Toying with Christmas

4 | THE FAIR

I looked up to see Cassandra with her head in her hands. "Pass me another." She mumbled. I reached behind me and shoved the glass into her hand. She drank it in one go and slurred. "I'm sorry for what the spirits decided to reveal darling, I hope it wasn't too harming."

"Is that why you drown your sorrows?" I passed her another drink.

"I suppose it is darling. This mixture blocks them out... It is difficult to make sensible choices with such whiny voices yelling all of the time!" She paused. "There's thousands and thousands but only the strong ones can talk. For they only walk in the spirit realm for eight-hundred days, then they are vanquished as if they never existed. The only way to escape that is to complete your unfinished business, some do by chance and then they advance. Sadly, others need to urge their relatives on and for that they need to become visible to the living. This is where you come in. Give me the answer, it must be known as then they'll leave me alone!"

"There is no answer!" I stated with finality and picked up the bags of wrapped boxes of toys. "Now tell me where the nearest hospital is."

Cassandra's head knocked back again and she gave me an unsettling smile as she stood in my path. She clicked her fingers and the lock on the door flipped, I was stuck inside... "An answer for an answer, that's my only request, or you'll end up quite distressed."

"Time paused and then I could see her...?" I started recounting what had happened before I saw my sister. I had no idea what the answer could be.

Cassandra nodded. "Ah, I see. It's not as difficult as I'd thought it'd be!" Cassandra began laughing maniacally before her head knocked back once again. Was that it?

"Thank you, my dear. My head is now clear." I eyed her suspiciously before she cracked a smile and sprang into action. She opened the blind and unlocked the door. "I'll take those to the post office for you as you need to make the most of your time with that girl. Here's an onyx crystal so give it a twirl. It'll protect you from any spirits that might want to make you hurl." She placed a necklace in my hand. At the centre of it hung a black crystal.

I exited 'The Spoonful of Sugar' and sighed. Finally, I could go and see Gracie. As I hurried back towards my toy shop I felt my phone vibrating my bag. I instantly answered it without looking at the caller ID. The cracked screen felt horrible to the touch but I needed to know if Gracie was fine.

"Hi babes!" A familiar voice said. Melissa always had impeccable timing.

"I'm sorry but I can't talk right now..." I intercepted. I didn't want to miss a call from Daniel.

"When you disappear for two weeks do you really think that I wouldn't worry? I've been calling you on repeat but it's always been off! I was so scared for my best friend! You could have been kidnapped or murdered or- "

"Melissa! Why are you calling?" There was no point in trying to cease the conversation as she would always try and call me again but if I didn't intervene it would go on all day.

"Basically, if you don't come to the party on tonight, you are going to be fired!" I sighed. "The boss says that you were going to do work from home but you're obviously not at your apartment! That neighbour of yours hasn't seen you in weeks! Apparently, your rent is overdue babes."

"Are you sure that the boss hasn't got something wrong? I am still on leave, aren't I?" I knew that this decision would make an appearance at some point. I needed to choose between the life that I lived in the city and the life that I had lived for only two weeks.

"Sorry babes but I don't think so..."

"But I have other commitments..."

"I can't think of any that would be more important than the highly-paid job that you only just received! I would be running here if I were you to convince the boss of your commitment to the company."