Chapter Text
Blake sighed and shifted her weight from one leg to the other while staring out a window of the tiny Italian restaurant where she served as hostess and part-time waitress. The sun had just begun to dip below the horizon and lit the sky up in a brilliant orange while still letting stray beams shine about. Behind her, the restaurant was empty of customers. The whole afternoon had been slow and the evening was proving to be the same. Her feline ears flicked at the sound of movement in the back, one turning to locate the source.
An older woman's voice called out from the back. "Blake, you're still here?" Some modicum of surprise was in the tone.
Blake’s ears flicked at the voice breaking the silence. One of her bosses, Rosa, was an older faunus woman. Rosa had told Blake what type she was but for the life of her, she couldn’t remember. All she knew is the older woman had small rounded ears atop her head that began to turn gray with age, though some of her previous natural browns still held fast. She and her husband, Angelo, ran the restaurant at that location for twenty years. "Oh, uh, yeah. Did you need something?" Blake called out in reply, turning to face the direction Rosa called from.
"No, no dear. We're thinking of closing early. Why don't you go enjoy the evening? No sense in sitting around with nothing to do," Rosa replied, stepping out from the server station by the kitchen. Her pale blue dress and white apron contrasted with the onyx accessories she always wore, making them really stand out and demand attention. In addition to them being a gift from her husband, her other reasoning for always wearing them, she would explain often, is that they started conversations. Customers commented on how pretty her necklace and earrings were and she would find delight in telling them all about the anniversary she was gifted them. Blake overheard her talking about them nearly every day she worked, never tiring of engaging with the customers.
Blake walked closer with a smile. It seemed Rosa had already let her hair down, it falling behind her to her mid-back. "Want me to help close up?"
"No, no, it's okay. Go on. It's still early. Maybe you and that roommate of yours can go stir up some trouble," Rosa teased and shot Blake a wink. Her bright blue eyes caught the light of the setting sun and gave the expression a more devious look. The smile spread across her face wasn’t helping, either. "Plenty of cute guys in this town." Rosa winked again and nudged Blake’s side.
Blake could only laugh and shake her head. "Alright, if you insist, but I doubt we'll get into much." She made her way to the office to grab her purse and jacket, passing through the kitchen where Angelo was cleaning up. It seemed they already let the other workers go early. Blake wondered how she hadn’t noticed them leave but only shrugged.
"Rosa sending you home already?" Angelo asked, his tall and rotund figure shook with his hearty laugh. For as big of a man as he was, his smile and laugh offset any level of intimidation he could muster. His curled reptilian tail behind him hung a bit lower with age, and it no longer had the youthful appearance it once did.
"Yeah, yeah. Seems to think I'd be better off looking for guys than hanging out here tonight," Blake called back from the office. “I offered to stay and help clean up but she refused.”
Angelo laughed. "Always meddling, she is. But, go, have fun. We can finish up here. Remember to flip the sign off on your way out."
"Will do," Blake called out as she finished gathering her things and made her way back up to the front. She waved at Angelo over her shoulder as she passed and was about to do the same to Rosa, but the older woman opened her arms for a hug and Blake couldn’t refuse her. She crouched down slightly to briefly hug the short woman.
“No, go, find a boy, or maybe a girl. A girl your age should be dating and having fun!” Rosa said while she shooed Blake out the door and locked it behind her. Blake barely had time to tug the cord to turn the ‘Open’ sign off as she was pushed out. With a playful scowl, she turned around only to see Rosa motioning her hands to shoo her along.
With a smile and shake of her head, Blake started down the street further into town. After half a block, she dug through her purse to pull out her phone to call her roommate. "Yang, answer your phone!" Blake sighed as she listened to the phone ring. She had to step around a couple walking down the sidewalk, catching a brief comment from one of them about the right of way and she just rolled her eyes. "Yaaang," she called out again into her own cell phone as she briskly walked down the sidewalk. As soon as she got sent to voicemail, she groaned in frustration. "Ugh. I know you’re there. Call me back. I got out early." She hung up, stuffed her phone into her purse, and continued down the street past brightly lit restaurants and storefronts. The city streetlights began to flick on with the sun setting behind her. Seventh Avenue thrummed with life; students and couples rushing to their destinations, people lazily going about their business. A number of restaurants with patio seating overlooking the road dotted the street and the further into town she got, the louder the hum of activity was.
&&&&&
Person after person passed by, passed through, blatantly ignored her. She stood at a petite height of no more than five foot one and almost every passerby made her feel smaller and smaller. The despair in her heart weighed her down; all her limbs felt heavy and difficult to move. She was confused. She didn't know where she needed to go. The world appeared black and white. Someone in a black jacket walked right through her. The sensation sent a shiver through her whole body. Was his jacket black? Or did it only seem that way because the world seemed washed out? Either way, the woman wasn't concerned with those details; other matters were more pressing, like figuring out where she was.
"Help, please..." She pleaded to the strangers passing her by. Nobody turned their heads. Everyone ignored her. "Please," she sobbed and fell to her knees on the sidewalk. A young couple stopped in front of her and she gazed up at them with a twinkle of hope in her eyes. "Please, can you-" She stopped when she saw them looking through the storefront behind her. The twinkle faded from her eyes as the hope she felt sank deep down into nothing.
"Why is nobody listening to me? Can't they hear me? See me?" She cried and slumped forward to bury her face in her hands. Soft sobs shook her shoulders and her white locks hung in such a way to shroud her face. Under normal conditions, she would have felt embarrassed about crying in public in such a way, as a mess on the sidewalk, but considering nobody even looked her way now, even a judgmental glance would be appreciated. The sun set quickly behind the horizon of buildings and street lights flickered on illuminating the world in a pale gray light only fitting for the monochromatic blur of people.
She only knew this despair of being unanswered, unseen, ignored. The color bleached from the world was the backdrop of her existence for so long that she couldn't remember if there had been anything else. Nagging thoughts barely out of reach were all she had of her memories from before. She was unable to recall her name, where she lived, where she even was, the year, or even the time of year. Blurred, colorless, muffled, and cold sensations filled her mind and pushed out thoughts of anything else.
Unbeknownst to the woman, someone crouched next to her. Their voice was quiet at first. She didn't hear the words through the blurred hum of the city street. They were muffled and far away in a sea of cacophonous sound. The person tried again. "Miss?"
She heard this. The word wormed its way through the fog to greet her in the washed-out shell and it took her a brief moment to understand. When she heard her call out to her again, she felt the word like an anchor and her thoughts reached for it as if her life depended on it. She stopped her crying and wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her shirt.
"Miss? Are you okay?" The person asked again seeing the recognition in her.
The woman pushed the hair from her face and looked up to see a woman knelt next to her. A warmth spread through her, beginning in her chest and working outward. She glanced around to make sure it was her the woman was talking to and returned her gaze to her. "You can see me?" she asked hesitantly, a quiver in her voice. The confused relief rattled her vocal cords when she saw that nobody else was in her line of sight.
The kneeling woman seemed taken aback by the question. "Of course I can. You're right here in front of me. Are you okay?"
"You… can really see me!" She didn’t bother keeping the excitement from her voice as she sat up straighter.
The kneeling woman slowly nodded, her head tilted to the side, illustrating her continued confusion at the remark. "I really can," she said in a tone that seemed like she wondered if she should leave. The white-haired woman felt relief when it seemed like she made her mind to stay and help, though. "Are you alright? Do you need me to call someone?"
"Call someone… I… I don't know." The words registered but the exact meaning felt just out of reach. If the other woman was put off at all by her confused expression, she didn’t let it be known.
"Alright, well, let's start with this. I'm Blake. What's your name?"
The woman's expression turned from joy to contemplation to confusion in mere seconds. "My name is… It's… I… I can't… I can’t remember." Her eyes expressed worry with that and she gave Blake a panicked look.
"Shh, shh, it's alright. Let's start with this, then. Let's get you up. Can you stand?"
Blake stood back up and offered the woman a hand to assist her up, but when the woman reached to grasp it, her hand passed right through Blake's hand. Blake seemed to shudder like a chill shot through her arm. A knowing look of confusion, then shock, and finally sadness crossed across Blake’s face and she didn’t know why. She couldn’t hear what Blake mumbled to herself but she didn’t have to. Something about her situation had drawn a look of pity from Blake and it only caused her to feel further confused.
&&&&&
Blake jerked her hand back in surprise from the sudden shocking chill, quick to shake it, flexing her fingers to work the sensation out. The expression on the ghost woman's face seemed confused and hurt and Blake sighed. She really didn't want to deal with this right now. Her phone began to ring. She reached for it and paused, feeling conflicted. The screen read "Yang" and she knew Yang would be upset for her not answering, but the present situation demanded her attention more. Blake hit a button to send the call to voicemail, planning to get through the next conversation as quickly as she could.
"Ah, sorry," she said to the ghost woman. "Okay, so…" Blake closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Why don't you get up and follow me. We'll get things figured out." Her phone buzzed angrily in her purse alerting her to the voicemail from Yang. She didn't even have to listen to it to know what it said. The two had lived together long enough for Blake to know when Yang would be pissed, but she also knew all of the easy ways to diffuse the woman.
The ghost woman stood up from the concrete and still seemed baffled by what was happening. She dusted herself off and stood up straight, a few inches shorter than Blake. She held her hand close to her chest, obviously still put-off by the strange sensation. Without giving it more than a glance, Blake turned to lead the ghost just a bit further down to a small parking lot and out of the main walkways. She noticed the ghost woman wasn’t following her and she spun on her heel to raise an impatient brow at her. The ghost reluctantly gave in and followed her.
“So, there’s no easy way to say this, so I’ll just come right out with it. You’re dead. This isn’t a threat, and it’s not a trick. Just a simple statement of facts.” Blake’s voice remained level and soft as she began to explain the situation to the ghost woman. She stood and idly kicked a parking block while watching the ghost woman with indifference as she took the news.
"It's a lot, I know. Believe me when I say I wish it wasn't true. But, well, here we are," Blake explained. Her phone buzzed again, breaking the awkward exchange, and she sent it to voicemail. Again. "Listen, chances are that, since you're in this city, you've got something tying you here. Is there anything you can remember? A name? Your name? Address? What happened to you?"
The ghost woman shook her head, her eyes welling up. Blake sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. ”It's okay. It was a long shot anyway,” her words taking an even softer tone at seeing the ghost woman’s reaction.
“And that shock you gave me? When your hand went through mine?” The ghost looked up at her.
“Okay, first, I didn't go through you. You went through me. Since you’re manifested here, your body is, uh… what’s the word?” Blake paused a second while she thought. “Non-corporeal. So, everything here is solid but you’re not. If I was in your realm, the situation would be reversed. And second, that shock was merely our planes colliding momentarily. For me, it felt electric and cold, and for you, I imagine it was a burning jolt. It's normal. You and I shouldn't be able to talk or even see each other, let alone touch like that, so you need to get sorted out ASAP. There's absolutely nothing you can remember? At all?”
The ghost woman turned her head down and stared at her own hand and shook her head. “Will you help me?” The ghost asked and looked back up at Blake. Details of her features came into better focus and Blake wasn’t sure if that was good or not. Past instances of ghost encounters varied, but she vaguely remembered more detail meaning the longer a spirit was stuck. Blake sighed.
“Look, as much as I like spending my free time on Friday evenings helping out strange spirits I meet in the street instead of relaxing after work, I should go,” Blake said and adjusted her bag on her shoulder. She kicked at the parking block again, the rubber sole of her shoe bouncing off of it rather lazily. “But, if you really do want my help… meet me uh…” She thought a moment. “Meet me here tomorrow around 11 AM. And try to think about things, if you can remember anything at all.”
The ghost looked up and stared at Blake, her face looking halfway between bursting into tears or becoming frustrated.
“Come on, don't look at me like that,” Blake softened again. “But, tomorrow, here, 11 AM. Alright?” Blake waited until the ghost gave any sign of agreement before she gave a single half-wave of her hand and turned back towards town. Blake could feel the ghost watch her fish her phone from her bag and disappear into the crowd of people. It took a couple of blocks before she felt like she wasn’t being watched again and breathed easier. “Can’t believe I’m getting involved in another one of these,” she mumbled to herself.