Here’s Parts 1 and 2 of Let’s Just Talk. A prompt from P.T. Wyant involving a blood splatter, a dust bunny, and a heat wave turned into an encounter between a reluctant medium and a ghost who won’t leave her porch...
The air was hot, moist, and damp, making her russet blouse cling to her arms and full skirt stick to her legs. Aware of her own physicality in a slimy sense, Caitlin chased a dust bunny from the porch with a broom, grimacing at the amount of grime and filth which had managed to gather.
It was a never ending battle between Caitlin and the dust, must, and other elements of entropy, one she could never win.
Contemplating the hopelessness of it all, she saw the blood stain, clinging to the stairs.
Wonderful. More chaos and death. Just what she needed.
“You can see it?” A hushed voice, warm and wet as the air murmured in her ear.
“You’re too close.” Caitlin stepped back before realizing she’d just let the ghost know she’d heard her.
Marvelous. Another deadbeat stalker to follow her, desperate for the help of a ‘medium’. Not that Caitlin was any kind of medium. She kept her back to the ghost, refusing to give it any more attention than she had already.
“Get lost.” She attacked another dust bunny with her broom, only to have it skitter away through the bristles. “I don’t believe in ghosts.”
“Why are you talking to me, if you don’t believe in them?” Exasperation colored the spirit’s voice, leaking into the air.
Some of the plants shivered and drooped at the sound.
“Because you’re a menace to the few flowers I have. If you had any regard for plant life while you were alive, I’m hoping you’ll show some consideration!” Caitlin transferred her broom to one hand and pointed at the pot with the bent stems. “Because once I show any sympathy for one of you, an entire of army of ghosts show up, all demanding help with their unresolved issues!”
She whirled to face the ghost, jabbing her broom at the despoiler of the virgin plants. “This is all your fault. Why didn’t you try to live a more meaningful life instead of waiting until after death to figure out you were a mess?!”
The ghost’s lower lip, or what looked far too much like a lower lip began to tremble.
Maybe that had been a bit harsh, even if it was true. Truth was only too often the harshest thing out there. Most people weren’t ready for it.
Especially restless spirits.
“You’re right.” This particular spirit’s face sharpened, lines of care appearing above her rounded cheeks, straight, dark hair falling forward across her forehead, the image of a smiling, sprightly pink haired girl with a sword standing proudly in the middle of her black t-shirt.
Caitlin found herself softening a little more at the sight of that image. Restless spirit or not, she couldn’t knock this one’s taste.
“I should have led a more meaningful life. It’s not the sort of the thing you realize, right? Make the most of the time you’ve got or else you’ll be stuck in an incorporeal state on a grumpy medium’s porch.” The girl raised an eyebrow at Caitlin.
“I’m not grumpy! Just because I’m not all smiles and seances doesn’t make me grumpy!” Caitlin drew the broom in close against her chest. “Besides I’m not a medium! Not everyone who can see spirits decides to make her whole life revolve around that single ability!”
“Defensive?” The ghost raised hands which Caitlin could no longer see through. “I didn’t mean to wither your flowers. I honestly didn’t. You may find this hard to believe, but the last thing I want to do is antagonize a human who can actually see me.”
The ghost lowered her head, fixing large, dark, almost soulful brown eyes upon Caitlin. They were entirely too much like a puppy’s, the puppy that stares at you silently, pleading with you to take her home.
Trying to ignore them made Caitlin feel as if she’d kicked said puppy.
“All right. Fine,” she relented. “What’s your name and what do you want?”
“I’m Minae. All I want is to talk to someone. Anyone.” Dark hair fell forward, shimmering and transparent around her face. “Just for a little while.”
“You couldn’t talk to anyone while you were alive?” All she wanted was conversation. This was almost pitiful. Especially when she had such great taste in anime.
“Not with anyone who listened or was interested in the same things I was.” Minae made a half hearted gesture toward her shirt.
Sympathies locked and engaged. Any misgivings Caitlin might have had evaporated in the heat of her fangirly scorn for anyone who couldn’t appreciate that anime.
“You didn’t have any friends who shared your interest?” Caitlin bit her lower lip, trying not to relive lonely school days past.
“I didn’t have any friends.” The ghost’s round shoulders slumped, concealed by comforting folds of shirt.
This stirred further empathy. Caitlin also favored baggy clothing which hid an ample figure, whether said clothing was fashionable or not.
“Not real friends.” Minae exposed small white teeth in a mouth which looked only too solid. “Just people I spent time with in order not be alone.”
This brought back memories Caitlin could no longer shove into the back of her mind, memories of surrounding herself with a crowd. Joining in with a group of other girls, smiling, laughing, not really touched by anything which was said.
She hadn’t disliked any of those girls. Smiling at them, laughing at their terrible jokes had been easy. Almost natural. Perhaps even a little fun. Caitlin enjoyed acting. Here she was playing the part of someone like everyone else.
This wasn’t something she’d understood at the time. Not until she met someone who truly looked at Caitlin for the first time.
Smiling and talking was easy, so easy it was almost natural. Nothing she said mattered.
“Look at the peace sign.” Someone nudged her, grinning a bit. What was her name again? “Along with the crucifix, the jade hat, and the mouse ears!”
Caitlin glanced at the girl with the purple streak in her short dark hair, wearing all of those things.
“Some people will do anything for attention,” she muttered under her breath, turning her back on the spectacle. Caitlin walked in the opposite direction, while the rest of the ground smirked and giggled over Purple Hair.
Whatever. She was already bored.
By the middle of the day, she’d forgotten about it. This was her time alone, to stride across the park at high noon.
Yes, it was hot. Spirits tended to be sleepy and dormant. It was the one time of the day Caitlin dared to be alone. She didn’t need a crowd of people around her, she could walk alone, listening to the wind in the trees, smelling the flowers.
Plants were so much more pleasant than people. Prettier, too.
Caitlin strode at a brisk pace until she came to the garden. At which point, she slowed down, strolled past lillies, snapdragons, plum trees, Japanese maples, breathing in the air.
If only she could be like this all the time.
She stopped at the bench which offered a great view of a cluster of purple flowers she didn’t know the name of. At first, she didn’t even notice the person who dropped onto the bench next to her.
After all, this person gave her plenty of space.
“I can never make up my mind.” Her voice was soft, inobtrusive, mingling with the winds and smells.
“What?” Caitlin turned to look at the speaker, only to see the purple haired girl who’d been mocked at school.
“Do I feel spiritual? In what way?” The stranger didn’t turn or look at Caitlin. She kept her gaze fixed upon a distant group of rose bushes. “Do I want to wear jade or my pentacle? Am I Christian? Am I pagan? I myself am not sure.” Gray green eyes, slightly slanted darted in Caitlin’s direction, direct and serene. “Sorry if I bothered you with my confusion.” She fingered with each symbol around her neck, eyeing it. “It’s my normal state of being.”
“One you have to express? It seemed like you were trying to make an impression.” Caitlin leaned back against the bench, arms spread out behind her. “You certainly caught the eye of the people with me.”
“Completely unitentional. An unfortunate side affect of being myself.” The girl smiled, giving Caitlin a sideways glance. “We can’t all blend it.”
“Can’t you?” Caitlin asked, putting an unintentional edge in your voice. She herself blended in, every day, making an art of not standing out.
“Not in a way which wouldn’t drive me completely mad.” The girl smiled, transforming her rounded cheeks and snubbed nose into something unique. Almost sagelike. “Doing what you do every day looks exhausting.”
“You’ve been watching me?” Caitlin raised an eyebrow, wondering if she shouldn’t feel uneasy. Wondering even more why she didn’t. “Why?”
“I’m curious.” The girl brushed a lock of purple hair off her brow. “Why spend time with people you don’t really care for?”
“I don’t dislike them,” Caitlin protested. “They’re all right.”
“Are they?” The stranger withdrew her arms from the bench to hug herself. “They’re not your friends. Not really.”
“Why do you care?” Caitlin asked, getting a little irritated. This girl was pushy. What’s more, she was intruding on Caitlin’s alone time. “Why don’t you stop analyzing me and tell me what you want?”
“To talk to you.” The girl dropped her arms, stretching them out in front of her. “I’m Micki, by the way. Like the mouse.” She pointed to the hat she wore. “What’s your name?”
“Caitlin.” She wondered if she should have given her name so readily. She wasn’t sure if this stranger should have it. “Why do you want to talk to me?”
“I’ve seen you visit this garden, noon after noon.” Micki gestured to the purple flowers ahead of her. “You seem like a very different person when you’re here. Someone worth talking to.”
“Picky about whom you converse with, aren’t you?” Once more, Caitlin surrounded herself with a barrier of old fashioned words. Anyone who was frightened off by them wasn’t worth the time of day. “Why me?”
“I’m not sure.” Micki smiled, once again transforming her face into a human landscape of curiousity, pain, intelligence, and serenity. “Perhaps if we converse, I’ll find out.”
To be concluded next Wednesday! If you want to read Part 3, it’s already posted at the Forbidden Cauldron.
