..
Mona's eyes opened abruptly, her own shock forcing her out of her previous state of meditation. She tried her best to keep her cool, but her emotions tended to show on her face... and her shaky breathing was definitely not helping, either.
After Rin and Tao heard Mona's change in breathing, they opened their eyes as well. "Is.... everything alright, Mona? What happened in there?" Rin tilted his head, showing a look of concern and confusion. Tao said nothing, but sported a similar expression.
She couldn't even bring herself to make eye contact with Rin — or whoever that is — as she responded. "Yeah, it's all good, but..." her eyes shot a look to Tao. "There wasn't anyone there." Mona hoped Tao knew enough from that glance to assume that she wanted to get out of there. "Strange.. didn't you mention something about that, Rinnie boy?" Tao questioned, trying to steer Rin's attention away from Mona being disconcerted. "Oh yeah, I did. I told you! The ghost is a shy one, alright." Mona didn't know what the hell they were talking about, but she was glad that her lie at least made sense to them.
But she had no idea what all of this was about, and hell — maybe Rin didn't have anything to do with it, but that wasn't going to change how Mona's heart dropped when she saw his face. Her necklace's visions had never made her feel uneasy until today.
"But, um.." she quickly reached for her notebook and purse. "I feel kind of, lightheaded after that.. so I think we should call it a day for now, okay? You don't have to pay me for any of this." This wasn't a lie, her head was pounding. The homeowner stuttered a bit, worried. "Are you sure? Do you need to lie down? I can go get—" "—No! It's okay." By this point, Tao was already following suit. "She'll be fine... I'm just going to take my friend here back home," he sounded much calmer than Mona. But he could clearly tell that something was wrong, Mona doesn't get shaken up over much.
And with that, Mona and Tao booked it out of 119 St. Mary Street, leaving a terribly baffled Rin behind. "Can I say I told you so yet–" "NOW IS NOT THE TIME."
..
The sky was pitch black and star-filled now, and the two had managed to make it back to Mona's place without any problems. Aside from Mona sweating bullets from their marathon.
"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" Tao asked our heroine the asthmatic, who was still catching her breath. "Yes.. I just.." she flopped down onto her small couch, and Tao sat beside her. She held up a finger, a sign to give her a breather before he peppered her with questions. Taking the hint, he turned his attention to something else.
"Come here Pluto, pspspsps..." the raven-haired man made an attempt to call Mona's pet over, but the cat showed zero interest. "Heh... he still hates you..." She looked over and saw his failed attempt at bonding. "Oh shut up, reminds me a lot of how someone else acted towards me not too long ago. He'll warm up to me in time.." He placed one of his arms on the side of the sofa. "Now, can you please tell me what happened back there? What could you have seen to justify how freaked out you were?"
"I saw Rin. There. In my mind, I'm sure of it."
Immediately, Tao's interest was piqued. "..But, you see ghosts in your head... Dead people. Rin was right there next to us," his eyebrows furrowed. "Being as annoying as ever."
"That's what confuses me. And I've never been into a place this vast in my mind while making a connection to a ghost. It was a whole different experience. An ominous one."
