Chapter 1.17 - Whispers and Promises

Time passed and summer turned into autumn again. Chantia and Mia grew closer to each other than Evelyn had ever been to any of her own siblings.

It wasn’t long before Chantia accidently let knowledge about her friendship with Charlotte slip. To Chantia’s greatest surprise, Mia didn’t scoff at the idea that Chantia could be friends with a ghost.

 

“Aren’t you going to say something?” Chantia questioned Mia when the younger girl didn’t respond to Chantia’s words. Mia just hummed before shrugging slightly.

“What should I say?” Mia asked rhetorically. “That having a ghost friend is impossible? I don’t think it is. There are some things in this world that cannot be explained by science, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t true or doesn’t exist. It just means that it hasn’t been discovered yet and if you say you are friends with a ghost – that you can see ghosts – well, that just means there’s something more to research, doesn’t it?”

Chantia blinked in surprise at Mia’s words. “Wow,” she stated, “I think that’s the most I’ve ever heard you speak at once.” 

Mia rolled her eyes and placed her rake down to put her pile of leaves in the bigger pile, talking to Chantia while she did so.

“It’s your fault for talking about such an interesting concept,” Mia answered. “Information about what happens after death is very limited, you know,” Mia told Chantia. “It would be fascinating to talk somebody who knows,” she stated before dusting off her hands and walking towards Chantia. “I would’ve loved to talk to this ‘Charlotte’,” Mia admitted.

Chantia looked down at the leaves crunching beneath her feet. To be honest, she had never thought that there would be people who would’ve wanted to be able to talk to ghosts. After all, nobody had really ever believed her claims, so why would they want to talk to ‘non-existent’ beings? It was a big surprise to find out that her sister actually wanted to talk to Charlotte.

“You know…maybe you still can,” Chantia stated and toed the ground. “Meet with Charlotte, I mean,” she expanded on her statement. “I could introduce you to her and maybe you won’t be able to see her, but you’ll still be able to talk to her as long as I relay her answers to you,” Chantia suggested.

Mia leaned eagerly forward at Chantia’s suggestion, staring excitedly at her sister.

“Really? We can do that?” Mia asked with wide eyes. Chantia shrugged, suddenly uncomfortable with the suggestion.

“Yeah, sure, why not?” Chantia replied, her eyes fixed on the leaves beneath her feet. The next moment Mia crashed into her, her arms gripping Chantia tightly.

“Oh thank you! Thank you so much!” Mia thanked her sister profusely. Chantia patted the girl awkwardly on the back before trying to weasel out of Mia’s grip.

Later that day, the two girls gained permission from their mother to leave the house, on the condition that they returned before dark fell. There wasn’t a lot of daylight left, so the girls wasted no time hurrying to the house on the hill. Once there, Chantia immediately ran to the front door, Mia following sedately behind.



The girls didn’t have to wait long before one of the inhabitants of the house appeared. Mia couldn’t see the ghost, but she had no doubt that her sister could. People didn’t talk that animatedly to empty air and Mia thought that sometimes, maybe, just a little bit, she could almost hear a voice replying to Chantia’s chatters.

 “- and this is my sister, Mia. She wanted to talk to you guys,” Mia heard Chantia tell the unseen ghost. Mia cocked her head slightly as a soft, very soft, echoing whisper reached her ears, but she couldn’t make out any words.

Chantia gestured at Mia to join her at the front door. Hesitantly, Mia joined her sister and looked vaguely at the door, unsure where to fix her eyes.

“This is Charlotte,” Chantia introduced the invisible ghost to Mia. Mia nodded vaguely in the direction Chantia pointed before softly greeting the ghost.

“-anted…tal…e?”

Mia’s head shot up as she realised, to her greatest surprise, that she could actually make out some snatches of the ghost’s words. She gaped in awe at the empty air in front of her, unable to form a coherent thought. Yes, she had believed Chantia when her sister told her about the ghosts, but she hadn’t really believed until she was presented with the evidence.

 “Such a pretty voice,” Mia whispered in awe, and it was. The ghost had a very beautiful voice, reminding Mia of silver notes and gentle autumn breezes. Again, Mia could hear a whisper of the voice, but she was unable to make out any words. Still, she could guess what the ghost had said.

“I can’t really hear you,” she confessed. “Just…whispers; echoes. But you have a very pretty voice.” The notes sounded again and Chantia told her that Charlotte thanked her and wished to know what Mia wanted from her.

Mia straightened her back, wishing she could look the ghost in the eye. “Answers,” she stated in a strong voice. “I want answers. Answers about life, and death, and what comes after.”

Chantia gave a step forward. “I’d like to know as well,” she confessed, “and also about the Song, and the Damned. My dad told us a tale about the Wilds and the Damned, and a Keeper of Balance...and I want to know how it fits in with what you’ve told me before.”

The beautiful voice did not sound again for a long minute. When it finally did, Mia couldn’t help but relax slightly. She had been afraid that they had insulted and angered the ghost.

 Chantia listened to the ghost and nodded when the voice stopped. She told the ghost that they would listen to her request and without further ado, Chantia pulled Mia away and walked away from the eerie house. Mia hated not being able to hear the ghost; she couldn’t stand being unable to follow the conversation.

She decided then and there that she would find a way to hear and see the ghost.

“So…she won’t talk to us?” Mia ventured a guess. Chantia shook her head and Mia felt her heart plummet. She had really looked forward to hearing the answers.

“No, she wants us to come by this Sunday,” Chantia disagreed. “She said it’s a very, very long story and there isn’t enough time to tell it today.” She looked at Mia and smiled. “But she’ll give us our answers on Sunday.”

They arrived home just in time for their curfew. Mia immediately retreated to her books, anxious to get started on her research for a way to see ghosts.

 In the days leading up to the weekend, nobody could tear her away from her chemistry station. She worked relentlessly, trying combinations and combinations of chemicals and chemical solutions and in the end, her efforts paid off. She had created the ultimate potion.

She immediately tested its effects and the result left her confident that she would be able to hear and see ghosts from then on.

Unfortunately, she never warned Chantia about its effects, so Chantia was understandably upset when she saw Mia, but Mia managed to explain the potion’s method of function before Chantia grew too worried. The explanation went completely over Chantia’s head, but she got the gist of it. Somehow, Mia had managed to develop a potion that turned her into a ghost for three hours without physically dying. If that wasn’t considered as completely and utterly genius then Chantia had lost all faith in the world.

“If my theories are correct, this potion will allow me to interact with ghosts the way you do,” Mia explained. “By entering the state ghosts experience, the energy of the world should identify me as one of them. Energy cannot be destroyed, so once I’ve been ‘identified’ as one of them the energy will remain around me, allowing me to interact with ghosts.”

Chantia just stared at Mia, unable to completely follow the genius’ logic. She understood the gist of it, but the rest…

Mia sighed when she noticed her sister’s uncomprehending expression. “Of course, that was the very simplified explanation,” she clarified. “There are actually a lot more science involved, but I won’t bore you with the details,” Mia stated.

Chantia merely blinked at Mia’s clarification. “Okay,” she stated, “if you say so. As long as you’re sure you’re not permanently stuck as a ghost, I don’t really care about the explanation – it’s way too complex for me to follow. If it allows you to see ghosts; cool. If it doesn’t; well, nothing will be different, so it doesn’t matter anyway.”

Mia merely rolled her eyes, despairing at the answer. She loved her family, but sometimes she wished she could talk to someone a bit more enthusiastic about science.

“Of course it will be different,” Mia muttered. “Don’t you realise what potential this discovery holds? If I manage to perfect this, I’ll be able to find the answers to questions that have plagued the world for centuries!” Mia explained frantically.

“Uh-huh,” Chantia nodded, “whatever you say.”

Mia threw her hands in the air at Chantia’s lack of a response. “You wouldn’t understand in any way,” she pouted and walked away to sulk alone. Chantia merely stared at Mia drifting through the door with amusement on her face.

_~...~_

The more I play with Mia, the more I absolutely adore her. Originally, I wanted to develop her in a completely different way, but the way she acts in-game changed my mind. Chantia is the more carefree of the two, while Mia is the more serious one. Chantia actually has a rather expressive face, while Mia usually just has a blank expression, kind of like she’s thinking “Why are you wasting my time with such trivial matters?” >_< Honestly, I love her. She just writes herself.