Jasmine opened the door, signalling with a hand for Edwin to step inside.
“Here we are.”
Edwin understood what she had meant by terrible decor immediately. The walls of the main hall were painted in bright yellow. The rack and the little table were simple enough, made of cherry wood. The mirror above the table had a rococo frame, painted in pink. For some reason, there was a statue of a cat next to the key bowl over the table.
They left their shoes at the entrance as Edwin took in the place.
Jasmine sighed. “It gets worse every time I see it.”
They walked down the hall. Jasmine opened the first door they passed by. “This is the bedroom.”
Edwin peeked inside. The room wasn’t that bad. The blue pattern of the wallpaper was extreme, but the bed was wide and the bedclothes in cream tones were almost tasteful. A pair of nightstands flanked the bed, decorated with simple lights.
“It has an en suite bathroom,” she added. “It’s the only one in the house, but it’ll be enough, I think.”
The next door she opened was the kitchen. This time, Edwin almost couldn’t help but make a comment about the psychedelic blue and yellow tiles. He understood the yellow fridge could have seemed modern at some point, but it simply was hideous. The rest was, thankfully, rather ordinary. In fact, the wide window casting light right over the little table next to it, creating a cosy spot, was nice.
“The living room is the best of the whole place,” Jasmine said as they moved along. “You have my permission to redecorate, though; throw it all away if you want. You look like you have more taste than my folks ever did.”
Just like she said, the living room became instantly Edwin’s favourite place in the flat. One corner has been decorated with a pair of full bookshelves and a desk next to a large window taking over the whole wall, leading to a large balcony. At the other side, there was a purple sofa with a tea table with curled legs. In front of it, a telly with a pair of shelves full of movies and music. Over it, there was a VHS player and a sound system.
“Everything there should work,” Jasmine said. “Haven’t used it in ages, but it should.”
Edwin looked around, baffled still.
“Well,” Jasmine shrugged, unsure. “Will you be okay if I leave now? I’ve a client coming in in a couple of hours.”
“Of course. You have done more than enough.”
Jasmine smiled at him with surprising gentleness, giving him the key and then reaching for her wallet in her back pocket. She took a few notes out of it and handed them to Edwin. He took the money, although his hand burned from pure apprehension.
“If you ever wish to allow me to repay you,” Edwin said, “I know some enchantments that might be useful.”
“It’s okay. I will not be able to remember them, anyway, when this is over,” Jasmine answered with a sigh. “I’ll drop by this Sunday to give you your ID and everything.”
“Perfect. I suspect it will not take me long to be here after work. An hour, if my estimations are correct.”
“Good luck with that. Oh, and if you ever need something,” she slipped another thing out of her wallet and gave it to him. “Don’t doubt in calling me.”
Jasmine left after that. Edwin found the silence deafening as he stood in the middle of the living room, still holding Jasmine’s card. He noticed then the telephone resting on the little table next to the sofa and left it there.
Edwin explored the flat a bit more, opening closets and cabinets, getting familiar with the place. In the end, he decided to take a shower. For a few seconds, he stared at the mechanism of the shower, not sure of what to do. It was a few minutes of trial and error before he could finally step under the water without burning himself.
The soft caress of the water falling over him made him gasp at first, not having expected the way his muscles would relax, how his body would go pliant and start to buzz pleasantly at the sensation. For the first time since he had landed there, Edwin felt his mind go empty, his worries washing away with the water.
He realised too late that there wasn’t any kind of soap there, so he resigned himself to proceeding without it for now. Edwin realised then that he would need to go shopping at some point in the day. He would need supplies for school, too.
Stepping out of the shower, he covered his waist with a towel and used another to dry his hair. Standing before the mirror, he brushed away the mist over its surface with a hand, unblocking his reflection. Edwin’s bliss shattered when he looked at himself. The realisation that he hadn't been overthinking his current state that much that day hit him. The discomfort had dimmed considerably by now. His body was normalising the sensations it harboured. Edwin breathed in brokenly, feeling a tinge of panic burst deep in his chest. He tried to conjure some of that detachment he'd felt after landing in the past, that feeling of something being deeply wrong in being corporeal again. This time, it took him much more effort to bring those feelings back.
Edwin understood then that every second that he was spending in that reality was making it harder to remember how he had felt, as a ghost. It was pulling him deeper into the weaving of the curse, distracting him. Every minute that ticked by made his form get carried away a little more, get too accustomed to this sudden mortality.
With dim clarity, Edwin realised that, if he wasn’t careful, he might get tangled in that farce without meaning to. He couldn't run away from it, not immediately, but he would need to be careful. Try not to get too attached to anything or involved in this cursed world, not more than necessary. He needed to trace a plan and follow it as quickly as possible.
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