Roseanne watched as Peter took his time adjusting the apron around his waist, before returning to work. He sighed quietly while starting for the register, leaving his farewell to Lisa with his spoken comment.
"I should have known... you look just like him."
She hadn't anticipated his words to hit as hard as they did. Her heart immediately pining at the images of the young man and his little look alike whose faces were still adorning the walls within the city-centered apartment. Two bright smiles that have been wiped away. Like rain on the windshield of a running car.
Roseanne composed herself and offered Peter a quick yet unseen wave before she left to seek out the not-so-little Lisa, whom was standing not too far from the shop's entrance. Her head hung low as she stared at the contents of the bags, body supported by a lamppost she leaned a shoulder on.
As she approached, she could hear the quiet sniffs, even the pauses between Lisa's breaths as her hands shook faintly. Only all forms of grief seemed to stop when her presence must have been felt, since Lisa quickly dried her nose with her jacket sleeve and made a poor attempt to look up.
"Took you long enough..." The frizzy blonde mumbled under breath as she fixed her bangs. After her eyes scanned their surroundings for a moment, she returned her fixation to the pavement again. Pushing off the lamppost, she began her quiet trip back to the apartment as Roseanne watched on, wishing she could make things better.
Remaining just as silent, she followed Lisa down the moderately busy street, thankful she didn't have to step aside or plan a path around someone like Lisa had to. The frizzy blonde had to keep glancing up and switching the hand she held the bags in as she walked. Obviously the heavy paint can she had bought was putting some weight on her arms.
But luckily for her, they were quickly approaching the bustling city center that housed the apartment they've both found themselves unspokenly and rather accidentally, referring to as home. Lisa readjusted her grip as she climbed the steps to the lobby door, swinging around to push it open with her back and entering wordlessly.
The Thai spared a glance to the counter and noticed the landlord's back was turned and facing the screen behind him. She released a silent sigh of relief and kept the bag close as she made her way to the elevator doors, only for the bags to brush against her thigh. She winced at the sound and unfortunately, it must have prompted him to turn around and see if he was needed because soon her name was being called.
"Oh, Lalisa! Could you wait a moment?"
She stopped in her tracks and bit at the inside of her cheek, making a conscious effort to pull out her phone to check the time as she turned to him. "Oh, uh, I kind of have some things I gotta do..."
"It'll only take a minute." He beckoned her over and quickly went to switch off the screen. The news anchor from whichever channel talking about some donation event being held at a nearby hospital, for a patient stated comatose.
"Apologies, I've been pretty invested in the story ever since... well, your arrival and father's passing." He spoke.
"Huh?" Lisa eyed the darkened screen and then him once more. "What?"
"Oh were you not watching the telly? They were talking about the victims, well mostly one of the victims, that was... you know, but then your father..." His words were quickly dying out at the state of her confusion, or maybe something more. "Sorry, I'm sure you don't want to hear about all that given what's happened. I just called you over to tell you that I went through your father's files."
"You went through my Dad's things?" Her voice raised slightly in concern.
"No, no, that came out wrong. I meant the files I have on him and the apartment." He pulled open a cabinet drawer beside his desk and withdrew a file. Laying it open for her to view. "I wanted to check and see if he had ever mentioned anything about the... inhabitant, upstairs."
"Uh, okay?"
He chuckled. "Come on, you know, so we can see how long this has been going on for? Yet all I could find were some complaints about the water pressure in the master shower, which was then fixed but still, let me know if it persists. But other than that, he had never made any other form of complaint."
Lisa nodded her head while looking away from the papers and towards the elevator. Her landlord was making an attempt, sure, but it was futile. Given she already knew the answer, since she had asked them earlier.
"So...?" He spoke again seeing her lack of response.
"So?" She repeated back, eyeing him once more.
He tilted his head, taken back by her lack of emotion. "If this guest hasn't been brought to my attention by yourself the other night, I would say you don't really seem to mind it's presence?"
"At first I did, now?" She shrugged. "Well, you could say we're getting along alright."
"Getting along?" He raised his brows in suspicion. "Don't tell me, are you..." He drew in closer. "Are you speaking to it?"
"Why don't you ask it- her, or whoever, for yourself?" She gestured to her right, where the ever-looming presence still hovered.
Roseanne jolted. Eyes darting from Lisa to the landlord, like a deer caught in a hunter's headlights.
The doorman's eyes widened. "I- It's here? There? Right there?! Are you sure?"
"Pretty sure."
He gulped. "Uh, that'll be all Ms. Manoban. Good day. Now if you'll excuse me." He twirled on the spot and sped away, through an open doorway, closing it tightly behind him.
"Okay then." Lisa swapped the hand she held her bags in at the sound of the latch being turned. "Let's uh, go, yeah?"
Lisa began her walk to the elevator while Roseanne contemplated paying the frightened doorman a little visit and catching up with Lisa later, though the frizzy blonde's voice shook that thought.
"Let's go ghost!" Lisa huffed while watching the elevator door begin to shut, with herself already inside.
Roseanne quickly ran, phasing through the now closed door and coming to a standstill beside Lisa who eyed the space curiously. "You were going to scare him, weren't you?"
"Was not!" She replied with a smile. "Okay, maybe I was."
Lisa withdrew a breath while looking out the window as the elevator climbed, the bags she held swaying slightly with the motion. "Might have been funny... if you had."
Roseanne watched her curiously, a small smile forming as she wondered what was going through Lisa's mind. The Thai glanced back and forth from the bags in her hand to the display indicating the floor level.
Rosie exited just before it dinged and made her way to Lisa's door, fiddling with the lock on the other side until she got it to click over. Turning the handle was the hardest part, but she managed to turn and pull just enough to cause it to pop ajar. She then clasped her hands together in triumph, practically skipping through the door just in time to see Lisa reaching for her keys.
Still wearing her smile, she tensed her hand and felt as her fingertips made contact with textureless wood, easily pushing the door open for Lisa.
"After you." She tipped an imaginary hat, but then straightened up after Lisa whispered a thanks and walked through the door because honestly, that was a bit embarrassing. "Okay... I'm glad you couldn't see that." She hid her face in her hands as Lisa sat the bag down on the counter and began spilling out it's contents.
Lisa withdrew the tarp first and hastily began unfolding it as she looked around the apartment. Roseanne slowly coming out from behind her hands and watched her curiously. "Are we painting?" She wondered as Lisa began flapping the heavy material into it's full form.
The frizzy blonde glanced down the hall from where she stood, but quickly turned down the idea and decided on the spot ahead of her instead. Lifting a few books off of the bookcase along the wall, she reached on her tippy toes and placed a corner of the tarp as far as she could reach. Placing the books overtop of it as a makeshift paperweight.
She then went to the other side of the bookcase, which sprawled across the entirety of the wall and repeated the process. Adding a few extra books as additional anchors, she even went the extra mile as to anchoring the bottom of the tarp too. With her canvas now prepped, she went back to the counter, on a mission for the string lights. Shrugging out of and chucking her jacket across the room before she retrieved them.
Roseanne stepped closer to Lisa, her tongue licking her lips mindlessly as she thought about what she was seeing. The Thai was now holding the cable the lights were attached to between her teeth as she took the tape into her hands and began ripping off sections.
"How sanitary of you." She chuckled, watching quietly as Lisa began taping the lights to the tarp. She was about halfway down the tarpaulin when things began to shift. A book, then two, falling off the top as one of the corners slid free.
"Fuck..." Lisa dropped the remainder of the lights on the shelf and reached for the corner. Stabilizing it with one hand while piling more books onto it with another. "Fuck, fuck, fuck."
"Careful..." She watched on anxiously. "Has anyone ever told you you have a sailor's mouth?"
"Shit." Lisa released the corner and sunk back on her heels. Taking a few steps away to judge her work. She wasn't even halfway done and shit was already beginning to fall apart. Making her feel rather stupid for assuming the tarp could support the weight of all the lights. But she hadn't wanted to ruin her father's walls either.
That's when another idea struck her.
She left to the kitchen cabinets, looking inside each of them and scouring the ones beneath the sink twice over. When she turned up empty she moved to the utility closet adjacent the guest bath and found what she a had been looking for in a tote on the floor.
Lisa returned to her work and quickly drew up a nail, looping it through the ring on the corner of the tarp and hammering it into the bookshelf behind it. Removing books as she went, she repeated the process on all three other corners of the tarp before deciding to put a secondary nail through each ring for added measure.
Roseanne studied the way Lisa counted quietly to herself as she taped the remainder of the lights to the tarp. And after she seemingly had decided it was enough, she laid the rest of the lights out across the uncovered shelving.
Lisa glanced over her shoulder and sighed. "Almost there... gimme a sec and-" Lisa drew in a long breath. "I'll explain."
Roseanne stepped forward and blinked one of the lights ahead of them, turning back in time to catch a glimpse of a smile across Lisa's lips. One that had appeared then disappeared so quickly she wondered if she had imagined it.
"I think I get it..." She began as Lisa dropped the paint can from the counter onto the floor beside them. "But I'll let you explain it to me anyways."
Lisa placed the back of the hammer against the can's edge. The Thai huffed as she cracked it open and quickly held the lid in place so it wouldn't fall on the hardwood. She then opted to grab some paper towels and lay them out before continuing, which is honestly what she should have done to begin with. She withdrew the paint brush that had been taped to the lid of the can and dipped it into the liquid, swooshing it around.
Roseanne watched a bit mesmerized as Lisa lifted the brush. Carefully gliding it along the top of the can so that the paint wouldn't drip, then rose from her crouched position. In a single powerful step, Lisa was at the tarp and painting the letter A beneath the first light on the left. In an equally just as powerful few strokes of her brush.
She then continued onto the next light, painting a B.
Then the next, C.
Then she returned for more paint before continuing, a pattern she followed until the entire alphabet was laid out before them. Surrounded by warm, amber hues, as Lisa tested the lights. Only she hadn't stopped there.
Lisa had just finished painting the words Yes and No, when a trio of knocks came on the door. She laid the brush across the paint can and wiped the single bead of sweat from her forehead as she went to the door and peered through the peephole. She opened it with a raised brow. "Yeah?"
"I forgot to give this to you earlier." Her landlord handed her a stapled set of papers. "It's the... guest's accommodation. I hope you find the newly crunched numbers reasonable."
"Oh... thanks."
"No worries." He eyed the room behind her suspiciously. "Everything alright? You seem... a little out of sorts and... there's something..." He gestured to his forehead.
Lisa ran the back of her hand along her forehead and noticed the smudge of paint. "Yeah, just uh... painting." The lights within the room began to blink behind her, and she watched the reflection of it in his eyes as he stared. "We good?"
He snapped his attention back to her and smiled nervously. "Just peachy! Enjoy the rest of your afternoon!"
Lisa shut the door and spared little to no glance at the papers handed to her before she threw them on the counter. Her eyes then lingering on a few oranges that had rolled across it, thinking back to the man at the store.
And her father.
She breathed in deeply, closing her eyes as she could practically sense her accumulation of energy and determination leaving her. Being sucked away by the cavity in her heart that only seemed to spread the more she tried to ignore it. She opened her eyes, reaching for an orange and tearing into it as she left the kitchen and fell onto the couch.
Roseanne watched her unseen, as she tried to gauge what went wrong. But by the way the frizzy blonde seemed to be attacking the orange, it wasn't too hard to guess.
"Stupid." Lisa spoke quietly, "This is stupid... I'm so stupid." She wiped furiously at her eyes. "Fuck! Ow! Fucking hell that stings."
"You hadn't cleaned your fingers yet, sailor." Roseanne smiled sadly as she came to sit beside Lisa. "I don't think you're stupid." She began, leaning in closer. Lisa glanced her way and ceased her attack. "I get what you're doing, and it's not stupid. It's honestly really smart of you..."
"I don't know what I'm doing... or why I'm doing it." Lisa confessed quietly.
"That's okay, I could say the same thing for me being here." She replied. "Honestly, I have been."
"Do you get it?" Lisa wondered, gesturing to the wall. "You probably do, but I guess I'll have to explain it to you either way if you don't."
Roseanne held up her hand, blinking the light above them once without ever looking away from the Thai. Even while the frizzy blonde was vulnerable, she captivated her immensely.
"You do?" Lisa rubbed at her neck and looked to the secondary school grade project of a wall on display. "Maybe it'll work then... maybe."
Lisa chucked the orange on the coffee table and wiped her hands on her pants, before lifting the paintbrush a final time. Dipping the brush in the cool white, she dusted off the ends of the bristles and wrote one last word beside the two she already had.
Maybe.
She dropped the brush in the can and stepped back, admiring what she'd created, or more so, replicated. "I saw this on a show." Lisa told the ghost beside her. "It was on Netflix, Stranger Things. This boy spoke to his mom through the lights. Used them like a ouija board or whatever..." She sighed. "I thought, well, it could work for us?"
Roseanne's smile only grew as she looked away from Lisa and towards their canvas. A way for them to further communicate. A chance to create something new. She truly appreciated the thoughtfulness and ingenuity that came from someone who only recently learned of her existence.
She stepped up to the bulb situated above the word yes and lit the filament. Holding its glow for a few seconds before releasing the energy that pulsated throughout it, and turned to find Lisa staring at her.
Well, through her...
"Yes?" Lisa repeated. "Okay yeah, I'll ask you some questions and you can answer just like that. Light the bulb that goes to the letter and I can spell the words out. Guess if they're too long I can use my phone or something."
Lisa scratched at the back of her neck and took a reluctant seat on the couch. She seemed a little antsy to Roseanne, foot bouncing rhythmically on the floor as she glanced to her hands.
Her lips curved softly as she sat crisscrossed ahead of her, close enough to the lights that she could light them, but ahead of them enough that she didn't feel like they came between Lisa and her. That the bulbs weren't the center of the conversation, but that they were.
"I... uh... guess I hadn't really thought this far." Lisa began quietly, talking with her hands. "Like I knew why I was making that thing but now that I have and it's done... I don't really know what to say."
There was something incredibly charming about Lisa when the frizzy blonde became confused. She's not sure if it's because she found her adorable or not, but Roseanne always felt a little lighter at the sight of her acting so unsure.
Lisa slid her hand into her pocket and retrieved her phone, opening up the notes app. Thumb hovering over the option to title the page, when a flicker caught her eye. She looked up in time to catch the word that was being formed. Saying it aloud. "Hi."
Roseanne's grin grew as her hands dropped away from the two letter's corresponding bulbs. Lisa's repeating of her greeting let her know that this could work. That it could be the start of something...
"Uh, hey back." Lisa replied cautiously. "I guess saying hello is a good enough place to start, huh?"
"Yes." She replied while lighting the single bulb. "I think so too, but I probably won't light everything I say because I can talk... a lot... my sister says I'm a horrible rambler... and I think that would just be too much for you to have to follow along with and spell out."
Lisa leaned back after the ghost's answer and sunk a little deeper into the couch. The sun was on her back, casting shadows across the wall ahead of her, which she fought to observe the lights through. "I uh, guess you already know my name?"
Roseanne nodded. "Yeah, I do. Lisa." She lit the four bulbs, reminding her of her leapfrog learning days on the alphabet keyboard. "Though I suppose that's a nickname since I think you've said it's actually Lalisa before, to the man downstairs."
The Thai's eyes shined a bit brighter at the acknowledgment of her name. "W-What's yours? Unless you like being called ghost?"
She laughed a bit at Lisa's comment, shaking her head. "No, I think I much prefer ghosty. But for you? Call me Rosie." She smiled.
Lisa's bright eyes soon shifted, causing Roseanne's smile to falter. The frizzy blonde's expression changing to one she couldn't really read, which startled her.
"Rosie..." Lisa whispered. "That's your name?"
"Yes." She replied in the same quieted tone. "Do you... not like it?"
"I just- guess I should believe you really are a girl then..."
"I wasn't lying." She stated while highlighting the bulb again. "Yes."
"Rosie... I know we sort of talked about you being a girl before but, knowing your name now feels... different. It makes this different."
"Yeah, I feel the same way."
Only her feelings felt over encompassing, hearing her name again from someone who still breathed in and expelled the air. Someone that could identify smells throughout it and feel the warmth from the afternoon sun on their back as they spoke to the invisible woman in front of them.
"So..." Lisa began once more, getting an idea of the ghost's- she means, Rosie's age, based on the use of the word 'same' and previous conversations. "How old are you?"
Roseanne was brought out of her inner monologue at the question. "Hm? Oh! I'm twenty-one."
The Thai shifted. "That's how old I am?"
"Mhm, me too."
"Shit, what are the odds?"
"Well, probably was slim."
Lisa chuckled. She didn't know why but the single worded answer made her smile. "Yeah except here we are... unless you're lying."
"Never! The audacity, really..." She pulled a face. "You always think I am."
"Okay, well... I can't really ever be sure, can I?" Lisa commented. "It's not like I can see you."
"Yeah... I know you can't." She sighed. "Only Chunhua can so far."
Lisa watched the lights in anticipation, only for them not to blink. It made her sit up straighter, and glance out the window in thought. Was Rosie not responding on purpose? Or did she not know what to say?
"Can other ghosts see you?" She question curiously, still looking out the window and wondering how many spirits could be traveling back and forth undiscovered below.
Her eyes darted back to the wall when she noticed the flashing of a bulb.
"Yes."
"Are there lots?"
"Hm, sorta? There's less than you would think."
"Sorta? What do you mean?" Lisa remembered her phone and quickly unlocked it. Titling the page Rosie and waiting to type out a longer answer, just in case. "Also, don't be afraid to say more than a word or two." She gestured to her hands. "I got it."
Roseanne smiled lightly at the mention. "Hm, well... They like to hide out together. Often off the streets-"
"Fuck wait-" Lisa interrupted, correcting her miss-types. "My fat fucking fingers, can you slow down a little. You're damn quick with those things."
"Sorry," She chuckled. "Where was I? Oh, it's where they spend time under overpasses or in abandoned buildings."
"So there's not many wandering like, out and about? Most are hidden? So it's kinda hard to tell how many there really are?" Lisa answered after a minute.
"Exactly."
"I see..." Lisa rubbed at her jaw. "What do they look like?"
"Most look normal, but some can be scary. Though from my understanding, the scary ones are more than just your average ghost."
"What do you mean by normal?"
"We look how we did when we died. Just a little silver, transparent. It's how I found out I died..." She looked to her hand, the transparency even more apparent in the sunlight. Reminding her of her fate yet again...
"Oh." Lisa mouthed quietly after a minute of reading what she had typed. "Um..." She hesitated. "So, how do you look?" Lisa wondered. "I mean- assuming you look normal?"
Roseanne dropped her hand and looked up to Lisa. A smile slowly returning to her face as she observed the Thai. "Well, I'm normal, I'd say." She looked to the lights and letters. "Hm... what would you like to know?"
Lisa's eyes grew a size. "Oh uh, what are you wearing? I guess."
Hm, a chance to get to know the ghost in front of you and that's the leading question? Should she ignore the urge to fuck with her a little?
Nah.
"A thong."
She waited with her shit eating grin as Lisa typed out and read, then re-read her response. A look of stark confusion on her face. "Uh... are you serious?"
"No." She chuckled. "I'm kidding."
"Oh, okay..." Lisa looked back down to her phone. The corners of her lips rising slightly, making it worth it. "Yeah, guess I should have known you were joking but couldn't be sure."
"No, I did not die in a thong. Thank God..." She laughed to herself.
"So?" Lisa whispered, eyes catching the lights as she began speaking again. "No thong... but?"
"White t-shirt, cargo pants, sneakers."
"Sounds like you have a better fashion sense than me... seeing I dress like this." The frizzy blonde gestured to her simple shirt and sweats.
Before she could stop herself, she replied. "I like how you look!" Then hunched over at the thought of how ablaze her cheeks would have been had she been able to feel them.
"Oh... thanks." Lisa rubbed at her neck and bit the end of her lip off as her face warmed. "So I- uh, guess you're from here? See you died here, right?"
"Yes." She lit, happy for the segue out of that embarrassment. "I'm Aussie."
Lisa nodded. "How thick is your accent? I'm not really from here and sometimes I still struggle to understand certain people... like the farmers from small towns and... uh, stuff."
"Oh girl, me too. It's not just you." She chuckled. "But I'd say mines tame. Easy to understand, comes and goes in waves really."
"Cool then... guess I'd be able to understand you."
"Guess so."
Lisa picked at her nail a bit before looking up again. "Has... has someone like me been able to see you before? Someone alive? I mean."
"Yes."
"Oh..." She focused on her nails again. "To be honest, I wasn't actually expecting you to say yes." Lisa admitted as she glanced back up. "What was that like?"
"You were there."
Lisa stilled. "W-What?"
Roseanne chuckled, feeling slightly bad for Lisa. Seeing how she was throwing a lot of curve balls into the woman's life. "Elderly lady. Chinese. Flower cart."
"Wait." Lisa jumped up from her seat, pacing in thought. "Wait..."
"I'll make you a deal on them too. Because I know your friend." The words suddenly swirled around her head, making her come off balance and tilt along with them. The elderly woman now laughing in her ear. "Of course I can see you."
"I remember! Oh my god... I remember. She recognized you, saw you standing right beside me and- and you must have asked her if she could because she laughed. Like it was so obvious she could because why couldn't she? And oh my god I thought she was fuckin nuts!"
Roseanne burst out laughing just as Lisa had. The sight of the frizzy blonde throwing her head back and giving in to the feeling made her head swim from the warmth her soul felt. The two of them a little dizzy and not knowing it.
"Man..." Lisa sighed after a minute. "I don't think I had knew of you yet. Back then, you were just a feeling; and yet, I knew you were there. I could sense it like eyes on the back of my head but... well, now I know."
"I'm sorry."
"No. No, It's okay. Like yeah, the feeling would get to me, sure. But now? Now you're not just a feeling. Now... you're Rosie. The ghost who happens to want to share this apartment with me." Lisa chuckled. "Now I know."
"Thank you, L." She lit quietly. Trying to calm herself down. Because those words meant something to her that she wasn't quite ready to admit. Even to herself.
"For what?"
"For being so receptive to me."
It took Lisa a minute to read what she had typed, but when she had, she released a long breath as she slid her phone into her pocket. "I'm surprised by it too, but honestly, I don't think I really mind."
~
The sun had just set over Melbourne, the moon now free to cast its silver glow over the sea and streets. The apartment was adorned in starlight blue from it's windows. Only the book-shelved wall beside the television was lit, with the amber bulbs from earlier that had yet to be turned off.
She couldn't really believe it. The idea that she just spent the majority of her day talking to Lisa, even if just through the lights, would have seemed so inconceivable to her former self.
Except it happened; And it would have still been happening, if Lisa hadn't fallen asleep.
The frizzy blonde had ended up eating the orange she had destroyed earlier at some point. They had even put on a movie while talking amongst themselves, only half paying attention because they were both focusing on what was being said between each other instead.
The conversation had changed from the big questions to the mundane little things. Favorite animals, favorite colors, favorite movies. She didn't mind it in the slightest though, because when the conversation would come to an end, Lisa would ask something else. Change the topic.
It showed Roseanne just how invested Lisa was in getting to know her too.
But of course, all good things must come to an end. And it may be selfish of her to have wanted to continue chatting with Lisa longer, but they already had most the day and she shouldn't take that for granted. Especially knowing they have an infinite amount of days, minutes, hours, that they can continue growing closer together.
So when Lisa's responses began to slow, and breathing deepened, Roseanne knew it was coming and let it happen. Watched as Lisa's eyes drifted closed and body slumped over on the couch, because there must have been a lot on her mind. The realization of a spirit, the learning of a name, it must have drained her a lot physically, mentally. Not just today but this whole week, maybe even her entire stay in Melbourne itself.
A part of her still felt bad for hindering Lisa's experience in the city so far. And now that the frizzy blonde was made aware of the potential ghosts that wander its streets, it's been making her feel even worse about it. All she could hope was that Lisa would realize that they're not all bad. That she and her friends were the same as they were before, only pretty sheer.
Maybe she should find them? It's been a while since they've caught up, and a lot has definitely happened amongst Lisa and herself since then. She's certain at least Yeri and Mason would be interested in hearing about it all. Felix... she couldn't be too sure. Since it was still a little obvious that he was bummed out about the whole being able to enter the apartment experience to begin with...
But maybe he'd understand, and maybe he'd be content knowing she's been thinking about him. About each of them. And even though she didn't have a hotline for an easy way to find her ghostly friends, she at least knew where they liked to often hangout. Or at least knew of a few places Yeri did, and the brunette would have some ideas on where the others might be.
She glanced back down to Lisa, observing the way her chest rose and fell and frizzy bangs tickled her eyelids. She couldn't help but feel an excitement bubbling in her own chest at the thought of being able to continue their conversation in the morning, as she walked over to the windows and stepped through.
Humming a tune to herself as she floated down to the pavement below, she couldn't help but be in awe with the fact that she could do that. Step through a window and float through the sky.
She smiled at the thought as she began her journey, stopping by the few places the young ghost usually frequented. Walking the same streets Yeri typically did. She had even called out her friend's name when she'd find the common masses of ghosts mingling around the city, gaining a few curious gazes. But so far, no luck.
When it came to exploring Melbourne at night, the city itself has always been considered one of the more safer ones. It was well lit, well traversed, though it did quiet down rather quickly the later it got. What was somewhat starting to bother her though was the change of atmosphere closed shops and appearing apparitions could bring to the typically joyous city.
The dark alleyways she would pass without second thought before, now sometimes housed spirits engrossed in conversations a woman (even in her transparent state) wouldn't really like to hear. Luckily, they didn't seem to pay her mind when she'd pass.
"Yeri?!" She called again once far enough from them. "Yeri?! You around here?!" There were a few ghosts talking up the path ahead, brunette and auburn hair coming into view. "Yeri! Mate?!"
Suddenly, a rather mean looking spirit with eyes bright orange rushed out of the shadows at her, cursing her out for being so loud. She jumped, bowing her head and apologizing as flames seemed to build in his reflecting eyes.
She continued on in silence after that, eyes glued to the pavement at her feet, because she was admittedly a little scared. Only sparing a quick glance up to the nearby ghost's faces and frowning at the lack of her friend.
"Hey, hold up." Came a voice. She turned to find a young woman, roughly her age, with the auburn hair from earlier. "I'm sorry about that guy." She gave her a tilted smile." He does it to a lot of us, so don't take it personally."
"It's okay." She shrugged. "I'm used to getting a little spooked still, he just came out of nowhere I wasn't really expecting it."
"Yeah he likes frightening people, thinks himself a demon or something."
"Well I know a demon and even he doesn't seem to do stuff like that."
"You know a demon?" The woman's eyes bulged. "That's... well that's pretty cool honestly. Scary. But cool." She put out her hand. "Name's Vanessa."
"Roseanne. But you can call me Rosie."
"Rosie. Cool." Vanessa's grin grew. "Already on a nickname basis. I like that."
With Vanessa's smirk, she knew her cheeks would have been reddening if any blood was flowing to them. But thankfully, she was dead and didn't have to worry about appearing completely tomatoed out in front of the other ghost.
"Haha yeah..."
"So..." Vanessa broke the silence. "If you don't mind me asking, who were you calling out for earlier? A friend?"
"Yeah, her name's Yeri. Brunette with a kick-ass outfit."
"Huh, she sounds familiar. I wonder if I've seen you guys around before but haven't really stopped to admire you yet." By her reaction, Vanessa back tracked. "I mean, haven't introduced myself to you yet. Well, no I don't. I meant what I said but since I'm an ass what I mean is- I can help you look for your friend, uh... Yer..."
"Yeri." She smiled. "And you're not an ass. You're just very..."
"Blunt." Vanessa's signature smirk reappeared. "I know. But I'm sorry, you're just pretty. But Yeri, yeah? I can help you look for her?"
"Would you?"
"Of course! Besides, I was bored anyways and those guys weren't being very entertaining." She pointed over her shoulder with her thumb. "Have you tried all her usual spots?"
"Yeah I have. It's kinda why I resulted to yelling."
"Man I wish we could still use phones!" Vanessa laughed as they started walking.
"That's what I said! A ghost hotline service."
"That'd be f'n neat mate. Brilliant minds think alike." Vanessa tapped her forehead. "Guess we could just keep on walkin', see where we end up or who we find along the way?"
"Sounds good to me." She smiled. Honestly quite thankful for someone to talk to and roam around with. And although Vanessa reminded her a bit of the boys with how forward she was, she was honest about it and knew when to stop and that made her feel more than comfortable in her presence.
That comfort helped their conversation come rightly along as they walked up and back down the main streets. Noticing the sky change its tone a few times due to the shifting of the moon as they swapped stories and tidbits about their lives.
"Damn. That would have freaked me out too. I mean you think you're fine, normal, then you notice your hand is see-through." Vanessa commented. "I would have assumed I had something in my eyes."
"I was certain I had to have been dreaming."
"Oh of course. Shit, you didn't even see your body. Right? Like you got up and there was nothing?"
"Absolutely nothing. I couldn't even find my phone... started to wonder if someone had stolen it, and if it had any part in my death."
"You think?"
She shrugged as they rounded the final set of buildings to yet another Yeri-less street. "God damn it Yeri."
"Maybe she's inside somewhere? In a place we can't go?" Vanessa smiled. "I sometimes like to stay in."
Roseanne thought back to Lisa and couldn't help but nod in agreement. Still kicking her feet at the thought that she may not get to visit with her friends tonight, seeing she hadn't noticed any of them on her quest for Yeri. But... she had met a new one...
"I'm glad I didn't have to look alone." She glanced back to Vanessa, who was still smiling at her. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it Rosie." The young ghost replied as they began to walk again, aimlessly.
"You know, you haven't mentioned yet how you died?" She wondered. "We did talk about your hobbies a little."
"Yeah... one of them was what got me killed." Vanessa replied sadly. "It was my favorite one too."
"Which one?"
"Rock climbing. And not the soloing kind. I had a rope, spotter, the whole nine yards."
"Did... did you fall?"
"Yeah." Vanessa frowned. "I had fallen but the rope caught me so I laughed it off and made some joke about it with my friend, only I hadn't realized how taut the rope was. Or... how close to some razor sharp edges of rock."
"It snapped... didn't it?"
"Yeah... I fell. And after I hit the ground I got up thinking I had survived. I couldn't believe it. Praised my adrenaline and... and then I noticed my friend's face... and I had looked down... man I'll never be able to forget."
"Oh Vanessa I-" She took in a much needed but unrequired breath. "I'm so sorry."
"It's okay, and please, call me Ness. Vanessa always felt a little too long... like that rope."
She held back a chuckle as she smacked Ness's arm at the poorly timed joke. "Hey!"
"Hey yourself missy! Comedy is a friend of mine, and one I don't have to traverse the entirety of the city to find."
"Now you're just picking on me."
"Never, gorgeous."
Her cheeks would have flamed again hadn't a shadow emerged from the alleyway beside them. Moving so swiftly her brain hadn't had time to analyze what it was seeing until a hand slapped against Vanessa's back, making the two of them jolt in unison.
"Well damn, that so happens to be exactly what I call her too." The smooth voice came. Dark brows lifting as mischievous eyes drank in the sight of her. "Long time no see, gorgeous."
Vanessa stepped out of his grasp and came to stand between them, a hand reaching for her arm protectively. "Rosie, who is this?"
Someone she hadn't anticipated seeing. But then again, who would anticipate a meeting with the ghost of John Wick.
"Elijah."