weak to move, he was profusely hating the sensation of being slapped and moved around. He opened his eyes, blinking, forcing them to work somehow. Next to him, the young woman he’d seen before seemed to be in some sort of trance. Lying there, on the floor, he managed to get a glimpse of her eyes under the glasses. They were turned into her skull, and her body was shaking slightly. The woman holding his legs up was the client he’d seen before, who was watching it happen with little surprise.
The medium came back to herself with a sharp intake of breath.
“What the fuck?” She breathed out, looking down at him.
Edwin stared back at her. The realisation blew up in his mind thanks to the tiniest detail. The way she was frowning at him was too familiar, too unmistakable by now. Through the daze in his mind, he recalled the newspaper advertisement.
“Oh, my God,” Edwin muttered, forcing himself up. The other woman finally released his legs.
“Don’t worry, Ms Finnigan,” the woman told her client. “You can go if you want. I'll take care of the rest.”
She seemed to take the hint for what it actually was, wished him a swift recovery and left the shop with a polite goodbye.
As soon as the woman left, the medium snapped her fingers and all the blinds fell shut with a whoosh, blocking the view from the street and casting the room in tenue light.
“No wonder you bloody fainted,” the woman blurted out, grabbing him without finesse and helping him to his feet. “I think you are the most cursed person I have ever met.”
Edwin huffed, still too hazed to come up with a remark to that. “By chance, is your last name Palace Surname-Von Hoverkraft?”
“Yeah,” the woman said. “I’m not asking you the same thing ‘cause you just whiplashed my mind with info, ghost boy.”
Edwin turned speechless at that.
“Come on,” she gave him a tiny smile, tugging him towards the curtain. “Let’s put something in that stomach before you flake out again.”
Edwin let himself be guided into a cramped room with only a little round table and two chairs. There were a couple of candles lit up, placed on every side of it. However, she flipped the light on when they entered, breaking the mysticism of the space completely.
“Wait here. I’ll be back in a tick,” she told him, helping him sit on the chair, before leaving the room.
He did, although he did not have many options right now. Edwin sighed in his temporary solitude, closing his eyes. Clenching his jaw, he tried to push down, deep into himself, the terrible helplessness that haunted him. He hated it with his whole being, and he could only shake it from his mind with great effort. And he didn’t have the energy for that, right now.
The medium came back and put a cola and a couple of cereal bars in front of him. Knowing well this woman was his quickest path to figuring out his situation, he suppressed the need to throw a reproaching glance at her.
“It’s not very healthy, I know,” she said, grabbing the other chair and placing it next to him, “but at least it’ll kick your sugar levels up. Mind if I smoke?”
Silently, Edwin shook his head, and he reached for the can. His palm became immediately wet and cold in contact with it, and the tab had been sharply cut and poked his skin when he pushed it up. Edwin looked at it, wrinkling his nose when he rose it, the gas tickling him. The first sip was as surreal as the rest of the sensations that had been hitting him since he’d fallen in the past.
After he’d chugged down both cereal bars, he noticed his stomach was finally settling and his mind and body were slowly feeling eased again.
“Forgive me. I have yet to ask you your name,” Edwin said, breaking the silence.
“Jasmine,” she said. “My last name, you know it well enough.”
Sighing, she took off her sunglasses and left them on the table. Edwin couldn’t help raising his eyebrow slightly at the shining purple of her eyes. He had seen Crystal’s eyes do that when she used her powers, but not sustained like that.
“You saw my memories when you touched me, I suspect,” Edwin added, taking another sip.
“Yes. I didn’t mean to, but you are like a supernatural battery,” Jasmine shrugged, backing off the chair and scanning him with her eyes.
“How much did you see?” Edwin asked, staying as still as possible, swallowing down the uncomfortableness of a stranger knowing everything about him.
“Your death. Glimpses of Hell. Awful, that,” she stopped, humming. “A bit of those years with your friend, running around and solving things. My niece, apparently.”
“Crystal,” Edwin nodded slightly, finally knowing the relation between them. He had never seen Crystal’s parents, so he hadn’t been sure who that woman actually was. That meant that her mother had given her full last name, if that woman was her sister.
“I can’t believe my sister will treat her child like this,” she frowned, her eyes shining brighter. “Not that I’m surprised. She’s a nightmare. And she’s already dating that twat. I’m sure he will be her father.”
“I do not know,” Edwin admitted. “I never had the displeasure of meeting them.”
Jasmine snorted at that, a shadow of a smile painting her lips. “I’m glad she will have you guys. She looks like an incredible girl.”
Edwin swallowed, feeling a burning sensation creep up his throat. “She is.”
He couldn’t help but notice the tinge of sadness that crossed her expression. Crystal had never mentioned having an aunt. Maybe she hadn’t even met her, for whatever reason. That bit remained unsaid, since Edwin didn’t have an answer about Jasmine’s future even if she asked or searched in his mind. Edwin could see that the bad blood in the family ran deeper than he’d suspected.
“Okay: let’s talk about your little problem,” Jasmine said, sobering up at once. “That’s why you’ve come here, right?”
“Yes. Although I expected to find a swindler,” Edwin confessed. “Most of these businesses are.”
“Well, you definitely know about that,” Jasmine smiled at him. “How is being alive again?”
“Deeply uncomfortable, so far,” Edwin sighed, looking at the wall for a second before returning his gaze to her. “Am I, truly?”
“Alive?” Jasmine touched his hand with the tip of his fingers for a second. “Yes. At least in this reality.”
“That you are super cursed.”
“Yes. You have already said that.”
Jasmine shrugged. “It’s the truth. And you already know how to break it. What do you need my help with, really?”
“I wished to understand how this curse is making any of this possible. And I do not have my usual means here at the moment.”
She regarded him silently for a moment. Then, without asking, she grabbed his hand and turned it palm up on the table. Edwin clenched his jaw but didn’t protest it.
With a finger, she drew an invisible line over his palm. “Imagine this is your existence. You, as a whole,” she said and then traced his index. “And then imagine this is the right line of time where you exist. This is the one that needs to happen, but that doesn’t mean that others don’t exist.”
Next, she traced his middle finger.
“You knew that Hakneka was an Ancestral Witch before you confronted her,” Jasmine said. “But you underestimated her greatly. She really can tweak things that no one else can. She has picked one of these vacant realities, returned you both to life and put you into it just like that. She plays with reality like it's her sandbox. And since it is, it’s been quite easy to erase your friends’ memories. To him, it’s like these thirty years have never happened. She just put him back to where he was before he died.”
“So, he is— The one from my reality?”
“Yes. Luckily for you, that leaves a mark that can’t be so easily erased,” she said. “It is possible to make him remember. It’s the rule of the curse, and that cannot be altered. It would make it crumble if she tried to break her own rule.”
Edwin sighed, having confirmed what he already suspected.
“Could you do me a favour if I manage to counterfeit some documents?”
Jasmine arched a brow at him and crossed her arms over her chest. “What do you intend to do?”
“Enrol in St. Hilarion’s School,” Edwin answered, breathing in deeply.
“That will do nothing if you don’t have a place to crash out at night and some money.”
“I hope it will not take that long to break the curse,” Edwin frowned.
“He doesn’t remember you. Consider yourself lucky if a part of him does. It will ease the way, but don’t think you’ll have this solved in two days. ”
Edwin breathed in sharply, trying to ease the sudden tension on his shoulders, on his chest.
“He will be killed in a month and a half,” Edwin stated, his voice dropping. “I do not have time on my side.”
“All the more reason to not have to worry about where you're going to sleep and if you have money to eat,” Jasmine insisted, leaning closer to him.
Jasmine huffed, incredulity painting her face. “You really don’t know how things are right now.”
“I was currently attempting to escape Hell in 1989,” Edwin counteracted, his expression hardening.
“And your Charles couldn’t have told you a bit more about his time?”
“He did. Only not about the economic situation, if that is what you are implying.”
Jasmine groaned, rubbing her face with her hands. When she looked at him, it was with extreme pity.
“Okay. Look— I will help you. You clearly will be more family to my niece than any of us will ever be, and— I feel her existence, somewhere across time. This reality will stop existing strictly speaking when the curse shatters, so— It really won’t matter long term. You can stay in my back room today. I’ll get your documents in no time, and I’ll try to enrol you in that school if that is what you want.”
Edwin was silent for a moment, in disbelief. In a way, Jasmine reminded her of Crystal in her nonchalant way of offering help.
“I inherited a flat from my father when he died. No one lives there, right now. You can stay there. I will take you there tomorrow. Still, you will need to find a job. At least, to have a bit of money to buy food and such.”
“Thank you, Jasmine,” Edwin said. “I have no way to repay you but with knowledge, if you wish.”
“I’d love to know more, but you don’t need to repay me. Really.”
Jasmine stood up, smiling at him.
“And I love a little break from monotony every now and again, anyway.”
Edwin huffed, almost smiling, and stood up too, following her out of the room.
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