My Little Fanfiction Corner | Fanfiction Short Stories

The Jumble Sale

Fandom: Ghost (Swedish band)

Prompt
Your character is selling their old clothes and unwanted items. What are they selling and why?

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There wasn't much left after the fire. All my belongings either perished or were irreparably damaged, so I threw them away almost instantly. They weren't of much use to me now, anyway. In their short life spans, they served their purpose. It was time to say goodbye.

All that was left was the odd item of clothing I used to wear to church, my cross and a few trinkets from my dad's home. It wasn't much and they left awful reminders of the days before Terzo brought me to the Ministry, his arms cradling me as I drifted into a frenzied stupor. He was sweet and kind to me, even when he didn't have to be. Terzo made sure I wanted for nothing, that I was properly catered for and accepted into their church. It was only made easier when I found a friend in Copia—my involuntary partner in crime.

Sifting through my old belongings, the black lace of my dress tugging at my neck, I thought about what they would think about me getting rid of all these things. They were stacked into cardboard boxes, my virgin-wise clothing neatly folded into modest piles of pristine, blinding white. A few cuddly toys that I no longer needed or cuddled with were haphazardly placed at the very top of one of the boxes. Underneath, a few belongings from home.

"How's it going?" Terzo's soft Italian accent flitted towards me.

Turning around, I gazed at his thin, lean figure standing in the doorframe. His mismatched eyes were softly looking back at me—a gaze he specified was for me and only me. With an overconfident smirk, he glided into the room as if he walked on air.

For once, he wasn't wearing his papal clothing. Instead, he donned a black shirt with matching dress trousers. His feet were bare, the gentle padding alerting me that he was very much there with me.

"I think I'm done," I said.

I took one last look at the two boxes, barely anything in them but the memories of a past life—a life I was no longer a part of. Closing my eyes, I could still feel the flames slashing at my skin and hear the shouts of those who either wanted me dead or who were trying to stop it.

Terzo's warm hands rested on my shoulders, jolting me into the present. My memories fizzled as my eyes connected with his and I felt my chest warm at the sight of him. He made me giddy with adoration.

Tilting his head, his eyes darted between my own. "You're no longer there, Marianna. No one will hurt you ever again," he murmured.

"I know," I whispered as I looked down at my hands folded in my lap, clenching my eyes closed. "It's just I can still hear it all and feel it all. I sometimes wonder if I would have ever survived if it wasn't for you and Copia."

There it was again—the flinch. Every time I mentioned Copia, it was as though it hurt Terzo to hear his name used so flippantly. I wished I knew why he was so quiet and weird—for lack of a better word—when I spoke about my friend.

"I wish you wouldn't speak of such possibilities," Terzo said softly as he gently placed his hands in mine.

I shrugged. "I can't help it. I just—"

My thoughts trailed off whilst I glanced at everything in the room. It was large enough for Terzo and I. Even too large for just the two of us living together, but that was the Ministry and that was what being Papa meant sometimes—a lavish, luxurious life before an inevitable early death.

Terzo held his breath as he waited for me to finish my thought.

"Why me?" I finally ask.

It was a question that had been burning in me since I awoke in the hospital wing after the fire. I'd never questioned him before. There was never a need to. He was so enamoured with me and I with him. Everything just felt right between us without the explanation.

However, I was now uncertain why he chose me when I caused so much trouble for him. It didn't seem fair!

He sighed, adjusting himself so he leaned against his arm to hold himself up. "I have felt that something was missing for most of my life. I never knew what. I could never find it, so I filled it with meaningless sex. Then, I met you." His gaze flicked up to meet my eyes.

"You met me," I said dumbly.

He smiled genuinely—another aspect of himself he would only ever share with me. "I'm feared."

I choked back a laugh. "Your eyes probably don't help."

Terzo threw his head back, laughing with me. "I suppose it doesn't, but people fear me for other reasons, Marianna. They don't look at me like I'm a person, but you did. You were the first kind face I've encountered," he whispers, leaning close to me.

"What about Copia?" I wondered aloud, unable to help myself.

He looked up at the ceiling, almost exasperated. "What about him?" he snapped.

I leaned back. "Why are you so cold to him lately? What has he done to deserve this?" I blinked, my heartbeat racing as the memories I shared with Copia echoed in my mind. There had to be something in them that could tell me why they'd drifted apart recently.

"You don't know," he stated, as if trying to convince himself. "No, of course. He wouldn't—"

I couldn't fathom what he was talking about. I wanted so desperately to know why he disliked my friendship with Copia and why Copia always looked ashamed of being found with me whenever Terzo saw us together. It was as though there was something unspoken there between them, something that I couldn't see—or I was too blind to observe it properly.

He placed a hand on my shoulder, smiling again. "You finish what you're doing. I have something I must do." His lips grazed my temple before he raced out of the room.

I chuckled to myself, shaking my head. I chose not to think too hard on his strange behaviour—or Copia's.

Returning to the boxes, I beamed at every bad memory and every dreadful day with which I was graced. Throwing all this stuff away was a new beginning, a chance for a life at the Ministry by Terzo's side. A second chance was all I could ask for!