Tʜᴇ Pᴀᴛʜ Tᴏ Hɪɢʜɢᴀᴛᴇs

Tʜᴇ Sᴀʟᴇᴍ Bᴇʀʟɪɴ Aɴᴅ Hᴏᴘᴘʟᴇ Pᴏᴘᴘʟᴇ Gʜᴏsᴛ Hᴜɴᴛᴇʀs Sᴏᴄɪᴇᴛʏ

Cʜᴀᴘᴛᴇʀ 28

"I zink ve schould be one of zoze zocieties zat are centred around ein certain zing. I zink zat might be fun."

You peek your head from around a bookshelf. Your eyes caught onto the German who was staring down at an article. "Oh yeah? What would we be called?" You asked, going back to sift through binders of old newspaper clippings. Each date stamped accordingly.

You hadn't been there for very long. Only around fifteen minutes, but you had launched yourselves right into research. As Reich could hardly wait to get started.

You had gone to the only place you could think of. The bookshop in Berlin, owned by the lovely lady, Eva Swanhild. You remembered that she said she liked history. So on a whim, you guessed she may have a knack for collecting historic documents. Luckily for you, your intuition had served you right. As she had rows and rows of archived newspapers and documents. Some of which you had no idea how she got her hands on. But you could guess that she had good connections. Well, she had to have, as there were English transcripts of each and every archive you had flicked through.

It's why you were at one side of the room, while Reich was at the other. His eyes traced over the German words whilst yours traced the English ones.

He had explained to you that people like him; leaders of a land, had the inexplicable ability to understand other languages. It's how all of them communicated. They spoke their mother tongues knowing that the other could understand what they were saying. Though they had to learn how to speak and read other languages. And in a time where one's patriotic mindset was heavily endorsed, none of them were too keen to do so.

This of course had exceptions. Reich had explained that Spanish, English, German and French were common for leaders like his father to learn. As it aided in Imperialism and negotiations. They were some of the largest Empire's or the most desirable lands, so if you wished to take a little of that land. It was detrimental that you understood how to speak and read the language that was common in the area.

It's why Reich could both comprehend and speak English, though struggled somewhat to read it. He was still learning. As he was no country yet, it was less important for him to read documents in foreign languages than his father. Who, (as Reich had gleefully explained), could read all the aforementioned languages and was fluent in all but Spanish. He struggled with it for some reason, though Reich didn't tell you why.

You thought that information was strange. A whole breed of men capable of understanding words that looked like gibberish to their eyes. It also solidified the fact that somewhere out there, in wilds beyond, there were more of them. Ruling men; kings of foreign lands. You were curious about what they were like. Were they just as bizarre as the Germans? Or perhaps even more so.

Maybe one day, your paths would cross. But not today, today, as you had been reminded over and over. Was for Reich's newfound friend; his little ghost. Not for pondering the semblance of men just out of reach.

"Zomezing zomezing ghost zociety," Reich replied, snapping you out of your thoughts.

You snorted, "Great name."

Slipping a finger over a binder dated 1911, you begin flicking through it. Most of the headlines were generic for the times. International Women's day celebrated for the first time in Europe, the treaty of Berlin is signed and German perception of the increasingly threatening presence of the Triple Entente. You don't think much about any of them, they don't concern you. You were here for the sole purpose of finding ghosts, not to read newspapers all day.

Reich looks up from the article he was holding. "Vell I mean zomezing has to come before it." He said, attempting to catch your eyes. Though he realised pretty quick that they were glued indefinitely to the page. Searching feebly for any mention of a death or a paranormal sighting.