- 15th of Summer, 518
Emma was chattering away to the severed head of her bondmate while Madeira sat on the bed of their cramped quarters. The Spiritist was singing to herself under her breath and the ghost's cheerful chatter. It was some half remembered sea shanty the sailors sang, something to pass the time as she dug the dull point of her eating knife against the grain of a discarded strip of wood from a broken crate. She was trying to carve a sixteen point star from the unyielding wood, and it was going poorly.
“Go down you blood red roses go down…”
She tipped the blade to shave the grain rather than slice, and worked it back and forth with gentle pressure from both ends. But one side broke through before the other, and the knife slipped. She narrowly missed cutting her fingers as the blade glanced off the divot on the other side. Though the blade was so dull she sourly wondered if it would have broken the skin at all.
She sighed through her nose and paused in her ineffectual carving to listen to Emma. The girl was kneeling on the floor, speaking to the dark space under her bed where Raj was stored. Animated hand gestures and a bubbling enthusiasm punctuated a story about the porpoise she saw off the bow last night. They had been on the ship for nearly five weeks and the girl could still find things to talk to Raj about.
"-and then it jumped out of the water and it was so big but not bigger than you of course and I wanted to tell you right away but Maddy and Ally were sleeping and Maddy gets grumpy when I wake her up and-"
It was a good thing ghosts didn't need to breath, or she might have passed out by now.
"-and I'd take you out to see them next time! And the birds. I know you don't like the birds, though. Remember when you tried to eat that meat pie on the pier back home? And the seagulls all swarmed you and me and Papa were laughing and I tried to pull you out? Yah, I know! But that was before-"
Madeira watched as the ghost seemed to physically stutter. Her form flickered as her mind ground to a halt on this little piece of knowledge. Because that was before Raj died. Her expression fell from girlish delight to confusion, and for one tick the Spiritist swore she saw a wing of horror flash across her face before her eyes took on a sudden blankness.
"It's ok, Em. You're ok." Madeira leaned forward and brushed her curly hair back from her forehead, feeling her ghost's shroud resist the pressure of her hand. "Why don't you tell Raj about that albatross that's been following us?'
The girl looked up at Madeira and then away, and she could almost see the girl's mind working to protect itself from the unwanted memories. Something inside the Spiritist broke to pieces to see the little girl defending herself against reality. She put her carving aside and reached out for her, beckoning her closer.
"Come here, kitten, it's ok. I promise you're ok.“
She pulled dijed from the bed of her tongue, letting it flood her mouth and sit in the syllables of those words. Her brows contracted as she concentrated, doing everything she could to twist those words into a flash of assurance the words themselves couldn't inspire alone.
“Go down you blood red roses go down…”
She tipped the blade to shave the grain rather than slice, and worked it back and forth with gentle pressure from both ends. But one side broke through before the other, and the knife slipped. She narrowly missed cutting her fingers as the blade glanced off the divot on the other side. Though the blade was so dull she sourly wondered if it would have broken the skin at all.
She sighed through her nose and paused in her ineffectual carving to listen to Emma. The girl was kneeling on the floor, speaking to the dark space under her bed where Raj was stored. Animated hand gestures and a bubbling enthusiasm punctuated a story about the porpoise she saw off the bow last night. They had been on the ship for nearly five weeks and the girl could still find things to talk to Raj about.
"-and then it jumped out of the water and it was so big but not bigger than you of course and I wanted to tell you right away but Maddy and Ally were sleeping and Maddy gets grumpy when I wake her up and-"
It was a good thing ghosts didn't need to breath, or she might have passed out by now.
"-and I'd take you out to see them next time! And the birds. I know you don't like the birds, though. Remember when you tried to eat that meat pie on the pier back home? And the seagulls all swarmed you and me and Papa were laughing and I tried to pull you out? Yah, I know! But that was before-"
Madeira watched as the ghost seemed to physically stutter. Her form flickered as her mind ground to a halt on this little piece of knowledge. Because that was before Raj died. Her expression fell from girlish delight to confusion, and for one tick the Spiritist swore she saw a wing of horror flash across her face before her eyes took on a sudden blankness.
"It's ok, Em. You're ok." Madeira leaned forward and brushed her curly hair back from her forehead, feeling her ghost's shroud resist the pressure of her hand. "Why don't you tell Raj about that albatross that's been following us?'
The girl looked up at Madeira and then away, and she could almost see the girl's mind working to protect itself from the unwanted memories. Something inside the Spiritist broke to pieces to see the little girl defending herself against reality. She put her carving aside and reached out for her, beckoning her closer.
"Come here, kitten, it's ok. I promise you're ok.“
She pulled dijed from the bed of her tongue, letting it flood her mouth and sit in the syllables of those words. Her brows contracted as she concentrated, doing everything she could to twist those words into a flash of assurance the words themselves couldn't inspire alone.
x
