Flapper Girl ↠ Ghosts

[ 003 ] the clairvoyant

"Now, steady on, Fanny—"

"No, I won't, because I was pushed!"

Fanny stands before the open window, fists clenched at her sides, so uncharacteristically emotional. It casts a solemn silence over the ghosts, particularly Effie and those beyond her time — those who have lived in blissful ignorance of Fanny's death until now. There has always been this unspoken rule among them, one of the first things that put Effie at ease after she died, that no one pries another ghost for details of their death until they are ready. Of course, they ask about other material things, but death is another matter. That is for them to decide if and when to share.

Because speaking of it is like re-living it... and no one wants to go through that again.

The second time she says it, as if coming to terms with it herself, Fanny's voice shakes. "You hear me? I was pushed. And I have never told a soul..." As all of the ghosts stay silent, out of respect, she takes advantage of the quiet. "It was my husband, George. I caught him upon the groundskeeper—"

"Good Lord," the Captain whispers under his breath, clearing his throat.

"— with the butler on him."

"Like... a sandwich?" Kitty asks, somehow still innocently.

"More like a man-wich," Effie suggests.

"Uh," Julian chips in, "it's actually known as a Moroccan Tea Party—"

"GUYS!" Pat shoots them all a scornful look, before turning respectfully to Fanny again. She takes a deep breath, and continues.

"Clearly, he didn't trust me with his sordid little secret, so he just did away with me..." Fanny takes a moment to stare out the window, out at the lawn where she plummeted to her death over a century ago. Then, she laughs bitterly, and adds, "But he was wrong, wasn't he? He was very wrong. Because I have kept it, haven't I?"

"Until now..." Effie murmurs, fiddling with the bracelets on her wrists. Whatever reservations she may have about Fanny, she can't imagine how horrid it must have been for her. She wishes Fanny were open like this more often — it makes her a much more tolerable figure.

The ghosts exchange a few murmurs — Effie, the Captain, Pat and Julian still processing this new information. However, the elder ghosts simply shoot on another a look. Thomas finally shrugs sheepishly. "I mean, I did know that," he admits awkwardly. "I watched all of that. So..."

Finally, Effie clasps her hands together. "Well! I think it's safe to say, this George fellow sounds like a right ass to me."

"Watch that mouth, young lady!" Fanny gasps in horror.

"What? You even admitted it yourself."

{⋅. ✯ .⋅}

     TWO weeks pass, until a comatose Alison is finally home-bound — Effie only obtained this information from nosily eavesdropping on Mike's phone call to his friend about her condition. At least... she thinks it was a phone call. Honestly she isn't quite sure. He touched what appeared to be a small mirror, and suddenly another face appeared, and they were speaking as if in the same room, but they weren't. The mind-boggling technology almost distracted Effie from her detective-research: