Today was just like any other for Catriona. She'd woken up early enough to down half a pot of coffee, do some light makeup and style her hair into loose waves that fell down around her shoulders. By 7:30 she was out the door and arrived at the shop in time to open up at 8. Sometimes her routine felt a little mundane, but it was worth it for her father's legacy.
There wasn't a single person she looked up to as much as her father, and it saddened her to no end that she would never see him or speak to him again. What good is being able to contact the dearly departed when you can't even talk to those you loved most? It was a shame that her ability worked that way, or perhaps a blessing. If she could ever speak to her father...well, it was something she preferred not the think about. The hardest part about living with her ability was that sometimes she would forget to do just that: live.
The shop had been relatively slow. There was a small rush in the morning, mostly her regular customers coming to peruse the many oddities to be found on her shelves. As the day drew on, however, Catriona was left mostly alone with her thoughts. It was during these times that she felt most tempted to call on her talent. It may just be a spirit, but at least it was someone to talk to. Sometimes they had interesting stories to tell, sometimes it was just the gibberish of lost souls.
Today was just like any other day...until Catriona spotted him. She'd seen him many times before, lingering around outside the shop just long enough to smoke a cigarette before disappearing back to wherever he came from. They'd never spoken, but something about him felt familiar. Perhaps that was just innocent recognition, but what made today different was that for the first time, Catriona felt called to say something to the man.
She grabbed a towel and began to dust around the store, slowly moving closer to the front window. She moved behind a bookshelf that brought her out of his view and peered around the other side to watch him for another minute. Who was this man? Why did he regularly stand outside but never come in? It was probably completely coincidental, but either way, Catriona felt herself being drawn to the front door.
Catriona quickly pushed the door open and stepped outside. The door slowly closed behind her, and once it did she leaned back onto it. "You seem curious," she said.