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Post by Celestine Jeckyll on Feb 19, 2021 17:43:53 GMT
A grin curled her lips at the weight of the coins placed within her hand, the sun glinting off the metal before she stashed them away. Those bright eyes lifted towards the sky briefly, noticing the distant storm clouds. It left this sudden dread in the pit of her stomach, an ominous feeling washing over her before a woman's voice drew her attention back.
It was her client, smiling at her with tear stained cheeks. Celes had told her she saw good fortune in her future, that this woman and her husband would finally have a child. In truth, it would not happen the way they thought, but the fortune teller didn't seem to have the heart to explain. That, and she just really needed the money.
"Thank you, thank you," the woman told her, squeezing her hand in praise.
Celestine answered quietly, trying to share emotion behind her words, "Of course."
Once she was gone, lost within the crowd, Celes stood there in that dread again. Something felt wrong, something felt off...no, it was dangerous, and she wasn't sure she liked it.
The clouds swept over the sun faster than she expected, shrouding her in shade as a low rumble of thunder sounded up in the sky. Rain hadn't fallen, but it was to be expected at any time during a spring day. Even still, Celestine could feel it- something was about to happen.
She couldn't understand why she suddenly felt afraid, but she gathered up her things swiftly and put them away in her satchel before slipping into the busy crowd of the market.
[ James Stryker ] |
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Post by James Stryker on Apr 23, 2021 23:54:35 GMT
James had returned several days ago-- finding that his father had died, that everyone had believed him to be dead, and so whatever was left of his family’s fortune had been left in the trust of the Stryker Trading company, and the company left in the hands of an uncle. It would take some time to get his life back in order. He hadn’t died, and he was back to claim what should have been his. There would be a lot of work involved with returning from the dead.
He knew that he should have found Celestine upon returning. If everyone thought him dead, surely she did as well. But like everyone else, he would not be surprised if she had moved on and found someone else. Someone better than him. And he wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to find that out, or to see her happier without him--as she should be.
The sky suddenly appeared ominous and dark as if threatening to let loose a violent storm. He walked through the crowded streets that were beginning to thin out due to the impending weather, but James had things to do, and a little rain would do nothing to stop him. He’d been through far worse conditions.
As he walked, he had been given several looks by people passing by him. Whether they recognized him and knew he had died, or just that the man seemed menacing as he walked through the streets with an intimidating stride and demeanor, darkened by the rim of his top hat.
That was when he saw her, gathering her things before she wandered into the crowd, most likely to get indoors before the sky opened up. She was alone and if she hadn’t changed in the few years that he had been gone, he imagined she had just spent the day reading fortunes for whoever went to visit her stand.
He watched her closely, weaving through the people on the streets until he was in her line of sight or direction. Either she would see him, or bump into him at some point, but James stood still, waiting to see if she would notice or recognize him. If she would believe him to really be there in front of her.
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Post by Celestine Jeckyll on Apr 24, 2021 2:14:44 GMT
Shouldn't she have known? Shouldn't she have sensed him being back? Celestine had forced all memory of James out of her mind, struggling to stay out of that darkness that continuously tried to bury her in memories that did nothing but bring her to tears. Yet, all of a sudden, all she could think about was him. It made her heart beat erratically, made her feel both flushed and cold at the same time. There was this wonderfully, horrible feeling of hope mixed in with deep dread, and she couldn't seem to ignore it.
Why was he haunting her now out of the blue?
She drew in a staggered breath, unable to shake this feeling of uneasiness as she walked against the crowd to head for home. Keeping her head down, her gaze high enough to help her avoid running into anyone, something suddenly hit her. It wasn't physical but emotional- this invisible barrier that brought her to an immediate stop. Whatever it was, she felt a vicious shiver run down her spine, and it only worsened when she lifted those bright eyes up from the ground.
A man dressed in a dark coat and hat stood a few feet ahead of her, his fierce gaze making everything she was already feeling triple in intensity. Celes barely realized that her knees were shaking, ready to buckle beneath her and the satchel she had been holding fell loose from her grip to crash to the dirt at her feet.
James. Was she seeing ghosts now?
She couldn't breathe, feeling as though her heart was going to burst forth from her chest with how hard it was beating. Her lips parted, perhaps to say something, yet nothing but a gentle whimper escaped her throat as she felt the cruel sting of tears in her eyes until a couple escaped to travel down her cheeks.
It was like a hand was tightening around her throat, restricting her from drawn in oxygen, from speaking, from doing anything until she felt a wave of dizziness wash over her. Celestine staggered backwards, accidentally bumping into a man who muttered a curse in annoyance and shoved her away. That was when she felt her legs finally give out, and she dropped to the ground on her knees.
"You...you aren't real!" she finally spoke, exclaiming in a quiet voice. Fear was taking hold then and she began to scramble for her bag, as if she were afraid this ghost was coming to curse her, or punish her for what she had tried to do. |
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Post by James Stryker on May 21, 2021 5:22:57 GMT
She was as beautiful as he remembered her to be. Despite all of the years that had gone by, her face was something that had been burned into his memory--something that had given him a small sense of hope in the years he was held prisoner and all the times he had nearly lost himself altogether. Her voice constantly haunted his mind--perhaps an effect from when she had tried getting inside of his head to convince him to stay, and he knew now that he should have listened to her.
James could only imagine what was going through her mind as their eyes met. To him, everyone would be where he had left them, but to everyone, he had died and his presence was surely that of a ghost. Celestine’s reaction was enough to make him realize just how true that was.
His bluish-green eyes remained locked on her, narrowed slightly in that intimidating manner one might use when looking at something in a curious, accusing manner. Even as she dropped the satchel, his gaze remained focused on her and he stood unmoving, like a statue, or a dark haunting entity watching over her before potentially vanishing in the blink of an eye.
They had only known each other a little over a year before his disappearance from her--their time apart had outweighed their time together, and after five years, surely whatever feelings had built up between them were long gone now. Or they should have been, perhaps. Those feelings still existed for him, though, because in his mind, he was finally returning home to her--just, long overdue.
He noticed her struggling to keep her composure, and the tears that rolled down her cheeks, only making him wonder if she hadn’t let go of him yet, or if she was merely in shock, or frightened at the sight of him. James filled his lungs up with a deep inhale of breath through his nose until he could feel that burning sensation in his chest before he released it slowly and steadily. How could he even begin this conversation? How could he explain what had happened to him all these years? To answer all of the questions she might have?
Just before he was about to speak, Celestine staggered backward, bumping into a man who shoved her away, causing her to fall to the ground. It was then that James finally pulled his eyes from her and to the gentleman who was already walking away without a care in the world that he had just pushed her. He narrowed his eyes as if he were burning a hole through him, causing the man to stop in his tracks suddenly, and almost mechanical-like and controlled, turned around, crouched down, and helped Celestine back to her feet, ensuring she was steady before he mumbled an apology and walked off again.
After the man moved away, James returned his gaze back to Celestine and his lips pulled into a crooked, faint smile. “But I am real…” His voice was deep and raspy when he spoke and he held his hands out to his sides as if to demonstrate his existence. “...And I did tell you I would return, did I not?” Despite the darkened humor of his words, he seemed to speak them lacking any kind of emotion. Instead, he spoke as if he were challenging her in some sort of way.
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