pyreshadow
Senior Member
This is a private 1x1 between myself and @fuzzehpolarbear . If you are not either of us, please be respectful and don't post. Thanks!
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This World And The Next
- Thread starter pyreshadow
- Start date
pyreshadow
Senior Member
Hey, this is Aria. Sorry I couldn't get to the phone but if you leave a message, I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks!
Aria, it's Caleb. Again. I know you're going through a hard spot right now but at least call me back now and again. I gotta get back to work but hit me up when you can. Preferably today, thanks.
Aria could hear part of the message that her brother left her since the phone was close to her ear. She could hear that he was saying something but his words were lost to her. The shock of what happened not even a couple hours prior to now was still weighing heavily on her mind. She had been close to giving up hope on every being able to find out about life after death. So many things had failed in the past; psychics turning out to be nothing more than charlatans. Rituals that proclaimed being able to communicate with the dead turning out to be nothing more than a lie. One by one everything that she had tried up until today had failed. Aria had spent many nights just laying in the bed like she was doing now, crying until she either couldn't cry any longer or she fell asleep. The thought of Ian just being gone was one that didn't sit well with her and was the main reason she was so adamant about finding her answer almost to the point of obsession. As selfish as it sounded, nothing else mattered. Not her job, not her friends, not even taking care of her own well-being. At least not until today.
Today had been an eye opener, quite literally as much as figuratively. This likely would have been the last thing she would have tried before breaking down if it hadn't worked. The only scary part was that it did work. Somehow, after all the trial and errors along the way, Aria found the answer to the question everyone asked: is there life after death? Aria could now say without a doubt in her mind yes. As much as she was thrilled to finally know, the things she had seen during her mediation plagued her mind. It had felt as though her mind was being ripped apart during her travels through the unknown. Yet when she was thrust back to her body after what felt like an eternity in a void, even physically she felt terrible. When the last time she had eaten she wasn't sure but that hadn't stopped her from throwing up all over the living room floor. Lucky for her it was tile floors so it was easy to clean up when she finally got around to it about an hour later. The headache was the first thing to go away but due to how sore and weak she physically felt it made things harder. A great deal of effort was put in on her part to even clean the mess with paper towels and cleaning spray. The bag was thrown away in the trash can in the kitchen before she headed straight for her room.
That was about two hours ago and Aria had been lying here since just trying to think of nothing for once. Despite her being cold, sweat still glistened along her brow and she knew the moment she'd put the blanket over her she'd get too hot. Despite the growing fear of what she'd seen, the worry of what might happen later, Aria had to admit she was more than just thrilled; she was exalted. The thought of there being a possibility of her seeing Ian once more, even if he couldn't come back to her, filled her with joy. The only problem now was how she would be able to do it. Though...Aria's head turned slowly to look over at her phone as her thoughts drifted to her brother. Maybe she should call him back before he thought something might have happened to her. The fact was she succeeded in what she wanted and it was a good first step towards her new train of thought. Though it also led to the fact that she should have learned more about how this worked before she actually attempted it. Was there even a way to contact specific dead? Oh. Her mind was wandering again with too many thoughts trying to take precedence over the others. With a heavy sigh, Aria pushed herself up into a sitting position and groaned from the way her body ached all over.
It took a moment to be able to gather herself enough together but eventually she reached over to pick up her phone. 'Sorry, today's been crazy. We'll talk later, I promise. Love you
' Aria stared at the phone until the icon said the message was sent to her brother before sliding off of the bed. Her hand went over her stomach when she felt it rumble, demanding food that she had been neglecting the past few days to give it. Another sigh escaped her lips when she started walking through her small, unorganized apartment. Clothes were on the floor of her bedroom, along with being on top of the dresser and beside the bed. A few small bags of trash were gathered in her last attempt to 'clean' and were next to the larger trash can in the kitchen. A pizza box and some old Chinese take-out lined the living room floor in front of the couch and dishes were piled in the sink. Those were the least of the noticeable uncleanliness but the rest were mostly minor details. Another big one was the fact that she didn't have any food in the fridge or anything quick in the cupboards. "Just my luck." Aria muttered out quietly as she turned on her heel to head to the bathroom. This would mark the first time she'd left her apartment in...a week? Maybe a little longer but she had all she needed when she first shut herself in. First things first was making herself more presentable since she looked as much of a wreck as she felt.
Aria, it's Caleb. Again. I know you're going through a hard spot right now but at least call me back now and again. I gotta get back to work but hit me up when you can. Preferably today, thanks.
Today had been an eye opener, quite literally as much as figuratively. This likely would have been the last thing she would have tried before breaking down if it hadn't worked. The only scary part was that it did work. Somehow, after all the trial and errors along the way, Aria found the answer to the question everyone asked: is there life after death? Aria could now say without a doubt in her mind yes. As much as she was thrilled to finally know, the things she had seen during her mediation plagued her mind. It had felt as though her mind was being ripped apart during her travels through the unknown. Yet when she was thrust back to her body after what felt like an eternity in a void, even physically she felt terrible. When the last time she had eaten she wasn't sure but that hadn't stopped her from throwing up all over the living room floor. Lucky for her it was tile floors so it was easy to clean up when she finally got around to it about an hour later. The headache was the first thing to go away but due to how sore and weak she physically felt it made things harder. A great deal of effort was put in on her part to even clean the mess with paper towels and cleaning spray. The bag was thrown away in the trash can in the kitchen before she headed straight for her room.
That was about two hours ago and Aria had been lying here since just trying to think of nothing for once. Despite her being cold, sweat still glistened along her brow and she knew the moment she'd put the blanket over her she'd get too hot. Despite the growing fear of what she'd seen, the worry of what might happen later, Aria had to admit she was more than just thrilled; she was exalted. The thought of there being a possibility of her seeing Ian once more, even if he couldn't come back to her, filled her with joy. The only problem now was how she would be able to do it. Though...Aria's head turned slowly to look over at her phone as her thoughts drifted to her brother. Maybe she should call him back before he thought something might have happened to her. The fact was she succeeded in what she wanted and it was a good first step towards her new train of thought. Though it also led to the fact that she should have learned more about how this worked before she actually attempted it. Was there even a way to contact specific dead? Oh. Her mind was wandering again with too many thoughts trying to take precedence over the others. With a heavy sigh, Aria pushed herself up into a sitting position and groaned from the way her body ached all over.
It took a moment to be able to gather herself enough together but eventually she reached over to pick up her phone. 'Sorry, today's been crazy. We'll talk later, I promise. Love you
' Aria stared at the phone until the icon said the message was sent to her brother before sliding off of the bed. Her hand went over her stomach when she felt it rumble, demanding food that she had been neglecting the past few days to give it. Another sigh escaped her lips when she started walking through her small, unorganized apartment. Clothes were on the floor of her bedroom, along with being on top of the dresser and beside the bed. A few small bags of trash were gathered in her last attempt to 'clean' and were next to the larger trash can in the kitchen. A pizza box and some old Chinese take-out lined the living room floor in front of the couch and dishes were piled in the sink. Those were the least of the noticeable uncleanliness but the rest were mostly minor details. Another big one was the fact that she didn't have any food in the fridge or anything quick in the cupboards. "Just my luck." Aria muttered out quietly as she turned on her heel to head to the bathroom. This would mark the first time she'd left her apartment in...a week? Maybe a little longer but she had all she needed when she first shut herself in. First things first was making herself more presentable since she looked as much of a wreck as she felt.
fuzzehpolarbear
Polar Bear At Large
Everything felt a bit different now, after the opening of the third eye. The air hung a bit heavier, it was a bit colder, there seemed to be wind coming from places where no wind should have been coming from. Sounds would distort, sometimes being higher or lower in pitch than one might figure they would be, only slightly but still perceptibly if one were paying close attention. All this, of course, may have been lost on Aria at the moment, considering the shock to the system that such an awakening entailed. Most lesser beings, both anchored to reality as we know it and not, wouldn't have been able to tell that someone had newly awakened. Though it was generally a huge, life-changing, view-altering experience for the one who went through it, on an interuniversal scale the power released from such an event was almost entirely insignificant. Only someone specifically attempting to read the immaterium at that time, or beings of such vast power that they couldn't help but feel every little blip on the radar, would know.
But whether they knew or not, the dead and otherworldly were always present. The more secluded an area, generally speaking, the less likely one was to stumble upon a human spirit, though often in these places they were more likely to stumble upon an inhuman spirit or other interuniversal being. It was the opposite in human population centers, lots of human ghosts, relatively few "other things". It was one such human ghost that so happened to wander into Aria's bathroom that evening. It appeared as a shape in the mirror at first, a young woman in a robin's egg blue dress. More details slowly came into focus, short blonde hair, eyes the color of the ocean, a face now permanently streaked with black eyeliner, snow white skin tinged the blue of oxygen deprivation.
She was crying... Always crying, had been crying since the day she died. The sound was quiet at first, far away and tinny, but soon filled the room, fading into more the tone that one would expect for a young woman crying in a small bathroom. She looked around as though she were lost, looked right past Aria as though she wasn't even there. It wouldn't have dawned on her that Aria could see her... Generally speaking, the living couldn't anymore, and she'd not yet discovered any ways that she could affect the physical world to get their attention. As it happened, any ghost could be a poltergeist, but there were a few factors that influenced their abilities. Emotion at the time of death was a big one. Someone who died violently, or while deeply distraught, or otherwise in a state of high emotion, had a head start as a poltergeist. The emotion translated into spiritual energy at the time of death, which would bolster the power of the newly deceased. The age of the spirit factored in as well; the older a ghost, the more energy they'd had time to absorb, the more they were able to affect the material realm. Finally, manipulating the physical was something a spirit had to learn to do. Generally this happened by accident and practice, though some instructors in the art did exist within the immaterium.
But whether they knew or not, the dead and otherworldly were always present. The more secluded an area, generally speaking, the less likely one was to stumble upon a human spirit, though often in these places they were more likely to stumble upon an inhuman spirit or other interuniversal being. It was the opposite in human population centers, lots of human ghosts, relatively few "other things". It was one such human ghost that so happened to wander into Aria's bathroom that evening. It appeared as a shape in the mirror at first, a young woman in a robin's egg blue dress. More details slowly came into focus, short blonde hair, eyes the color of the ocean, a face now permanently streaked with black eyeliner, snow white skin tinged the blue of oxygen deprivation.
She was crying... Always crying, had been crying since the day she died. The sound was quiet at first, far away and tinny, but soon filled the room, fading into more the tone that one would expect for a young woman crying in a small bathroom. She looked around as though she were lost, looked right past Aria as though she wasn't even there. It wouldn't have dawned on her that Aria could see her... Generally speaking, the living couldn't anymore, and she'd not yet discovered any ways that she could affect the physical world to get their attention. As it happened, any ghost could be a poltergeist, but there were a few factors that influenced their abilities. Emotion at the time of death was a big one. Someone who died violently, or while deeply distraught, or otherwise in a state of high emotion, had a head start as a poltergeist. The emotion translated into spiritual energy at the time of death, which would bolster the power of the newly deceased. The age of the spirit factored in as well; the older a ghost, the more energy they'd had time to absorb, the more they were able to affect the material realm. Finally, manipulating the physical was something a spirit had to learn to do. Generally this happened by accident and practice, though some instructors in the art did exist within the immaterium.
pyreshadow
Senior Member
Aria's thoughts of the past paused when she heard a rather odd noise; it sounded...oddly like someone crying yet it certainly wasn't her. With a slightly confused look on her face, Aria wrapped the towel around her body and drew the curtain back to look for the source of the noise. In an instant her eyes widened at the sight of a blonde woman standing in her bathroom, looking like more of a wreck than Aria herself was. "Who the hell are you? How did you get in my apartment?!" Aria tried to keep a firm tone as she pressed herself closer to the tub wall; she failed though as her words shook about as much as her knees wanted to give out on her. It wasn't exactly the best of spots for her to be in with some crazed person in her apartment and with her already feeling down from what happened, it was a bad situation overall. Although...with how pale the woman looked, there was something off about her that Aria couldn't really place. The growing worry showed on her features as she continued to eye the other; if she didn't know any better, she could swear her heart was as loud as a rock band during their concerts. "I'm going to call the cops if you don't get out." The trembling of her voice slowed since her first words but the fear was still there; it was in her eyes as she had no idea what this other woman was capable of.
fuzzehpolarbear
Polar Bear At Large
It didn't seem to be obvious to this strange woman that Aria was speaking to her at first, but once it seemed to dawn on her, she looked directly at Aria, her eyes widening to a point they shouldn't have been able to reach. The temperature in the room dropped significantly. It was at about this point that Aria would notice a deep blue glow accompanying the woman, surrounding her as if it were some kind of energy field, an energy field that was interrupted from time to time by a slight glint or glimmer of green. "You can see me." There was an odd cadence to the voice at first, as though three of the same voices but for small differences were speaking at once, all followed by a whisper-like echo. By the time the woman had stopped speaking, the voice had evened out to be more like what you'd expect to come out of a young woman. "Please, you have to help me. No one else can see me, no one else will help me. I... I don't understand what's going on. I can't leave, there's a... Like a fog, a thick white fog, it won't let me leave, every time I try I end up back in my bedroom."
There was a loud knock - three actually - on the front door to the apartment. "Ms. Kearney, are you alright in there? It's Ray! I thought maybe I heard you yelling, is somebody in there with you? You need help?" Ray was the daytime security guy for the Spencer St. Apartment complex. He was an older fellow, in his 40s, dark skin, brown eyes, not a hair on his head. There weren't actually many incidents requiring security in the Spencer Street complex, not a lot of break ins, not a lot of burglaries, a suspicious person now and then but more often than not they ended up being harmless. Security was more of an insurance policy than anything. So most of the time, Ray just patrolled and chatted with the residents, helping them out if he found a way, carrying groceries, changing light bulbs, that kind of thing. He was ever vigilant, though, very protective of the people within the complex when things did happen. It made sense; a lot of the residents had been living in the complex for quite some time, and had gotten to know one another. It was a fairly close knit micro-community. There had been a fairly large outpouring of sympathy from it when Ian had first died, from darn near everyone within the building that Aria had ever interacted with. "Ms. Kearney? Is everything okay?" Ray's voice again.
There was a loud knock - three actually - on the front door to the apartment. "Ms. Kearney, are you alright in there? It's Ray! I thought maybe I heard you yelling, is somebody in there with you? You need help?" Ray was the daytime security guy for the Spencer St. Apartment complex. He was an older fellow, in his 40s, dark skin, brown eyes, not a hair on his head. There weren't actually many incidents requiring security in the Spencer Street complex, not a lot of break ins, not a lot of burglaries, a suspicious person now and then but more often than not they ended up being harmless. Security was more of an insurance policy than anything. So most of the time, Ray just patrolled and chatted with the residents, helping them out if he found a way, carrying groceries, changing light bulbs, that kind of thing. He was ever vigilant, though, very protective of the people within the complex when things did happen. It made sense; a lot of the residents had been living in the complex for quite some time, and had gotten to know one another. It was a fairly close knit micro-community. There had been a fairly large outpouring of sympathy from it when Ian had first died, from darn near everyone within the building that Aria had ever interacted with. "Ms. Kearney? Is everything okay?" Ray's voice again.
pyreshadow
Senior Member
No one else can see me.
The sentence played itself again in Aria's head more than anything else that had been spoken thus far. Did that mean that...no, it couldn't be. As much as Aria wanted to argue it, what she had seen not even a few hours ago played quickly in her mind. Perhaps it was more possible than she thought and a lot more difficult to just try to see only one person that had passed. Aria jumped all of a sudden when she heard a knock, followed by the voice of the familiar security guard that often stopped by to check on her; he was one of the sweetest people here, always going above and beyond to help with whatever he could. More so after Ian passed, it seemed like he made an extra effort to check on her now. Her eyes tore away from the woman in front of her to glance in the direction of the front door. Her heart felt like it was going a million miles an hour and the first attempt to say something ended up with a small squeak and nothing more.
"I-I'm fine, Ray. I just startled myself with the radio, I didn't realize it was so loud when I turned it on. Everything's fine though. I'm sorry for worrying you if I did." Aria mentally cursed both her curiosity and the fact that he was likely the only chance of escape she might have had. But this woman before her, this...ghost was asking for help and this was exactly one of the things that she had been wanting answers to. Mostly to know there was life beyond death, to know Ian would be in a better place but also to see if there might be even the slightest of chances she could speak with him again. Even just see him, it would be enough. "O-okay, um..." her attention drew back to the tearful woman and eyed her up and downs. "Let's start with something simple. What's your name? And the last thing you remember?"
fuzzehpolarbear
Polar Bear At Large
There was a brief silence after she called out to Ray, before his voice came back through the door, "You've been locked up in there a while, Aria. I know there's been tough times lately, but you should poke your head out sometime, get some fresh air... You've got new neighbors, maybe you could introduce yourself. They just moved into 307, they're a little bit weird but they seem like good folks. I'll let you get back to listening to your radio, but you call if you need anything, okay?" At this point, Ray wandered off along his patrol route, leaving Aria alone with the phantom woman.
"My name is... Is Julia. Julia Lane. I remember... Pain, pain everywhere, so much pain, and I was choking, couldn't breathe, threw up, hard to see, very dim, like darkness creeping in from the corners of my eyes. There were strange things, voices and shapes that didn't seem right. I was on the floor, crawling, crawling toward a nightstand, a phone, in my room I think... And that's when everything went black. It's spotty... Hard to remember, I don't know why. I left my room to try and find help, but no one can see me, and there's a fog that keeps me from going hardly anywhere. If I walk into it, I end up back in my room, like I've passed out and woken up there all over again."
"My name is... Is Julia. Julia Lane. I remember... Pain, pain everywhere, so much pain, and I was choking, couldn't breathe, threw up, hard to see, very dim, like darkness creeping in from the corners of my eyes. There were strange things, voices and shapes that didn't seem right. I was on the floor, crawling, crawling toward a nightstand, a phone, in my room I think... And that's when everything went black. It's spotty... Hard to remember, I don't know why. I left my room to try and find help, but no one can see me, and there's a fog that keeps me from going hardly anywhere. If I walk into it, I end up back in my room, like I've passed out and woken up there all over again."
pyreshadow
Senior Member
"Julia." She repeated the ghost's name with a shaky voice, swallowing down the growing fear that she was starting to feel. What would happen if she told the ghost that she was exactly that: a ghost? Would Julia flip out? Cry and scream? Be in denial? There were many options that could happen and she wasn't so sure which might. This was, after all, the very first encounter she'd had with someone from the other side. As much as there was a fear, that thought in the back of her mind that she could very well see Ian again started to overshadow the negative thoughts about the whole thing. "I...don't know exactly what I can do to help you. But first I need to get dressed and then we can go from there. Do you remember what your room number is? And where the pain is exactly?" Maybe if she had an idea of the pain, she could figure out what happened to the young woman. It was part of her brother coming out that she wanted to know all she could; her brother and the curiosity to figure out exactly how it would work so she would know in case she really ran into Ian. She could only hope that he wouldn't be suffering like this ghost seemed to be.
fuzzehpolarbear
Polar Bear At Large
"I... I was in... Um..." The spirit clutched her head for a few moments. "I was in 114." There was no room 114 in the building that Aria lived in. Most floors had 20 rooms, but because of the way the first floor was constructed there were only 10, so the highest room number on the first floor was 110. The other side was elevators, storage, and offices, not numbered. This meant that either Julia hadn't died in Aria's building, or she was remembering her room number incorrectly. The former was more likely. The community, again, was fairly close knit, so if there'd been a death, chances are Aria would have heard about it from somebody, though she had been locked up with her thoughts for a while so it was hard to say for sure.
"The pain was... Everywhere. It hurt all over. My whole body, I was convulsing... Throwing up, choking, hard to breathe... My head hurt, too... I don't hurt anymore, there's nothing now, not even numbness, just nothing." It didn't sound like the pain had been localized in any area that would help Aria to determine the spirit's cause of death. From her description, however, it sounded like it had been a very, very unpleasant death. Most death was unpleasant, though, so that wasn't much to go on either. At least the spirit didn't seem to be suffering at that moment, physically anyway.
"The pain was... Everywhere. It hurt all over. My whole body, I was convulsing... Throwing up, choking, hard to breathe... My head hurt, too... I don't hurt anymore, there's nothing now, not even numbness, just nothing." It didn't sound like the pain had been localized in any area that would help Aria to determine the spirit's cause of death. From her description, however, it sounded like it had been a very, very unpleasant death. Most death was unpleasant, though, so that wasn't much to go on either. At least the spirit didn't seem to be suffering at that moment, physically anyway.
pyreshadow
Senior Member
"Okay, that's a good start. Just...give me a moment so I can change okay?" Aria forced a smile despite the mixed emotions inside of her; fear, worry, excitement, curiosity. There were so many things all at once that it was a bit overwhelming. Taking the chance to change would give her a moment's rest at least. So she carefully stepped around the ghost -though she was curious to see if she could touch the woman but she resisted- and out of the bathroom. On the left side of her bedroom was an eight drawer dresser, the lower drawers being the ones that held what she needed. She slipped into a simple black cami top and faded jeans. The towel was hung up behind her door where the hook was and her phone was placed into her back pocket. Overall it had only taken a couple of minutes before she headed back towards the bathroom. "I think it'll be a good idea if I talk with some of the other people on the floor where your room is. Just so I can see if anyone else knows something about what might have happened to you." Which Aria was thinking it might be the fourth floor and not the first but she'd still start small anyway. That way if it so happened to be a different building...okay, no that would end up being much harder to figure out if that were the case.
fuzzehpolarbear
Polar Bear At Large
The spirit of Julia Lane followed Aria as she went down to the first floor. The physics of this spirit seemed odd, though not having any previous spirit encounters to compare it to it was difficult to know if all ghosts where like Julia or not. She was perfectly capable of walking through the walls and furniture within Aria's apartment, including wandering right through the door. She also, however, traveled down with Aria in the elevator, staying precisely on the floor the entire time, seeming to do so with no real effort, no indication that she was willing herself to move down as the elevator did.
No one on the first floor had heard of a Julia Lane, not even Eveline Henderson, who had no small reputation as the building's chief gossip. Evie, as she liked people to call her, wasn't a bad sort necessarily, though she was rubbish at keeping any kind of secret. She more so just liked knowing what went on around her. Plus, being a widow in her 70's, there wasn't much else for her to do but chat with people and keep up with various television shows. She was sweet, really, even if she couldn't keep anything to herself; Ray liked to call her "kindly old Mrs. Henderson". She was the last stop on the first floor, and she was talkative as usual. "I'm sorry dear, I've not heard of a Julia Lane. Is she a friend of yours? Oh, but it's so good to see finally you, you've been locked up in that room of yours for what seems like forever. I heard what happened, I'm so sorry, oh Ian, the poor thing, he was such a sweet young man. You know he'd always smile when I said hello to him, I liked that, people don't smile nearly as much as they used to and it's such a nice thing to do. Things just won't be the same without him in the building. But when you're ready, you'll find another nice young man, or woman, I don't like to judge. I lived through the 60's and 70's you know, I had my fair share of encounters in the woods and the backs of VW buses with ladies and gentlemen, usually stoned out of our minds of course. Oh but the grass we smoked back then was nothing compared to what you can get today, you take a few puffs of that stuff and you're off. It does wonders for my arthritis, but it makes me sleepy, you know? Anyway, my point is, you're very pretty, and very determined. A lot of folks are going to think that you're just stubborn, but when you find that special someone, they'll love that about you."
Evie smiled a kind smile, and then something seemed to dawn on her. "Oh, goodness me, babbling on and on and you just standing there in the hall. Would you like to come in dear, have some tea? I can brew you something that'll really take the edge off. Technically I'm not supposed to share with anybody, but I've got more than enough for myself. You might want to take a little nap afterwards. If you do, that's fine, you can use my bed. There's a marathon of Bones on television right now, so I'll be glued to that anyway, occupied with fantasies of a rugged young FBI agent coming to sweep me off my feet."
No one on the first floor had heard of a Julia Lane, not even Eveline Henderson, who had no small reputation as the building's chief gossip. Evie, as she liked people to call her, wasn't a bad sort necessarily, though she was rubbish at keeping any kind of secret. She more so just liked knowing what went on around her. Plus, being a widow in her 70's, there wasn't much else for her to do but chat with people and keep up with various television shows. She was sweet, really, even if she couldn't keep anything to herself; Ray liked to call her "kindly old Mrs. Henderson". She was the last stop on the first floor, and she was talkative as usual. "I'm sorry dear, I've not heard of a Julia Lane. Is she a friend of yours? Oh, but it's so good to see finally you, you've been locked up in that room of yours for what seems like forever. I heard what happened, I'm so sorry, oh Ian, the poor thing, he was such a sweet young man. You know he'd always smile when I said hello to him, I liked that, people don't smile nearly as much as they used to and it's such a nice thing to do. Things just won't be the same without him in the building. But when you're ready, you'll find another nice young man, or woman, I don't like to judge. I lived through the 60's and 70's you know, I had my fair share of encounters in the woods and the backs of VW buses with ladies and gentlemen, usually stoned out of our minds of course. Oh but the grass we smoked back then was nothing compared to what you can get today, you take a few puffs of that stuff and you're off. It does wonders for my arthritis, but it makes me sleepy, you know? Anyway, my point is, you're very pretty, and very determined. A lot of folks are going to think that you're just stubborn, but when you find that special someone, they'll love that about you."
Evie smiled a kind smile, and then something seemed to dawn on her. "Oh, goodness me, babbling on and on and you just standing there in the hall. Would you like to come in dear, have some tea? I can brew you something that'll really take the edge off. Technically I'm not supposed to share with anybody, but I've got more than enough for myself. You might want to take a little nap afterwards. If you do, that's fine, you can use my bed. There's a marathon of Bones on television right now, so I'll be glued to that anyway, occupied with fantasies of a rugged young FBI agent coming to sweep me off my feet."
