Ghost and the Writer

Luck

The screen displayed 'Kenneth' and Mandy could observe in real life, why Kenneth was surprised about August's phone being picked up at all. August's expression was sour and his finger reached towards 'hang up' button almost by instinct.

"I can take it," Mandy offered.

August passed her the phone like it was a hot potato. "Tell him to call in two days. We have that mission tomorrow," he said.

Mandy nodded and picked up.

"Mandy, I presume?" Kenneth asked.

"Yes," she replied.

"Are you two out of the city?" he asked next.

Mandy tilted her head about the question. But she didn't need to wonder for long.

"Ha hah, your voice sounds alive, a cursed forest I presume," he explained.

Eh-- Mandy didn't even know what to say to that. She couldn't just outright tell that they were still in the city when Kenneth had figured out she was in a cursed forest.

The room was silent enough for August to hear every word and August was at this point massaging his temple in regret.

Mandy started to get a feeling for why August was not happy about picking up inspector Kenneth's calls.

"We will be back in two days," Mandy avoided the topic like that.

August made thumbs up.

"Hm, that works, something is brewing in your neighborhood, I wanted to ask August to take a look. Maybe do a spectral reading when you come back, not to walk into something unexpected."

August nodded in the background. "I will pass him the message," Mandy said. She couldn't exactly tell that August agreed lest she gives away their situation.

"And I'll send Ian as help, he will give details," Kenneth added.

"Thank you," Mandy said.

"No, no, thank you," Kenneth said, a smile could be sensed in his voice. "Talk to you later, then."

August didn't per se question anything, just took the phone back.

"Voice sounds alive?" Mandy mumbled to herself.

"There's some static in signal when a ghost speaks," August replied, as he was entering alarm clock time. "But you wouldn't normally guess it was a ghost speaking, just that the signal was bad," he added with a wry smile.

Mandy nodded softly. Well, since Kenneth already knew she was a ghost, speaking clearly would give away that her shape had changed. It was a careless little mistake to take the call, but humans made careless little mistakes often. If Kenneth was the type to notice those, then it was no wonder August had a hard time with him.

August placed the phone back on the shelf, sat down in the moss and finally downed his concoction, passing out and falling in the flowers just like snow white after biting the poisoned apple.

Mandy made a wry smile at it all, picked up the now empty mug to place it on the same shelf with other stuff and decided to lie down next to him, she didn't think she would fall asleep, but she did. Soundly and without care and for the first time in seventeen years she dreamed.

Her dream was of a time shortly before her passing. A party that had earned her a nickname of 'the party animal of the humanitarian department', but all that Mandy had known of consciously were pictures and video that came afterward and the memory of herself snapping out up on a roof of a high rise building. Those records were awful enough for Mandy to avoid telling anyone of her full name or surname, as the last thing she wanted was for August (or anyone) to look her up.