Who: Charlie St. Cloud and OTA What: Ghostwatching. Avoiding the giant hand in the sky. When: Friday, April 17, midday Where: Inside Test City Mall Rating: General Audiences Warnings: Talk of ghosts, talking to ghosts, supernatural elements, a guy with interesting religious beliefs, discussion of death(s), and possibly things which might upset those who are sensitive to such topics. Oh and then there's a giant green alien hand-shaped spaceship. That's talked on, too. Status: Open/Complete
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Dead people didn't hang out only in cemeteries or creepy old houses. They were just like everyone else: wandering freely for the most part through their existences trying to stay busy. It was possible for someone who could see them to catch a glimpse or have a conversation to pass the time with a deceased individual anywhere they happened to be lingering. Charlie had once had a very involved discussion about electricity with a man who had died in 1791 outside of a Burger King.
He wasn't big on malls, but Test City didn't have a lot of places he was too comfortable being in other than the cemetery. With the giant green ship in the sky which was like some monstrous hand gesturing wildly all over the place, Charlie had found his way to the mall to roam the food court. Cooking wasn't something he was spectacular at, but, luckily, he lived a very active lifestyle which allowed him to eat food which wasn't the most wholesomely prepared. Ice cream was a particular favorite of his. Sam had liked chocolate, but Charlie liked vanilla with almost anything in it. He'd tried it with nuts, fudge ripples, caramel stripes, sprinkles, cherries, even pomegranate and once passion fruit.
Desert weather made it better, too. He wouldn't have thought of that had he not come here. He wouldn't have thought he could adapt to spaceships before coming here either; Charlie steadfastly refused to say he was hiding from the hand-shaped ship in the mall. He worked in the cemetery same as always. Mostly he just ignored it pouring water all over the place around him or trying to get a reaction out of him by hovering right over his head with a spotlight shining down on him, making him drip sweat even more than usual in the temperature.
The mall wasn't a hiding place for Charlie. It was another place to meet people. Well, people as he considered them.
Sara Songali was a little girl who'd passed at twelve. She'd caught a virus. Her mother had wanted her to feel better faster so she'd given her the medicine sooner than she was told to take it by the doctor. Sara had thought since her mother could give it to her early, she could take it early, too. Neither her or her mother had realized she was taking too much until she couldn't breathe. Everything had gotten very, very cold and then very, very dark, and then she wasn't sick any longer.
She liked skipping rope. Hers wasn't with her so she settled for skipping over the cracks in the tiles in the mall. Charlie was smiling, nodding his head along with her singing when he felt someone pause near him. He stuck his spoon into his ice cream to gather up another bite before looking up at them.
"At least Sara Songali is having a good day, right?"
His grin was genuine as he considered the newcomer. Strangers were never strangers to Charlie. He'd learned life was best savored alongside someone else whether that person happened to be a family member, a friend, a lover, or only a potential acquaintance. Closing his life off from the world wasn't something he was inclined to do no matter what people might think about his decision to pass up on Stanford to stay around his hometown taking care of the cemetery.
Charlie was a decent enough looking fellow with his welcoming smile, bright blue eyes, and healthy physique. Most were inclined to talk to him if he offered the first words to start the conversation. It wasn't about anything more than being friendly in his book, but who knew how people took it?
"Sorry. I've got a tendency to forget most people don't know what I'm talking about. Are you having a good day? Enjoying the mall? I'm avoiding the hand in the sky. It seems to think I really, really need to be watered every so often which sounds way worse than it actually is---but I'm not taking my chances if I don't have to if you know what I'm saying."