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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 1, 2012 20:48:54 GMT -5
"Jadeee," the nine-year-old girl complained, bounding next to her sister as she walked down the sidewalks of Cranbrook, a cigarette hanging out of her mouth. "You need to stop smoking. Mom and Dad would be really upset with you if they knew."
Jade was used to her younger sister telling her not to do things that could get her killed, the funny thing was, Lanie was dead, but Jade continued to see her in her nine-year-old form. She was everywhere Jade went, her shadow.
She stopped, leaning up against the wall outside of Tim Horton's, releasing smoke into the air from her lips, looking down at her younger sister. "Sorry Lanie, but if it keeps me sane, I'm gonna do it." She offered her a small smile before finishing the cigarette and disposing of it. She didn't smoke a lot, not enough to significantly impact her swimming, but she found it helped every once in a while.
"Now I'm going to go get some coffee. It's a bit of a healthier option than cigarettes, I guess," she said with a shrug as she walked inside, her younger sister following her inside.
The warm air of the coffee shop greeted her and she shed her deep purple pea coat to show her simple black dress with her tights that were ripping in several places. Her combat boots made noise each time she took a step. "Remember when I used to bring you out for hot chocolate all the time? And we'd play tic-tac-toe on napkins?" she asked, offering a grin at Lanie before sitting down at a table. She was used to people giving her strange looks, but she couldn't just ignore the presence of her sister. It was nice most of the time, to not be completely alone. Lanie was even up in the stands at every swim meet.
She leaned back in her chair, trying to decide what kind of coffee she would be getting.
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Post by KiKi on Nov 2, 2012 7:29:22 GMT -5
"A French Vanilla please," Darik said to the woman behind the counter. There was nothing better than a fresh cup of a hot French Vanilla on a Saturday afternoon. He paid the woman, giving her a tip while he was at it, and sat down behind a woman who was talking to ... no one. He didn't make note of it, however. Many people talk to themselves. He talked to himself sometimes when he was bored, or he was talking to a ghost on Silver's ouija board. He just mentally shrugged and blew at his cup to cool down the beige liquid that was inside.
Suddenly, something she said caught his attention. Was she talking to someone else? He looked behind him to see that she was, only he couldn't see who it was. The girl kept mentioning a name, Lanie by what he can recall. Darik wanted to ask her who she was talking to, but he couldn't find the right words that wouldn't sound so rude, so instead he turned back and sipped his French Vanilla. "Ouch!" he hissed as the liquid burned his tongue.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 2, 2012 11:14:07 GMT -5
"A white chocolate mocha actually sounds really good right now," Jade decided after gazing up at the menu for a while. She stood up from her seat and glanced back at Lanie. Often she'd buy a hot chocolate and a cookie when she came to Tim Horton's and put it on the table in front of the seemingly empty seat across from her. Even though Lanie couldn't drink or eat anymore, Jade felt better making the gesture, as if things were as they used to be. She'd tried to pretend Lanie wasn't there, years ago when she first started appearing. But that only made her younger sister upset and honestly Jade missed her too much to ignore her presence. She may be a lingering spirit, but Jade was grateful to have her around.
"A white chocolate mocha please. Oh, and a hot chocolate. With a chocolate chip cookie," she smiled at the barista and handed over some wadded up cash that had been in the pocket of her pea coat. She waited for her order, turning and leaning against the counter to keep an eye on Lanie who was no longer in her seat, but instead standing behind a boy who had come into the shop and was sitting on his own with a coffee. She was pointing at him and grinning.
"Jade!" She shouted happily. "He's cuuuute!"
She crossed her arms as she looked at her younger sister, slightly amused at her nine-year-old antics. "Lanie, sit down, please."
"I mean, look at his hair. And his eyes. And Jade, he's drinking french vanilla! Vanilla and chocolate, you guys complete each other."
Jade rolled her eyes, suppressing a groan as her order came up. She carried the drinks back to the table and sat down, gesturing for Lanie to come back. "Leave him alone," she whispered. "He probably already thinks I'm weird for speaking to you." She waved the cookie in front of her younger sister.
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Post by KiKi on Nov 2, 2012 11:27:47 GMT -5
Darik could hear a voice, a small one, but he had no idea where it was coming from. He looked around, but no one was there but the girl who was talking to herself. But maybe, maybe she wasn't talking to herself. Silver always told him that if you believe hard enough, which he does, you can hear the spirits that are mentioning you or trying to talk to you. He knew that it had happened before when he was playing with her ouija board. He turned around and finally found his voice to at least say something.
"That little voice, do you hear that?" he asked her, hoping that he didn't sound crazy. Oh god that would be embarrassing. But then again, she was replying to what he heard, it only made sense to ask ... right? "Sorry if I sound a little nuts though." Darik said afterwards with a smile. "Though I swear I just heard someone compliment me about my hair ..."
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 2, 2012 11:39:52 GMT -5
Lanie bounded over to Jade and grabbed the cookie from her, at least that's what Jade perceived. The cookie actually was sitting on the table, but imaging Lanie was eating it made things loads easier. As she munched on the cookie, Jade took a sip of her mocha just as a voice spoke to her. And it wasn't Lanie, but rather the boy that Lanie had been harassing.
She stared at him for a long moment, warily. He'd heard Lanie? How did he...? She'd heard that you could take notice of spirits if you paid careful enough attention and really yearned to see the ones who may be around you, but was this guy really into that stuff enough to even slightly hear her sister? It threw her off. He didn't make a snide comment about her talking to herself like most, or even laugh at her.
What did she say? Was it safe to say something? She glanced at Lanie who had polished off her cookie and was looking at the guy with wide eyes. "He can hear me?" she asked. "Jade! He's your soulmate!"
Jade wanted to face palm at Lanie, but instead turned back to the guy. "You did. I mean, I think you did," she said, feeling odd talking to somebody who everybody could see. "I...how can you..." She got up from her seat and walked the few feet over to his table, plopping down with her mocha. She lowered her voice. "You can hear her?"
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Post by KiKi on Nov 2, 2012 11:50:02 GMT -5
Darik felt like an idiot for asking her that, but he swore that he heard the person she was talking to. A tiny voice, sounding about the age of eight or nine. Was he going crazy? No, no he wasn't, for if he was he wouldn't be sitting at this table sipping a French Vanilla, or so he would recall anyway. 'She's gonna slap me,' he thought to himself, 'she's gonna slap me and start bitching that I'm a crazy person.'
It startled him a little when she said 'yes'. Ok good, he wasn't crazy, but how could she actually see them? Silver couldn't, and she used that ouija board all the time, well, her and her roommate anyway. "Yeah, pretty hard not to really." he told her as he gently scratched the scar on his cheek. "A girl, right? About the age of nine ... and I think she was calling me cute? And I just heard her say that I'm your soul mate." That last part actually made him chuckle lightly, something he rarely did around strangers. She seemed all right though, so he was a little more relaxed.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 2, 2012 14:17:21 GMT -5
Jade's eyes were settled upon the guy as he spoke, saying it was hard not to hear her. Nobody else in the coffee shop so much as turned their head towards the little girl who stood behind the guy now, her hot chocolate in her hand. She nodded at him, lost for words. How could he hear her? Did he have a connection with the dead as well, with the spirit world? "Yeah...she's...she's my sister." She then glanced at Lanie again who was gawking at the guy.
"Someone else can hear me! How can you hear me?" Lanie asked the guy excitedly, a confused expression on her face.
The guy was laughing. Laughing! Jade didn't know what to make of it, but he seemed amused rather than freaked out.
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Post by KiKi on Nov 2, 2012 15:30:07 GMT -5
Darik looked at her for a moment, wondering if she'd speak to him. It really wasn't that hard to hear her. In fact, he could hear her quite clearly. When she said that it was her sister, is face saddened slightly. "Oh," he said softly, "well, she's a sweet girl." Darik smiled and sipped his French Vanilla, which was now warm enough to drink.
When the girl spoke again, he looked to where he heard her, hopefully she was still there. "I guess it's because I play with my friend's ouija board a lot." he replied to her as he scratched his scar again.
He smiled at the girl's expression. He guessed that she must be glad that she's not the only one hearing her, but how could she see ghosts? Was it just something she was born with?
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 2, 2012 16:57:36 GMT -5
"Thanks," Jade said a bit awkwardly, her gaze shifting to Lanie who was grinning, standing beside the guy she was speaking to.
"He thinks I'm sweet!" she said, sticking her tongue out at her sister who was now drinking her coffee and watching the guy interact with Lanie. "Ouija board? What's that? They don't talk about it here on the other side!"
Jade was confused, sitting and witnessing this guy looking in the direction of where her sister was and speaking to her. "You're aware of spirits. I don't...I don't understand." It was so weird, but kind of cool at the same time and she couldn't help but feel a bit relieved by him.
"Who cares how he can hear me! I can finally have another friend!" The small dark haired girl was already clapping her hands together. "What's your name?" she asked the guy.
Jade tried to fathom what was happening, watching the interaction. "So, you can hear her, but not see her? Am I correct?"
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Post by KiKi on Nov 2, 2012 17:13:03 GMT -5
Darik chuckled when the young girl asked him what a ouija board was. "I can talk to spirits with the board. Some are good, and some are rather unpleasant." he told her tapping his index finger on the rim of his cup.
He listened to their conversation, smiling all the same as he just listened. It was nice to know that he could talk with spirits without the ouija board. He preferred it that way, in fact, for he didn't like talking to the demons. Demons are like murderers or psychopaths. If you're careful, you won't die, but if you aren't it won't be long before your body is theirs.
"My name? It's Darik," he replied to the little girl with his thick English accent, "and what is yours, might I ask?" Darik gave her a smile and looked back at the girl in front of him.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 2, 2012 21:50:31 GMT -5
Jade remembered messing around with an ouija board years ago when she was just a young kid. All that happened was her and the other kids ended up arguing about who moved the piece. Besides, Jade couldn't see spirits then. Or maybe she could, she just didn't acknowledge it.
Anyway, she didn't bother with them now. She didn't really like Ouija boards anyway.
"Well, I'm a pleasant spirit even if Jade says I'm annoying sometimes. She still loves me," Lanie said with a smile. "I'm Lanie!" She moved to stand next to her sister, still beaming.
"I'm Jade," the older girl offered, holding out a pale hand. Her nails were painted black and the paint was chipping off from her nervous habits. She couldn't help but be completely floored by this entire situation, despite how excited her little sister was.
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Post by KiKi on Nov 3, 2012 7:58:40 GMT -5
Darik smiled and nodded to Lanie. "That's a nice name," he said as he shook the girl's hand, which was pale compared to his tan skin. "Jade, reminds me of a gem my mother used to have on her ring." Darik had to try hard not to tense at her mentioning. He hated mentioning his mother in any conversation, good or bad. Even though she had been gone for a while, he couldn't stand saying something about her in any way possible.
He took another sip from his French Vanilla and looked to where he heard Lanie's voice, which was next to Jade. "It's nice to meet you both, I'm from England, as you can obviously tell." Darik said in his thick English tone. People could pick him from a crowd of Canadians if he spoke to someone else. It's like picking a Russian from English people, not hard to do if you listen well enough. "So," he began, "how can you see the spirits? I mean, do you have o be born with it?" It was a reasonable question, right? Not like it was anything personal ... he hoped.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 3, 2012 15:20:47 GMT -5
"Thanks," Jade told him, a light smile spreading across her face as she shook hands. He had a darker complexion that contrasted with her pale skin. Then he spoke about his mother and the 'used to' part of it had her thinking that his mother was no longer alive. She tried not to say anything about it as she assumed it made him uncomfortable, but she also felt as if she should offer her condolences. "I know that...you probably get this a lot and usually it's just people doing random acts of pity, but...I'm sorry...about your mother." He didn't even need to say she was dead. Jade could feel it. It happened when you had such a connection to the spirit world.
"I love your accent!" Lanie piped from beside Jade with a grin, before falling silent at Darik's question and looking over at her sister, wondering if she'd tell.
Jade shifted her weight from one foot to the other, suddenly a bit uncomfortable. "I wasn't born with it," she said softly. "I...I don't know how exactly it started, but I think it happened after Lanie passed..." she trailed off, not able to pan her vision over to her younger sister with her raven hair and big blue eyes. Her life had ended so quickly. "I saw her first...and then I began to see others. It's....my power, I guess. I'm a medium." Or at least that's what she'd been diagnosed as.
Lanie stepped forward and grabbed her sister's hand, squeezing it in her own.
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Post by KiKi on Nov 3, 2012 16:08:52 GMT -5
Darik looked at her for a moment, then nodded and touched the necklace that was around his neck. He had received this necklace the night before his mother died. "It's ... it's fine. I try to avoid talking about it, if you don't mind." His voice wasn't cold, nor harsh, not even slightly bitter. It was just a sad tone that came out with his dialogue at that moment.
Darik smiled again and looked to where he heard Lanie's voice. "Thank you," he thanked chuckling lightly. "A lot of people do."
When she said that she found out her power when Lanie died, he nodded softly and his face saddened again. "That'd be the hardest way to find out, that's for sure." he admitted to her as he forced a small smile and sipped his French Vanilla. "Would you like me to tell you my power?" Darik's smile widened a bit, hoping to brighten her mood some.
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Post by Admin Sydnee on Nov 3, 2012 16:13:53 GMT -5
"I don't mind," Jade told him, nodding in understanding. She knew what it was like to not want to speak of touchy subjects like that. However, she did wonder if he'd ever tried to contact her, but she said no more, mostly because of how sad he'd sounded.
She laughed a bit at her sister. Leave it to Lanie to say something so random at a moment like this. "I bet Jade likes it too. She just doesn't say so," she said and when she did, Jade turned to her.
"Lanie, sit down and finish your hot chocolate, okay?" she asked of her, watching as the raven-haired girl sat down in her chair, sticking out her tongue at her sister.
"Sorry about her," she said to Darik. "She's cute, but as annoying as I remember. It was hard to find out...but...I'm glad that I can see her again. Even if my parents believe it's a defense mechanism, a way of coping." She tried to muster a smile and nodded at him. "What, you don't see dead people too?" She cocked her head to the side.
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