Constance

Chapter 2 - Can you see me?

"Daisy, just please for the love of God, tell me. What happened?"

"I don't remember."

Lies. She remembered every damn thing.

They've been at it for a whole hour now. The little cup filled with Daisy's favorite tea got cold long ago.

"Daisy, honey..." Isabell wore that stupid worried mother look. It made her look old. Older than she actually was. That wrinkled forehead and brows almost touching one another — Daisy wanted to swipe it; take a sponge and erase it.

"Mom, I don't know." With gritted teeth she sighed almost theatrically to emphasize her words. "I must have left the gas open on the stove. It was there when I came back from the bathroom."

Good old bathroom break. That's what happened. In the version she told her mother, it went like this: Maya and Eddy leave the house. Daisy goes to make herself tea — kettle on the stove and then time to piss. No spirits and no summonings. Only a little mistake which cost them a whole room... It really didn't explain how the kitchen remained unfazed...

Isabell visibly wasn't having it. Standing next to the window, arms crossed and frowning, she seemed not to notice anything strange around her. The spirit hovered in the corner, watching carefully.

"Mom, I'm sorry..." Daisy muttered but was soon stopped by the door opening. An insurance guy came in and ushered her mother outside. Shooting her a look, Isabell left the room.

Amazing, she almost forgot it was her bedroom that got absolutely trashed in flames and needed renovation. Daisy groaned.

The spirit now looked her in the eyes and she glared at him. He brushed his fingers through the curled mustache adoring his mouth, eyes widening.

"Oh, can you see me?" He said in a surprisingly french accent. "Of course you can. Your eyes seem to be focused on me. Hm..."

The corner of Daisy's mouth twitched. Toying with a whole spirit would be fun... As a quick bluff, she eyed a picture on the wall and stared.

The spirit's shoulders sagged when he noticed the flower composition behind him. "Ah non! Encore!" He voiced out, floating around frantically. How excruciating it was — nobody saw him. He was purely invisible.

Daisy chuckled. "Okay, ghostie. I do see you." She carefully slid out of her bed. The hospital gown made her look half-dead.

He stopped, gasped and pointed his finger at her. "You do see me!" He exclaimed as he inched closer. "Mon dieu! You can see me!"

"Yeah, I kinda made you appear here..." She muttered.

"You are Daisy, non?" The spirit tried to sit on the edge of the bed only to fall through it. He grumbled something under his breath, opting to just stand and bow, his feet never touching the ground. "It is nice to meet you. I am Filip."

"Good to know." Daisy awkwardly twisted a lock of hair between her fingers. "Uh, where are you from?"

No answer. Filip looked at her quizzically with his head tilted. Why were spirits so hard to navigate?

His red frock didn't look anything modern. More like he died over a century ago or at a Halloween party. One Internet comment talking about summonings said people supposedly appeared in what they wore while dying so... Birthday party with a 17th century theme? A cosplayer?

Just, why didn't he know?

"Um. What do you remember from before?"

"Is there something to remember?"