All Again

An Attempt

As much as Jamie tried to sleep last night, even when she shut her eyes, her mind keep reeling in the form of dreams. She was technically sleeping, but now as she's groggily pushing herself off the bed, her eyes feel as sunken in as ever.

In her sleeping state, her dreams felt less like something solid to hold and more like liquid. Spilling out everywhere, sloshing back and forth, Jamie couldn't stay in one dream for too long. But they always had similarities—like Dani was always there and Jamie was always two steps away from her when she's slip into another dream.

Needless to say, it was exhausting, but at least Jamie had slept. Her eyes had shut and her breathing had shallowed for nearly eight hours. Looking up at the clock is almost startling. It's a little past 10am and Jamie's stomach is grumbling with full force. She finished her sandwich last night on the bus, so she'll have to get something else to eat today. It's necessary to eat before going and manhandling some neighborhoods.

It's dizzying to stand and make her way over to her locker on the side wall to retrieve her backpack. Jamie frowns down at her clothes because they are rather dirty. Peering around the doorframe into the hall, she wonders if there is a laundry room or anything. She would pay to do her laundry so she could shower and put on some fresh clothes.

After thinking through the conversation she had with Owen last night, she realized he was right about a lot of things. One of the major ones being Jamie still needs to take care of herself. Even though Jamie is practically racing to get out the door and into those neighborhoods, handling this concern of Owen's is much easier than handling some of the other subjects he brought up.

So she grabs her backpack from the lockers and unzips it, reaching for her old clothes when she remembers she packed two pairs of clothes—in case she fell into that lake. And naturally, she had, so she has one pair left. At the very bottom of the bag, past the wilting flowers and her wallet, she grabs out her last pair of fresh clothes and sighs with relief. She can go take a shower and be ready and fresh for the day. Ready to head out in her last pair of clean clothes.

Jamie can only hope she'll be lucky enough for this to be her last day in London.

__

Taking a shower felt like a morning savior. It was relaxing for Jamie to step away from the chaos of everything and wash away the dirt and sweat on her body with warm water. Then putting on clean clothes only rejuvenated Jamie further for the long day ahead of her.

Jamie gathers all of her things to shove back into her locker after leaving the bathroom. As she leaves, her eyes get caught by the mirror just by natural habit. Though surprisingly enough, Jamie smiles when she only sees herself.

Dani is out there. She is out there and Jamie has every intention on finding her today. Something is humming underneath these bones.

But she does have to eat something first. So she loads her dirty clothes back into the locker, taking her backpack with her, slung securely over her shoulders as she locks up the cubby. Taking a deep breath, she turns away from the wall and out of the room.

As Jamie is walking through the main room, she sees a flash of movement in the corner of her eye. She turns her head to see the lady at the front desk waving over to her. Reluctantly, Jamie diverts from her path and goes over.

"Hi! Sorry to interrupt you, but you extended your reservation here through tonight. Did you want me to extend it further?" The woman asks with a bright smile on her face, yet all that fills Jamie is dread.

"Uh," Jamie stays stagnant, nervously messing with her fingers as she fails to come up with an answer. Her fingertips land tenderly on her ring. "I'm not sure..." she frowns, tilting her head slightly down.

As much as she desperately wants to believe and hope that she'll find Dani today, she could easily not find her and need to stay an extra night here. But Jamie supposes even if she does find Dani today, they might need an extra day to get everything together so they can go home. God, all Jamie wants is to bring Dani home. Though it feels discouraging, Jamie understands it's better to have the extra night than to not—especially under such unreliable circumstances.

She looks up to see the woman still waiting for her answer. Jamie nods and sighs shortly. "Yeah, if possible, I would like to extend my stay one night."

"Perfect," the lady presses a couple buttons on her keyboard and then glances up, "you are Jamie Taylor, right?"

"Yes."

"Okay, just making sure I have all your correct information. Can I get your phone number for verification?"

Jamie gives the clerk her phone number and after a few more moments of conversation, she is bid farewell and wished luck on her day in the city today. Grabbing the straps of her backpack tightly, Jamie exits the hostel and begins down the sidewalk.

She knows there's a grocery store nearby. With her stomach grumbling louder every moment, she hopes she can buy a packaged meal from the store. While inconvenient, her hunger is a positive sign from her body—it simply means she is regaining some of her feeling. Her life force is returning.

With each step, her footsteps echo gently into the city—a mere addition to the bustling life around her. Jamie keeps onward down the sidewalk, her eyes peeled for any kind of store where she could buy some food. Of course she knows where to turn; it's startling how easily Jamie has been able to fall back into knowing London like the back of her hand. Especially since it's been so long and she's changed so much.

Nevertheless, she rounds the corner and spots a grocery store across the street. Sighing with relief, Jamie heads toward it. She stops at the corner of the sidewalk, waiting for the cars to pass by her. This is when she turns her head slightly to the pole next to her.

Her heart goes still. It's as if the entire city switches off in an instant. No flickering to a slow stop, it's immediate dead silence.

The left corner of a paper is left stapled to the wooden pole, the rest of it seemingly ripped off. It looks old and rained on, ruined by the amount of time it's been pinned up. But the remaining black font still visible reads: "-ani, if you-"

Jamie approaches the pole, an old telephone pole, slowly with shaky hands. Her breath is cold as she exhales silently, yet it roars in her ears. Ever so carefully, Jamie peels what is left of the paper from the wood. It's crinkled and crumbling in Jamie's hands, but it's proof.

"Dani." Jamie breathes so soundlessly, she might've only spoken her name within her head. "Oh, Dani."

Clutching the shred of paper in her hand like it's a lifeline, Jamie crosses the street and runs into the store.

—

While checking out with the clerk, she shows him the paper.

"Do you know who might have put this up?" Jamie asks, glancing between the paper and the man who is scanning her items with a beep each time. "It's a missing person poster. I know this person and I need to find her."

The man frowns, his mustache curling with it only deepening his expression. "There isn't even a name on that paper. How would you know—?"

/ / /

NOTE: Hi! So I wrote all this like over a year ago and I've discontinued it. But it was recently brought to my attention that this bit still exists!! So I figured I would publish what I had left. I won't be publishing any more stories or chapters in the future. I am sorry, but thank you for supporting me and reading this!! I'm focused more on art and my education now. I have an art account on Instagram where I post Damie art (and like every other sapphic ship, whoops) sometimes, if that interests you!! My account (@ sunlight.oh) is linked in my bio :) Enjoy your lovely lives

-signing off, StrangeBlob