Chapter 1.13 - Premonitions and Reunions

Of course, Evelyn should’ve known that things wouldn’t remain settled for long. She loved her daughter unconditionally, but sometimes she couldn’t help but worry over the fact that her daughter was…different.

It started off quite innocently. Evelyn and Chantia had been eating dinner when Chantia brought up a different kind of topic than usual.

“Trent House’s grandmother is going to die tonight,” Chantia stated nonchalantly. Trent House was one of Chantia’s classmates. Evelyn choked on her food before staring incredulously at her daughter.

“Chantia! You can’t say something like that!” Evelyn admonished the girl. Chantia merely shrugged her shoulder before taking another bite of her vanilla muffin.

“What? It’s true,” she insisted. “I can hear it. The Song…it’s singing for her. When the current repeat is done, she’s going to die.” She cheerfully hummed a low tune, the sound causing shivers to run down Evelyn’s back. It was almost as if she could feel the presence of Death in the tune Chantia hummed.

“That’s nonsense,” she sniped. “You can’t just go around claiming people are going to die.” She was deeply frightened by her daughter’s behaviour, once again reminded of that strange night when Chantia had been a toddler and Evelyn had found her staring at the moon. It wasn’t normal. It wasn’t normal to stare at the moon and it certainly wasn’t normal for children to predict people’s deaths. “Don’t ever say that,” she warned her daughter.

Chantia blinked in surprise and stared at her mother before cocking her head slightly. “Why not?” Chantia questioned. “It’s true,” the girl insisted again.

“I don’t care if you think it’s true or not, don’t say it,” Evelyn lectured the girl. Her head spun with the implications of Chantia’s words. It was nonsense, of course. It had to be. There was no way her daughter was able to predict people’s deaths.

Chantia threw her hands up in surrender. “Okay,” she promised, clearly confused by her mother’s behaviour. Evelyn accepted the promise and spent the rest of the night trying to drive the event out of her mind. Of course, her attempts were futile. She laid awake until late in the night.

The next day at work, she realised her fears hadn’t been unfounded. It turned out that the Chantia’s classmate’s grandmother had indeed died the previous night. The woman had been ill for some time and had finally succumbed to her illness, so it didn’t come as a surprise. It could be a coincidence that Chantia had predicted the woman’s death. Still, the implications of that event caused shivers to run down Evelyn’s spine. She had to see Gustave, discuss it with him. It was time to go to Champs Les Sims.

Later that night, Evelyn called Gustave to tell him of her plans. She didn’t tell him about Chantia’s premonition, deciding it would be better to tell him face-to-face. He was ecstatic to hear that they were going to Champs Les Sims. They spent hours on the phone, making plans and discussing options.

Evelyn made the reservations for their trip and on the days when Chantia had her afternoon activities, Evelyn spent time in the library, again searching for possible answers. Unlike the previous time, she got a couple of leads, but none of them were conclusive. The one lead she thought held the most promise ended up culminating in information about joining some kind of mystical club that specialised in paranormal events. Evelyn wanted nothing to do with that whatsoever, so she was forced to put a halt to her search.

Chantia enjoyed school a lot, as well as the Scouting Club she belonged to. In her opinion, the school she attended was the best one to ever exist. Of course, the field trip the school arranged to the Landgraab Industries Science Facility did nothing to disabuse her of that notion.

She enjoyed the field trip immensely, hearing about the history of the Science Facility and looking at their past discoveries and inventions.

The best part though was when they all got souvenirs! She loved the science model she received and proudly displayed it in the bedroom she shared with her sister.

When she got home though, her day took a turn for the worse. She had forgotten that it was Mia’s birthday, but she was quickly reminded of that fact when she walked into the house and noticed the large birthday cake on the counter.

She glared at the toddler playing happily on the floor before stomping off to her room to do homework. She wanted nothing to do with her sister’s special day.

Unfortunately for Chantia, Evelyn wouldn’t let her stay in her room while celebrating Mia’s birthday. While Evelyn enthusiastically helped Mia blow out her candles, Chantia stared on, sulking the entire time and hating every second of it.

Mia on the other hand, enjoyed every second of it. She got to have cake! And she was going to be a big girl!

Evelyn cheered happily for Mia, never even noticing that Chantia quietly slipped out of the room. Mia didn’t notice either, for her entire attention was fixed on the large cake in front of her.

Chantia took refuge in the bathroom, unwilling to face the celebration in the kitchen. It was there that she saw something familiar and entirely forgot about the birthday her family were celebrating.

 “You’re…Charlotte, aren’t you?” Chantia asked the familiar figure standing in the bathroom. The golden girl swung around with surprise evident on her face. Her face lightened up in joy at the sight of Chantia standing in front of her.

“You remembered!” Charlotte exclaimed happily. “I thought…I thought you wouldn’t,” she confessed. Chantia tilted her head, staring at the transparent girl.

“Of course I remember,” she stated matter-of-factly. “Why wouldn’t I?”

Charlotte shifted slightly before making a grab for Chantia’s hand. “Come on, let’s get out of here!”
 
Chantia pulled back slightly. “We can’t! My mommy and she are out there!” Chantia protested with a scowl on her face.

Charlotte paused, looking intently at Chantia. “So? How does that make a difference?”

“I don’t want them to see me! Mommy’s going to make me sit there and watch the baby be happy!” Chantia tried to explain.

“So basically, you just don’t want them to see you?” Charlotte questioned. At Chantia’s confirming nod, she continued. “Oh, it’s okay then. I can get us out of here without anybody seeing us.”

Chantia stared sceptically at the ghost. “Are you sure?” Charlotte nodded fervently, causing Chantia to give in. “Okay then, if you’re really sure…”

Charlotte beamed happily at the concession. “Great!” she enthused and before Chantia was completely aware of what was happening, a bright light sprung up around them…

…and the next moment, they were standing outside, causing Chantia to stare around her in surprise.

“That was…” Chantia stammered, trying to explain the experience.

“Pretty amazing, huh?” Charlotte finished for Chantia, causing the younger girl to nod stupidly. “That is one of the few perks being a ghost have,” she explained.

“So, you really are real?” Chantia questioned. “I always thought…I thought that you were just a dream, or something,” Chantia confessed. “When I tried to tell Mommy about you, she said you weren’t real.”

A sad look slipped onto Charlotte’s face. “Yeah, she would,” she agreed. “That’s what most people will say, Chantia,” she girl confessed.

“But why?” Chantia asked, cocking her head slightly in confusion. Charlotte shrugged in response.

“Because not many people can see me,” she confessed. “You’ve been exposed to The Song, so you can, but other people-“

“The Song?” Chantia interrupted the ghost. “You mean this one?” Chantia asked and hummed the tune softly. Charlotte’s colourless eyes widened in surprise at the sound.

“You can still hear The Song?” Charlotte asked breathlessly. Chantia nodded, confused at the ghost’s reaction.

Charlotte leaned forward eagerly. “Come with me,” she begged the living girl. “I want to show you something.” Without hesitation, Chantia nodded and the two of them disappeared in a brilliant flash of light.