"Is this the place?" A group of three went into an abandoned two-story house. One of them instantly hopped up and sat cross-legged on the ceiling.
"Seems comfy to me," She confirmed, her transparent and wispy hands resting in her lap.
"Seems kind of stereotypical," another said as he floated in deeper. "Spirits living in an old house,"
"Well, what other choice do we have, Alejandra?" Asked the third. "This is the best I could do when it comes to hiding,"
"Y'know how them Gaiatians are, though," said the first, still on the ceiling. "We might get visited by some cooky teenagers. Ain't that right, Al?" Alejandra scoffed and waved his hand like her words were gnats.
"Who'd want to come to this dump?" He asked in a breathy chuckle, hopping onto a dusty sofa. His blonde hair fell over one of his eyes. The third spirit sighed.
"Don't mind him, Alias, he's just so used to living in a palace!" The first one mocked Alejandra. Alejandra glared at her with his pale green eyes.
"That was over half a millennia ago!" He retorted. "I just have standards, that's all," Alias scoffed at him.
"Oh, is that right?" He asked sharply. "Maybe next time we need to travel, I can find you a nice castle," Alejandra shrugged.
"This place is fine," he said in a grumble. "She might be around here anyway. I've got a feeling," The other two rolled their eyes.
"Give it a rest, Al!" The one on the ceiling cried. "She could be anywhere! She may not even be a ghost!"
"That doesn't mean that I can't try!" Alejandra boomed. "I love her! And she loves me! "
"If she's reincarnated, she may have forgotten," Alias noted. "Even Abiatii can agree, and she's a bloody moron!"
"Affirmative." She chimed in from her spot on the ceiling. "She won't remember nothin',"
Alejandra still strongly disagreed, but he did not argue anymore. He stood up and went to explore the rest of the house. In the attic, there was a window, and he looked out of it as he leaned against a beam. The only other house around was the one across the street. It was a relatively small house compared to his new living arrangements, and as he examined the surroundings further, he saw a black motorcycle zoom down the road and park in that driveway. He could barely identify the person who was hopping off the bike frantically and almost falling over. They took their helmet off, and Alejandra discovered that it was a young woman; she looked mortified, and she ran into her home and closed the door quickly.
"There's a woman who lives across the street," Alejandra called out to the others. "She looked frightened of something,"
"You should go check it out. Keep your mind off what's-her-face," Abiatii said, coming into the room. The woman had finished closing the blinds and drawing the curtains by this point. She hummed. "Weird,"
"Yeah," Alejandra agreed, "Weird," He phased out of the window and floated down to the ground. When he got closer to the house, he heard a door open. The woman came out of the back door, and Alejandra finally got a good look at her.
The woman had deep brown waves and glistening blue eyes that resembled sapphires. She had a few ear piercings and a nostril piercing. Her skin was paler than what he had seen on the other natives of the planet, and her lips were full and looked soft. He noted that she looked mysterious already, but what caught him off guard was when she sat on her back porch and stared into the woods as if she saw something that frightened her. There was, in fact, nothing but trees and birds in the distance where she looked, so the fact that she looked scared worried him.
He stayed around her as she sat there for hours. Not once did she go inside of her home. She stayed in the same position, staring at nothing. Alejandra sat next to her. He knew she would not be able to see him, and if she lived with someone else, he would be invisible to them as well.
As the sun was setting, another vehicle parked itself in the driveway. Alejandra turned to see a man with hair that he was pulling out of a bun. He was filthy, covered in oil and dirt. He walked around to the back porch and found the woman.
"Luna?" he called. She whipped around and smiled nervously.
"Hi, Chris," Alejandra shivered at her soft voice, and the sound of her name. "How was work?"
"Well, aside from everyone calling you a witch after you 'healed' my sprain, it went okay," He used air quotes. Luna's heart seemed to sink, and she turned back around to stare at the trees. "What have you been doing?"
"Nothing," she said with a sigh. "Just staring at the trees... and daydreaming. And thinking,"
"About what?"
"Nothing and everything," She replied. Christian went to go sit next to her.
"That doesn't make any sense," he said with a chuckle. Luna blinked a couple of times and smiled faintly.
"Neither does what happened today," she said longingly. "I don't get it,"
Alejandra stared at her from his spot on the porch in awe. He reminded him so much of his past and his long-dead wife, whom he could not find in the spirit world. He almost wanted to cry; she even looked like her and shared her name. He was almost angry that it had taken him this long to find her if it really was her, but he had no doubt that she was.
"Well, do you want to try it again?" Christian asked her. She looked over at him with an eyebrow raised. "My back's been sore for a couple of days now. Maybe that pink stuff will make it better," Alejandra scrambled up as Luna scooted closer to him.
"Lie down," she said softly. He obeyed. "Now, let's see if I can do it this time,"
"Why wouldn't you be able to?" He asked. She sighed quietly.
"Because weird things like this only happen when I don't try," She explained. "Including the dreams,"
"But the dreams ended, didn't they?" Christian asked, looking over at her. "They got executed," Alejandra's complexion became a little more ghostly as Luna gave a light shrug.
"We'll see," She patted his head and rested her palms on the small of Christian's back. "Now...let's see if I can remember what I did," Alejandra floated over to where he was in front of her, and he watched her intently. Luna took a deep breath and drew a symbol on his back, and with each swipe, it only glowed brighter. Christian jolted a little.
"It's really hot!" He squeaked.
"What else would you expect?" Luna replied in her normal soft-spoken tone. Alejandra knew what spell she was doing and did not say a word, not that anyone would hear him anyway.
After she drew the symbol, she placed both her hands on the area, muttered something under her breath, and her hands began to glow the same ghostly pink as she had earlier that day while healing Christian's leg. The light reached up to her elbows, and when she opened her eyes, they glowed bright pink, making Alejandra squint and cover his eyes. He was in total shock.
After the magic was done, Luna's eyes flickered back to normal, and she staggered back a little. Her already pale skin became lighter and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. Alejandra knew her body, the Gaiatian body was not suited for powerful magic like that in the slightest without proper training, and even then, it could very well kill her. Not to mention, modern Gaiatians were not even supposed to know magic-- let alone ancient Afrödic magic.
"Who are you?" He mumbled to himself as he kept staring at Luna. Of course, she did not respond, nor acknowledge that he even existed.
"Luna... that helped my back!" Christian said, astonished. Luna nodded, trying to stand, but failing to do so. He sat up and turned to her. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yeah, I'm fine," She stammered. "Just a little tuckered out," He looked her up and down, stood, and scooped her up. She squeaked.
"Come on, I'll carry you inside," he told her. She had a slight blush on her face, but she nodded.
"Alright," She agreed softly. Christian carried her inside the house and nudged the door closed with his heel.
Alejandra decided to head back to his own home across the street, still baffled by what he saw. As soon as he phased through the door, Alias and Abiatii started asking questions about the bright pink light, and the sudden burst of magic. They asked if he had done it, or if there was an Afrödite on the planet.
He ignored them entirely and went into the room he chose, which was the attic, and he spent the rest of the night staring out of the window, wondering who Luna was.
The next day, Luna climbed out of bed as best she could. When Christian carried her inside the night before, she dozed off in his arms. He tucked her in bed and let her rest.
The smell of pancakes filled the air, and she glanced at her alarm clock. It was almost noon.
She walked into the kitchen with a slight limp and saw her roommate at the stove. He did not normally cook because he was not that great at it, but she accepted the gesture and laid down on the sofa next to the kitchen.
"Good morning, Luna," Christian called. "Did you sleep okay? Any dreams?"
"I just kind of passed out, that's all," She replied. "I dunno what happened,"
"I think I do," he told her, flipping a pancake. "I was going through some of your dream books last night. You have a whole notebook on how magic works,"
"So?" She grumbled, stretching.
"I was flipping through it, that's all. What I think happened to you was that you just used up all your energy. According to your charts, the spell you cast is powerful and energy-consuming," Luna smiled crookedly.
"Look at my roommate, talking about magic like he's an Afrödite himself," she said.
"Just looking out for you. I even called in sick today to make sure you would be okay," He stacked a couple of pancakes on a plate and handed it to her. "They're chocolate chip, by the way," Her eyes lit up as she got up and sat down at the table. He took a seat across from her, his hair down and slightly ruffled as if he had just woken up, and his eyes clouded with exhaustion. Despite this, he smiled sweetly at Luna as she wolfed down her breakfast.
"I was really hungry!" She said, surprised, "I'm usually not that hungry,"
"It's because you probably burned, like, a million calories yesterday," he said, with a chuckle. "I'd be starving too," Luna smiled faintly, shrugged, and continued eating.
Christian took a couple of bites of his breakfast, but he spent most of the next few minutes thinking about the day before. Now and then, he'd look back at Luna. At this point, she was finished with her breakfast, and she had pushed her plate back. Now she was staring out of the open window longingly as if there was something out there she wanted.
After breakfast, Christian cleaned up while Luna went to go sit on the front porch. It was a cool October morning, just enough to leave slight goosebumps on her pale skin. She looked forward to the abandoned house across the street. It was overgrown with vines and trees that desperately needed to be trimmed. She could barely see the house from all the plants, and that same house used to scare her when she went outside. Suddenly, she gained a sudden interest in the place, as if it was calling to her. Determined to satisfy her spirit, she went inside and got dressed. Christian asked her what she was doing, and she explained that she was going to explore across the street. Before he could protest, she slipped on her jacket and shoes and sped out the door.
Luna walked across the street and stepped onto the overgrown lawn of the abandoned home. It was the only other house besides her own for another couple of miles, so she had always been a little curious. Today, however, was the day she finally dared to step inside.
She opened the door, and it let out a loud creak. She tensed up from the noise but proceeded in. The place was covered in dust, cobwebs, and overgrown plants, seeping in from outside. There was old plastic covering the furniture that was left inside when it was abandoned, and it seemed to almost disintegrate to the touch. She looked over at the plastic-covered sofa, and there was an area where the plastic had disintegrated that was in the shape of a sitting body. She swallowed back a squeal when she realized that she was not the first to come into the house after all this time.
Despite her desire, she did not utter a single word as she continued inside. The further inside she stepped, the eerier it got; it was like someone was watching her. Then, her ears rang, popped, and she could hear voices.
"Is that the girl from yesterday Al was talking about?" One voice asked.
"It appears so. But why would she come in here?" The other person responded. Luna took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
"Should I go get Al?" The first one asked.
"Maybe so, although I'm not sure if he's home or not. Go check the attic," The second one said.
Luna was already headed that way, so she just continued walking.
"I don't think there's any need to, she's already headed that way!" The first voice said, in a cackle. ''Oh, wait until we see the look on Alejandra's face!"
Alejandra?
Luna opened the door to the attic stairs and began to climb. The more steps she took up the stairs, the warmer she felt. It was an almost comforting feeling.
Meanwhile, Alejandra lay on the dusty sofa in his room, smoking a cigarette and thinking deeply about Luna; the Gaiatian woman who acted and looked like a Lunestic herself. He was dumbfounded by both her abilities and her beauty. He was so dumbfounded and lost in his thoughts that he did not notice her walk into the room. She stepped up to the window and saw her house in perfect view. She gave a slight shiver when she realized she was not alone in that room either. However, this presence did not speak right away.
When Alejandra finally noticed her in the room with him, he was shocked. He put out his cigarette and scrambled over to her. She seemed clueless because she could not see him; she just felt him coming closer.
"There you are..." he murmured to himself. "You astonish me," Luna heard this voice and whipped around to face it. She could not see anybody, but what she did not know was that her face was inches away from Alejandra's, who was bent over and staring at her in awe.
"Why do I keep hearing voices?" She mumbled to herself as she walked past him and went to the dusty sofa he was sitting on before. She noticed that the plastic had disintegrated as well. She looked back over at the window, where Alejandra had gone to stand. The bright sunrise shone through his pink spirit, and it glimmered and refracted across the room. The attic was the only room that had any real light in it, so this is what finally allowed Luna to see him. She stared at him, unable to comprehend what she was seeing. Alejandra noticed this and chuckled.
"What's the matter?" he remarked with a smirk, "You look like you've seen a ghost," Afraid, Luna made it downstairs and left the house altogether. She slammed the front door behind her and slid down into the grass, breathing heavily.
She eventually got up and ran back to her home, where she slammed that door behind her as well. Christian looked up from his laptop and asked what was wrong, but when she explained all that she heard and seen, he just told her she was tired from the previous day, and that she should lie down. Luna did not want to, but she did it anyway to appease him.
So, she laid down on the sofa again, staring at the ugly popcorn ceiling, wondering what exactly happened at the house across the street. Maybe Christian was right, maybe she was just tired. Just thinking about it made her realize that she was still exhausted from the day before, and before she knew it, she dozed off into a deep sleep.
As the bright morning turned into a warm afternoon, Alejandra decided to investigate Luna's home because he was worried about her. Abiatii and Alias thought he was insane, but he ignored them and went on his way. When he got there, he phased through the front door to find Christian on his laptop, drinking some tea. It was obvious he was busy because his brows were furrowed, and he was hunched over in a tense and frustrating position.
Alejandra looked over at the sofa and saw Luna asleep. He thought she looked so beautiful and peaceful in her sleep, and she reminded him of how his wife used to sleep. Everything about her reminded him of her, down to the way her lashes curled upwards. He sat on the floor and rested his head on the cushion closest to her head, watching her sleep, and stayed there until she awoke that evening.
When Luna woke up, she smelled the scent of Christian cooking some dinner. She sat up and stretched, her joints popping. Alejandra scooted back to watch her.
"Christian?" She called groggily. He peeked into the room.
"Yeah?"
"What are you cooking? Smells good,"
"Just heating up some noodles. I didn't feel like cooking anything too complicated, and I wasn't sure what your appetite would be like," Luna stood, yawned, and shuffled to the kitchen, where Alejandra followed close behind. Christian scooped some ramen noodles into a bowl and handed it to her, along with a fork. "Here. Go back to the couch. You need to rest,"
"But I've been resting all day!" She whined.
"And if you want your strength back, you'll rest a bit more." He argued. "Now sit and eat your noodles," Luna sighed, went back to the sofa, and ate her noodles as she sat down with her legs crossed.
Alejandra sat with her and stayed close by her side; all the while still dumbfounded. He wondered if she had his wife's soul.
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