Over the last twenty-five years, Van Palmer has done a lot to rebuild the smashed remnants of their life they were left with. When they think about that time now, it has been packaged up into a neat story, with a beginning, a middle, and most importantly, an end. The secrets they left behind in those woods are meant to remain buried there, or so they believed.
In reality, those ghosts have haunted Van every single day since they got on another plane and sent back to reality. Some days, Van isn't sure which is the story and which is the truth. Even now, they wake some days with the smell of wood smoke in their nostrils and the rich, earthy tones that comes with living on top of one another, and they open their eyes to an empty apartment, warmed by gas and electricity rather than flame.
This second-third-whatever chance this is that they've been granted, Van is determined not to waste it. Sometimes it's the only thing forcing them up in the mornings to face the bills and the stares and the reality of life, knowing that they have this chance and so many others don't. After all, they are a storyteller at heart. What better role do they have in the world than to remember their friends' stories, the ones who aren't here to speak for themselves?
Their bones ache and creak as Van settles in front of the register for the morning shift, usually pretty dead except for a handful of moms running errands to drop off tapes. When the bell above the door rings, Van straightens up from where they were definitely not dozing, and takes a quick swig from their lukewarm coffee sitting on the counter. It doesn't help.
People know their name around a place like Oberlin, especially when they stand out as much as they do, so hearing their name isn't all that much of a surprise. But the voice is, and their head turns to stare at someone who is definitely a ghost. Nicky looks almost identical to the way he did the last time Van had seen him, only he seems to be breathing now. (Do ghosts breathe?)
Nicky isn't the first of the Yellowjackets that Van has encountered over the years. With the vision in their right eye dwindling, it has become almost second nature to see things out of the periphery of their gaze. Jackie is a common appearance. So is Laura Lee. Coach Ben. Melissa. Javi. The dead have followed them around for years, and Van has always believed it is because they are supposed to be part of that group, instead of among the living.
"You just going to stand there?"
