GHOST CABIN ☆ EARTHMIX AU

Part seventeen: old times

"Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others."

- Jonathan Swift

"Earth, I have a question," Mix said, putting the brush away, not wanting to ruin the painting by accidentally painting one straight line cutting through the whole canvas if Earth's answer will be 'yes'.

"Hmm, what does my favourite human wants to know?" Earth sing-sang.

My favourite human; there it was once again. The nickname Earth had been referring to Mix since that day when he told Mix how old he was...or more like when he was born.

The thing was; that damn nickname should not flutter Mix's heart as much as it did. And yet, every time those three words rolled on Earth's tongue and Mix heard them in that deep honey-like tone, it felt like he was floating in the clouds, the sunshine was gently tickling his skin and the fluffiness of the cloud was entering his pores filing him with giddy and fuzzy feelings.

Could Mix possibly have a crush on Earth? Or could he like Earth already? A tiny bit maybe? Was this what it was?

"Mix?"

"Huh," Mix shook his head, blinking fast.

"What did you want to ask?"

"Okay, I guess, let's ask," Mix mumbled under his breath. "Earth, do you perhaps happen to be wearing a white dress shirt with rolled-up sleeves and beige trousers?"

"You...can see me?" If Earth could breathe he would probably hold his breath right now, waiting for Mix's answer. But there is no other answer than yes, right? How else would Mix know what was Earth wearing? The same damn clothes for fifty-six years. But at least it's classy; never gets out of style.

"Yes. No. Yes...I mean sometimes. Like I can't see you right now but I saw you only minutes ago. And also yesterday, and last week and week before too..." A huge smile appeared on Mix's face. His whole face was glowing with excitement.

Mix could really see Earth. "I'm starting to see you, Earth. I'm starting to see you," he repeated those words as if saying them out loud over and over again would make the situation even more real.

Mix could see him. Sometimes but even that was something. Earth wished that Mix could see him right now. To see how happy this made him. After a little bit over a month of Mix being in the cabin, there was finally progress; a small but important one.

"So, now you know that I wasn't lying. I don't look like an old, grumpy man, do I?"

"Well...I..." how to say it? Mix started to play with his fingers.

"I do not look old, I'm sure of it," Earth said confused. "Mix?"

"Yeah, of course, I'm sure you don't...it's just that...I can't really see your face, yet." Mix stopped playing with his fingers. He stood up and walked to lean on the porch fence, looking at the snowy tip mountain. "I can see your clothes but your face is still blurry."

Earth chuckled, "thank God, for a second I got scared that you don't think I'm handsome."

Mix laughed, "yeah, that would be a problem, indeed. But I have one more question."

"What is it?"

"Aren't you uncomfortable in those clothes? I mean, wearing a dress shirt and smart trousers all the time can't be the best feeling ever."

Earth shrugged, "I don't mind. I used to wear this type of clothes to my work every single day so it basically became my second skin."

Mix raised his eyebrow, "every day? What was your job? If I can ask — I don't want to be putting my nose into something that isn't my business so if you don't want to—"

"It's okay, my favourite human can ask anything," Earth said, leaning on the fence, next to Mix. Earth registered as Mix tensed the moment he said that nickname and got close to him. Smirking, Earth continued, "I am a journalist. I worked for one of the biggest newspapers in Thailand. Actually, my last article was published the day I died."

"Wow, that must have been interesting. The journalist part I mean," Mix laughed awkwardly.

"It was fun. Tiring but fun. There was always something to write about; be it national affairs or international ones. Sometimes I was writing about specific topics and sometimes I got more philosophical."

Mix cleared his throat, preparing himself to share with Earth one of his — for some — bizarre habits. "Actually, and please don't laugh, but I have this one thing I love to do since I was around ten. I like to read old newspapers. You know, from the 50s, 60s, 70s. I just find it fascinating to see what was really going on in Thailand and even in the whole world during that time. To find out more than what we were taught in history classes. To find out about something that happened only to some people; it didn't make it into history books, but for those people to which it concerned it was more important than the history of the whole world. And clearly, it was important enough to make it into newspapers." Mix chuckled, "I sound silly, I know."

Earth found himself staring at Mix, a tender smile decorating his face, carefully listening to every single word, to every single piece of information about Mix's life, Mix was sharing with him.

Mix looked so happy, talking about what he loved. Did it sound silly? To Earth definitely not. As a journalist, Earth himself read an overwhelming amount of old newspapers, and he also enjoyed it. Just like Mix did.

The more they spent together the more topics there were for them to talk about. It was such a blessing to be around someone with whom you can talk and talk and talk about anything and everything and never get bored.

It's been a month and Earth never, not even once got tired of listening to whatever Mix had on his mind. If anything, Earth found himself enjoying it more and more each time. Mix had such a beautiful and intricate mind. It made Earth want to know everything that was hidden in Mix's rich imaginary world.

"You don't sound silly at all, Mix. Please continue. I love listening to you talking," Earth said honestly. There is no reason to hide how he felt.

Mix blushed. He definitely did. He couldn't see himself but he was more than sure that he was freaking blushing in front of Earth.

Great!

"Um, I...I just find old newspapers more...I don't know...more honest, more reliable. I know that's not the case really. But nowadays everything just feels too fake, too sensationalized. Even some of my favourite pieces of writing I have ever read are from those old newspapers. It's like a golden mind of interesting ideas."

"If you are so passionate about newspapers, why didn't you study journalism instead of veterinary?" Earth was sure that Mix would be a great journalist just by hearing Mix talking about his passion.

"I love newspapers but I love animals even more," Mix smiled.

"Will you tell me something about animals too?" Earth asked.

Mix shook his head smiling, "it flatters me that you don't mind me talking so much, but I want to hear you telling me something about yourself, now. How about your last article, what was it about?"

Earth smiled with a bittersweet smile, "it is one of my favourite articles I wrote. It was about education. Specifically how the question: What do you want to be when you grow up? has a negative influence on children."

Mix's mind stopped. He wasn't sure but he probably gasped. Earth wrote it? Earth wrote Mix's favourite newspapers' article?

To be continued...

P.S. HAPPY EARTH DAYYYYY 🥳🎂🤎 WELCOME TO THE TRIPPLE UPDATE OF GHOST CABIN. ENJOY AND I LOVE YOU.❤