𝐂𝐀𝐍 𝐈 𝐊𝐄𝐄𝐏 𝐘𝐎𝐔? ~ tyler galpin

coffee and rain

Violet stared out the window of the practise, watching the rain slowly drip down the glass.

The practice was situated in the small town of Jericho, not far from the school. Violets therapist, Dr Kinbott, was a dull women. Nice, but dull. Principal Weems had decided that therapy was the best thing to do after her little 'outburst' during her earlier days at nevermore. See, Violet was a sèance. She was able to summon and interact with the dead, which came with it's own consequences. She was often plagued by spirits and restless souls.

To talk to a spirit, Violet must go 'under' as she called it. She would go into a trance like state, where she would be in almost different world, where she would be able to find the spirits and souls of people, long gone. Violet was never really sure what could be there, it changed often, and things she had seen before had caused her trauma. She had been plagued or even injured by things there before, it was dangerous. Things didn't always go to plan, and sometimes it would even be hard to pull her of the trance. Principal Weems expected therapy to help with that. Violet however, thought this was absolute bullshit.

'Violet, are you still with us?'. Snapping back to reality, she looked up to see Dr Kinbott staring at her, clipboard in hand, a thin liped smile stretched across her face.
'Yep' she answered.
'So, Violet, tell me about the...the..what do you call it.. the upside down?' Dr Kinbott looked down at her notes quickly, saying 'oh, yes, the under.' She looked at Violet with her icy blue eyes.
'Well, it changes. Everytime I go there it's different. It's usually different place everytime. Sometimes I know the place, its somewhere I've been, but sometimes I don't know where I am. It depends whether I'm focusing on a person or not.'
'Can you decipher the difference between the real world and the under?'
'Usually yeah, it doesn't feel right. The sky is always dark there too.'
'And when you say different people, do you mean you look for people?'
'Yeah sometimes, mostly my mum, sometimes people have asked me to find people for them, you know. It's easier when I know the person, but I can still find people there.'
'And the spirits, do they talk to you willingly?'
'Not always, like I said, I don't always know the person.'
'And when was the last time you went under?'
'It was almost a month ago.'
'And can you explain what happend?' Violet swore that she asked that every session. It was like she wanted her to relive the trauma.
'I was trying to reach my mum. I couldn't find her. I couldn't get out after that, I was stuck. Enid found me in our room.'
'Have you been able to do it since?'
'I haven't tried'
'Are you in full control of it?'
'...not really. I can do it when I need to but sometimes it just happens. Its unpredictable and I never really know when it might happen. It hasn't happened since before the incident, but Principal Weems thought it best to move me out of Ophelia Hall, have a room by myself so I don't disturb anyone or frighten them.' Violet didn't like that much. It was odd really, she didn't like most people and found them irritating or annoying, but she didn't like being alone. She missed sharing a room with Enid, and she didn't like to admit it, but she was slightly envious of her new roomie.

                           ☆★☆

Before she new it, the hour was up and Kinbott was leading her out the front door. Again, therapy was no help. It never changed a thing, and no matter how many questions Kinbott asked her, it wasn't going to help her.

The rain was still pouring and her long purple and black school skirt had become soaked at the bottom and her doc martens were slowly filling with water. She had only walked a few paces from the practice and her wavy brown locks were already dripping wet.

She stomped down the street, wrapping her blazer round her for extra warmth. This was the first chance she'd gotten to visit the small town, and so far, the rain had ruined it. She looked down the street, reading the shop signs. An old, creepy antique store, a boutique she had remembered Enid raving about, and a corner coffee shop. The Weathervane. The perfect place to wait for the rain to die down. There wouldn't be any point in trying to walk back now, the rain was too heavy. Violet quickly walked to the door, pulling it open and stepping inside.

It was cozy, with warm orange lights and brick walls. It was quiet, with only a few customers. A kind faced old man sat in the corner with a cup of tea, newspaper in hand, a tired-looking middle-aged woman, clinging to her cup of coffee, and a business man, nose buried in a book, the muffin on his plate almost untouched.

Violet ran her fingers through her wet, stragly hair and approached the till, where the barista, who had his back to the table top, was cleaning a rather rusty looking coffee machine. Violet rapped her knuckles against the table, to gain his attention. He turned round, giving her a half smile. He was about her age with light curly brown locks and ocean blue eyes. He had a name tag pinned to the front of his red apron. Tyler.
'Can I get you anything?' He said.
And for a moment, Violet didn't really know what to say. She just stood there with a dumb look on her face. She couldn't seem to find her words, and had no clue why. Tyler raised his eyebrows, waiting for her to say something.
'I.. umm.. coffee?' She managed to muster, cheeks glowing pink.
'Sure thing' he said, giving her a little smile. It gave Violet a strange feeling in her tummy, a slight fluttering feeling, not like anything she'd felt before. Wow, Vi, pull yourself together! You don't even know his guy!. Mentally scolding herself, she shuffled over to a booth, sliding herself over to the furthest end, resting her back against the window, and put feet up on the chair. You don't even like coffee! She pulled off her wet blazer, leaving it on the side of the street to dry off. She wrapped her arms round her knees, she was still a little cold from the rain.

'Coffee?' Tyler placed a mug of hot coffee on the table in front of her.
'Thanks' she said, lifting the mug in her hands and taking a sip. It's not..that bad.
'So, your from nevermore?' He said, nodding towards her blazer.
'Oh, yeah. How could you tell?'She said sarcastically. He smiled.
'Lucky guess.' He grinned 'I'm Tyler, by the way.'
'Violet' she said with a small smile.
'Well, it was nice meeting you Violet, but I'd best get back to work' he said, as a soaked, sour-faced woman walked in and strolled over to the front desk to be served.
'Oh.. nice to meet you too' she said. There was the feeling again. That fluttery feeling. He gave her and half smile as he walked away to serve the lady.

                            ☆★☆

Violet drained the rest of her coffee, and got up to leave. She stared out of the window, watching the heavy rain which showed no signs of stopping. She turned to look at Tyler, who was serving a soaked, miserable looking man at the counter. It was getting near to closing time, and most of the customers had left. He gave a small smile, which she returned. Something told her she'd be coming here a lot more often.

She sighed, pulling open the door and stepping into the cold. She'd hoped that the rain would have died down a bit but it had only gotten worse. It was completely dark now, due to the short October days, and the only light was from the street lamps. But even that light would be gone once she got off the main path. It was a 25 minute walk back to nevermore, and that was without the rain and darkness.

The wind had picked up a bit now, and it had started to get cold. Violet had been walking for about 10 minutes, and had just got off the main path. She was freezing, she wrapped her arms around herself for warmth. She reached for the material of her blazer to pull it further round herself, to find it wasn't there. She stopped in her tracks. She'd forgotten it.

                        ☆★☆★☆